Looking for the absolute best wall paneling ideas? I’m a professional design architect who loves helping people like you simplify your design focus! From bathrooms to bedrooms, living rooms to dining, full wall to half wall paneling, I’ve narrowed it down to the top options for wainscoting, board and batten, shiplap and other wall molding ideas!
Not all wall molding or panel ideas are created equal. 😉
If you’re trying to decide which of the seemingly thousands (or dare I say millions?) of different options out there available when it comes to wall paneling…
…then you’re in for a big task!
However, it’s one that I’m going to simplify for you right now! 🤗
I’ll also answer popular questions such as,
- “What is the cheapest way to panel a wall?”
- “Which type of wall panelling is best?”
- “What is the cheapest wall covering option?”
- “Is wall paneling in style this year?”
- “How easy is it to DIY wall panelling?”
- “Are accent walls outdated?”
- “Does panelling make a room look smaller or bigger…or neither?”
So read on — let’s get you your answers!
wall panelling ideas
#1: First, What’s In A Name?
The first problem you’ll come up against lies in the different names people use for varieties of wall paneling. There’s
- Wall paneling (or “wall panelling” which I’ll get to below)
- Wall molding
- Shiplap
- Board and batten
- Wainscoting
- Wood accent wall
- Wall treatment with wood
- Wall covering
- Wall panels (different than paneling)
- Half wall paneling
- Decorative wall paneling
- Wood panel accent wall
Do you see the conundrum?
And then of course, there is the fact that OVER 50% of people searching online are searching for “wall panelling ideas” and not “wall paneling ideas” (notice the extra L?). So what you’ve typed in will affect the results you get.😅
WOOD wall paneling ideas
#2: Second, How To Choose Which Design?
While the fastest answer is simply to say, “Just choose whichever you like best!”…
…I do a lot more analysis than that when using any kind of wall planks, shiplap or other wall paneling in projects.
First, I make all my clients complete this one relatively easy but ESSENTIAL step before deciding on anything else in their home: The “#1 Step” Essential Home Design Guide. In it, I walk you through what I walk all clients through because 100% of them have NEVER done anything like this before…and it literally has changed their lives!
Once you’ve completed that, then you’re 700x better equipped to make these kind of decisions in your home.
Yes, the type of design you choose for your wall paneling or moldings matters. It will dictate so much not only in the room(s) you’re using them in, but it will affect everything else in your home! (Trust me. This is such a common mistake people make — thinking one decision in one room does not affect the rest of their home, and then they wonder why they never feel like their home is “done.” That’s because it’s going to feel incomplete if you haven’t set up your #1 Step correctly!
WALL MOLDING IDEAS
Different Priorities, Different Wall Design Needed!
For example, do you know
- What height your wall paneling should go to in that room?
- How far apart should your vertical or horizontal line spacing be?
- If doing a special design with molding or for wainscoting, how do you decide on the distances from floor to first horizontal line, versus distance between the different vertical lines of the inner squares?
- What type of molding should you use? What router edge design works best for your overall goal?
- What’s the perfect paint sheen for your wall in this versus that room?
And so on and so forth!
SMALL BATHROOM wall paneling ideas
A Quick Peek At Our Bathroom Wainscoting Project!
We’ll talk about other rooms below, but since bathroom wall paneling is such a hot topic, we’re giving you a quick peek at what we did in our primary bathroom years ago:
How did our wall paneling hold up?
Was it difficult to install ourselves?
Was the moisture a problem with the wood?
Answers: Perfectly. Nope. Not at all!
Even with the wainscoting wall paneling we did in the same area as our shower, it was all good!
WALL PANEL IDEAS
The 5 Types of Wall Paneling!
In words, I could explain the difference between each type of wall paneling idea you can choose from, but I think photos are so much better, so I’ll explain each photo as we go along!
SHIPLAP WALL IDEAS
#5: Shiplap Wall Paneling!
Traditionally, shiplap is installed horizontally, like so:
This is also called “plank walls” by some.
(I’ll share some vertical designs further down below.)
BOARD AND BATTEN WALL IDEAS
#4: Board and Batten Wall Designs!
Board and batten is often confused with wainscoting. They’re somewhat interchangeable, though, because they’re referring to two different things (and yet the same thing in many cases).
Board and batten refers to the wide and narrow pieces of wood necessary to create designs like this:
WAINSCOTING IDEAS
#3: Wainscoting On Walls!
Wainscoting is traditionally what you call a wall paneling installed on the lower half of the wall to protect it.
So you can do “board and batten wainscoting” or “shiplap wainscoting,” for example.
WALL TREATMENT IDEAS PANELING
#2: Wall Paneling (Premade)!
