Herringbone Accent Wall

Let me walk you through my process of putting up this Herringbone Accent Wall. It was a lot trickier than I thought and I came across a few issues that I'll talk you through to hopefully make your project go more smoothly.
TOTAL COST $135 (covers all materials, paint and brushes, not tool costs)
Materials:
- 1/2" MDF
- Paint Sherwin Williams Peppercorn at 50%
- Oscillating Multi-tool - www.harborfreight.com/oscilla...
- Electric Box Extender - amzn.to/3eNoA3E
- Patch and Paint - amzn.to/3vzsRhQ
- Router bit - amzn.to/3thnAK5
- Stud Finder (not mine but I believe the same brand since mine is so old) - amzn.to/3eU4B3s
I am not an expert, just a regular woodworker, sharing my experiences with you.
Please note that if you purchase from the links I provided above I will receive a small commission from the company for suggesting them. This will not cost you anything but helps me to provide good content to my viewers. Thank you in advance if you purchase.
- Michelle

[@CALB2009]

Excellent content and beautiful wall!! I TRULY appreciate you sharing the tips & tricks you learned when doing this project yourself!! The best way to learn is to DO, and when you DO something for the first time (and you are human), inevitably mistakes will be made. However, the knowledge you gain from trial and error is invaluable! So many content creators don't feel comfortable sharing the problems they ran into when doing a DIY project, and this unfortunately leaves viewers unprepared for the real challenges ahead. Thank you so much for the excellent detailed instructions!! ~~Christy~~

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thank you so much

[@bradfordyoungkin3572]

Great tips! Primer is your friend to make everything look uniform, as much as a pita it can be.

[@amandawyss6751]

I love how this turned out! Really beautiful accent wall!

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thanks 😁

[@amandaleimbach2669]

Oh my this is way more involved than I had anticipated. Thanks for sharing your stumbling blocks.

[@AroundtheHouse]

Haha, right? Had I known I may have gone with something different.

[@pmills524]

You did an amazing job. It looks amazing!Thanks for the perfect explanation and showing us how to avoid mistakes! Thank you!

[@billm4560]

You did an awesome job Michelle! 👏👏 Looks great! Thank you for sharing!

[@AroundtheHouse]

You are so welcome! Thanks for watching Bill

[@georgeslehner7733]

Amazing Job! I've learn a lot and will make one of my home office wall. Congratulations it really stand out!

[@bradmoyer9737]

The respirator, ear muffs and hair bun give you a little bit of a “Princess Leia” look 😂, the difference between ending up with a project that looks like a “Home Owner” did it, and one that looks like a “Professional” did it, is that perfectionist attitude. Another good looking and well executed project!

[@AroundtheHouse]

Haha, that's hilarious. I'm happy to resemble Leia, most of the time I feel like I resemble Pig Pen from Peanuts 😆

[@paul-ld9vh]

That's really beautiful. You deserve a lot of credit, that's a lot of work!

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thank you so much Paul 😀

[@feliperuiz3813]

Your such an awesome carpenter! Thank you teaching me a new skill! Love your video!!

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thanks 😊

[@ruthdaines9040]

Wow that is really impressive! Thanks for sharing your pretty wall!

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thank you! Thanks for watching!

[@dabruscar]

Super job. Really like it, plus the colour is very nice too. Lovely work.

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Joepeeee]

Looks great!!

[@5wappy]

OMG, it looks amazing! All that time was definitely worth it!!!

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thanks Swappy, I love how it looks.

[@DudeSawdust]

Another great project in the books! This reminds me of a similar pattern I did with MDF shiplap that I did for a king bed head and footboard. In fact I’m laying in that bed as I type this. I posted a video on my channel of it. Superb job! I love how you show your missteps. It helps us all learn. 👍looking forward to the next video!

[@AroundtheHouse]

That head and footboard look really good. So creative too, I haven't seen a pattern like that before. It's simple enough to not be overpowering while also being a focal point in the room. I need to watch your video on it. Thanks for sharing.

