Moving into a house with some seriously 70s style wood paneling left on the walls? Those dark, outdated board walls don't need to be removed to give your room a new look. Here are some of our favorite ways to freshen up your space and update your wood paneling without breaking the budget!
1. Paint Your Boards
This is probably the most common and the most obvious option, but painting your wood paneling is a great way to update your walls. A fresh white can really open up a space and leave the door wide open for a beautiful cottage, nautical, or sleek modern style. Bold, black walls are great for an intimate, strong feeling room. And embracing a more unusual color like purple, teal, or green will make your room stand out in a style all your own.
2. Whitewash
As outdated as it may be, there is a reason wood paneling was so popular once upon a time. The beautiful, natural grain patterns in the wood are absolutely stunning. If you love the look and texture that the wood grain gives, update it by whitewashing the walls. Watering down your paint and using whitewashing techniques will brighten up the room and allow those gorgeous patterns to shine through.
3. Break It Up
You can detract from the visual monotony of vertical wood paneling by hiding portions of it with shelving or artwork. This look is particularly effective with lighter colors like white and grey. Having these items hanging from your walls will draw your gaze toward them and detract from your wood paneling. You'll love the texture and overall effect when everything is said and done.
4. Color Blocking
If you've stepped out of the house in the past year or so you know that color blocking is back and better than ever. For those of you that don't know, color blocking is when you use colors on different sides of the color wheel in geometric shapes or separated by crisp lines to complement one another. The result is very modern and extremely interesting visually. We would highly recommend looking into color blocking because we just can't get enough of it!
5. Outline Your Boards
If you love a good shabby chic look or a room with some extra character, try painting the grout in between your panels a different color from the panels themselves. For instance, you could paint the panels black with the grout white. It's a cheap, easy way to make your wood paneling more appealing and modern.
Happy Flooring!