The Only Way to Panel your Walls
Having a feature wall in your home can really add another dimension into what would have been a boring space.
Panelling is a great way to incorporate a traditional and yet very contemporary feel into your home.
Although it may look like an expensive addition to your space, panelling can be a cheap and easy way of adding a beautiful addition to your space.
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| Decorating Centre Online- Panelling Bundle |
What you will need:
· MDF Lats/sheets
· Cutting-in Brush
· Filler
· Spirit Level
· Tape Measure
· Nail Pins
· Hammer
· Sponge
Or you can buy our Panelling Bundle with everything you will need for your panelling inside!
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| Decorating Centre Online- Colour Match Paint from £13.99 |
1. Why should I panel my walls?
Well, even though panelling looks beautiful when fitted correctly onto your walls, it also has some practical uses too.
Panelling can hide a multitude of sins on your walls. Whether they are uneven or in need of filling, a panelled wall can hide these surfaces.
It can also create an extra layer of durability to your walls in high-traffic areas such as hallways and staircases, working to keep your décor looking fresh and new.
2. Choose your Style
Although you may have only seen a couple of versions of panelling- namely half-wall panelling up a staircase and maybe a boxed feature wall- panelling can actually come in a wide variety of styles to suit not only your choice of décor but also the space it is in too.
Geometric Panelling
Geometric Panelling is a new type of panelling which can bring a very contemporary look into your spaces by incorporating a modern geo style with a traditional panelled look.
Flat Plank Wall Cladding
Panelling can also come in flat-plank wall cladding which give a rustic finish to your wall, bringing an industrial or even a shabby-chic style into your space.
Square-Style Panelling
Square style panelling is a more common and traditional style of panelling which consists of square panels overlapping on your wall.
This is often used as either a feature wall of panelling or even a half wall too.
Dado-Style Wall Panelling
This style of panelling works very well in either a living room, bedroom or up a staircase.
This type of panelling usually consists of rectangular shapes of wood fixed onto the wall.
These aren’t often overlapping and are quite sparse in their design too.
There are so many more different types of wall panelling, which means that you can tailor your individual style to your panelling as well as the shape of your walls and your other décor too.
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| Decorating Centre Online- Choose the thickness of your lats |
3. Choose your thickness
You will also need to choose the thickness of your panelling too. This is again very much based on your own likes and dislikes.
You can always cut some sample pieces of panelling down and place them on your wall to choose your own individual thickness. In our DIY Panelling video, we chose a 10cm thickness.
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| Decorating Centre Online- Measuring Up |
4. Measuring up how much you’ll need
When you have decided what type of panelling you’re going for, as well as which wall it is going onto, you will now have to source your wall panelling.
You can either go to your local DIY shop to source this wood or you can go to a local carpenter who will be able to cut it into a wide variety of styles for you.
Measuring up really does depend on what style of panelling you’re wanting to go for.
Measuring Square Panelling
With traditional square panelling, you can work out how much you’ll need in the same way as panelling.
Simply divide the area you’re wanting to panel into rectangular sections and then you can calculate the dimensions of each section from there.
Add each of these individual pieces up and don’t forget to add an extra 10% for wastage too.
Measuring for Lengths of Planks
If you are panelling your wall using lengths of planks- like a tongue in groove style panelling- you can do this very simply.
Measure along the walls that are going to be panelled and then divide by the width of the board. Make sure to add another 10% for wastage and you’re done!
Phew! Take a break, this one can be difficult!
Seems simple, but this step can be very frustrating- as you can see on our DIY Panelling video!
It can take some time to measure up correctly, but it is essential that you make sure that you try and get this as accurate as possible as it will make your panelling look it’s very best when completed.
Make sure to have a cuppa after this, and maybe even a biccy too!
5. Fix any obvious problems with your wall
Even though panelling can hide a wide variety of problems with your wall, you may find yourself running into some problems if you don’t fix certain problems before you start panelling.