[@DudeSawdust]

@@AroundtheHouse Thanks! Yes, it was one video I have been more proud of....I just wish the rest of KZbin felt the same. I put in a lot of time making sure it came out just right and the final product shows. You are right about it being time consuming (as you mentioned in your video) when cutting all the angles just right.

[@jasonramsbottom2185]

Nice work and great video!

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thanks 😊

[@HadiBalhareth]

Amazing job .. Thanks so much for sharing

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thanks for watching!

[@chrisdanley216]

Looks great! I love the cameo's from "My Husband".

[@AroundtheHouse]

Once in a while I let him in my shop 😆

[@moeleblanc9751]

Beautiful great job

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thank you! 😊

[@moeleblanc9751]

@Around the House Hello again .... When you used plywood was it 1/2 in. and how many boards did you use

[@djmadmike23]

super impressive

[@AroundtheHouse]

☺️ Thankyou!

[@mohaimenkazi9787]

Always use shellac based primer on MDF, or shellac itself before painting MDF for the paint to go on evenly :) Great job on the wall regardless!

[@AroundtheHouse]

Great tip! I will do that next time. Thanks for watching.

[@mohaimenkazi9787]

@@AroundtheHouse BIN primer. That's what we use for furniture restoration and MDF. :)

[@MarthaMartinez-ds9kh]

Y parecía tan fácil!!! Que disolución !!!!!!!

[@billzima7068]

You did a good job. Definitely want to sand,clean off all dust and lightly prime the filler. Just like if you do spackle touch ups on painted drywall you would spot prime before painting. If not them spots will 100% stand out. And when spot priming make sure the primer is applied however you applied the paint. If you used a 1/4" nap on the MDF use 1/4" nap on the spot prime or if you use 9/16" on your drywall..then use 9/16" nap on the spot priming. Them spots are gonna work against from the beginning just bc when a filler or spackle is sanded it is so smooth that it's a different texture. Filler & MDF is alot closer finish then drywall and spackle. That's why when people want a flawless job the entire surface is covered with spackle or filler and would be considered a level 5 finish and if you are not doing it yourself be prepared to dig deep in them wallet's.

[@androidr.8470]

First mistake was cutting 6" pieces out of a 4x8 sheet. Incidentally I have the same table saw and just did the same thing yesterday with 1/4" MDF. The first thing to do is to cut the sheet in half to 24-1/2" or thereabouts, then you cut the 6 inch strips with pieces that are easier to manage. I am a finishing carpenter for 35 years, trust me, get the pieces to more manageable sizes no matter what your set up.

[@drakewilliams10dw]

That MDF makes for a great surface to paint in.

[@krisbeatty547]

Love the Bic pen idea. I just did something similar and I was going to go buy some extensions for my plug, but now I don't have to. I have a bunch of old pens and I'm sure some are dried up and will work for me. Thanks so much for sharing that info. Love your work. 🦸‍♀️ 🪵

[@AroundtheHouse]

Thank you commenting Kris, glad that was a helpful tip. Happy building 😊

[@evolvep2747]

there is a way to do the layout for herringbone, so you don't run into these problems and you end up with equal size cuts, on each side, great video, but if you are attempting this, i highly recommend to check a video on layout. takes about 15 minute to do the layout with 3 lines off of the center, and your herringbone will never shift. good luck

[@AroundtheHouse]

Good to know! Thanks for the comment!

[@brianswood]

Looks like you could benefit from a track saw when cutting those sheets of MDF. I love my track track saw.

[@AroundtheHouse]

I really need one. You ready to sell your's to me? 😆

[@brianswood]

@@AroundtheHouse Not quite yet.... it a tool I probably will not sell.

[@cryptosully2357]

you can also nail in the grove of the board, not the face. plus you can put the boards up with liquid nails. both of these will leave you with no makes to fix on the face of the board.

