As I was working on the library and posting updates on social media, so many people messaged me asking to know more about our wall panelling because it's a project they'd like to do in their own home. Now if you've been following along, you will know that I didn't quite get the room finished due to getting an inflamed shoulder. Indeed, we are only now getting around to finishing the work we started on the room, so I don't have the full "after" photos yet. But with so many people interested, I didn't want to hold off any longer on posting this.
PIN THIS!
There are many considerations when panelling a wall, from aesthetic to practical, and I will discuss all of those based on the lessons I've learned through us DIYing the job.
Aesthetic Considerations
Panelling a wall is a great way to add character or texture to a room. Paint can be flat and wallpaper can be busy, but panelling is the perfect solution to creating an interesting feature that isn't too overwhelming.
Styles of Wall Panelling
From shiplap to shaker, there are so many styles and variations of wall panelling that you can always find something to suit your style. You may recall that we added a rustic beadboard panelling to our sun lounge last year (see the full room reveal here), but we opted for a more classic recessed panelling in our library. In both cases, we opted to go floor-to-ceiling with our panelling, but if you want other options, there are historical precedents for panelling that covers just part of the wall e.g. to the height of a dado rail or plate rail. There are also endless options for adding beading or capping that can completely change up the look. Emily Henderson has a great round-up of panelling styles here.
Choosing a Style
With so much variation, how do you decide which style to choose? I consider panelling to be an architectural feature, and so I take into consideration the existing style of the house. Ours is a fairly modern newbuild, so it's easy to dismiss it as having no architectural features at all! But if you look closely, you will find some visual cues to go off.
When we moved in, our house had already been fitted with Victorian-style four-panel doors, and so the panelling we installed in the library were based on those. The recessed wall panels echo those on the door and add a classic elegance that suits our idea of a traditional library.
There are no internal doors in our sun lounge, but the many windows allow a view of the limestone masonry of the exterior, which made the beadboard panelling feel very appropriate for creating the laid-back, rustic feel we wanted for that room.
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW WE DID THE BEADBOARD PANELLING
Again, there are so many different types of panelling that there are endless options to suit any home.
Proportions
Wall panelling has the power to transform the proportions of a room. Therefore, the precise placement of the panels needs to be carefully considered in order to use this power to your advantage so that it enhances the room. It is a fine line between adding architectural interest to the room and making it feel like the walls are closing in around you!
Dividing the Wall Vertically
Think about how the overall feel of the room will be affected by dividing up the height of your wall. Consider the advantages of the horizontal lines in shiplap style panelling versus the vertical lines in beadboard or board-and-batten. How many subdivisions are appropriate? In our sun lounge, we went floor to ceiling with the beadboard, with no subdivisions. In our library, we have three subdivisions: one between the ceiling and the top of the door, one between the top of the door and the middle rail of the door, and one between the middle rail of the door and the floor.
It's a good idea to take a photo of your room and sketch out the different options to see which suits best. I also found it helpful to nail battens to the wall to help me to visualise the final look in situ.
Also take into account features in the room, such as windows, fireplaces, and think about how the panelling will work with those. I decided to go with a different layout on our chimney breast to accommodate our 5.5' (167cm) tall fireplace.
Around our bay window, I dropped the height of the lower panels to below the windowsill.
This is really a judgement call - I could easily just have carried the existing line around the corner until it met the window. But I think it looks better as is when viewed from the centre of the room.
By the way, a laser level is a great aid - not just for installing the panelling, but also to check whether any features in the room will intersect where you plan to put the lines of the panelling.
Dividing the Wall Horizontally
Again, you will need to figure out how the panelling will fit between the existing features in the room. In an ideal world, you will be able to determine a width for the panels that you can multiply to fit neatly into each part of the room. In reality, unless you live in some sort of Palladian architectural masterpiece, that is never going to happen.
I decided to just "eyeball" it to a degree. I started at the most symmetrical part of the room, that being the wall with the double doors more or less in the centre. Then I divided the space at each side into three simply because I thought three panels would look either side of the doors. The width of each of those panels then became the baseline measurement for the rest of the room, but I adjusted it slightly as needed.
For example, the panels either side of the bay window are not exactly the same size as the ones either side of the double doors, and the panels above the window are a different size to the ones either side of the window. I changed the sizes because I thought it was aesthetically more pleasing to divide the walls into equal parts than to have panels that were all exactly the same width, but that didn't fit onto the walls without making awkward shapes.
That the panels are not all identical in width is something you know more than something you see (unless you scrutinise it). Wall panelling is definitely one of those cases where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and where the overall effect is more important than the tiny details.
Whether you opt to DIY or not, it really is worthwhile spending time at the beginning of the project deciding what style of panelling you want, and precisely how you want it to be laid out on each wall.
Panelling the Wall
Once you've decided on the style and exact layout of your panelling, the next thing you will have to consider is whether or not you will need to remove the existing skirting boards (baseboards). Something like the MDF beadboard that we used in our sun lounge is narrow enough to sit on top of the existing skirting boards, but with solid wood battens it looks better to remove the skirting board and layer it on top of the panelling. Depending on the style of panelling and/or the positions of your battens, you may also need to consider what to do with door architraves (trim) etc. Again, we decided to remove ours so it could be refit onto the surface of the panelling.
Before you start, calculate the exact amount of wood you will need. There are subtle differences in the dimensions of planed timber available in hardware stores e.g. there are ones that are 14mm in thickness and ones that are 15mm, and you don't want to run out of timber before the project is finished and find yourself struggling to find wood with the same dimensions with which you started.
