How to DIY a Wood Slat Wall

Dress up your home with this contemporary DIY wood slat wall

How to build a diy wood slat wall

The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

Project Overview
  • Working Time: 6 - 8 hrs
  • Total Time: 1 - 2 days
  • Yield: 8 linear feet
  • Skill Level: Beginner
  • Estimated Cost: $75 to $200

Installing a DIY wood slat wall lends a refined air to a room. It's a mid-century modern look often found at high-end hotels or designer homes. A wood slat wall is the ideal focal point for a room: an accent wall that you'll have for years to come. Installing wood slats on a wall can be a bit time-consuming, but it isn't complicated at all. Plus, you have a couple of time-saving options.

One method, using dimensional lumber slats, is easier and faster but it's much more expensive. The other method, using sheet goods, is slower and requires a table saw, but costs are considerably pared down. Use this guide to learn how to DIY a wood slat wall for an eight foot stretch of wall. Add more wood and supplies as needed to cover the space you're working with.

Best Type of Wood to Make a Slat Wall

A wood slat wall is made of evenly spaced vertical strips of wood that extend from the floor to the ceiling. Each wood slat is from 1/2-inch to 2 inches wide. The width of the wood slats is your choice, depending on the final look you're hoping to achieve. Wood slats tend to be more on the narrow side.

For this project, you can use dimensional lumber, which is pre-cut, one-by-two wood strips, to accelerate the project and avoid using a table saw. Alternatively, you can use sheet goods. Sheet goods collectively refers to MDF, plywood, veneer wood, or other large-format (often 4 feet by 8 feet) wood or wood byproduct materials. Going with sheet goods will take more time and effort, but this is the most cost-effective way to complete this job.

Building With Dimensional Lumber

Dimensional lumber is one-by-two strips that have been precut for easy installation. Each one-by-two is actually 1-1/2 inches wide. To cover an 8-foot stretch of wall with a 3/4-inch space between boards would require 48 strips. While softwood strips are inexpensive, the slat wall can still be expensive when you need to buy 100 or 200 strips. Hardwood strips are three times more expensive than softwood but require less finishing work.

Tip

To give cheaper softwood slats a more premium look resembling hardwood, stain the wood with walnut, oak, mahogany, or another dark stain. Be sure to start with wood conditioner so the stain will evenly cover the wood rather than looking blotchy.

Building With Sheet Goods

Cutting a 4-foot by 8-foot sheet of plywood into strips is a more cost-effective approach, but it is also more time-intensive. One sheet of plywood yields around 90 to 92 strips, each 1/2 inch wide. One chief difference between using sheet goods and dimensional lumber is thickness. Before purchasing materials for this project, decide how thick you want the slats to be, then select the right size sheet goods for the job.

Dimensional Lumber Slats
  • One-by-two lumber strips

  • $150 to $300 per 8 linear feet

  • Requires a miter or circular saw, not a table saw

  • Faster process

  • Thicker wood slats

Sheet Good Slats
  • Large sheets of plywood that you cut into slats

  • $40 to $60 per 8 linear feet

  • Requires table saw, plus miter or circular saw

  • Time-intensive

  • Thinner wood slats

Tips and Safety Before Beginning

Working with a table saw or circular saw is hazardous enough but even more so with repetitive cutting. Stay alert at all times. Keep your hands away from the blade by pushing from a distance or by using a push block or push stick. Large sheets can be difficult to push through a table saw, so do the cutting with an assistant to help hold the other end.

The wood slats should be spaced about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch apart from each other. To avoid a zebra-stripe effect, spaces between the slats should be less than the width of the slats. The color of the wall behind the slats plays an important role because this is the background for the slats. You may want to choose a dark background, such as matte-black, for a dramatic, modern look.

