board and batten

What exactly is board-and-batten? Well, I did a little research to make sure I described it correctly. So here is a little of what I found…..a batten is a thin strip of material that is usually made of wood when used in construction. Board simply describes the piece of wood paneling that is behind the batten. Batten is used to cover the seams where the boards come together. Board-and-batten was used in the Art’s and craft’s movement that became popular in the  20’s and 30’s. People were going for a cleaner simpler line in contrast to the Victorian Era. 

Can you believe beautiful  board and batten was one of the standard types of trimwork used in all new construction, along with crown molding and nice window casings and door frames during those good old days! The building boom in the late 40’s and 50’s changed all that, along with the way builders thought about trimwork. They realized they could build faster and cut costs by using a smaller simple trim… and the rest is history.

Today a lot of DIYer’s are opting to add their own trim work to their homes as a way to add character and charm!

At the Blog, It’s the little things that make a house a home Karla shares a wonderful How-to for the board and batten they did in their home. She also shows how they saved money by simply applying the batten directly to the wall and not even using a board. Here are a few of the before and after results, aren’t they stunning! Be sure and visit the highlighted links for more photos and a complete How-to guide.

Visit Karla at “It’s the little things that make a house a home” for all the info and “how to” for your home.

Thanks Karla! What an inspiration!!