Measure and cut each batten individually. Trust me - there are no straight lines in any house I've ever seen, and you may find that the height of your room may vary by as much as a couple of centimetres.
Use a laser level to ensure that the battens are plumb and level as you affix them to the wall. If you have pets, this will be a great source of amusement to them!
For high points, fix a block of wood to the wall so that you can hold the level at the desired height.
Apply panel adhesive to the back of each batten, then fix them to the wall with panel pins.
When you need to come around a corner, my recommendation is to join the vertical battens to each other first before fixing them to the wall. This is because the walls will most likely not be exactly plumb. See this photo taken along the top of our bay window and facing into a corner - note how the vertical battens (which are plumb) veer away from the corners where the wall is not plumb.
We glued and tacked the battens to each other first to make the corner shape.
Then we fixed the L-shaped batten into the corner, ensuring that it was perfectly vertical.
This is important to avoid the panels becoming off-square.
Adding Beading
This is how our room looked after applying all the battens. As you can see, we built out around the door opening to allow the architrave to sit proud of the panels, and we also filled out below the bottom batten where the skirting boards would go. (In case you're looking for them in later photos, we still haven't got around to putting the skirting boards back on.)
We could have stopped there for a Shaker style panel but, as I mentioned at the outset, I was aiming to make the wall panels resemble the door panels quite closely. Now, if you're being super persnickety (which I often am!), the panels on the door are raised, whereas I wanted recessed panels on the walls; so not an exact match. But for me, the important part of the door panel that I did want to reproduce on the wall was the beading.
You can use any style of decorative beading in your wall panelling, and some are quite ornate. But I wanted a simple diagonal profile. To my surprise, I couldn't find it anywhere. So, I had to make my own.
I bought planks the right thickness and cut them down into strips with a square end. Then I used a router to create the diagonal profile I wanted.
Then we cut those to size and fixed them around each panel with a mitred corner.
If you decide to go this route (pardon the pun!), your options are almost endless as there are so many different types of router bits available. It is also much cheaper to manufacture your own beading. However, it is obviously considerably more time-consuming ... there's a reason this stuff is so expensive to buy! If you do decide to create your own beading, I recommend buying a good quality router bit, or at least ensure that you can readily source an identical one if it breaks. Otherwise, you face the prospect of having some of your panels look different to others, or starting over again from scratch with the beading.
If your panelling does not cover the entire height of the wall, you can also add a wider strip of decorative moulding along the top to cap it off and give it a nice finish.
Once the panelling went onto the wall, I was already in love with it, but adding the beading took it to a whole other level. Attention to detail really elevates the decor in any room, I think.
Paint Prep
Unfortunately, good-quality lumber is scarce here in Ireland, and you will most likely find that your only option at the hardware store is a softwood, like deal, that contains lots of knots and even strips of bark. One of the problems that arises when this kind of wood is exposed to heat, such as inside a window on a sunny day, is that resin can seep out of the wood around the knots and blemishes. The resin can even blister through any paint or finish you put on the wood.
So you need to preempt that by using a blow torch to extrude the resin. It's actually a lot of fun and the hot resin smells divine!
Allow the resin to cool and harden, then use a paint scraper to remove it.
If you hold the blow torch too close, however, it will scorch the wood; although this is not really a problem if you are painting over it.
Then fill the holes with wood filler. When the filler hardens, sand to a smooth finish.
You could skip this step entirely by cutting MDF to size to create your battens. But as I learned from making my own beading, that is very labour intensive, and so we opted to buy the wood readymade to the size we wanted the battens to be.
To give a good finish, fill each joint with an acrylic sealant, then wipe off the excess with a damp cloth while the sealant is still fresh.
Yes, this is incredibly time-consuming. And yes, it is absolutely worth doing.
It is very important to prime the wood before painting. This will prevent any tannins in the wood seeping through and staining the paint. A shellac-based primer, such as Zinsser B.I.N. is ideal. As I was doing this project in a mad hurry for the One Room Challenge, I almost forgot to take a pic of this stage until I'd already started painting over it!
Touch-Ups
Even if the wood was perfectly smooth when you started out, varnish or primer can raise the grain of the wood.
If I hadn't been rushing this project due to being behind with the One Room Challenge, I would ideally have sanded after applying the primer using 220 grit sandpaper. I will have to go back and do that now before applying the final coat of paint.
Another thing to note is that wood expands and contracts with changes in heat, and so the paint has cracked a little along the joints.
There are actions you can take to deal with this. You could purchase the wood 6-8 weeks in advance of working with it and store it in the room in which it is to be installed so that it becomes acclimated to the room temperature before you begin working with it. Alternatively, you could wait about 6-8 weeks after installation before applying the second coat of paint. It is also a good idea to store some of the paint in an airtight container for whenever touch-ups are required.
So Much Character!
The difference wall panelling can make to a room is phenomenal!
Full disclosure: As this room is currently prepped for painting, with sockets taped up and unscrewed from the wall, I have Photoshopped the photo to remove the electrical outlets as it was quicker and easier than screwing them back on!
The same room before we panelled the walls.
Even though we're not quite finished decorating this room, the panelling has completely transformed the feel of the space. I love the cosy, traditional feel and can't wait to share the full "after" pics with you!
Related Posts:
One Room Challenge: Sun Lounge (Week 3) ← the one with the beadboard panelling
One Room Challenge: Library Reveal
One Room Challenge: Sun Lounge Reveal
