Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

I know, I know, wood paneling is soooooo outdated "ugh get rid of it"

My "office"/computer room is all wood paneling. I hate it, while I kinda like it... with all these house projects (painting/laminate floors) my hubby would really rather not get involved in taking it down to put up sheet rock, and its not priority to take down.
Should I paint over it ? I do have one room that was wod paneling and the previous owners painted over it, its not THAT terrible looking. part of me wants to attempt trying to paint over some of it (half the room has a chair rail sort of windowsill type thing where I could get away with painting the top or bottom half and leaving half "Wood".... or even 2 walls wood, 2 paint ?
DO you need to see pics to get a better visual?
are my ideas sounding horrible? I do feel like the room could use freshening up and its a small room, so the wood paneling makes it feel even smaller...

opinions? thanks

Message edited 6/10/2006 11:09:09 PM.

Re: Opinions on wood paneling?

Posted by anna

I know, I know, wood paneling is soooooo outdated "ugh get rid of it"

My "office"/computer room is all wood paneling. I hate it, while I kinda like it... with all these house projects (painting/laminate floors) my hubby would really rather not get involved in taking it down to put up sheet rock, and its not priority to take down.
Should I paint over it ? I do have one room that was wod paneling and the previous owners painted over it, its not THAT terrible looking. part of me wants to attempt trying to paint over some of it (half the room has a chair rail sort of windowsill type thing where I could get away with painting the top or bottom half and leaving half "Wood".... or even 2 walls wood, 2 paint ?
DO you need to see pics to get a better visual?
are my ideas sounding horrible? I do feel like the room could use freshening up and its a small room, so the wood paneling makes it feel even smaller...

opinions? thanks

Re: Opinions on wood paneling?

Pic would help but I like think the look of painted panneling is actually kinda in now as long as it is a light color like white or cream.

Re: Opinions on wood paneling?

My Dad has painted the wood paneling in his den and we painted the wood paneling in our LR and bedroom and it looks pretty good. All the colors used are very light-yellow, cream and a very light blue. We didn't fill in the spacing just put a primer first then put the coat of paint on.

Re: Opinions on wood paneling?

thanks for the ideas ladies.
here are pics, I hope this works, I havent posted a pic in ages

Its a pretty small room, and its a room that you walk through, so my space is even more limited for that reason. But the wood paneling is in decent condition, Im wondering if I can be creative and paint parts of it
please excuse the mess, still under construction

Also, to help justify my keep SOME wood, is that Ive wanted to do a nautical themed room in the house and still havent I figured wood would look cute with anchors or blue/white stuff, and pics of my boys everywhere ...just in idea of how I might decorate. and Im a HUGE fan of NO WHITE or BEIGE most of my ceilings are light blues, yellow, green, one is a light coffee color. white and beige just dont do it for me... maybe a bright yellow ceiling ?

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Message edited 6/10/2006 11:08:19 PM.

Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

We painted our basement (we bought a special primer, if I remember right) and painted the color we chose and it turned out nice! I think for a nice looking, easy fix, it looks nice.

Sorry, I do not have any pictures to share though.

Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

It looks like it's in great condition. I think painting over it is a good idea.

Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

we painted over out paneling in my scrapbook/crafts room. We didnt want to rip it all out, so we just painted it white and it looks fine!

Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

i painted my old apartment paneling white
it looked great and it distracted people from the fact there was paneling there

Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

We actually have a wall in our living room that has a chair rail in the middle, with wood paneling below and painted sheet rock above. It is the staircase wall, and it needs to have an opening for the oil burner. By having the paneling, we are able to actually remove a piece of the paneling like a trap door, but you can't tell it's there because it's panelled. I like the way it looks, my dad did a great job on it.

Here's a picture.

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Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

I would prime and paint right over it

Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

yep, we have that in our office and when I have the time, I plan to paint over it, white too. I think it'll actually be a nice look because the paneling will give the walls some texture when it's painted. Kinda like a Pottery Barn look

Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

We have paneling in a couple rooms, and we painted over it- it came out pretty good- kind of a rustic but neat look, if that makes any sense.

Re: Opinions on wood paneling? *added pics!*

oh wow, great ideas ladies! charon, that looks awesome!!! its inspiring me for my nautical theme! I wonder if I paint light blue and navy (as I try to get it lighter I want navy? ) and maybe white on the "windowsill" ledge piece in the room. to get a nautical look.

but thanks everyone for the ideas and feedback!