Problems like damp, flaking plaster and other issues like this can obstruct your panelling, making it difficult, if impossible, to fix your panelling.
When we installed our panelling, we found that our wall was wonky and uneven which required us to glue on our panels differently and fill areas which were unable to reach the top.
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| Decorating Centre Online- Start by glueing on the frame |
6. Start with the frame
If you’re fixing a frame around your panelled wall, the best way to begin fixing your panelling to the walls is by starting with the frame.
This can be glued onto the wall using Hippo Pro 3 Sealant & Filler or can be nailed onto the wall using a hammer and nails (this is particularly useful for larger planks of wood fixed to the walls).
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| Decorating Centre Online- Use the centrepoint as a guideline for the other lats |
7. Find the middle of the panelling
This step can be skipped if you are panelling your wall using a geometric design, or any other design which means that you will not need to have an equal design.
If you are panelling your walls using a ‘mirrored’ design, finding the middle of the panelling is much easier to make sure that each panel is equally spaced away from each other, making the design look well-balanced.
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| Decorating Centre Online- Use Hippo Pro 3 Sealant & Filler to glue the lats on the wall |
8. Adhere the rest of the panelling to your wall
Make sure that each of the lats adhere to your wall using Hippo Pro 3 Sealant & Filler securely before moving onto the next step.
Use a spirit level to make sure the lats are straight before adhering them to the wall.
Use a spirit level to make sure the lats are straight before adhering them to the wall.
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| Decorating Centre Online- Make sure the lats are straight using a spirit level |
9. Caulk areas which need it
If there are any gaps in your panelling, you can caulk any areas which show gaps or anything that you are unhappy with.
Remember to leave it to dry and then to sand it down afterwards so that you have a smooth finish to your wall panelling.
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| Decorating Centre Online- Sand down any caulk/panelling which isn't smooth |
10. Lightly dampen the MDF
Taking a damp sponge, lightly wet your MDF panelling for the APU to open the pores in the wood and help the adhesion of the APU in the next step.
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| Decorating Centre Online- Use a foam roller to paint your first coat of APU (Acrylic Primer Undercoat) |
11. Apply Acrylic Primer Undercoat to the wooden areas of your panelling
Using a foam roller, apply your first coat of APU onto the wooden areas of your panelling. Make sure that you use a 2” brush to get into the trickier areas.
If your whole wall is made from MDF, you will have to apply the APU all over the wall.
However, if only the lats are MDF, you can apply the SAPU only to those areas.
12. Apply the second coat of APU to the MDF
Leave your first coat of APU to dry for at least 4 hours before applying the second layer in the same way as above.
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| Decorating Centre Online- Paint the second layer of primer |
13. Apply your first coat of paint
Now your panelling is ready to paint with a finish suitable for woodwork such as our Hardwearing Acrylic Eggshell.
Simply cut in using a brush and then use a fluffy roller to paint the rest of the wall and woodwork.
Make sure to paint your panelling in strips in order to not let any of the paint dry fully as this can sometimes create a patchy finish to your painting.
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| Decorating Centre Online- Using a fluffy roller & cutting in brush, paint your first coat of Colour Match Paint |
14. Leave to dry and apply your second coat of paint
Leave to dry for 4 hours before applying the second layer in the same way as above.
15. Grab a cuppa, you’re done!
After all that work, sit back, relax, admire your handiwork and get someone else to grab you a cuppa, you’ve done enough!
Check out our DIY Panelling Video below for some extra handy hints & tips!
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| Decorating Centre Online- Colour Match Paint from £13.99 Matched to Voice of Colour Cavalry PPG 1041-7 |
If you need any more help or advice for your decorating project, please don’t hesitate to DM us on any of our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter & YouTube), email us on sales@decoratingcentreonline.co.uk, phone us on 01388 665844 or even live chat us on our website.
We look forward to hearing from you!
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