Briggs and I decided we wanted to go for a rustic pirate look in his bedroom. I wanted to make an accent wall that would look like he was on the inside of an old ship. One day I popped into Ollie’s to browse and found tons of boxes of vinyl flooring textured to look like wood. It was exactly like the type shown in the stock photo below. It was flimsy and the texture had a very deep “grain” appearance.
It occurred to me that I could easily cut this with scissors and put it on the wall. I spent the day sticking it onto his wall (they have glue on the back), only to come home an hour later and discovering them in a pile on the floor. If you do this, learn from me. Put it on the wall, then pop a tiny nail in at either end of each “plank.” The nails work beautifully to hold it up and actually wound up adding to the rustic appearance of it.
They were an espresso color, so I took a bit of white paint and used a dry brushing technique to get the whitewashed appearance. To replicate this look, I recommend this paint: paint and this brush: brush
Dip the brush into the paint ever so lightly-only the tip of the bristles should be covered. Then, in rough strokes, brush side to side on the panel, leaving some of the dark color visible.
Staggering the panels a bit and leaving some gaps truly made it have that “old pirate ship” vibe.
(The black flag hanging from the wall is a pirate flag that serves as a screen to create his “science lab.” You have to give some concessions.)
It holds up beautifully because it is so lightweight. It was easy and inexpensive-we needed about 4 boxes of the flooring. He is one happy little pirate!