[@wadewyss5714]

Looks great and well done. But has anyone called out your husband for allowing you to take over the garage? He must be a saint

[@AroundtheHouse]

As you can probably guess there is a running joke about who's shop it really is. Luckily I don't think he realized I took over the garage as well 😆

[@clemmcguinness1087]

Wow

[@kenryce4752]

Great looking wall but you didn't give the spacing you used for the lines to the left and right of the center line? Please do tell.

[@-ssch]

Looks super nice… how many hours it took for you.. so I can double it for myself 😂

[@AroundtheHouse]

Too funny. I think this took me about a week all said and done but it wasn’t 8 hours a day so I’m sure you could do it in less.

[@crazyblobman3183]

What color of paint do you use? It is beautiful

[@theChaseGroup]

angle your saw blade on your table saw when cutting your strips so that it creates a V space between boards when put together. That way you can skip the router step.

[@wsoxman5375]

Great Job. I think I will just buy 6" plank flooring all ready colored. Cut the job time down

[@amberode]

Is the wall color peppercorn 50% or the wall and boards? The color is beautiful!!

[@RaymesMendes.marcenaria]

😁👍👍🇧🇷

[@stevearnburg2901]

Looks great! Did you run into any issues with the walls or ceiling not being 100% straight and there being gaps? If so how did you manage that so it looked good / uniform?

[@AroundtheHouse]

Yes there were issues, not sure if it was because of the walls or because of my instillation. I tried to install it in a way that I had some flexibility. Hard to explain this but when working you can see a direction up to down or down to up where the boards won’t pinch the next board. At the end, on the sides I had to sand and/or trim some boards to custom fit perfect. The round over helped hide any gaps between boards.

[@brandonmoore1493]

I learned my lesson with a similar project. The wall in its entirety had semi gloss. The areas where I filled the holes have no gloss! Smh! Buddy mentioned hat I should have primed! Lesson learned…

[@AroundtheHouse]

Ahhh! Using primer is a great tip! Thanks for watching!

[@DudeSawdust]

Where have you been?

[@adrina3712]

Hi! I am hoping you can respond, how would I do this with a small window in the center of the wall? I am stumped!

[@AroundtheHouse]

You’ll just need to cut the boards shorter where the window is but keep the same pattern going. Hope that make sense. I usually draw everything out first on a paper, then on the wall.

[@reynaldomusic9203]

the wall looked bigger with the herringbone on

[@AroundtheHouse]

You’re right, I hadn’t really noticed that before. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@kato3000]

Love the wall, but this is precisely why I always hire a professional painter. No matter how good the wall is, if they paint isn’t right it wont look good.

[@bradfordyoungkin3572]

Primer. Primer. Primer. The right and same primer on all (most) surfaces should get the final finish looking the most uniform you can.

[@damnthetorpedos1691]

You have some great equipment but that table saw. Time for an upgrade. The plywood would be much easier to cut.

[@AroundtheHouse]

A bigger table would help.. but I would need a bigger shop! I got my eye on a SawStop, but need to save a bit to afford it. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for watching!

[@billzima7068]

Track saw. There isn't a better tool out there for breaking down sheet goods. As nice as the saw stop is I would still reach for the track saw first. I love a good table saw and would really love a saw stop but the track saw can give you repeatable cuts or at very least cut the sheet down to manageable pieces. To really, carefully rip down a full sheet you need alot of retail space to do so. And it should have infeed,outfeed and plenty of support on left side as well as the right. With a track saw you only really need the sq footage of what you are cutting bc you can even stand or kneel down on the sheet and I guess enough room to get the blade out of the cut but that's it. Much ,MUCH safer. And if you only have a table saw at least break the sheet down with a circular saw or something. If you break it in half its much more manageable and even if you don't cut the straightest..you still have a straight edge on each piece to push against the fence.

[@BornAgainFaith]

This isn’t herringbone. This is chevron

[@trishpipkins]

This is herringbone. Herringbone has 90 degree angles on the ends. Chevron does not.