Cheap Yet Chic Wood Lath Wall

Looking at materials differently can ultimately yield some fantastic room decor on the cheap. For example, a few bundles of inexpensive wood lath, some stain, a few nails, and you've got yourself a stylish wall for less!

This poor guest bathroom has seen so many changes and yet none of them ever seemed quite right. That is, until I spotted some $15 bundles of wood lath at the home improvement store.

After some quick math which was hard as math is no longer a strong suit, I grabbed two full bundles and a couple extra loose pieces for this particular project.

I tested out various stains and didn't hit upon the look I wanted until I thinned out the stain with some paint thinner. Now it's a custom color! But really, the color at full strength was too strong.

I stained each wood lath individually by hand. Yes it did take a while but in the end it was totally worth it.

This bathroom is not used very often so I didn't seal the wood but it can most certainly be sealed for ease of cleaning and moisture repellence.

Right off the bat, I ran into my first installation dilemma, the toilet water connection. No big deal, I cut around it accordingly.

I used a paint stir stick to create a gap between the wood lath strips for several reasons, mainly for a cool look but also to give the wood room to do its wood thing.

I merely nailed the lath strips onto the wall with a brad nailer.

I was sure to cut the wood lath strips into different lengths so that the pattern would be offest and not the same all the way up.

Going around the switch and outlet was a bit tricky but as you can see, I had a built-in guide of old paint to show me the way.

Be sure to swing by the blog to find out how I resolved the new difference in depth with the switch cover plate.

For less than fifty bucks, I had a brand new wall, a high-end chic look at a fraction of the price, and all sorts of textural excitement.