Monday, August 18, 2014

Easy paneling update

If you live in a house that was built before 1980ish,
chances are that you have wood paneling in one or more rooms in your house.
I know some of you may cringe at the sight of paneling, 
but I believe that what is an eyesore for some, 
can be updated for very little money and time.
You have probably have heard of painted paneling,
but here are some tips, ideas and projects to turn paneling into something beautiful.

Let's start with our main bathroom.

This paneling was the "old" kind, 
somewhat glossy.
BEFORE
I washed it with water (you won't believe how dusty walls can get...paneling or drywall alike).
Then I used a 

high bonding primer such as Zinzer, 1-2-3 primer and so on. 
These kind of primers will stick to anything.
I then picked a color for my room (I suggest you go with a light color for the paneling).
If your paneling is dark, as most are, then it will take 2 to 3 coats of paint.

The here is what we did in what once was the girls bedroom, now a homeschool room.
Beadboard wallpaper over wood paneling.
Follow the steps below to do this.


Lately I painted the "half wall" paneling in our landing area.
This was a newer kind of paneling...which did not seem to be real wood at all.

In fact, I know it wasn't real wood.
For this project I used a high hiding primer mixed with plaster of paris.
Kind of like a homemade chalk paint.
Then I gave it 2 coats of off white paint.
I finished this up with a paste wax for high durability and little shin.
This is the same product we used on our kitchen cabinets. 
Highly recommend this, and inexpensive.
Finally our bedroom walls were done the same way of our bathroom.

And that's all the paneling we have. lol

Projects on a budget.

Stay Frugal,
Daniela



14 comments:

Carla from The River said...

All of it looks great. Our, This Old House is all plaster. :-) Some of the plaster had wallpaper, that was a real chore to get off, but elbow grease and patience was the trick. :-)
I love how your rooms turned out, very nice. Thank you for sharing.
Carla

Sonny G said...


you always make beauty and durablity with your projects~! and you do it on a budget, which I admire very much...

applause for your newest project.

Sonny

Heather @ The Beating Hearth said...

Love seeing a reno on a budget. Great job making lemonade out of your paneling. I think it all looks great. I think I need to get some beadboard wallpaper.

Marissa said...

Wow, it's hard to believe there is dark paneling behind that awesome paint job.
This is so neat not sure if I could ever do something like this . My in-laws have paneling...one day...

Junkchiccottage said...

Dani,
This looks so great. I love the painted paneled walls and the faux bead board wall paper looks so great too. I always love to see the beautiful work you do on a small budget. This is genius.
Kris

Sonny G said...

me again....

I ordered the paste wax you suggested and did a search on your blog to see if you posted about what steps or technique you used to apply it... I wasnt able to find it in search so would you mind pointing me to that post? please..
thanks I want to do this right:)

Kelly said...

I like the look of painted paneling! I wouldn't hesitate to paint dark paneling rather than taking it down. It adds such a nice texture to the wall.

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Daniela,
You made your home so much more valuable and also a lot more dust-free!
Great jobs.
Hugs,
Mariette

Revi said...

What a difference! You have lovely taste, Daniela.

Danni@SiloHillFarm said...

How beautiful! I have painted paneling in more than one house, but fortunately in this one there was no paneling to prime and paint. That bead board is so pretty!

Amy of While Wearing Heels said...

Your house was lucky you came to own it. What love you have given it. You've transformed it such beautiful ways.

Katie Mansfield said...

I love painted paneling. All of yours look great.

An Oasis in the Desert said...

Wow, it turned out beautifully! We had a paneled family room in a home we owned many years ago. Yes, we painted, but paints have come a long way since then......we kept having to retouch because the paint did not want to adhere very well.

Libby said...

Definitely looks great. Interestingly enough, although I've seen walls in your home before, I never detected that they were panels. I have knotty pine in my kitchen, dining room, and hallway. I kept it as is for now in the dining room and hall, but I painted my kitchen. I cannot say enough about the primer you mentioned. Worked wonders to cover up those knots, cause they will bleed through. I did use a couple coats of paint too because of the colors I chose. No regrets!