I recently participated in a Facebook discussion with a friend who was wondering what to do with her paneled walls. She was getting all kinds of suggestions. There was some talk of venetian plaster, stenciling, and sponge painting.
Ok, I’m sorry if you love sponge painted walls. They can look fabulous and even timeless if done well. But most of the time, they end up somewhere in this territory:
And on a paneled wall no less? Yipes. That’s when I chimed in and suggested that she simply paint the paneled wall. Paint it white! It looks really, really good, I swear.
But then all the other commenters started attacking me! PLAIN PAINT? On PANELING? You must be crazy. How tacky. That will NEVER look good. (This was on my personal Facebook page, not my Better After Facebook page, where people are much more open-minded to such a zany thought).
Well, naysayers, may I offer Abby’s dining room as proof?
I mean, c’mon. This is SOOO much better. It looks amazing.
How can you argue with that? You just can’t! (Unless anyone is up for the challenge of finding a picture of a sponge-painted paneled wall that looks better than this, and we can all vote on it). (PS: Good luck).
You can see more from Abby on her blog Chapter 37.
33 Comments
Sara Bonert
November 12, 2013 at 3:09 PMIf I moved into a house with a paneled wall, I’d have them painted white by the end of the week. Painted white walls looks so coastal and refreshing.
Rachel
November 12, 2013 at 3:17 PMYou can definitely paint paneling!! It looks cottage-y in the end! Like this – beautiful. We did the same thing in our living room – except in tan paint. I think it looks like a beach cottage now!
Good instincts. This is beautiful.
DeDe
November 12, 2013 at 4:04 PMI spray painted mine a house ago with the speckle stuff (can’t remember what it’s called). It also turned out fabulous.
Jenny B.
November 12, 2013 at 4:29 PMOh, my word! Your friends are nuts. Painted paneling is my favorite!!! 🙂
Jenny B.
November 12, 2013 at 4:32 PMP.S. I just had to share that I have an entire Pinterest board devoted to painted paneling. I started it when my step-sis moved into a house that was full of it. Sadly, she decided to drywall over it. Oh, well… Here’s the board if anyone is ineterested:
Kristen
November 12, 2013 at 5:30 PMI painted the paneling in my home too. I love it! I recommend using a heavy duty primer first. Some paneling can bleed thru…
Abby
November 12, 2013 at 5:45 PMThanks so much Lindsey! And to Kristen…yes primer is a must. I have to do two coats of it before paint on all my walls or they will bleed through. It’s pretty bad because of all the stain and such on them.
Sylvia
November 12, 2013 at 5:56 PMGorgeous. And the paneling is the real deal not the fake sheet stuff. I’ve painted the real stuff too and we loved it.
Liz C.
November 12, 2013 at 6:04 PMWowsers! I am definitely now a believer. I mean, does anyone really like the dark paneling anymore? I certainly do not. It makes a room look like a cave & while my hubby would probably love all the darkness… I do not. There will always be nay-sayers, but the trick is knowing you’re right to go ahead and paint something bright. Bravo to Kristen and to you! Down with dungeons!
Angie K.
November 12, 2013 at 6:23 PMGorgeous! I have the same tongue & grove paneling, painted mine as well and I LOVE it!
kim
November 12, 2013 at 8:47 PMwe painted ours last summer when we got the house.. its funny though because we LOVE it painted.. but when the insurance agent cam to give us a quote, he said “oh, you painted over the original knottty pine?” it was obvious we had.. he said the original knotty pine had an estimate of 30,000 to replace.. i think he is delirious.
Lindsey @ Better After
November 13, 2013 at 11:39 AMHahahaha, that’s unbelievable!
Kathy
November 12, 2013 at 8:48 PMOh My Word!!! Fabulous!! & SOOooooo… much better!! Abby’s house is now delightful, warm & welcoming. Nicely, nicely done, Abby.
