Dad Saves £400 Creating DIY Timber Panel TV Feature Wall
- Andrew, 54, wanted to upgrade his living room on a budget
- He was put off expensive timber panels and decided to make his own
- By purchasing timber from Wickes and staining it himself he saved £100s
Creating feature walls is all the rage right now. Whether it’s building a media wall to slot your TV into or making a panel wall with wainscoting, shiplap or wood slats, images of these unique creations are all over social media.
After being inspired by similar projects online, and wanting to give his living room an upgrade, DIYer Andrew Robson decided to give it a go himself. The 54 year old Dad of 3 from Sunderland, who works as an environmental health officer, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘Our living room originally had a white fireplace built into one wall with a mirror above it and the TV on a unit off to one side. I wanted to give the space an update so I did some research online for options to put the TV on the wall.
‘I saw that people on social media were talking about putting timber panels on walls. I liked the effect it created but when I began researching supplies, the timber panel sheets were very expensive. I could easily have spent £400 as they were over £100 per panel and I would have needed four, but I knew I needed to pull out the fireplace and get some plastering done so I didn’t want to have a big bill at the end.
‘When others build TV walls, they put their TVs up too high in my opinion. The space between my TV and the floor now is 132cm, which I think is a better height. When I was planning this project I knew I wanted to create a feature wall in a calming shade of green, with one timber panel on each side of the TV and a larger unit underneath as the main attraction.
‘I decided to avoid the cost of pre-made timber panels by getting timber from Wickes. It cost £18 a pack and I got two packs, spending £36 in total. I cut the timber to length, then stained it with Wilko Timber Stain which was about £6.
‘Before I could apply the timber to the wall, it needed preparing. First of all I had to pull the old fire surround and hearth out. I paid £25 to have the gas pipe capped and made safe. There was power to the gas fire to operate the ignition, so I kept that so I could have power to that area.
‘Once the fire and surround were removed, I put wooden batons inside the opening - I already had these off-cuts lying around - and then screwed a section of plasterboard to it which cost just over £10 from Wickes. Then I got a 10kg tub of ready-mixed plaster for £21 and plastered the area to match the rest of the wall. I’m no plasterer and it was harder than I thought it would be. I had to smooth it out with sandpaper in the end which worked OK.
‘I painted the walls with Wickes paint in the shade Pastel Olive No.816, and it was £15 for 2.5 litres. Once all was dry I attached the timber panels and then I picked up some LED lights from IKEA. These cost just £6 and they create a nice ambient light effect reflecting behind the TV. I then added spotlights to the ceiling above each panel; they were £5 each from Wickes.
‘The TV stand was the most expensive part - it was £330, but I didn’t mind paying a bit more for the main feature. I also managed to sell the fireplace for £100, so I only really paid £230 for the TV stand. In total I paid £150 for this project, plus the £230 - a total of £380. If I’d gone with pre-made panels and not sold the fireplace, I could easily have spent over £700, so I’ve saved at least £300 by going DIY.
‘Once the job was complete, I couldn’t believe how different the room looked. I was so pleased, as was the wife!’
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘Andrew has done a great job with this project. It’s easy to think we need to buy ready-made supplies, such as those pre-made timber panels, but by thinking outside the box you can save £100s.’
Save More With These Discount Codes
Read More Money Saving Guides
Looks fantastic, well done 