There seems to be a lot of very unfortunate, unnecessary and ill-informed wood paneling hatred out there. I want to rant. I seriously want to rant. But let me just say this: Our Dads and Grandpas and in some cases our Moms and Grandmas, put up wood paneling because they were very very cautious with their money. They grew up during hard times, and they learned to fear debt and unnecessary overspending. They saved for a rainy day *clue phone*. Now that we have suffered the Great Recession and are living in the New Normal, this all seems to make a lot more sense to people *clue phone*.
Wood paneling? When Dad and Mom or Grandma and Grandpa excitedly and gratefully bought their 1,000 square foot house after 1945, the basement and attic and maybe even the second floor were unfinished. This is part of what made the house a “starter home”, and couples without children were fine with just having the space they really needed. As money and time permitted and as the family grew, the family — on their own — could start finishing off the basement or attic or second floor themselves. They would frame interior walls, add electric and maybe some insulation and then Cover the Walls with Wood Paneling. Cherry or knotty pine were particularly beloved, I think, but there may have been regional preferences. Installing wood paneling was way easier than putting up and taping drywall — Dad could do the paneling all his own, no problem. I’m thinking it was cheaper, too. Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma did not feel at all oppressed by the paneling. The paneling was cozy. They made more space for their families, within their budgets. They were proud, and deserved to be.
So just shut yer pie holes, all you wood paneling haters who *can not bear to live with it*.
Eartha Kitsch — owner of a lovely time capsule knotty pine kitchen — did not rant and was very funny and probably more effective than me when she addressed the wood paneling topic last week in her story Dear Lord! Not Wood! The three images above are hers and used with her permission. Click on any of them to get to her sassy story. Props to you, Eartha Kitsch.
Where to get affordable wood paneling if you, like Mom and Dad and Grandma and Gramps, are interested in using it for a cozy, affordable DIY wall finish? I found this seemingly excellent company — Decorative Panels International, which makes a large variety of wood paneling.
The panels are affordable — $18 – $32 for a 4′ x 8′ sheet, depending on the design. They seem to be widely available at big box and lumber stores. I can’t vouch for the quality — I’d suggest asking to see a full panel before committing — but online, they look just like the wood paneling in the houses that my Mom and Dad and Gramps an Grams built.
Noon update: I talked at length this morning to the president of DPI, Tim Clark. Very nice and passionate man — passionate about making all DPI products the U.S., and passionate about doing it in an environmentally sensitive way. He clarified that DPI’s products consist of an engineered wood substrate with the final top design printed; the top is not veneer. Made in Alpena, Mich., the substrate or backer is made of only three ingredients — wood, water and a flaxseed-based oil. The substrates are put through presses in Alpena that create different textures. The final design is then printed onto the substrate in Toledo. DPI uses rotogravure (not digital) printing, and generally takes each design through several runs with different colors to get the design effect they want. I asked Tim if he thought I would be able to tell the difference between DPI’s printed cherry paneling (for example) and veneered cherry paneling. He said he thought I would be hard pressed (pun haha). Veneered paneling will likely cost about 50% more, he estimated. Also note, Tim said that DPI’s paneling is not positioned to be the cheapest in the market — it’s not the kind of paneling that an economical landlord would put into rental units between tenants. Tim said that DPI is passionate about the structural integrity and overall aesthetic of the product and the processes, and their pricing reflects that. This, along with their focus on environmentally sensitive manufacturing (their processes use minimal solvents, so there is zero or minimal offgassing of the paneling), means the have made major inroads in terms of being stocked at the big box stores like Home Depot, Lowes and Menards, he said.
Tim is sending me samples of a variety of designs — ones I thought would be of greatest interested to Retro Renovation readers. I will take a look and report back. I also will continue researching veneered wood paneling and compare the two.
For more than 50 years, we have been providers of high quality utility and designer wall panels. With a solid hardboard manufacturing facility located in Alpena Michigan, and a superior finishing facility in Toledo Ohio, we are proud to offer one of America’s finest wall products – worldwide.
DPI is recognized industry-wide as the leader in design style innovation and state-of- the- art manufacturing processes. A perfect fit in virtually every part of your home, DPI wall paneling allows you to achieve looks and performance comparable to ceramic tile, wall paper, wood wall paneling and even stone and brick masonry – at a fraction of the cost!
Go Alpena! Go Toledo! DPI also points out that their product is produced in an environmentally sensitive manner:
- All GreenCore finished products feature our S2S premium hardboard foundation for high performance with lower environmental impact
- Inherent durability resists buckling and warping experienced with other products
- Our prefinished panel resists moisture on the surface
- Formaldehyde-free manufacturing means our panels will not adversely affect your indoor air
- Mold-resistant formulation built into the substrate to fend off typical stains
Where to find it:
- Look at all the DPI wood paneling designs here.
Carole says
I mentioned in a post for vintage wallpaper (which I just came across from 2009) that I spent my teenage years in an old farmhouse on 23 acres. Two walls of our living room had been designed as storage, shallow shelving behind an huge oil furnace, and deeper units underneath the stairs (inventive of whoever built the house actually). The closets were paneled with blond knotty pine which had been sealed with a clear finish. Nothing like the style pictured above, but still paneled, and still hated by many people. Considering that the living room also featured a large oil furnace, the paneling was probably a God send for my mother. Much easier to keep clean than painted walls.
