I have never been one to fully embrace paneling on interior walls. In fact, the first time I saw paneling on walls that I found to be remotely attractive was in 2012 when I saw #shiplap for the first time. One of my best friends was getting married in Highlands, NC and there was a gorgeous cabin where the bridal party got ready. There was shiplap on every wall in every room, and I just kept saying "I don't know why, but I like this weird paneling." I liked it so much that after the reception, and many glasses of chardonnay, I insisted on giving JP (who was only my boyfriend at the time) a tour of the entire house. He definitely thought I was being over-the-top on how I was suddenly obsessed with this house, but it completely changed the way I felt about paneling.
Fast forward to 2020, and you know shiplap is everywhere. Not only is it all over #HGTV, but people are using it their homes, posting images on social media, and creating faux farmhouse looks in city centers. It's taken off.
And along with shiplap, other paneling seems to be along for the ride. We are seeing more trends of adding wood panels to homes to bring warmth and depth to the minimalist movement. Can we call it movement? Either way, I'm here for it. This trend is not like the dated look that I used to think of which was popular in the '60s and '70s. It's light and youthful. And I love it.
So while I haven't committed to shiplap in my own home, I wanted to try something a little different.
We decided to panel the ceiling of our laundry room for a few reasons: 1. The laundry room has a step down, adding about 6 inches to the height of the ceiling. So if any space in our home could handle a dark ceiling, it was this one. 2. Our laundry room (which is also a mud room) needed some attention. Why shouldn't it be nice looking? 3. The room is only about 28 sq ft, so it wouldn't require many panels. We put this up in just a few hours! Here's how it came together. Materials * Wood Panels. We used beaded v-joint, tongue and groove pine boards that were 6"x8' in length. You can use wider or narrower if you like. We purchased from a local lumber supplier at $4 a board. An equivalent product would run about $10 a board at a home center. So we saved a big chunk by shopping small. * Construction Adhesive * 2" Brad Nails * Boiled Linseed Oil * (Optional) Paint
Tools * Circular Saw * Speed Square
* Brad Nailer * Rubber Mallet or Hammer and Scrap Wood (to avoid dings) * Tape Measure * Razor Blade or Box Cutter * (Optional) Pry Bar
Step 1: Remove any molding. We had basic crown molding in the laundry room, so we needed to take it down in order for the boards to fit properly. We used a box cutter to cut the existing caulk around the molding before using a pry bar to remove the molding. We painted the newly exposed wall to match the rest.
Step 2: Determine number of boards. We knew we wanted wider panels, so we did a quick search and found a local lumber supplier that sold the size we wanted. After measuring the square footage of the ceiling, we accounted for the dimensions of each board and determined that we'd need around 9 boards to complete the job. We ended up buying 10 boards as a precaution just in case there were any mishaps.
Step 3: Apply stain or finish. Usually this is a last step, but since the boards would be going on the ceiling, it made more sense to do this ahead of attaching them. The boards we used are pine and had naturally beautiful grain pattern, so we wanted to highlight it only by using boiled linseed oil. We also didn't need to use a heavy protection finish since the boards wouldn't be getting any wear.
Step 4: Measure, cut, install. In that order. Per board. I know, I know that sees like a lot and it seems like the least efficient way to do this. But like every house, our walls are not perfectly square. Despite that, we wanted our boards to fit perfectly so we had to customize each one. Theoretically, you could measure and mark each board then cut all at once as long as you knew which boards went where. For us, it was easier not to keep track of the board that needed to second to the left. Use the construction adhesive and brad nails to attach the boards once they are in place. You can use the rubber mallet (or hammer and scrap wood) to seat the groove to the tongue.
A few important notes:
* We made a few decorative cuts to our boards to give them a staggered look like hardwood floors. The length of the ceiling was about the length of each board, so we intentionally made the boards look like varying lengths.
* Because we bought the wood from a local supplier, we were unable to pick through the boards (like you would at a home center store) and ended up with a few knots and rough edges. This was not a problem since we made cuts -- we were able to remove any of the knots on the edges this way.
* We made cuts to allow the light fixture to be mounted onto the boards instead of underneath.
* The last board we used was not full width because of the dimensions of the room. We measured the distance on both ends of the room, marked the dimensions on the ends of the last board (and yeah, they were two different dimensions), and ripped the board to final width. Because the final board wouldn't be able to latch to the tongue, we ripped of the bottom groove.
Step 5: Enjoy your brand new ceiling! And, yes, your arms may feel like jello after.
This was a spontaneous project for us. Some of, or many of, them are talked about for weeks before executed, but this one was fast and easy enough that we didn't need much time to plan. So now we are thinking of adding this look to our hallway, too. We'll keep you posted if we do . -K Are you a fan of interior paneling? Let us know!👇