Wood paneling used to be all the rage in the early '60's and '70's, but today it has lost some of its flavor. Maybe the idea of dark wood paneling, which was in vogue back then, is the problem. Today, however, wood paneling can add interest to any room with a wide variety of paneling techniques.
Knotty Pine
For those of you who love the look of wood, but are not into the rustic style, knotty pine is an excellent paneling for your walls. It gives a warm and natural feeling to your room, and as an extra touch, adds a fresh pine scent. This paneling can be sealed to preserve its natural look or stained.
Knotty pine can be wainscoting if you put it only on the lower half of your wall. If you have high ceilings, knotty pine running the full length of your walls is perfect.
Knotty pine is almost always sold in tongue and groove boards and sold in widths from two to eight inches. Tongue and groove simply means that one set of panels have a tongue which fits into the groove of the other panels. It's commonly used because of the ease of installation. Knotty pine can be installed horizontally, vertically and right to left or left to right, according to wood-paneling.com. (See Reference 1)
To install vertically, start at the bottom and nail one piece to the wall. Ensure you have located the wall studs and nail into the stud on your wall into the groove and not into the paneling. Slide the next panel into the first panel and repeat.
Beadboard Paneling
Beadboard paneling is also a tongue-and-groove paneling generally used for wainscoting. Beadboard is great for kitchens, bathrooms, hallways, or anywhere there is heavy traffic in your home, according to HomeEditionPlus.com.
Beadboard comes in four-by-eight-foot sheets that, although manufactured, looks like you installed the beadboard piece by piece. Before installing, leave your beadboard out in your room for a few days to allow it to stabilize according to the humidity and temperature of your area.
Beadboard is lightweight and easily cut on a table saw.
Decorative Wall Panels
Wood wall paneling comes in a variety of finishes and textures. There are decorative textures and finishes, and veneers, such as Lionite tileboard panels, which are the strongest of the decorative panels. This veneer has melamine baked onto the panels and is great for well-used rooms or bathrooms, as it is water resistant. Melamine is a synthetic polymer and is also fire-resistant.
Other decorative wall panels are surface-printed, which is printed paper in various designs laminated into the wood panels. This is an excellent, low-cost home improvement design.
There are varieties of terrific designs for wood paneling. Wood paneling not only comes in veneers and decorative wood, but various colors too. Use wood paneling in almost any room, whether you want wainscoting or full paneling on your walls.
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