Looking for advice on wood panelling. Some paneling I love but the paneling behind the white wall I’m not such a fan of. It’s a bit much with walls, floor, and ceiling all wood. I’d like to get the home to a modern vintage feel. Am I crazy to paint the walls I don’t like?
Members of our facebook group for midcentury home owners were happy to help.
Below are some examples of members thoughts on the topic. These are only a few of the thousands of tips that are shared in our exclusive Facebook Group dedicated to midcentury modern home owners. If you own a midcentury house and are not already a member, join us now!
- “If you want to retain a midcentury look do not paint. You will regret it because the pieces of furniture you want to incorporate just won’t work with white wood. There is a saying that if you paint wood you cannot see the wood for the trees!”
- “I would go ahead and paint it, or replace it with drywall. I live in an architect built 1969 MCM house. I love the design, love the era, but concede that some MCM stuff doesn’t necessarily work today, or is just plain ugly. My philosophy is to restore/renovate/decorate, maintaining the original MCM feel, but also modernizing to current day standards. I agree that all that wood is pretty dark. If you preserve the floors and ceilings, there is no harm in changing the walls. Make it something you love, and are comfortable living in.“
- “I painted the wood paneling in my dining room. Love it! I added wood accents by putting thick dark wood over the brick planter and made a bar.”
- “Try improving the lighting first then clean the wood install art work live with it for a bit see if you change your mind. The art will lead you to colors to use as someone else mentioned you may find the white block wall will bother you more than the paneling. If it is good wood and you still don’t like it take down replace with drywall and let someone enjoy the wood while you enjoy your new drywall. You might find you will want to keep a wall or two and paint the rest.”
- ” Don’t live in a time capsule that you hate because the internet told you to! A crisp fresh white on some paneling could be nice and brighten it up.”
- “Maybe just paint or restrain the dark horizontal datum line to lighten it up and emphasize the verticality of the space? The wood paneling is lovely but that dark band at the CMU and paneled walls isn’t doing anyone any favors.”
- “I think it has greater punch when it’s not everywhere. Like you, I’m not a fan of wood wood wood wood. I like quality wood paneling, but I’m glad my house didn’t have it so I didn’t have to figure out where it should judiciously be painted.“
You can read more tips about this topic and offer your own suggestions here.