If you'd like slats that hug the wall closely, you'll want to use nominal 1/2-inch plywood (about 3/8 inch thick). With dimensional one-by-two lumber, the strips would be 3/4 inch thick. Use a cordless brad nail gun instead of dragging an extension cord behind you as you work. Check the thickness of the slats and make sure the nails are long enough to penetrate through the slats and into the wall.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Table saw
  • Electric miter saw
  • Cordless finish nailer
  • Eye and hearing protection
  • Putty knife
  • Heavy gloves
  • #220 grit sandpaper
  • Laser level
  • Tape measure

Materials

  • Plywood sheets or dimensional lumber slats
  • Black matte interior paint
  • Wood filler
  • Construction glue

Instructions

  1. Inspect the Wall

    Inspect the wall surface for flatness. Minor gaps can be filled in with drywall joint compound, but walls that are excessively wavy may not be good candidates for this project.

    Inspecting the wall for flatness

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

  2. Plan the Wood Slat Wall

    Calculate the amount of wood to buy based on strip width and spacing width. Unless you plan on moving light switches or outlets, the wood slats need to work around them. Plan for about 1/2-inch of space around the faceplates.

    Slat walls can be constructed in a vertical or horizontal format. The materials needed and steps to construct the wall are the same, with the only difference being in the length and position of the slats.

    Vertical slat walls give the illusion that the walls and ceilings are taller than they really are. Horizontal slat walls tend to make a room look spacious and are a good option for smaller rooms or hallways. 

    Planning out the wood slat wall on paper before beginning

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

  3. Paint the Wall

    Paint the wall the intended color, for a contrast with the wood slats. Roll out the paint with two coats. Matte or flat paint dries quickly, so you can apply the second or more coats within 30 to 45 minutes.

    Painting the wall the desired color before beginning the slat wall

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

  4. Rip Wood Slats (Sheet Goods Only)

    Sheet goods will need to be ripped, or cut lengthwise, to produce individual slats. If you are using pre-cut dimensional lumber slats, skip this step.

    Run the plywood lengthwise through the table saw to cut 1/2-inch-wide slats or your desired width. Periodically check strip width to make sure that the width is uniform, as the saw gate may loosen over time.

    Tip

    Experiment with slat-width and with the spacing between the slats to find the perfect combination that suits your tastes.

    Pre-ripped wood slats

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

  5. Fill Large Voids

    In some places, the sides of the plywood may exhibit small voids or holes. Using the putty knife, fill these in with wood filler.

    Filling any voids in the wood with putty

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

  6. Sand Wood Slats

    Wearing heavy gloves, sand each wood slat individually. Cup the sandpaper in your hand and lightly run the slat up and down to remove stray splinters. The layered sides of plywood do not sand down smoothly, so try to remove the roughest areas.

    Sanding the wood slats

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

  7. Paint or Stain Wood Slats

    Lay out the wood slats. Paint or stain the front and both sides of the wood slats, but not on the back. Avoid large drips on the back that will harden and prevent the slats from laying flat against the wall.

    Staining the wood slats

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

  8. Cut Ends of Wood Slats

    Starting at one corner, measure the distance from floor to ceiling for the first slat. The slat should be the distance from floor to ceiling, minus 1/4-inch to allow the wood to expand and contract.

    Tip

    Measure and cut the slats one by one since floor-to-ceiling heights typically vary across the width of a wall.

    Trimming the ends off the wood slats

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

  9. Install the Wood Slats

    Run a bead of construction glue down the length of the first slat, on the back side. Begin in a corner and install the first wood slat. Position it vertically with the laser level's plumb feature or with a bubble level. Nail the slat in place.

    Since you'll be nailing most of the slats into drywall, angling the nails will help hold the slat in place better while the glue sets.

    Tip

    Keep the beads of glue narrow and on-center to avoid squeezing out excess glue after the slats are nailed to the wall.

    Installing the wood slats with a nail gun

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

  10. Cut Around Obstacles

    When you reach an obstacle, use the miter saw to cut the slats around it.

  11. Fill Nail Holes on Slats

    After all of the slats have been installed, fill the nail holes with wood putty.

    Filling holes in the wood slats

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen

  12. Touch up the Slats

    With a brush for paint or a rag for stain, touch up wood slats as needed.

    Touching up the slats with a rag if necessary

    The Spruce / Kelsey Hansen