How to Create a Faux Pallet Wall Using Plywood

I saw so many amazing pallet walls that inspired me to create one in Bryce's Nursery, however taking them apart was a pain and the thickness of the board would've caused me to have to replace the trim and baseboards. So I decided to stick to what I know and try to create this look with Plywood! It was a bit time consuming, but totally worth it!

Here's what you'll need:

4'X8' Plywood 3/8" thick (One board ripped into 8" strips and one ripped into 6" strips)

Table Saw (if you don't have one you can ask your hardware store to rip them down into 8" strips, 6" strips and 4" strips)

Minwax Special Walnut Stain

Miter Saw (Mine was my paps and old as dirt, but it works)

Nail Gun (This is the one I use)

Level

1 1/2" nails for nail gun

Paint Brush (it can be old)

Old rags

Hammer

Chain

Flat Head screwdriver

Awl (Or you can make a "worm hole tool" with a piece of wood and some nails) See Below

White paint (I used a gallon I had laying around from another project)

STEP 1: Prep!

Remove all electrical plates and measure your wall (Length X Height) to get the square footage. Then figure out how many 4'x8' boards you will need.

Ex. 8' high x 10' wide= 80sqft wall

Boards 4'x8'=32sqft

80/32=2.5

I needed 3 (4'x8') boards which equaled 96sqft so I had some left over!

STEP 2: Go to your hardware store and ask them to rip down your plywood.

I have it ripped length wise into 8" strips and one board into 6" strips.

STEP 3: Cut!

After the hardware store we ripped them down further using a table saw. We left some 8" wide, some 6" wide and some 4" wide.

STEP 4: Distressing your boards!

Take your hammer and hit the boards randomly to create dents in the wood.

Do the same with the chain and awl.

Scratch the wood with the screwdriver.

*Option! If you have a board laying around and some extra nails. Hammer the nails into the board and use it (instead of the awl) to create "worm holes"

STEP 5: Stain!

Using an old rag rub your stain onto each board. ( I used Special Walnut, but you can use any color you wish)

You can see the stain soak into the distress marks you made!

STEP 6: White Washing!

Lightly dip your paint brush in your white paint. (Dap off excess) then skim over the top of the board. I did some horizontal and some vertical. I think this gave it more of an authentic look!

Before White Washing

After White Washing

STEP 7: Cutting for Length!

Using the miter saw we cut some boards in to 24" long strips, we left some the length of the wall, and some were cut into 36" strips.

STEP 8: Hanging your boards!

We started at the ceiling and worked our way down. Randomly picking boards. If we started with a 24"x 4" we used it the whole way across so we weren't trying to fit pieces together. We made sure it was level and then using the nail gun nailed it up! (I'm more of a "to the eye" type of person if the level says its "level", but it looks crooked I go off how it looks) So be sure to stand back every once in awhile to make sure it looks good!Use your best judgement with spacing. We started off using a nickel to space them, but quickly realized it looked better with inconsistent spaces. Keep going till you reach the bottom, then stand back and look at your masterpiece!