This DIY shiplap mantel backdrop is the perfect addition to dress up the background of your mantel. It also gives some added height to your mantel décor and adds the right amount of farmhouse touch.

This is a tutorial I have needed to do for a LONG time! LOL Mr. Wonderful made this DIY shiplap mantel backdrop for me several years ago and I have used it for countless mantels as you will see in the pictures mixed in throughout the tutorial. Sorry it has taken me so long to get it up on the blog, but better late than never, amiright?

I absolutely love this backdrop piece. It is so versatile, it literally goes with practically every mantel that I have ever decorated. I also love that the shiplap on the backdrop piece gives just the right amount of a farmhouse feel without having to have your whole wall decorated with shiplap. Plus it is only a temporary piece, so if you are not feeling the shiplap anymore you can take it down. 🙂

Here are some mantel examples where I have used it and I will share a couple more at the end. Hopefully these will show you how useful of a piece that it is. The first time I used the backdrop was for my white village Christmas mantel. I needed a backdrop for that big metal star, and so Mr. Wonderful made this for me after I told him what I wanted. I loved my blush and rose gold Christmas tree that year that tied into the mantel! Ahhhh… is it Christmas yet? Hey, maybe we can do a Christmas in July theme, huh? 😉

Next up is a Valentine’s Day mantel…

A simple farmhouse St. Patrick’s Day mantel anyone?

How about this Easter mantel?

Ok, that is enough for now. I will show you a couple more after the tutorial though so don’t go anywhere!

For this project you will need:

*There are links to products in this post that I use or are similar to products I use. If you buy something from one of these links, I may make a small commission (with no additional cost to you) from the purchase. I will not recommend anything that I would not buy myself.

Supplies needed:

1/4″ 4×8 sheet of plywood (sanded pine or birch will work)
1x4x8 pine board (2)
1x2x6 pine board (2)
1x2x8 pine board (1)
Wood Glue
White Paint – we used Simply White satin finish paint by Benjamin Moore
Painter’s Tape
Joint Compound
220 fine grit sandpaper

Tools Used:

Circular Saw
Miter saw
Drill
Orbital Sander
Tape measure
Nail gun with 1 5/8″ brads & 1 3/8″ brads
Clamps
Kreg Jig Kit & screws
Paint brush
Small roller kit
Combination square tool
Table saw (optional)
Router and keyhole router bit (optional)

Assembling the frame for the DIY shiplap mantel backdrop

The finished size of our DIY shiplap mantel backdrop is 36″ square. The trim pieces that go around the edges of the whole backdrop are 3/4″ on each side so Mr. Wonderful constructed a frame that was 34.5″ square.

Cut the 1″x 2″x 8′ board into to two pieces that are 34.5″ in length and one piece that is 9.5″ in length. Cut the 1″x 2″x 6′ boards into 4 pieces that are 31.5″ in length.

Lay out your outside frame by placing the two 34.5″ boards on the vertical sides and two of the 31.5″ boards in between horizontally. Next take the remaining two 31.5″ boards and place them vertically between the top and bottom of the frame as seen in the picture below.

To place the the inside vertical slats, measure in 11″ from each side. There should be 9.5″ in between each slat. Dry fitting these boards before you glue and screw them in is a good practice to get into.

Mr. W loves using this pocket hole Kreg jig. It makes wood joinery fast and easy.

Construct the frame by using two screws and remember to glue each joint.

Since this was going to be a heavy piece, we did not want to just set it on the mantel for fear it would fall over. Mr. Wonderful thought it would be better to hang it on the wall by using a keyhole mounting slot. To add the keyhole slot, he put the 9.5″ board in between the two inside vertical slats. Again using the Kreg jig, he screwed the 9.5″ board 1.5″ down from the top of the frame. He added the keyhole mounting slot after the whole backdrop was completed by using a keyhole router bit. This is just the way we decided to hang it, but there are other options as well if you don’t have a router.

Cutting the wood for the shiplap

The first layer of the shiplap backdrop fits flush with the edges of the frame. It is cut from the 4′ x 8′ sheet of plywood into 34.5″ square.

When cutting the 1/4″ plywood, Mr. Wonderful used a scrap piece of plywood for a fence. A fence is used as a guide for the saw to run along to cut a straight line. Once you have your fence clamped in place, painter’s tape is put down to reduce splintering while cutting the wood. Mr. W sets his circular saw blade depth to just over the depth of the material he is cutting as you can see by the line that he cut into the woodshop table.

Next cut the 6 strips that will be used for the top layer of the backdrop to give the shiplap look. The length of the strips is 34.5″ which matches the measurement of the bottom layer. The height of the strips was cut at just under 5 11/16″. This specific measurement will leave 1/8″ space in between each shiplap strip.

Constructing the shiplap

Glue and nail down the bottom layer of the shiplap.

You want all the shiplap to appear white and not see the wood underneath, so before the shiplap strips are attached, you will need to paint the edges of each strip and also paint a stripe where each 1/8″ space will be.

Glue and nail down your first strip of shiplap at the bottom of the backdrop keeping it flush with the bottom layer edges.

Add the next board to the top of the backdrop again keeping it flush with the bottom layer. Putting these outside strips on first will make it easier to space out the remaining four strips.

Add the remaining four strips, leaving 1/8″ in between each strip. Dry fit before you glue and nail down to make sure the spaces are consistent.

Constructing the trim

The last thing to be added is the trim around all the edges of the backdrop. The trim gives the backdrop a nice finished look. Cut the 1″x 4″x 8′ boards in half lengthwise so you are left with 4 boards.

I call Mr. Wonderful a perfectionist, but he likes to say “he strives for excellence”. 🙂 Either way, this next part is optional but I think it does help to add to the finished look. He cut a rabbit into the boards by running a blade width on the table saw set at 1.25″ (the same size as the frame plus the two layers of plywood) down the length of the board. This way the shiplap is recessed under the trim and it also hides any splintered edges that may show if you put the trim flush against the shiplap backdrop.

Because of the rabbit on the trim pieces, Mr. Wonderful wanted to fit them together with a mitered corner. To figure out the length each board needed to be, he drew a line at 45 degrees at each corner using a combination square tool. Using a miter saw, he cut one end of the first piece of trim at 45 degrees and also cut a scrap piece of trim with the ends cut at 45 degree angles. He clamped the scrap piece of trim on with the corner lining up with the previously marked line. This was used as a guide to make a tight fitting corner.

After the guide was in place, Mr. W fit the first trim piece against the guide and measured and marked the opposite corner using the 45 degree angle on his square. Now he knew where to make his 45 degree cut on the other end of the trim.

He then repeated this for the next piece of trim, the last piece he was able to measure. Lastly, he glued and nailed on the trim pieces using 1 3/8″ brads.

Filling holes, sanding and painting

Next Mr. Wonderful filled all the nail holes with joint compound twice letting each coat dry completely. Then he sanded the whole face of backdrop with an orbital sander.

He also lightly sanded with 220 grit sandpaper after that so everything was very smooth.

Finally he painted the backdrop with two coats of Simply White paint using a brush on the corners and edges and a roller for the rest.

Whew, that was a long tutorial! Are you still with me? 🙂 Don’t worry, it is not as complicated as it seems! It is totally worth making one. This backdrop has definitely become a staple in my mantel decorating.

Here are those other examples of decorated mantels that I promised you. First up is a fall mantel and right below that is a winter mantel.

Lastly and most recent is my vintage patriotic mantel.

See what I mean? This DIY shiplap mantel backdrop can work for literally any season or holiday. 🙂 Hopefully you or someone wonderful in your life can make you one too!