The term “wall paneling” is so general that it could be applied to all of these different types of wood-based wall treatments…
…but nowadays many people are getting so used to having wall panels premade for them (because it seems like a shortcut) that they’ve started thinking wall paneling is synonymous with the pre-created wall panels that come in 8′ sections, for example.
A variety of premade wall panels are available at places like Home Depot.
Just be aware: premade can be easier at times, but it 100% depends on your design. You’ll need to know where your seams end, for example, when using premade shiplap panels.
(This is why so many people who use the premade shiplap wall paneling — whether on walls or ceilings — also add extra bits of wood to cover the seams when they show.)
wall COVERING ideas
#1: The Accent Wall!
While this is my least favorite term, it’s still one people use…so I do need to explain it here. 😉
Typically, an accent wall is one that has a different color or design than the others in the room.
The most common is a simple painted wall (but these are absolutely out of style so please don’t do it unless you have a genius reason it needs to be done 🙂 ).
The reason I don’t like to do an accent wall usually is that it feels inconsistent. This often depends on the type of material you’re using.
It can work with stone veneer walls, and I have done this. I think it’s because even in old buildings, some interior walls are still made of stone and yet others were covered with wood or other wall panels.
It’s impossible for me to give you a hard and fast rule on this one because it 100% depends on how it’s done, what room is being done, its size, its lighting, the layout of the furniture, etc.
It’s absolutely individual.
PS: If you do need help on an individual basis with your room decisions but don’t have the budget to hire an interior designer full-on, I have an easy phone consult option you can take advantage of when it’s available (they often are sold out because of my schedule, so if it’s actually showing available when you check this link, you’ll want to go ahead and grab it).
WHITE wall panelling ideas
Bonus Option #6: Full Wall Molding Designs!
Sometimes, you’re not looking just to protect the bottom half of your wall like in a traditional wainscoting. You want to install molding from floor to ceiling!
This is usually going to give a much more formal look to your space, which is the only time I use it.
MODERN WALL PANELING IDEAS
If you have short, lower ceilings, vertical wall paneling will help draw your eye up and elongate the room visually.
That goes for every type of wall molding — any vertical lines will help draw your eye upward and create a visual illusion of more space than if you leave the wall plain (or install your planks/shiplap horizontally).
KITCHEN wall paneling ideas
Don’t Forget About Kitchen Wall Paneling!
Kitchen wall paneling can also serve as a backsplash — I talk more about these options in my post on the best 7 Light Kitchen Backsplash Ideas!
97% of people are making major mistakes in their kitchen organization! I help you solve that HERE!
KITCHEN wall panelling ideas
You don’t always have to paint your kitchen wall paneling. It can be used similarly to an accent wall if that fits with your design.
For kitchen layout help as well as design and organization, you can either
- Consult directly with us 1:1 (including drawings, designs and recommendations when applicable), or
- Do it yourself using our Kitchen Organization & Design Bundles!
Wall paneling ideas
Are White Plank Wall (and Ceiling) Designs Only for Coastal Homes?
If your home already has “planks” or vertical wall panels, along with ceiling beams, there are several ways you can go.
It all depends on how you pull together your home foundationally, your room layout and design, and of course everything you choose (from furniture to accessories and artwork)!
There is SO much to pulling together the details of a home specifically designed for you, and walls are just one of the many important pieces to focus on getting right for your situation!
Speaking of white, let’s talk about the darker options…
wood panel accent wall
Staining vs Painting Your Wall Paneling!
Wall panels can be any color that works for your specific situation (such as ceiling height, amount of natural light, etc.)
Wood panels can be left natural or stained a darker color:
And they can be painted anything from a light, bright white to a medium blue-green to a dark charcoal or navy blue.
Whatever you choose will set the tone for your home (and need to flow with every area) so — at the risk of sounding like the knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade —
choose wisely! 😉
wall panelling ideas FOR bedroom
Bedroom: A Minimalist-Traditional Wall Paneling Design!
Here’s quite a traditional wall paneling design but done in a fresh bright white for this bedroom.
Notice that there’s no headboard. The clients prefer no headboard, and so a large-scale design on the wall was in order!
Blending a variety of designs is my favorite way to give a home interior depth, even when they want it minimal and relaxing…
(In a beach house, you want to feel relaxed…and for many people, that means less “stuff” on the walls!)
All too often, homeowners think they need to pick just one or two styles that complement each other at 30,000 feet, but that’s the problem I have with so much interior design I see out there these days…
This shows how you can blend a classic design for a minimalist coastal home and still get all the feels!
interior wall panelling ideas
Vertical Shiplap Bedroom!
