Before and After: A $150, 3-Day Project Gives a Plain Living Room Some Wow
Sometimes a space doesn’t need a total overhaul—just a little something to take it over the edge. When Cierra and Ben Almquist moved into their home five months ago, it was the first time they’d ever owned. Cierra was itching to make the kind of changes they could never make in their four years in a rental, and she knew the living room was a perfect place to start. “Our house is a new build but also very builder grade. The living room and entryway walls were just boring,” Cierra says. “We have two windows beside our TV and when the walls were plain I was really struggling with the idea of curtains or something to hang above the TV.”
As a self-described minimalist, Cierra wasn’t wild about the thought of cluttering up the space with extra decor. In fact, the art above the TV was already too much: “I bought those four wicker pieces and ended up returning them because they were just too busy for me,” she says.
“I wanted to make a big statement in a short amount of time,” Cierra says. “I hate a messy house so I wanted this project to be simple and quick.” The winning selection? Board and batten, which had been kicking around in the back of Cierra’s head for a while.
Cierra and Ben started by measuring out the walls and deciding how much space they wanted between each batten, as well as how much trim board they wanted at the top. They used 1x2s for the project; Ben cut them to fit and nailed them to the wall. Once they were in place, Cierra filled all the nail holes and caulked the edges of every seam. “The hardest part was definitely caulking the seams. I’ve never done it before and we did such a large wall,” Cierra says. “My hands were killing me by the time I was done. There were so many cracks to fill.”
Once she was done, Cierra sanded and painted it all white. Since they’d framed the windows during the job, the now look bigger and more impressive—no bulky curtains required. A minimalist’s dream!
“I absolutely LOVE how the batten boards draw the eye up,” Cierra says. “Our ceilings are already tall but it definitely makes the room look larger now.” Plus, the project connects the living room and entry to make them look cohesive. “It’s a lot of work but it is SO worth it in the end,” Cierra says. “It’s a low-cost project that can change the look and vibe of a room completely.”
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