"Bored" and Batten

I've wanted to add board and batten in the entry and kitchen since the day we moved in.  My husband did not.  He prefers wall framing.  He's snobby that way.  Doing board and batten in the laundry, however, started to soften his heart.  So when he asked me one boring Saturday last month if there was anything that I'd like to accomplish that day, I said, "I'd really like to add board and batten in the kitchen."  He being a smart person said, "Okay!"  The chair rail was already here when we moved in, so all we needed to buy was the batten part (I think that's what it's called).  Here's an old photo just after my sister and I painted the kitchen trim and walls.

We made a trip to Home Depot for their pre-primed trim pieces that we used in the laundry.  They are $5 for an 8 foot piece.  Our baseboards are fairly wide, so we have some room to work with.  The strips are about 3/4 in thick, so we slice them in half.  That makes them sit back a little on the baseboard and gives us twice the material for our money.  We spent about $20 total on the trim for the entire kitchen.

I painted the wall our trim color which is Sherwin Williams Snowbound before I added the strips.  Then I caulked the strips and painted it all Snowbound one more time.  It's one of those times when you ask yourself, "Why didn't I do this sooner?"  It was super cheap and super easy.  My husband said it looked better than he thought.  Next . . . the entry!