Supplies:
Yardsticks
Paint (optional)
Glue, nails, double-sided tape or glue strips
Hand or power saw
There are lots of things that people now make from yardsticks, including coat racks, tabletops, mirror accents, and crates. Since yardsticks can be painted, or used as-is, you end up with many options for how the crafted piece looks. But one of your most favorite projects might be to turn yardsticks into a vintage wall treatment for a wall in your home. Board and batten is a lovely look where thin strips of wood are attached to a wall to create a giant tic-tac-toe-type look. The crisscrossed wooden lines recall the look of antique wall treatments, in homes or other buildings. It’s easy to do – provided you have several yardsticks – so go ahead and get busy!
Putting yardsticks on a wall isn’t hard. The perfect wall is one already covered in wood, a paneled wall, or one of drywall. You can make a board and batten creation on an entire wall, or you can create a wainscot effect, where you do only the bottom portion of the wall. Most board and batten arrangements are done so that the raised wood (the yardsticks) are painted the same color as the wall. However, you can create a different appearance by painting the yardsticks another color. The yardsticks you use can be different lengths but must be the same width.
Start by framing the desired area with yardsticks. They can be attached using quality double-sided tape, glue strips, glue, or headless nails. Arrange the yardsticks to go all the way around the perimeter. It will probably be necessary to cut some of the sticks to fit, and that’s easy to do with a power saw or even a handsaw.
After the frame is finished, measure and mark where you will add the vertical strips, and the horizontal ones. Attach yardsticks, horizontally, across at least one or two areas, inside the frame. Then, cut yardsticks so that you can make vertical strips, and attach them. The goal is to create large squares or rectangles on the wall, by sectioning them off with yardsticks. Partial sections should end up along the perimeter. Another choice of the board and batten design is to simply install vertical pieces.
The finished board and batten look is lovely in a hallway and beautiful in a living room. It’s appropriate for a bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, or any other area of your home. Since yardsticks are really inexpensive, and the project is a very simple one to achieve, there’s no reason to put it off any longer!
