This is an incredibly simple accent wall that can be achieved by anyone! All you need is some paint, caulk, and some box trim moulding.
Supplies (Note: I make a small commission from affiliate links, at no cost to you)
The first thing I did was paint the wall the desired color. You could wait to paint until after your moulding is up, but I find it easier to paint the wall first and then paint the moulding after it is up.
The next step is to decide the number of boxes you want on your wall. The best way to determine how many boxes you want is to tape it out with painter’s tape. My wall was 79″ wide so I determined I wanted 3 boxes. I knew that I wanted to extend my boxes below the nightlight, so I held up a piece of trim to find where I wanted the box to start at the base. I decided it should be 4″ above the baseboard, therefore, it should also be 4″ from the ceiling. So I subtracted 8″ from my wall height of 91″ to get 83″. So I needed 6 pieces cut at 45 degrees that were 83″ long end to long end.
I generally like to make the gap between the wall and the boxes slighly wider than the spaces between the boxes. I decided I wanted the space between the wall and outside boxes to be 2.5″ (79″-5″=74″). I then decided the space between the boxes should only be 1″ (74″-(1″*2)”=72″). I then divided the 72″ into 3 to get the width of my boxes (74″/3=24″). Therefore I needed 6 pieces cut at 45 degrees that are 24″ long end to long end.
Use your miter shears to cut all your long vertical pieces and short horizontal pieces. Make all your cuts at 45 degrees. If your trim is not symmetrical, make sure you cut it the same way for each piece so they align when you join them.
After all your pieces are cut, grab some scrap wood cut to all your determined spacers (mine are 4″, 2.5″ and 1″). This will make it much easier to attach your trim to the wall. Place your baseboard spacer block and your side spacer on the wall to find the location of your first vertical piece. Hold the piece on the wall and use your pin nailer to secure it to the wall. Shoot the nails in opposite directions diagonally to make a secure connection. Use a level as you go up the wall to make sure the piece stays straight as you secure it. Then secure the bottom horizontal piece using your bottom spacer block and a level. Then secure the second vertical piece, again using spacer blocks and a level. Continue along the wall until your pieces are all up on the wall.
Then you can add your top horizontal members. If you need to, you can slightly bend the top portions of the vertical pieces to make a tight miter connection. Don’t worry if your miters aren’t perfect, everything can be fixed with wood filler or caulk!
After you have all your pieces on the wall, it’s time for caulk! Spread a small bead of caulk along the inside of the trim frames and the outside and wipe smooth with a baby wipe. Fill in any gaps in your miters with wood filler or caulk.
After your caulk is dry, you can paint the trim.
After a few coats, you’re done! I love adding some art in my boxes, so I added some Mixtiles. You can use my code MAKINGITWITHABBYIG2 for buy 2, get 1 free.
As always, feel free to reach out to me if you need any help or have any questions!
Leave a Reply