A laminate wood wall is a great alternative for an accent wall in a bathroom.  They are inexpensive and easy to keep clean!

I love wood accent walls and really wanted one in my guest bathroom.  I decided I would try laminate flooring for easy wipe down. After years of use, I am happy to report that this laminate wood wall works wonderfully!  

Watch my YouTube laminate wood wall video tutorial  here.

What is laminate flooring?

Laminate flooring is “a multi-layer synthetic flooring product fused together with a lamination process. Laminate flooring simulates wood with a photographic applique layer under a clear protective layer.” Wiki link here

Laminate is easy to clean and has a smooth finish. If liquid is allowed to sit on it for long periods of time it can warp, just like any wood wall. But some laminates come water resistant which can be really great for a bathroom.

This is what the bathroom looked like before:

And here is the after shot:

Supplies Needed:

• Laminate Flooring (I used Lakeshore Pecan from Home Depot at .79 cents a square foot – steal!)

Tools Needed:

• Measuring tape
• Level
• Circular Saw
• Finish Nail Gun
• 1.5 inch Finish Nails
• Ladder
• Stud Finder

 

Step One – Pick Laminate

The Home Depot has tons of options at every price point. I was looking for inexpensive. Traffic Master has 3 colors at .79 cents a square foot. I snagged Lakeshore Pecan. It cost me under $40.00 to do my whole wall.

Measure your width and height, then multiply together for your square footage.

 

Step Two – Cut Your Laminate

Measure the width of you wall.  Take into account different lengths and spaces.  My wall was super basic and each piece was the same length, about 3 1/2 feet long. 

I used my circular saw to cut all my strips. If you have to cut special pieces you can use your jig saw.

 

Step Three – Prep Your Surface

You will wipe down your wall and then search for studs. Once found, make a vertical line down the wall so you can see where they are the whole time you are installing.

You will need to place your nails into the studs or the laminate will not hold strong. You can use liquid nails as well, but it makes it pretty permanent. It will tear off some of your sheet rock to remove it.

 

Step Four – Install

You will use your nail gun to install your 1.5 inch finish nails. These will make the holes so tiny that you won’t have to repair them.

Grab your ladder and level as well. You will want to make sure your first strip is level. Matching it to the ceiling doesn’t always mean it will be straight.

Place your first strip up, make sure it’s level, then place a nail in the top and bottom of each stud area of the strip.

This brand of laminate had a hook style connection for each sheet to attach to the last one (most do). So I inserted the next piece into the installed piece and then pushed it down and nailed in place.

We taught my mom how to use the nail gun while she was visiting! She was so proud of herself!

Getting behind the toilet is hard. You can removed the toilet but we happened to come up with a different way.  Mike attached a chunk of strips together and then shimmied them down behind the toilet before install. This made it SO fast and and easy.

He was pretty proud of himself 😂🙈.

And there you have it!  A super easy wall that you can wipe down fast. It adds a lot of character in this space and was fairly inexpensive.

Here is a link to other wood wall posts I have done including shiplap and peel-n-stick wood planks!

More Wood Wall Blog Posts Here

Let us know if you have any questions! Good luck!

Love, Kelly