DIY Skinnylap Fireplace Surround

You’ve heard of shiplap, of course, but have you seen skinnylap? Today I’ll share how we created a skinny lap fireplace surround in our living room.

Skinnylap is shiplap’s more subtle cousin and can be the perfect alternative in a lot of design situations. I shared the other day how shiplap has become a re-emerging trend, and is being reinvented in interiors in so many new ways, so I wanted to talk a little bit about how we used the skinny lap variation on our fireplace for a look that’s simple without being boring. The skinnylap we used provides a bit of subtle pattern, movement, and texture to our fireplace surround without overshadowing the built-ins by being too busy or complicated. Skinnylap can be used in nooks, on backsplashes, on the backs of bookshelves, or covering entire walls for a fun take on the classic shiplap look that feels fresh, new, and a little bit different from the stark, high-contrast shiplap look we remember from the modern farmhouse era of the last decade.

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What is Skinnylap?

Skinnylap is basically just the skinnier version of the basic shiplap that you know and love. It’s made up of little strips of wood, usually about 1.5-2″ wide, running horizontally across a wall and stacked on top of each other, and is frequently used as an accent wall or as an eye catching decorative wall covering for smaller walls. The look is classic and, in my opinion, can bring a historical aesthetic to a room just like shiplap can, as it’s essentially inspired by the utilitarian millwork you find when you open up the walls and peek in cabinets in charming old homes. Like other subtly textured finishes, it can bring so much personality, warmth, and elegance to a space where simple drywall just won’t do, and a little bit of simple, affordable, DIY-friendly woodwork is exactly what is needed.

You can cut your own skinnylap strips from new or recycled wood, buy pre-cut planks for this purpose, or find tongue and groove skinnylap boards to install in your home. Skinnylap is often painted in neutrals and muted colors, but it would work beautifully with the dark, moody tones that are so popular right now, too.

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Our Skinnylap Fireplace Surround

Before we get into how we made the fireplace surround, here’s a fun and slightly jarring look at how this wall in the living room looked shortly after we moved in.

As you can see, it really feels like a whole new house now, and this was definitely a worthwhile project. 🙂

We got a little creative for our skinnylap fireplace surround, and it’s not constructed exactly in the way that I described above. It may look like lots of teeny tiny strips of wood, but I’ll let you in on the secret: It’s actually just one big piece!

We cut a piece of MDF to fit in the opening for the fireplace surround, routed out the lines between each “plank” of skinnylap, then lightly spraypainted the whole thing to avoid having any paint drip down into the spaces between each strip.

We then cut out a hole for the fireplace to fit into and secured it in place.

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Instant, perfectly-straight skinny lap fireplace surround.

I love the way the repeated pattern of the skinnylap breaks up the less-detailed white painted fireplace mantel without being too jarring.

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This technique obviously wouldn’t work if you have a whole wall that you want to install skinnylap on, but for smaller nooks, this little trick works perfectly.

What do you think of this new skinnylap look? Do you prefer it over the more popular basic shiplap, or do you love both like I do?