diy: budget friendly slat walls
I have been DYING to put up a DIY slat accent wall in our house - but was intimidated by two things. One being the price of wood, and two being using/spending an excessive amount of money on a table saw! So, after lots of brainstorming… I found a few loop holes that allowed me to get the same look for WAY less. Here are all my secrets (;
measure & paint the walls
First I measured the wall where I wanted to put the slat wall so I could calculate how much plywood I would need. I decided that I wanted to go across the entire back wall of our guest bedroom which was 11 feet wide. You’re also going to want to take into consideration the height of your ceilings. Mine were standard height at 8 feet tall. If yours are any taller, you may run into some trouble using this budget friendly tutorial since I’ve never seen sheets of plywood larger than 8 feet long. Or, you can apply tall baseboards for added length.
You’re then going to want to decide how wide of slats you want. I wanted and planned for 1” wide, but I made a bit of an oopsie which I’ll talk about in a little bit. My slats ended up being almost 1.5” wide. You also want to think about how far apart you want your slats. I’ve seen a lot of people do 1” slats with 1” spacer in between. I originally tried this but didn’t like the way it looked. I ended up turning a piece of scrap slat to be perpendicular to the wall as a spacer, so mine were about 1/2” apart. I suggest figuring out ahead of time how much you need to avoid multiple trips to Home Depot. I’m really bad at math so I just kind of winged it - I got 3 sheets of 4x8 birch plywood and used two sheets and 1/4 of the third one.
If you want to paint the walls, now is the time to do it. I painted the accent wall in Urban Bronze by Sherwin Williams. I also painted the other 3 walls in Spare White by Sherwin Williams. You’re going to want to paint the corners of the accent wall before installing the slat wall because it’s a bi*ch to touch up any of the corners afterwards! I used my favorite handy & AFFORDABLE shortcut paint brush for all edging work!
buying & cutting the slats
So here’s my first big secret… BUY PLYWOOD NOT SOLID WOOD!!!!!!! A 1x8 or 2x8 piece of poplar or pine is like $8!!! That’s just insane especially if you’re trying to do a pretty large area like mine. So… my secret is 4x8 1/2” birch plywood sheets! I paid $70 for each sheet at my local Home Depot. I was going to get 3/4” wide for more depth but it was an extra $20 per sheet. Now that the project is complete, I am super happy with the “depth” of the plywood I got and definitely don’t regret making that budget decision. I have a Honda CRV, so I had Home Depot cut the plywood down into 12” wide strips so I could get it to fit in my car!
My second secret, my table saw alternative..…. the Kreg Rip-Cut!
This handy gadget was only $45, versus spending $300+ on a table saw that probably would’ve been impossible to operate by myself with such large sheets of plywood. The Rip-Cut attaches to your circular saw and allows you to make straight, accurate cuts as small as 1” wide. I LOVE my HART Tools circular saw, but if you’re really trying to be budget friendly - check local garage sales, estate sales & other second hand places for a circular saw. Or ask a friend/neighbor! I also suggest looking up a YouTube video on set up because it took me a minute to figure out how to do it. You will want to adjust the width of the Rip-Cut to your desired length of the slats. Try on a scrap piece of plywood prior to cutting your slat plywood just to make sure you are happy with the width.
Once you have your Rip-Cut attached to your circular saw, you’re going to need a surface to cut your plywood on. Home Depot & Lowes have 4x8 rigid insulation foam for around $20. These are great & cheap surfaces to cut plywood on. However…. I was not able to fit a 4x8 sheet of foam in my car and they would not cut that for me at Home Depot. SO, I found 2x2 squares of project rigid insulation foam at Home Depot for $7. I got four of them, and lined them up with my plywood on top. A bit more expensive, but took all the stress of trying to get that massive piece of foam home.
When I cut the plywood, I did it all on the ground. I put the foam on the ground with the plywood on top. This meant I was bent over while cutting all 60+ slats. To be more ergonomic, you can get a few saw horses, put a sheet of plywood on top to create a sturdier surface, then the insulation foam, then the slat plywood on top. You are going to want to adjust the depth of your circular saw so it’s just deep enough to cut through the plywood. You don’t want to cut through all of the foam! When using the Rip Cut, make sure to keep the guide pressed against the edge of the plywood. If you let it stray away, you will not get a straight cut & it will mess up all the cuts after that too.
next step…. sanding & sealing (or don’t seal?)
After you cut all of your slats, you’re going to want to sand the edges with 150 & 220 grit sandpaper to avoid any splinters! I used my Surfprep 3x4 Electric Ray, but you can honestly hand sand with blocks like these. If you’re going to stain - now is your time to do it. I decided I liked the color of the raw birch, so I didn’t stain or seal.
installation & application
I will start with one tip… do NOT use liquid nails when applying any sort of accent wall. Liquid nails is sooo strong & it will ruin your wall if you ever wanted to remove it. I used my HART tools brad nailer - an affordable and VERY easy to use cordless option. I used 1 1/4” brad nails. I also used a laser level to make sure my first few slats were perfectly straight. I also used a regular hand level before nailing each slat. I recommend checking if its level in throughout the entire slat prior to nailing, so in the middle and both ends! Like I said earlier, I used a piece of scrap plywood, placing it perpendicular to the wall so each space was 1/2” wide. I did this entire project alone, so I definitely used a step ladder. Highly recommend if you don’t have one already!
supplies
Wooster Shortcut Paintbrush (optional)
Saw horses (optional)
3x4 Surfprep Sander (use FURNITUREDR10 for 10% off) (optional)
Laser level (optional)
Step Ladder (optional)
spark notes
A DIY slat accent wall involves creating a wall feature using a series of horizontal slats or planks attached to the wall. Here are the steps to create a budget friendly slat accent wall:
Measure the wall and determine the number of slats you need and how much plywood you need to buy
Cut the slats to size with Rip-Cut & insulation foam
Sand the edges and surfaces of the slats to remove any rough spots.
Apply a finish to the slats if desired (e.g. stain or paint).
Install the slats one by one, using a level to ensure they are straight.
Secure each slat to the wall using a brad nailer.
Repeat the process until all the slats are attached to the wall.
Make sure to DM me any questions & if you decide to take on this project make sure to send me photos of your final project! Follow me on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram for more home flips, tips, and decor ideas.
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
