Faux Shiplap: DIY Sharpie Shiplap and Painted Shiplap Tutorial

Inside: The perfect painted faux shiplap wall tutorial.

Before Joanna Gaines made shiplap a household name, I was in love with the trend.

I fell in love with shiplap when I visited Seabrook, one of my favorite beach towns in Washington mostly because the homes and community are so charming. I think visiting Seabrook for the first time is when I saw shiplap used on walls in person. I loved the coastal vibe that it gives and the clean white lines make me swoon. I've been trying to convince my husband for years to put it up {it took me 15 years to get the board and batten installed that I had begged for} and I can't seem to be making any headway. His response is always, "why would you want to nail a bunch of boards to the wall?" Well, my friends, I think I may have stumbled upon the most genius solutions for you. I've got two different faux shiplap options. Yep, no wood boards, just paint or marker made to look like shiplap. You get the farmhouse or coastal look without the commitment that comes with nailing boards to your wall. Are you ready to see how you can create Sharpie shiplap or painted shiplap in your own home?


Faux shiplap wall


What is Shiplap?

Shiplap is a section of wooden boards often used in the construction of sheds, barns and older construction. Traditional shiplap has a groove so the boards fit tightly together creating subtle horizontal reveals between each piece.

Why Shiplap?


People tend to be drawn to the rustic charm and subtle texture and of course, the beautiful design that Joanna Gaines has created using the boards in her Fixer Upper homes. Another one of my favorite things about shiplap is the illusion it creates of a larger space. With the this faux painted shiplap you get the rustic charm and the illusion of texture and more space.

painted shiplap wall


This genius idea was shared with me by Fixer Upper fan Kendal Privett. I had never thought of using paint to create faux shiplap, but she did it and it looks amazing! I honestly can't believe the before and after and how much lighter the whole space looks now. Kendal shared with me how she did it and now I'm sharing the tutorial with you too, so you can create the same look without the shiplap commitment or investment. 

faux shiplap wall tutorial

How to Create a Painted Shiplap Wall

1. Start by painting your wall white. Benjamin Moore alabaster or white dove are great white paints to use for faux shiplap walls {or for shiplap itself if you go that route}. Measure down from the top every six inches using a pencil. Use a yardstick and a level to keep your line straight. 

2. After your lines are drawn use painters tape {this is my favorite} above and below the pencil marks going completely across the wall leaving a gap about the thickness of a nickel. You don't need to be precise.

3. After you've put the tape above and below the pencil marks, paint the small gap the same color as the wall. This is an important step if you want clean crisp lines. You can see from the picture below, the top is a picture of the line without the white paint and the marker over the top and the bottom picture has a layer of white paint and then the black paint. See how much straighter it is?

How to create a faux shiplap wall

4. Once your paint is dry, lightly go over the top with black paint. Nothing fancy. The bottle will cost you about a buck. Let the black paint dry a bit and then pull the tape off of the wall while it's still slightly wet. Be careful not to get the black paint from the tape on the wall.

Painted shiplap wall

Let your wall dry completely. You can now hang hooks and make the painted faux shiplap wall your own.

Creating a low cost shiplap wall

Doesn't it look great? It's hard to tell that it's not really shiplap.

faux shiplap, fixer upper style, gaines, chip and joanna knock off

Because I love a good before and after, here's another image of the space side by side.

The perfect faux shiplap wall

How to Create a Fake Sharpie Shiplap Wall

DIY shiplap wall

Who knew that you could use Sharpie and create a faux shiplap wall. Plus it has a pretty awesome sounding name...Sharpie Shiplap. Say that 5 times fast! Niki Petska created this wall when her husband had similar objections as my own husband. Here's a before and after of Niki's dining room.

Before and after shiplap wall

Simply follow the same steps as the painted shiplap by painting the wall white. Start at the top of the wall and measure down every six inches. Use a pencil, a yardstick, and a level to draw lines across your wall. Niki had a longer wall and decided to make a few vertical lines down too. Most shiplap boards are eight feet long so measure out eight feet and then draw a vertical line on every other row. From that line, measure four feet and make a line on the "board" above it.

Painted shiplap wall with sharpie

Take an oil-based paint marker like this Sharpie and your yardstick and draw a line over your pencil line.

Create a farmhouse faux shiplap wall

If you make any mistakes on your faux shiplap wall, simply paint over it with your white paint and start again. It's as easy as that! You can transform any space and give it the shiplap look you want without nailing boards on your wall. It's perfect for any of you that have commitment issues or if you just want to give the shiplap look a try.

Faux painted shiplap wall
By using a few boards and the same marker or paint technique you can create faux shiplap just about anywhere. Thank you, Kendal and Niki, for sharing these amazing transformations with us. 
How to create faux shiplap
fixer upper, shiplap, DIY, faux shiplap, chip and joanna gaines, cheap shiplap
I would have never thought about using a paint line or a Sharpie marker to create faux shiplap wall but as you can see, the results are pretty amazing. The best part about this painted faux shiplap, you don't have the same cost or commitment as you would if you were installing the real thing and it will cost you just a few bucks! Will you give it a try?

disclaimer: this post may have affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing through them, I may receive a small commission. These small purchases help me to continue to keep writing content and creating at Rachel Teodoro. Thank you!

10 comments

doodletllc@yahoo.com said...

WOw...you had me at Sharpie...love it!

rachelteodoro said...

Isn't it fabulous! Who would have ever thought! I think it's an amazing knock off version and it's CHEAP!

Unknown said...

Looks great! I'm seriously thinking about trying this in our kitchen. I have a question though, something my hubby asked me and so I want to ask here (please pardon me if this is too blunt)...but here goes, does the fact that it's drawn (or painted) on make the wall look fake or cheap? I mean it IS fake and I am cheap, but I don't want my house to look fake and cheap, if you know what I mean. LOL. Meaning no disrespect, just an honest question... Thanks for sharing this cool option, REAL shiplap is just too much for us.

rachelteodoro said...

Hey Hannah! Thanks for being so respectful in your comment. I totally get what you are saying. Both methods, aside from the white paint, cost about $5 and took less than a few hours. I bet you could tackle a small area and give it a test run to see what you think before you did a huge space. Give it a try, what's the worse thing that happens? You may just have to paint it over...

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sandy Morlan said...

Rachel, this is so amazing and helpful! We'll be selling our home and moving into an apartment. I love the look of shiplap, BUT you cannot hammer boards onto an apartment wall. Your article is inspirational and lifted my spirits! I'll be able to have the look of shiplap without the cost of materials or heavy labor. I'm thinking of using a dark gray for the dividing lines, for a softer look. Keep inspiring us. Thanks so much! ~ Sandy

Anonymous said...

Be careful using Sharpies on your walls. It bleeds through paint if you try to paint over it.

CCT to Nuke Missile Mx to commanding AWACS crews. said...

OH MY GAWD! This is perfect. I've been on the shiplap bandwagon since Joanna Gaines and I have bought an air compressor and nail gun etc to prepare for the shiplap day. 6 months later I am still at a standstill and still cant start because I dread the scope of this project. This is sooo much easier!!! This is awesome!

CCT to Nuke Missile Mx to commanding AWACS crews. said...

Was the "shiplap" in the clock picture sanded down to give it a weathered look or was another paint sparsely applied?

Unknown said...

Hi! LOVE this idea!! Would the fact that we have silly orange peal texture on our walls affect this? I don't know how to get around our sticking orange peal texture? Any thoughts or suggestions? 😢

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