5 Inexpensive Uses for Beadboard That Will Beautify Your Home | Rules of Renovation

Beadboard has been around awhile. It’s been used for years in a number of different ways and has proved itself as an invaluable tool for designers many times over. It’s a durable, inexpensive material that’s easy to install, and even easier to customize to fit the design of a room.

For those looking for a way to quickly transform a room and add a little style, without investing in more expensive materials like tile, beadboard is the answer.

Here are a few ways to put this miraculous material to use.

Shape Up Those Built-In Shelves

Often, built-in shelves in homes have regular painted sheetrock for backing — or worse, a drab and styleless wallpaper. You can easily remedy the lack of design with a little beadboard. Just cut it to fit, then install it to the back and/or sides. It protects the walls from damage, and it adds some flair and texture to this feature in your home.

De-Contemporize Your Dishwasher

It’s hard to pass up a shiny new dishwasher when you have to snag one, but sometimes the stainless steel finish can clash with a more classic kitchen style. As beautiful as the appliance might be, you don’t want it distracting from the rest of the room’s decor. You can keep your appliance and your style, though, with a little creativity and some beadboard. Just cut a section and cover the front of the dishwasher with it, allowing it to blend in with the room’s design. Just be sure you leave the dishwasher’s buttons intact and exposed.

Cover Up Unsightly Acoustic Ceilings

We’ve moved well beyond the point where popcorn ceilings were stylish. Removing them from an older home, however, can be difficult and labor intensive. Shortcut the process with beadboard. You can use the material to cover the ceiling entirely, disguising the eyesore as something far more stylish.

Ditch the Tile Backsplash

Tile backsplashes are great, but you don’t always have the capital to pay for the materials and the install (and let’s face it, tile setting isn’t quite as simple as painting a room). So how do you protect your walls on a budget? You use beadboard. Between its classic look, its durability, and the fact that you can paint it any color you want, it’s a perfect fit for your budget, and your style.

Install a Hassle-Free Wainscoting

Lastly, beadboard can serve as inexpensive, easy-to-install wainscoting. The process is simple. Decide a height for your wainscoting, then install the beadboard so that it’s flush with the baseboard. Add the chair rail atop the beadboard, and paint the whole thing a single color. With a little work, you can change the look of a whole room nearly instantaneously. It will look professional, stylish, and no one will know how easy it was to put together.

With its immense versatility, it’s a surprise beadboard isn’t used more frequently in design. It can be installed on the ceiling, along walls, on cabinetry, and more. With a little bit of beadboard and a quick coat of paint, you can add a pleasant dose of flair to your home, and for much cheaper than installing something like a tile backsplash.

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Rules of Renovation

Rules of Renovation is a real estate course that was co-founded by HGTV star Hilary Farr.

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