Adding color or additions to a wall can make them attractive and interesting and an important part of the decor in any room in a home, or other working and living space. Slatwalls can be a great addition to home decor and can be used to easily display art objects or photos. They are often used in shops and retail spaces to make an effective background to display their products on sale.
A slatwall is made of wood or particleboard and looks like several slats or vertical or horizontal strips which can be configured to accept any hangings or slatwall accessories. Particleboard will have several grooves in it. This board can be finished with melamine or laminated. If made of wood it will be of horizontal or vertical pieces of wood that are separated by a fixed distance and fixed to a wall.
Slatwalls can be installed on any wall, whether it is finished or unfinished. Construction adhesives can make for permanent installations, that leave the slats clear, and not marred by screws or nails. Slatwalls made of particleboard come in panels of 8 feet by 4 feet and are often ready for installation on a wall. They can be fixed to walls with adhesives or studs fixed on walls. Fixing with screws can be done by positioning the screws in the grooves between the slats. These screws must be countersunk so that they do not protrude and come in the way of any other fixing hardware for the display of objects.
Creating slatwall panels for home decor is made much easier if you procure these wooden slats of the thickness that is desired. This can be anything from 3/4 inch wide to a width of 4 inches and of a length that you need for your wall. If the wall is more than 8 feet, the standard for most cut lumber, you will need to create joints that must be done very carefully, so that they do not mar the looks of the slatwall. You must choose your finish, and if you are using paint, it may not be a bad idea to paint the slats before you install them. It is also possible to polish, stain, or varnish wooden slats, but this will depend on the overall decor that you are trying to add to.
To maintain the grooves, you must use spacers of a uniform thickness to separate the slats before you fix them to the wall. It can also be important to paint the wall that you are fixing the slats on the same color as the slats so that it forms a proper background for the slats. If you use screws or nails see that the screw holes are countersunk, and the nails well pushed into the wood. You can always cover these blemishes with wood filler, but this may not be easy if you have prepainted the slats.
You can always decide to prime and apply one coat of paint on the slats so that all the preparatory work that is needed before painting is already carried out. This leaves then just the final coat that can be put on after you have nailed or screwed the slats and then covered the blemishes with a wood filler. Painting the slats with one coat ensures that the sides of the slats are properly protected, as the small gap between the slats may not make it easy to paint them once they are fixed.
Be creative with your use of slats for decorating your walls, and you will have interiors that will be eye-catching and pleasing. Use these to hang art objects or photos to add character to your wall.
