Faux Painted Vintage Beadboard Ceiling Tutorial

I wanted the look of vintage beadboard for my studio ceiling.  My inspiration came from Pinterest you can see pictures with links here and here. The only problem was I didn't have a stock pile or any close by of the vintage beadboard to recycle. So... I made a similar version of it myself.   

Supplies Needed:
Beadboard Paneling (purchased from Lowes)
Tape Measure
Straight Edge (something to make a straight line)
Pencil
Paint ( I made my own Chalk Paint)
Paint Brushes
Wax
Sandpaper
Sander

Step 1
Measure the lengths that you want the plank lengths to be. I used 2 of the boards for one panel.  I used measurement lengths of 4', 3', 2 alternating my rows.  Example would be: row  1; 3'-2'-3  row 2; 4'-4' row 3; 2'-4'-2'....continuing on.  Mark with with the pencil and the speed square for straight lines.

Step 2
After marking the lengths, I then decided what colors that I wanted to use.  I ended up using 5 different colors. I then marked the colors on the panel with my pencil so I could paint all of the same colors at the same time.  I used chalk paint and I  like to make my own chalk paint.  My recipe  for chalk paint is  2-3 heaping tablespoons of plaster, 2 tablespoons of water and 2 cups of paint.  I have experimented with various recipes found on the web and found that this method is what works best for me.  

Step 3
After getting all of the panel painted with color.  I took a small detail brush and dry brushed a small bit of gray where my colors meet. This gives it a little dimension and shadow for the end lengths.  

Step 4
I then took a detail brush and painted a black line.  

 Step 5
Now I begin to make the dark sections between each of the sections.  I begin by painting with black in the groove and then using a rag wiping off as I went.  I wasn't that careful because I figured the board over time would have different gaps. As you can see it looks like quite the mess. 

Step 6
This is the last step and time to distress to your preference.  I used a brown and and black wax to get the look I wanted.  I applied it liberally and wiped it off as I went in small sections.   Then sanded it to complete.

Making the ceiling panels turned out to be more time consuming than I thought it would be and everyone that I talked to about it thought I was nuts for trying it.  I am loving the way it looks and glad that I spent the time to do it.