A How to Guide To Easy, DIY Sharpie Shiplap

Love the look of shiplap, but don’t want the permanency of boards on the wall? This DIY sharpie shiplap is just the thing!

I love the look of shiplap. Matter of fact, our whole house is covered in original 1890s shiplap…underneath drywall. I tried to convince my husband to tear the drywall down, but he wasn’t game. I thought about using one of the many DIY faux shiplap tutorials, but the idea of putting a million holes in the wall didn’t appeal to me. Neither did all the dust and nastiness that tends to cling to a rougher board either. I stumbled upon DIY sharpie shiplap, and never looked back. I did it in a few places in our home, and immediately fell in love.

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I have always felt like the wall behind our bed was boring. I thought about adding some peel and stick wallpaper, but I could never find any that I just loved. One Sunday I had some “free time” and a sharpie paint pen, and thought, “WHY NOT!”

What you’ll need for Sharpie Shiplap

Sharpie Paint Pens – It has to be these paint pens! You can’t use a regular sharpie…more on that later
Something long, and straight (I used a yard stick)
A level (bonus if your level is long, and you can use it!)

It’s really such a simple DIY project. Start at the top of your wall, measure own how wide you want your planks (I ended up doing 61/4″), and draw your line ensuring it’s level. Repeat this process until you’re finished. See, it really is simple.

As tempting as it may be to just whip out your trusty sharpie marker, and get to work, TRUST Me, you NEED the paint pens. Ask me how I know…I used a marker on the guest bedroom walls, and let me tell you, it did not cover easily. It took at least 2-3 coats of primer, and that much or more of paint.

Every single time, EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I do a simple DIY project, I remember that this old farmhouse was built in 1890. NOTHING is straight, no wall, no floor, no window…nothing. So, for me, using the level was almost pointless. I got the first row or two done, and realized that, even though the line was straight, it looked like it was going WAY down hill. So, I had to take a break, and start again…making it appear straight without actually being straight. I can’t even imagine how frustrating applying real boards to the wall would’ve been. It would have taken a week to cut the boards to fit properly…this took less than an hour!

amazed at the difference a marker made to the space. I plan on adding some new curtains. Maybe even DIYing a few accents. I love the way this easy project transformed the room.