Instead of Tiling the Rest of the Bathroom, She Used Thin Wood Strips on the Plain Walls
White rectangular tile already covered the tub surround in Brittney Smart’s bathroom, reaching from the bathtub to the ceiling. The remaining walls were painted drywall, leaving a large section beside the tile without the same surface detail.
Instead of extending tile across the room, Smart kept the drywall and attached narrow wood strips over it. Most of the vertical battens are only 1/4 inch deep and 1-3/8 inches wide, while a horizontal 1×4 runs beneath the ceiling. The existing wall becomes the space between the strips rather than being covered with new panels.
Paint, spackle, and caulk eventually conceal the joints and fasteners. What remains visible is the grid formed by the wood, with the original drywall sitting between each raised batten.
Plain drywall remained beside the tiled tub surround
Glossy white tile covers the full height of the tub surround, while painted drywall begins at its outer edge and continues across the rest of the bathroom. The wall itself was kept because it would form part of the finished board-and-batten treatment.
Before any wood was installed, the drywall was cleaned, primed, and painted. Painting at this stage avoids having to coat the narrow spaces between battens after they are attached.
Horizontal board establishes the top of the treatment
A 1/2-inch-thick 1×4 forms the horizontal board just below the ceiling. Its length is taken from the wall itself before the measurement is transferred to the wood.
The project uses a V-shaped pencil mark for cuts, with the point of the V placed at the measurement. That leaves one exact intersection for the saw instead of relying on either edge of a wide pencil line.
Ceiling helps position the long upper board
The cut board is dry-fitted across the wall before it is nailed in place. A level can be used to check its position, while this installation also uses the ceiling as a reference because the board runs just beneath it.
Stud locations are marked before fastening, allowing the long horizontal piece to be secured into framing where possible rather than relying on drywall alone.
Batten beside the tile is thicker than the others
The tile projects from the drywall far enough that the standard 1/4-inch battens would leave an exposed edge at the transition. A 1/2-inch-thick alder strip is used beside the tub surround instead.
Its thickness changes, but its 1-3/8-inch face width matches the other battens. The wider depth meets the projecting tile while keeping the same strip width across the wall.
Ten-inch spaces set the batten pattern
Different gaps were tested before a 10-inch space was selected between battens. Marks are made at both the bottom and top so each strip can be positioned at the same interval instead of relying on a single measurement.
The vertical length is then measured at each marked position. Taking that measurement at the installation point accounts for small differences between the baseboard and upper board across the wall.
Quarter-inch battens work with the existing baseboard
Most of the vertical strips are 1/4 inch deep and 1-3/8 inches wide. The existing baseboards are about 1/4 inch deep at the top, which influenced the choice of material.
Matching those depths allows each batten to meet the top of the baseboard without projecting past it. The baseboards can stay in place instead of being removed and replaced to accommodate thicker wood.
Scrap wood keeps the spacing from drifting
After the first two battens are positioned, a scrap piece is cut to the exact distance between them. That piece becomes a spacer for the rest of the installation rather than measuring 10 inches again at several points on every strip.
The spacer is moved upward between adjacent battens before the center nails are driven. If a thin strip bows to either side, it can be pushed against the template and fastened at the correct distance.
Battens are fastened at the top, bottom, and center
Each vertical strip is first secured at its lower and upper ends, then fastened through the center. Unlike the horizontal board, the battens do not need to line up with wall studs; the project uses 1-1/4-inch brad nails long enough to fasten through the drywall.
The process repeats across the wall until the painted drywall is divided into narrow vertical sections. No sheet material is installed between those strips.
Same treatment continues onto the other walls
The battens continue beyond the first wall and into the areas around the toilet, vanity, switches, and other fixed elements. Where a batten meets a switch plate, the wood is divided into separate upper and lower pieces rather than moving the established spacing to avoid the obstacle.
The ends can also be cut to meet the projecting switch plate instead of leaving a square wood edge behind it.
Brad nail holes are filled before painting
Installation leaves small brad nail holes along every batten. Quick-drying spackle is pressed into each opening with a finger, and excess material is wiped away before it sets.
The project uses a no-sanding-required filler, so keeping each repair flush with the wood at this stage avoids adding another sanding pass across the narrow strips.
Caulk closes the joints around the wood
A thin bead of caulk goes anywhere the boards or battens meet another surface, including drywall, ceiling, baseboard, countertop, and adjoining trim. The bead is smoothed with a damp finger to fill the joint without spreading caulk across the faces of the wood.
These filled seams remove the narrow gaps left between the added strips and the existing wall before the final coat of paint goes on.
Paint makes drywall and wood read as one treatment
After the spackle and caulk dry, the battens receive the same white finish as the surrounding wall. A brush covers seams and inside edges, followed by a foam roller across the flat wood surfaces to reduce brush marks.
Matching the paint conceals the boundary between the original drywall and the added wood. Only the shallow projection of each batten remains visible.
Thin strips give the plain walls a paneled finish
The finished bathroom keeps the tile confined to the tub surround while board and batten covers the remaining wall areas. Each white section between the battens is still the painted drywall that was there before installation.
The 1/4-inch strips provide the raised edges, the existing baseboards terminate them at the floor, and the 1×4 connects them beneath the ceiling. The result changes the plain walls without adding tile or covering them with full wood panels.
Would you keep the tile around the tub or carry it across the rest of the bathroom?