Faux boxwood walls are very popular, and with good reason! They can be an awesome addition at parties and events as temporary photo backdrops, or they can be used more permanently, indoors or out, for a beautiful accent wall at home. They are quite popular to use as privacy walls, or a way to cover an indoor or outdoor eyesore like an electric panel or an AC compressor.
DIY boxwood walls are not difficult to create, and they are very affordable, too. All in all, these artificial greenery walls are a a gorgeous, low-maintenance way to inject the feel of nature in your home, outdoor living space, or event…even if you’re like me and don’t have a green thumb!
Boxwood accent wall examples
Over the years, I’ve seen some of these fun faux greenery backdrops used at various events, and we’ve constructed several at our own home that we absolutely love.
Here are a couple of examples of this idea at work.
Boxwood and Floral Photo Walls
The first time I saw a greenery wall used was at the Better Homes and Gardens Stylemaker event in 2016.
Living Wall Event Focal Piece
This example, above and below, is composed of LIVING plants, so definitely a departure from the design we’ll be working on in this tutorial, but a great example of the look, nonetheless.
It was a perfect backdrop as people entered the event, and also a great way for the brand to market the event as all the influencers stood in front of it taking their social media snaps.
Faux Flower Wall
Below is different gorgeous example of an event photo backdrop from another Better Homes and Gardens magazine event. This was from their 100th anniversary celebration hosted in NYC in 2022.
This photo-op and feature wall was made of silk flowers and other faux flowers…plus the neon sign, of course.
Using this idea in outdoor areas is one of the best ways to create large scale visual impact for your wedding day, graduation, baby shower, or any other event…plus, it can be situated to cover up that outdoor eyesore that you’re dying to hide.
Add neon or marquee lettering for a personal touch
At the Better Homes and Gardens 2022 event, the magazine created several versions of this same idea that were used at the venue. Here’s another great backdrop they assembled, also sporting their logo in lighted marquee-style lettering.
Notice the metal feet/L-brackets used at the bottom of the backdrop to keep it from toppling because the backboard is made with heavy plywood in this example, and it needed a lot of support.
DIY boxwood walls used as home decor accent walls
At my own home, we’ve assembled two DIY boxwood walls. Both are used in our outdoor living space. The first is located in our new screen room.
Water Feature Accent Wall in Outdoor Space
We had a big white wall of siding, that looked super bland and boring. We decided that a greenery wall with an integrated water feature would be a budget-friendly accent wall idea that would look great in this outdoor space.
Attractive Backboard for Darts (Indoors or Out)
The second of our two grass walls is used as a backdrop for our outdoor dart-playing area. We love to play darts, but wanted an attractive way to protect the house from errant darts, be they thrown by the kids, or the adults 😉.
A faux boxwood wall seemed to be the perfect solution.
Temporary boxwood photo backdrop versus permanent boxwood wall
Although these projects are very similar, there’s one major difference between the temporary photo backdrop walls and the more permanent installations, and that’s construction. While you could construct both in virtually the same way, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
If you mount your event photo backdrop to big pieces of wood, it will make it very cumbersome to haul around. For a simpler, less expensive, and much lighter/easier to transport route, here’s another idea. Assemble the boxwood panels to the size you need (they simply snap together). Once they are all attached, you’ll have a “rug” of faux greenery panels. You can roll it, just like a rug, to transport!
At your venue, attach your boxwood rug to a photo backdrop stand (like this one that I use) with zip ties, or hang from a couple of nails against a wall. Easy breezy!
DIY boxwood wall supplies
Now that we’ve shared examples of some really fun greenery walls, and discussed permanent versus temporary construction, let’s talk through how you can make your own, starting with the materials you’ll need.
For this tutorial, we are going to focus on the more permanent style of boxwood wall rather than a temporary photo backdrop.
- faux boxwood panels (I used these & definitely recommend)
- plywood or OSB for backboard in whatever size works best for your design
- brackets to screw sections of backboard together if needed (we used these)
- screws
- drill driver
- green paint (really, any shade will due)
- paintbrush and/or roller
- heavy-duty stapler (highly recommend electric, I use and LOVE this one)
- heavy-duty staples (I used 3/8″ but it depends on the depth of your backboard)
- hardware to mount your backboard in place where it will be used (this will vary depending on your plan/set-up)
- circular saw (may not be necessary for all set-ups)
- jigsaw (may not be necessary for all set-ups)
- scrap wood
- kitchen scissors, or small diagonal cutting pliers (these work best for trimming the panels IMHO)
DIY boxwood wall assembly steps
1. Cut plywood (or OSB) back board to size
You can choose to use either plywood or OSB (oriented strand board) for your back board.
We have two boxwood walls, and we have one with a plywood back board, and the other is OSB. It likely doesn’t matter which you go with.
Plywood tends to be more expensive, but it’s also a more refined board, so if you’re using this inside, perhaps you want to splurge.
Truly, you won’t see much of the wood in most cases, so I’d opt for the cheaper one ;). We only used plywood for one of ours because we happened to have a scrap piece on hand.
Once you’ve collected all the materials you’ll need, the first step in the process is to cut your backer board to the correct size of your design.
This will obviously vary depending on your specific plan and where/how you’ll be using this inside, or outside your home. Grab a circular saw, and make your cut(s).
2. Paint plywood green
What’s nice about this paint job is you don’t have to be neat and tidy AT ALL. You can slap the paint on without worrying about mess-ups or imperfections.
Use any green paint you want, but be mindful to use indoor paint if your green wall or photo wall will be used indoors, or exterior paint if the opposite is true.