By contrast with the above, doing a vertical shiplap or planked wall in this guest bedroom at a “minimal beach home” project has an almost completely different feel, even though many of the elements are the same!
I show you those differences so you can see just how great of an impact the style, widths, and other design choices you make with your wall paneling will affect your room (and your entire home, whether it feels cohesive or choppy! and note: cohesive does NOT mean every wall treatment has to match exactly! but that’s another post 🙂 )!
wall panelling ideas FOR LIVING ROOM
Vertical Shiplap Wall Paneling: A Versatile Design Choice!
Many old homes already have vertical wood plank walls that are so lovely to work with…
Just because the average person thinks this type of wall automatically needs to go “cottagey” or “farmhouse” or even “coastal,” I’m showing you the design above to show how it can be a great base for more unique designs that blend elegant and casual.
INEXPENSIVE wall panelling ideas
“What’s my most budget-friendly DIY option?”
The most inexpensive way to do wall paneling is to simply install cut pieces of wall molding directly onto your wall (drywall, usually).
This is only a great option if you have flat (not textured!) walls…or else it looks wrong. (Because it’s clearly not installed over flat wood panels.)
Yes, we did consider going the cheaper way for our bathroom wainscoting but since the walls were textured already, we installed wainscoting “the right way” :)…
…and it looks much higher-end for just a little more.
So if you can swing the extra hundred bucks or so (depending on the amount of walls you’re covering), we say DO IT! 🙂
decorative wall paneling ideas
Design Tip: Add Curves!
If you’ve been reading a lot of my design posts here, you’ll know I’m a fan of adding circles and curves…
…but only in very select scenarios!
You have to be careful where you use them (and how you repeat them).
Achieving the arches above involves planning your board-and-batten cuts very carefully so they end up in the right places on your wall (and don’t end mid-arch)!
So whether you’re hiring someone else to do the work or Doing-It-Yourself, you need to be the strong captain of your wall paneling ship! 🙂
BATHROOM wall paneling ideas
3 Bathroom Wall Paneling Designs We’ve Done for Clients!
Here’s a peek at three (ok, I snuck in 4!) other bathroom wall paneling ideas we’ve done for client design projects:
This client below wanted a casual coastal aesthetic for their beach home, but with a splash of Moroccan flavor, which was incredibly unique and personal for them.
Keep in mind that wall panels or shiplap doesn’t have to skew coastal or cottage — it can still be done in a warm modern way that keeps the walls interesting and not too “cold modern,” if you know what I mean. 😉
It all depends on the look you want, which takes a lot of work to pull together properly from the foundational steps if you’re DIYing your own home interior design.
HALF WALL PANELING IDEAS BATHROOM
“Is wood wall paneling easy to DIY?”
The answer to whether wood wall paneling is easy to DIY depends on three things:
- Your planning and preparation (such as the #1 Essential Design Guide I mentioned earlier, which helps you start out with the essential first steps before doing anything in your home!).
- Your comfort level with tools and basic DIY skills.
- The complexity of your design!
Some people swear by pre-made panels purchased at retailers like Home Depot or Lowe’s, but those can often be quite limiting and actually cause more work later on, depending on your design. (We’ll get into that below!)
HALF wall panelling ideas
If your color analysis requires a darker color on your wall paneling, by all means do it!
Half wall or “wainscoting” can be any color…within reason of course. 😉
HALF WALL WOOD PANELING IDEAS
Final Tip: Don’t Forget You Don’t Literally Have to Go Halfway! 😉
My final tip is that you free yourself up to think outside the box and go to ANY height on your wall paneling that works for you.
For example, it’s not an all-or-nothing, “full wall vs half wall” decision you need to make. You can add gobs of luscious visual interest by taking it 3/4 of the way, for example:
Creating your own designs is a lot of work if you want to do it right, but let me encourage you to stick with it! Because the hours you spend now will pay you back for yeeeears to come — and on SO many levels! 🙂
But that’s another post too. 😉
Next…
You’re now ready to choose the perfect art using our latest post on 50 Unique Wall Art Ideas (for every room you need it, from kitchens to bathrooms, living rooms and bedrooms, entryways and home offices and more)!
You’ll also love
- Wall Decor Ideas: The (ONLY) 10 You Actually Need to Know!
- How To Get A Genuinely Smart Home! (Hint: That doesn’t mean technology! 🙂 )
- 7 Smart Strategies For Choosing Interior Colors!
- Kitchen Backsplash: The Only 7 Types You (Actually) Need!
- 5 Genius Reasons You Need Drawers Instead Of Cabinets!
PS: Our complete list of every single home project is viewable HERE!
PPS: If you’d like our help on your own home spaces, book a Design Consultation with us or check out our Design Guides & Plans!
