Subway Tiles to Shiplap: Faux Wall Treatments You Can DIY

dream is to find a home that has authentic, original vintage brick, plaster, shiplap, concrete, molding-adorned, or stone walls – would all of the above be too much? – but the reality is that most of us are stuck with plain, boring drywall. Here are 11 tutorials, ranging from budget/renter-friendly to hardcore handmade, that will totally transform your walls.

This video tutorial makes installing a Stikwood wall look like the most fun home improvement project ever. Invite a few friends over, bribe them with Prosecco, kick off your shoes, and get to sticking!

A bit of white Spackle—you can use as much or as little as you like, and tint it to fit your decor—helps plastic brick panels look more like the real thing.

This faux brick project might be a bit time consuming for most – 50 hours doesn’t feel so crazy when it’s split up, does it? – but the fact that it will only cost you around $30 might make all the hours sound more appealing. Grab some joint compound, a trowel, a level, and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty!

If you’re asking yourself, What Is Shiplap, Anyway?, the answer is simple: it’s covet-worthy. If your home didn’t come with the real vintage stuff, create your own shiplap walls using peel-and-stick vinyl faux wood floor planks, primer, and paint.

If you covet shiplap and you have access to four different saws (and the skills to wield them) and you know what a brad nailer is, this is the shiplap project for you. The peel-and-stick method is perfectly fine, but this is for the truly hardcore shiplappers.

This video tutorial will teach you how to create an outdoor faux stone wall, but you can definitely use the instructions to make a gorgeous indoor wall like the one in Amy and Todd’s home.

If you are craving the clean, classic look of subway tile, but you happen to be a renter (or don’t currently have a tiling budget), faux subway removable vinyl wallpaper is the solution.

Here’s a thorough video tutorial that will walk you through the plastering process so you, too, can have Emily Henderson-worthy walls, like the ones shown above. You can paint the finished walls boldly or subtly, and either way the fascinating texture will shine through.

Once again, if you don’t happen to possess a sprawling loft with original raw concrete walls, don’t despair: this project has you covered! You’ll achieve such natural variations that nobody will ever guess your concrete isn’t the real deal.

I chose this photo so you could really see the painted texture, but you should check out the other photos in this tutorial (which helpfully includes video as well as detailed instructions) to see the lovely subtlety of the pale linen version.

This bold and beautiful wall was made purely thanks to the wonder of stencils! This technique works especially well in spaces such as in place of back-splashes, where the wall is tucked away from view a tiny bit, preserving the illusion of actual tiles.