The Best Wood to use for DIY Wood Accent Walls

Pros:

• Prefinished wall planks are specifically designed to work well for wood walls. They are thin and super lightweight. They also tend to be very easy to install. And unlike regular plywood or wood planks, these specialty wall planks come with step-by-step instructions detailing how to install them properly.
• These wall planks come in a variety of beautiful finishes that are all ready to install on the wall; no paint or stain needed. There are tons of color options, so you are sure to find what you are looking for whether you want a weathered vintage finish, traditional stained wood, or a clean white paint finish.

Cons:

• Because these wall planks are prefinished and ready to install, they are more expensive than any of the other wood options on this list. Doing a large wall can add up quickly.
• Some prefinished wall planks may still need to be sealed when used in a damp environment like a bathroom, so be sure to read the instructions carefully.

Rustix Wood Wall Boards from Repurpose and Upcycle – Rustix wood wall boards

How to Install Accent Planks from Bigger Than The Three of Us – Inteplast wall planks

Shiplap Wall with Lumber Hardwood from Mornings on Macedonia – Weaber Lumber Hardwood Boards

A few of my favorite prefinished wall plank options:

Just click the pics below for more details about each type of wood wall plank.

Pros:

• Plywood is great for walls because it is thin and lightweight which means you can easily hang it on the wall using only nails and it isn’t going to intrude too far into the room.
• Plywood comes in a range of qualities and prices from super cheap underlayment to more expensive stain-grade birch plywood. The cheaper plywoods are cheaper per square foot than any other available wood.
• Plywood can be ripped down to any size and shape you want. When cutting wood planks, you can choose any width that looks good for your project instead of being limited to stock sizes.

Cons:

• The cheaper plywoods that save you a lot of money are also pretty low quality. They work fine if you are planning to paint your wood anyway, but won’t work for stain.
• While it’s great that you can cut plywood into any size planks, ripping all the wood down to size does take a lot of time.

DIY Wood Accent Wall on a Budget from Lovely Etc. – underlayment plywood

Weathered Wood Plank Wall from Lovely Etc. – 1/4″ plywood

DIY Shiplap Plank Wall from Making Joy and Pretty Things – underlayment plywood

DIY Wood Slat Wall from Making Manzanita – plywood cut into 1.5″ strips

Pros:

• As stated above, plywood is thin and lightweight and it is incredibly budget-friendly.
• Plywood can be cut into pretty much any shape you can think up from basic wood tiles to curved designs and complicated geometric shapes. Any wood wall idea you can dream up can be completed using plywood.

Cons:

• Custom cutting plywood into tiles and other unique shapes is going to take a lot of time.
• The cheapest plywoods aren’t always suitable for every type of wood wall. They may splinter and split more often during cutting and they often need to be painted rather than stained.

DIY Shingle Accent Wall from Pine and Poplar – 1/4″ plywood

Wood Tile Accent Wall from Houseful of Handmade – 1/4″ plywood cut into tiles

Pros:

• MDF is super smooth which makes it exceptionally easy to cut. Unlike real wood, there are no knots, wood grain, or warping to work around. This also means your finished wall will have an extra smooth finish.
• MDF is generally cheaper than real wood, particularly similar wood that is straight and smooth.

Cons:

• MDF is really heavy compared to wood. That makes it harder to handle and work with. It also means it will be heavier on the wall and extra care needs to be taken when attaching it.
• MDF isn’t a great material to use around water. So if your wood wall is going to be in a bathroom or kitchen, MDF probably isn’t the best choice.
• While real wood can be as thin as 1/4″, MDF typically comes in thicknesses between 1/2″ and 1″ so it isn’t quite as thin.

Board and Batten Wall under $50 from 2 the Sunnyside – sheet of MDF cut into strips

Pros:

• The interlocking grooves called rabbet joints keep the spacing between boards uniform and speed up installation.
• Shiplap boards come in a range of finishes including both unfinished and prefinished options. You can achieve a wide range of looks and styles using shiplap in different finishes.

Cons:

• Shiplap is more expensive than most other types of wood because there is more work involved in milling it.

Installing Shiplap in Bathroom from Sustain My Craft Habit – primed fiberboard shiplap

Pine Shiplap Boards from Two Hands DIY – pine shiplap

Pros:

• You can find wood planks in sizes ranging from 1″x2″ all the way up to 2″x12″. This makes it easy to find the perfect size for your project or even mix and match a variety of sizes. It’s best to stick to boards that are 1″ thick or less when working on a wood accent wall.
• Wood planks come unfinished and can be finished using any stain or paint you want.
• Because wood planks are a bit thicker than other woods like plywood, they are ideal if you are wanting to add more dimension to your wood wall.

Cons:

• Wood planks tend to be thicker and heavier than many other types of wood. Before using wood planks on a wall, be sure to think through how you will attach the weight securely to the wall.
• Wood planks come in a wide range of qualities from super rough cut furring strips to really nice hardwoods. This means you have lots of choices which is awesome, but it also means you are going to pay a lot for higher quality woods.

Reclaimed Wood Wall from At Lane and High – 1×6 boards

How to Make a Feature Wall from Plywood from Pine and Poplar – plywood and 1×2 boards

Pros:

• Lath and lattice are very thin and lightweight making it ideal for wood strip walls. It is particularly good for creating board and batten walls; because it is so thin, it can be easily used without needing to change the existing baseboards.
• Lath and lattice are fairly inexpensive compared to many other woods. You could save money by cutting 1/4″ plywood into strips instead, but it would be a ton of work to cut such thin strips.

Cons:

• Lattice often comes pressure treated. Pressure treated wood is injected with chemicals to help protect it from rot and insects. This is great for outdoor projects, but not ideal for indoor projects. If possible, look for lath that is not pressure treated.
• Lath and lattice are often a rougher wood cut with more imperfections and are prone to warping because they are so thin.

DIY Batten Wall Using Lattice Strips from Blesser House – wood lattice

Board and Batten Wainscoting Lattice from Abbotts at Home – wood lattice

Pros:

• You can often find reclaimed wood for super cheap and sometimes it is even free. I have found some pretty amazing reclaimed wood on Craigslist, on Facebook marketplace, at estate sales, on the side of the road, and even in my own scrap wood pile.
• Reclaimed wood comes in all kinds of unique finishes including many weathered, rustic finishes that people spend a lot of time and money trying to mimic. You can find reclaimed wood in just about any finish and style you could want.

Cons:

• Reclaimed wood is usually far from perfect. It is often old and weathered which means it tends to be warped, bent, and full of old nails.
• Reclaimed wood is often thick and quite heavy, making it more difficult to work with and more difficult to hang on the wall.
• It also doesn’t tend to come in standardized sizes. No two pieces of reclaimed wood are alike, even if they came from the same source. They tend to have all different thicknesses and finishes. This can be part of the beauty of reclaimed wood, but it can also make it difficult to find enough pieces that look good together to complete an entire wall.

Herringbone Plank Wall from Kaleidoscope Living – old cedar fence boards

Technically, this is a huge reclaimed wood barn door, not a wood wall, but the materials and process I used to make this door would work equally well on an accent wall.

Example:

Cedar Shake Shingles Accent Wall from A Life Unfolding – cedar shake shingles 

More DIY home ideas I think you’ll like:

• How to Choose the Perfect Paint Color Every Time
• 35 Cheap and Easy DIY Wall Art Ideas
• 23 DIY Wall Shelves for Every Room in the House

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