How to Make a Removable Accent Wall With Plywood

This tiny 5ft x 5ft kitchen was pretty bland and only had a hot plate for cooking, no oven. I took on the challenge of making it more functional and also give it an industrial organic vibe. One of the things I wanted to incorporate in the space is black accents, starting with black tiles, and then I thought a black accent wall would add a lot of character and interest to the space. Yes, it would make the space a bit darker but I wanted to embrace that it is small and make it cozy instead of trying to make it look bigger.

This being a rental apartment, I couldn't paint and temporary wallpaper was out because the wall is very textured and damaged. My idea? Why not use a piece of 1/2" plywood to cover the entire wall, and then the plywood to create vertical storage. If you like this project, I have lots more that I did in this kitchen, which you can see in the video.

1/2" plywood, 4' x 8'

1/4" floor underlayment, 2" strips

Tension rod

Shelf brackets

1"x10" boards (for shelves)

1"x3" (to cover gap at the top)

1 1/2" molding (to cover middle gap)

wood stain

The trickiest part of this entire project was taking the measurements and mapping out the cuts. I had to cut the piece in 2 parts to make it easier to handle and install but that also meant both pieces had to match in the middle.

I used a circular saw and a jig saw to make all the cuts

After a few dry fits, and lots of sanding, the wood was good to go for staining. I used black outdoor stain since this piece of wood will be in the kitchen and I wanted it to be easy to clean, but have the wood grain still show.

When I did the dry fit, I realized that the molding at the bottom of the wall was preventing the plywood from laying flat on the wall, so to get around that, I cut several 2" strips out of 1/4" plywood and glued them all around the back of the plywood, leaving the bottom free. This worked was an easy, though very time consuming fix.

Since this is a rental and I couldn't make any holes in the wall, I decided to use the diminutive size of this kitchen to my advantage. Since it was only 5ft across, I was able to use a standard shower tension rod to wedge the plywood in place.

After cutting the second piece, I did a test and while looking at the 2 pieces of wood next to each other, I decided to leave the second piece a more natural wood tone, instead of making it black. I thought it made the wall look more interesting and dynamic.

I used a 1"x3" to cover up the gap at the top - it also serves to connect both pieces of plywood together and I screwed it into the plywood, not the wall. The window valance also helps to keep both pieces joined, as does a piece of molding to cover the middle gap.

The left side needed something to hold it in place, but here instead of using a tension rod, I went with shelves that wedge perfectly in the gap between the cabinets and the wall. This makes use of this otherwise wasted space while at the same time securing the wall.

The shelves are now a coffee station (the height of the shelves makes it possible to use the coffee grinder without taking it off the shelf, very useful when you have very little counter space!). I installed a rack and small shelves on the other side to add more storage for cookware, all without making any holes in the actual wall behind the plywood. I also used the tension rod to hang baskets for fruit and veggie storage, again freeing up that precious counter space.

I love how the wall turned out - it makes this kitchen warm and inviting and adds so much character. I added under cabinet lighting to make the counter workspace very bright. It was very time consuming to do, for sure, but it was worth it. Unlike temporary wallpaper, which you have to throw out after it is removed, the plywood can be reused for something else when it's time to remove it and move out. You can watch more of this kitchen makeover in this video - it's full of DIY ideas on how to maximize and organize a tiny rental kitchen.