Note: You’ll see in the photo below, I’m painting the plywood after it’s already been installed vertically on the wall. I wouldn’t recommend doing it like this…it’s much easier to paint PRIOR to installing your backer board on the wall.
Slap the paint on, and do a second coat, if needed. Remember to paint the SIDES of the plywood or OSB too, as those will be visible for permanent installs.
3. Drill holes and install back board
Time to install your back board!
But first, if you will need any holes in the back board for plugs, light fixtures, or anything else you may be wanting to add or hang on your boxwood wall, now is the time to measure where you need those holes, and cut them with a jigsaw.
With any needed holes cut, it’s time to hang your back board. The methodology for doing so will vary widely depending on where and how your DIY boxwood wall is being placed.
I’ll show you what we did for ours, but just know you may need to noodle through your own situation for the right solution.
For the dartboard greenery wall, we didn’t want to screw into the house through the siding, so we opted to screw the bottom of the board to a piece of scrap wood that served a dual role as a spacer.
The scrap was also screwed to the deck below it to anchor it in place and secure the plywood in front.
At the top of the plywood, we used two sections of zinc threaded rods (you can find them at Lowes and Home Depot). We placed two holes in the top corners of the plywood, and threaded the rod through the holes, securing the ends behind the plywood with nuts.
We then attached the other end of the threaded rods to our free-standing pergola, again to avoid directly tying the boxwood wall into our house.
Honestly, that particular setup is likely so unique no one will ever have this exact situation. Most set-ups will be much simpler. Using an L-bracket to anchor the top to a wall (make sure you hit the studs) is simpler. And so is the set up we used for our other boxwood wall…
For this example, we had several sections of OSB. First thing we needed to do was tie them together somehow.
You could use something as minimal and simple as these mending plates if you want the wall as close as possible to the wall behind it.
We opted to use some scrap wood to screw the sections together from the back.
This helped create a spacer to hold the boxwood wall off of the siding just a little bit in order to accommodate a light fixture we were going to mount.
At the top of this wall, we simply drilled several screws into the structural element of the soffit above, and left them hanging down far enough to prevent the wall from being able to topple forward.
As I mentioned, both of these installation situations are fairly unique, so use good judgement and decide what will work best in your specific situation.
4. Install any fixtures
Before beginning to put up your boxwood panels, first install or hang anything else that will be on your accent wall. Here, that meant hanging our dartboard to one of the back boards.
On the other wall, we hung our wall-mounted water feature.
This awesome unit is really simple to mount using a french cleat, which comes with the package. We simply leveled the bracket, and screwed it to the OSB. Then the fountain clips right onto that.
To accommodate the electrical cord, we drilled a hole in the OSB board behind the fountain, then fished the cord down behind the wall and into a wall outlet right above the floor.
5. Staple faux boxwood panels in place
With your back board in place, it’s time to assemble and hang your artificial boxwood panels!
You can purchase these panels in different sizes, but the assembly process will be the same, regardless.
How to connect the panels
Each panel has two sides with loops on the edges, and two sides with pins on the edges. To connect one panel to another, orient the panels so the pin edge of one panel is next to the loop side of the other, and simply place the pins through the loops.
Grab your staple gun (and if yours is electric, make sure you have enough extension cords to reach around your whole DIY boxwood wall area with it.
Using stapler, fasten one panel at a time to your back board
Start in one corner. or another strategic place on your back board, and loosely attach it to your backboard with staples.
You want to leave it loose enough that it’s easy to connect more panels to it, but you don’t want it flopping around and getting off kilter.
Move along the width (or height) of your wall, connecting, then loosely fastening each panel with your staple gun.
How to Deal with “Obstacles”
If you encounter “obstacles” (like our dartboard, or the wall-mounted water fountain we have), simply grab your scissors, or diagonal pliers, and clip the panel that abuts the obstacle as closely as you can for a snug fit.
If you make a mistake
But if you mess up and snip too much, don’t fret! It’s easy to take a small piece of the boxwood and simply scab it in with staples to hide your mistakes.
Continue connecting, loosely stapling, and trimming around obstacles until your wall is completely covered.
After You’ve Covered Your Back Board with Panels
Once your back drop is completely covered, and all panels are connected and loosely attached, it’s time for the finishing touches.
- Trim any edges where the boxwood is hanging over the backboard with your pliers or scissors.
- Go over the whole wall with your stapler, and securely fasten each panel to the board.
- Cover any gapping or holes with small scraps of your boxwood.
Enjoy! Your DIY boxwood wall is complete!
That’s it! You’ve built a beautiful boxwood, grass, or floral wall. Enjoy it!
We absolutely love both of our faux greenery walls. They turned bland, boring, siding covered white walls into something totally unique, and way more interesting to look at!
Plus, the dartboard wall offers all the protection we need to enjoy a game of darts without fearing for the safety of our house 😉
DIY boxwood wall tips
Here are just a few expert tips to hopefully help you make your own installation go as smoothly as possible:
- Attach each panel loosely with staples to begin.
- Make sure to paint all exposed edges of your back board a dark green hue to give your wall a more finished look.
- Use diagonal cutting pliers instead of scissors to trim the panels. They truly work better.
- Don’t forget to leave a small gap behind your board to accommodate extension cords, if needed.
- Don’t stress if you end up with bare spots…they are easily covered at the end by scabbing in scraps of boxwood.
Pin this project for later! And if you decide to try it, leave a comment on the pin! That helps others know whether they want to try it, too!
On the hunt for more simple home improvement ideas, and DIY home decorating inspiration? Be sure to check out these articles, too!
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