How do I install shiplap on a wall with an outlet?

Hi Christy! You can use a thin material and you just might be able to leave the baseboard in place and get the outlet flush. That’s what we did here: https://www.frugalfamilytimes.com/2018/05/how-to-make-vertical-shiplap-paneling.html

The outlet wouldn't be a problem.

https://www.domesticimperfection.com/how-to-extend-an-outlet-to-be-flush-with-a-new-wall/

Taking off the baseboard isn't that hard. Use something thin to begin prying it out from the wall like a wide knife. https://www.amazon.com/Shappy-Pieces-Scrapers-Taping-Drywall/dp/B074NWWKL8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1547566137&sr=8-6&keywords=joint+compound+knife After you've pried it out a little switch to a crow bar with a small board against the wall. The baseboard on the wall by the door would have to be shortened to line up with the new depth of the shiplapped wall but that would be just a straight cut next to the door. Can't see the other end.

Hi Christy,

I'm going to throw in my two cents worth. Don't shiplap. You have a beautiful house with great architectural features. Shiplap will be totally out of place. It's the current fad, but it will not be an enduring design choice. If you are really in love with it, then go for it, it's your house. A more architecturally appropriate choice would be bead board or board and batten wainscoting. They are both elegant and timeless and no more difficult to install than shiplap. Let's address your other concerns:

1. Baseboard- I can't tell if your baseboard is flat or has a profile on top. If it is flat, then you can add a piece of 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch thick wood board or MDF to to the front of it to make it thicker so the wall material will sit on top of it nicely. If it is not flat on top, you will have to remove what is there. (I should say at this point, there is a product that is a baseboard designed to go over your old baseboard, which may work for you.) It looks you have a base shoe or quarter round molding, which will be easy to remove with some gentle prying. Cut any caulking and paint between the molding and the baseboard with a utility knife and then pry it away with a paint scrapper or putty knife. Repeat the same procedure for the baseboard, which is probably nailed to the studs, so may require more force to pry away from the wall. If your walls are plaster, don't pry against the plaster or you will crack it.
2. Electric outlet- Many homeowners make the mistake of taking off the outlet cover, putting in spacers to move the outlet forward, and reinstalling the cover over the new wall material. This is against electric codes. You need a plastic box extender (easy to install) to get it flush. Use colored sidewalk chalk on the rim of the outlet. Press your wall material up against it and you will have the outline of the box and know exactly where to cut the opening. There are many tutorials on youtube how to do this project. You can do it!

No problem. There is another issue will you will have to deal with. Your door casings will not be wide enough if you either remove the baseboard, apply the wall material (whatever you decide to go with), and then re-install the baseboard, or add something over the baseboard. Right now, your baseboard dies into your door casings. They are the same thickness and maybe your door casings are little thicker than the baseboard. The shoe molding on the baseboard adds to the thickness, but it is barely noticeable. If you make the baseboard thicker then the door casing, it will look very odd. You can either cut what is called a return and glue it to the end of the baseboard to give it a finished edge, you could sand the end of the baseboard at an angle to meet the door casing, or you could add a plinth block to the casing so it will be wider than the baseboard. Adding the plinth block is the easiest of those and will look nice.

How about painting shiplap? Paint the wall, measure off vertical width, use pencil to draw lines that mimic shiplap. When you're tired of it, all you have to do is repaint.