& on painting paneling… OFCOURSE, paint it… I am tempted to panel, just so I can paint it. We did our entire lake house, paint over dark, dark paneling… it now looks like a lake house should.
kim
November 12, 2013 at 8:49 PMoh, and it took us 3 gallons of zinnser BIN and 7 gallons of valspar paint and primer in white. 😉
Amanda Dux
November 12, 2013 at 11:05 PMAs a paint contractor I can also say there is nothing easier than painting paneling. Clean it with tsp – lightly pole sand – get a coat of high adhesion high hide primer on there, then get your caulking gun out and caulk the seams of any joints in the paneling (these will stand out when you have the primer on as will any nail holes etc so fill these now!) and then 2 top coats. Looks wicked awesome I’ve done 3 houses this year and have literally just finished 2 bedrooms today covering up this stuff 🙂
Lindsey @ Better After
November 13, 2013 at 11:38 AMGreat rundown! I agree with Kathy, now I want to put up paneling just to paint it!
Gauri
November 13, 2013 at 1:15 AMLovely inspiration!! 🙂
xxx
Cheryl D
November 13, 2013 at 4:46 AMYou are 100% RIGHT!!!! I would also skip all other ideas and just paint the walls white. It would be crisp clean and down play the ugly walls and place the focus on the things in the room.
Tamisha
November 13, 2013 at 4:50 AMI painted the knotty pine paneling in my old 1950s rancher office an antique white (more of a creamy color than true white) and it was fabulous. Some people adore knotty pine, but I’m not one of them. The shellac tends to go too orange over time for my taste. I loved the way the room looked painted. It was beautiful, serene, and lovely.
Victoria
November 13, 2013 at 6:32 AMI couldn’t agree more! I once moved into an apartment that was hideous with paneled walls in the living room. By the end of the week, I had painted all the paneling white and it looked like the inside of a cottage! People could not believe it was the same house. So much easier than trying to remove the paneling!
MUMZY
November 13, 2013 at 7:14 AMTOTALLY better!!! It does look coastal and beautiful!!! Love it so much more. The dark is just depressing!!!!
Catherine
November 13, 2013 at 7:38 AMSeriously? Venetian plaster? Sponge painting? Were your commenters somehow transported back to 1993?
Heather
November 13, 2013 at 8:11 AMPainted panelling is the best. Even cheap nasty panelling looks worth keeping with a lick of fresh paint. The other commenters obviously need to visit Better After every day for the next… oh… four years… and then they will appreciate all the joy there is to be had in getting rid of the dingy and outdated boring brown. Because good brown, that panelling sure isn’t!
Sandy
November 13, 2013 at 9:02 AMHa ha! Catherine took the words right out of my mouth…er, keyboard! What decade did this discussion take place in????
Janpartist
November 13, 2013 at 9:47 AMI not only currently have painted tongue in groove paneling but in the past have painted over beat up grass cloth covering cracked walls and that looks great also. (that’s extreme for me cause I am totally against painting over wallpaper)
anna see/anna whiston-donaldson
November 13, 2013 at 1:37 PMwow! that looks so good it makes me WANT paneling. not kidding
Lindsey @ Better After
November 13, 2013 at 3:11 PMI know, me too! Hey, maybe we should start selling pre-painted paneling. I think I’m on to something here …
kathie
November 13, 2013 at 3:07 PMPaint. the. paneling. There are just no other words for it! The first time we painted paneling, however, we didn’t know the prime first. Ahhh, big mistake. Scratch the wall and off came the paint. In our current home we have paneling in the basement. Ugh. It made it so dark, even with the few windows. Now it is all painted and the lower level feels like an upper level. Paint. the. paneling!!
Judy M.
November 13, 2013 at 5:10 PMThe painted paneling looks awesome. One more thing I would do would be to whitewash the ceiling and that brown beam. It would help bring the ceiling up and not down as it looks now. The dark ceiling makes the room look smaller than it probably is. I know, men don’t like painted wood! But, it would be a major improvement in the room.
Kristin F
November 14, 2013 at 9:00 AMI’m all for painted paneling, especially hideous dark, knotted pine. I did ours when we first moved in….and have since repainted it again while renovating the kitchen. It’s cheaper than tearing it out and drywalling, and it immediately brightens a room.
Stephbo
November 17, 2013 at 4:03 PMDog hair covering would have been better than that original paneling, but wow!, the white paint is fantastic!! It’s funny how everyone went all coastal with it. I thought it seemed very bright and open farmhouse-y. Love it!
Gilmer Gal
January 18, 2014 at 12:15 PMLove how you left the ceilings dark. What a transformation!
Manco Painting
June 4, 2020 at 12:18 PMLooks much better!