As for the paneling above, I have lived with that too, and though I don’t care for it myself, I can see the flip side of the equation. There was a different view of home ownership in days past. As you said, grandma and grandpa, mom and dad, didn’t buy more house than they could afford or needed. They bought what was within their budget, with or without the idea of possibly building on at some point in the future (that’s what ranch houses were all about), and they decorated and worked with what they had, staying within their means. We could all learn a lesson or two from that. 😉
Elaine says
I love wood paneling too. We scored a houseful of it in our 1963 time capsule, and it has cherry in the main rooms, something different in one of the bedrooms. Our contractor was saying he COULD take it out but didn’t want to. He took out part of one wall to open things out, but he saved the paneling and used it to panel the breakfast bar we moved to replace the wall. We still have some left in case there are other projects. He said this was not the cheap paper veneer paneling, it is real wood, so there is a difference. Pix of it here:
http://elaineswhim.blogspot.com/
Elaine says
Another thing about the real wood paneling that is interesting, can it regulate the atmosphere in the house? Our time capsule stood empty in Florida for at least five years, no heat, no AC. There was not a speck of mold in the place. My brother-in-law came up with the theory that all the wood paneling helped regulate the humidity in the house. It could be true, something sure worked magic.
pam kueber says
Thanks, Elaine. I added your blog to my blogroll – not sure how I missed you before!
Elaine says
Thank you, Pam! I am not the most active blogger, but it has been lots of fun.
Ima Pam says
LOVE wood paneling, maybe this topic could be a new spinoff site “Save the Paneling”! We had real, lovely honey birch veneer in the basement of our 63 ranch, but had to remove it due to water damage. It was attached to the cinder block with furring strips. No insulation. No sheetrock. An inexpensive, durable, handsome way to “finish” a room…but done the way it was here, not meeting today’s codes…
Dulcie says
I just can’t like paneling. Growing up, when my family outgrew the main floor, my dad built a bedroom in the basement for my sister and me. Not bothering with that pesky permit process, the bedroom was made with no windows. The walls were dark paneling, the woodwork & doors, dark walnut stain and the carpet, dark gold shag (30+ years later and it’s all still there in my dad’s house). That room was pitch black at noon when the lights were out and not much better when we turned on the lamps. The oppression was overwhelming.
In response, I refuse to have stained woodwork in my house, all trim is painted white, all rooms are painted bright colors and my only concession will be lightly stained hardwood floors. Paneling is against the law in my house and I’m even pretty iffy on wood trim, I’m a paint girl through and through.
Kersten says
The previous owners of our house sheetrocked over the top of beautiful mahogany paneling (we have pics of the original) and it pains me to know what’s underneath our walls. When we demo the 1989 kitchen to put in our 1957 St. Charles cabinets, we’re going to rip out one wall of the sheetrock to see if the paneling is salvageable. If it is, we’ve got a huge project in front of us – removing all the sheetrock from the first floor! I would LOVE to have the original paneling.
retrojunkie58 says
My father-in-law built our home which we inheirited from them. Almost the whole house is done in knotty pine! I wouldn’t change it for anything, I think it’s great…. plus I hate to paint!!!
Rebecca Prichard says
And, it’s Michigan! 🙂
Justin says
I don’t have a problem with wood paneling when it is real wood. The issue I have is with the faux or fake wood paneling. Most of the paneling you find at the big box stores (HD or L) only have the faux wood paneling. Those are the ones that cost cheap. I’m not sure exactly where to get the real wood paneling, or even if you can still get them, but they would be considerably more cost wise.
When I was a kid we had a house that the living room had two walls that was the real wood paneling and it was in beautiful shape. I still think of those walls all the time. The dining room had one wall with the wood paneling, but someone before we ever moved in had painted it white.
Missy says
Hooray, Pam! I love this post and I love wood paneling! I so appreciate your respect for the people who installed it, and your understanding of their reasons for doing so. Too little of that these days.
Thanks so much for the sources – I’m considering it for our living room. I know it will make the space look smaller, but it already *is* small – so why not make it more cozy? Our hardwood floors are original to the house (1948) and a medium brown – I don’t think the same color wood on the walls will be too dark.
lady brett says
i just want to add a word of warning. i feel like at least some of the paneling in our house deserves a bit of hate. not for aesthetic reasons, though, but because the sturdiness of the wood paneling in our house managed to hide two major leaks that would have otherwise been blatantly obvious during the house-buying process. so, because of the wood paneling, we found ourselves in need of a completely new roof, and new walls in the two leaking rooms. the sheetrock behind the paneling? fell off the wall without being touched, it was so soaked through. the paneling? didn’t show the least sign of damp, warp or wear, and sealed so well to the floor that a foot of standing water built up in the wall without the least leak showing.
of course, that is also a testament to it’s structural integrity. but in the end, while i appreciate quality construction, i am always going to opt for wall coverings that are less sturdy than the walls themselves (some of the studs had also rotted out while the paneling remained unscathed).
aesthetically? well, it felt oppressive when every surface was dark, dark wood – but that is personal opinion, not statement of fact (or of hate). now that there is less of it, i am perfectly happy with what is left. what is left is only on interior walls, though.
pam kueber says
Thanks, Lady Brett — Even though this bit you, it’s a good warning to prospective home buyers: In the inspection process, get behind the paneling to see what’s going on!