A Look at the Benefits of Wall Paneling
A Look at the Benefits of Wall Paneling
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It&#;s impossible to scroll through social media without seeing beautiful homes in some capacity. Whether you follow Instagram accounts dedicated to showcasing unique home décor, or you constantly see ads for all those home flipping shows, you&#;re sure to see some visually stunning interior decorating. And when you are hoping to upgrade the look of your home, it&#;s impossible to stop thinking about all the cool things you can do to your space! Wall paneling is an oft-forgotten, easy-to-incorporate detail that can instantly transform the look of any home.
Homeowners often come to us at The Moulding Company to discuss their options and figure out how they can transform their homes with a more restrictive budget. Wall paneling is an easy suggestion! If your walls are flat and dull, this is the perfect way to dress them up without entirely remodeling. Your home reflects you as a person, and adding wall paneling can be precisely what you need to showcase your refined taste. Could this be the right choice for your home? Take a look at the benefits of paneling to help you decide.
Easy to Install
The installation component is one of the biggest reasons people postpone home improvement projects. A home redesign tends to be tedious and time-consuming. Additionally, the expense can also be a pain point if you&#;re hiring a professional to do it.
Fortunately, wall paneling doesn&#;t fit in this category. Because of the ease of installation, wall paneling is an excellent do-it-yourself project for those who consider themselves handy or willing to put in the work and learn. Tongue-and-groove designs and clipping systems make installation easier than assembling some children&#;s toys. All you need are the correct dimensions, the right supplies, suitable tools, and a little free time to mount the panels to your walls.
Plenty of Material Choices
While traditional wall paneling is wooden, this material is not your only option! Modern materials such as medium-density fiberboard and melamine are more durable and impact-resistant, making them suitable for high-traffic areas when scuffing and denting are likely to occur. Melamine is moisture-resistant, allowing for installation in kitchens and bathrooms without fear of warping or rotting. With all these material options, something is bound to suit your needs.
Adding an accent wall is a relatively easy home improvement project because it&#;s reasonable to do the work and finish it in a single weekend. Peel and stick wallpaper has become a trendy element of the DIY home improvement circuit, and for a good reason! It&#;s affordable and easy to apply, even if you&#;ve never done wallpapering before.
Are you looking to try paneling in only one room in your home? A single wall, covered on the top half with peel and stick wallpaper and then complimented on the bottom with beautifully painted accent wall panels, can add enormous dimension to any room. It elevates the look from plain to stunning without the intense time, effort, or expense a remodel would take. Alternatively, add the same wallpaper and paneling around the entire room for an enormous wow factor and an incredible upgrade for the space!
Wall Paneling Offers Protection for Your Walls
Paneling isn&#;t just decorative. It also serves a functional purpose by protecting your walls from damage! Homeowners often choose baseboards, chair rails, or wall paneling to protect against everyday dings and dents that eventually appear on everyone&#;s walls.
You can choose to purchase impact-resistant paneling, which is less likely to be dented, scratched, or otherwise banged up for even more protection. Even when your wall paneling starts showing signs of wear and tear, cleaning or replacing a section of paneling is easier than repairing drywall.
Flexible Design Choices
There are numerous ways to cover your walls with paneling. Throughout history, the type of wall paneling in residential and commercial buildings has changed to reflect society&#;s tastes and trends. In the Tudor period, when British homes were first beginning to reflect comforts and not just practicalities, artisans carved patterns into the thin oak paneling that was popular then. It would often span the entire wall and was almost exclusively a feature of the homes of the wealthy.
On the other hand, paneling in the Victorian period was often capped off at chair level using what we call chair rail now. These panels were less ornate than the panels of the periods before but were still primarily found in wealthy homes.
Today, paneling is much more budget-friendly for people of all incomes! Because of this, there has been a resurgence of wall paneling projects that pull inspiration from all different periods. Reclaimed wood is a rustic option for creating accent wall panels in modern homes. Wainscoting adds character to the bottom half of the wall with beadboard or v-groove paneling and can look more like a Victorian-style option. Board and batten paneling draw your eye upward with vertical panels, while shiplap serves as a horizontal wall treatment. You can even create a profile of 3D wall panels.
Want something more colorful than the white common in modern design or the natural colors of wood used in historical applications? You can paint or stain paneling any way you want to suit your design tastes&#;another benefit of living in the present and not Tudor England!
Use As Camouflage for Unattractive Features
Maybe you have a noticeable dent in your living room wall or an unsightly chip in the kitchen wall that has distracted you to the point of burning dinner while you were cooking. Wall paneling can be a handsome coverup for these flaws and add a decorative element that positively catches the eye! Of course, you shouldn&#;t use paneling to cover up severe structural damage. Still, minor wear and tear or unattractive elements that only affect your walls aesthetically are okay to hide behind paneling.
Wall paneling, when used cleverly, can also be used to hide away unsightly or tangled cords. That&#;s why so many people use accent wall panels! You can even install it over rough or uneven surfaces to give the space a more even finish. Some people use elegant wall paneling to camouflage old, out-of-commission brick fireplaces.
Low Maintenance
As mentioned previously, wall paneling is much simpler to replace or repair than drywall, but it is also very low-maintenance. Of course, it depends on the material you choose for your paneling, but a microfiber cloth, some water, and a gentle cleanser are often all you need to wipe panels down and keep them looking their best.
Can Help with Soundproofing and Insulation
If you are looking for a simple way to add more soundproofing and insulation to your home, wall paneling can also help. Adding this layer to your walls can help keep warm air in during the winter and cool air in during the summer. It also acts as an additional buffer to sounds from outside your home or between rooms so that you can enjoy a quieter environment.
Improves Styling for a Custom Look
Wall paneling is associated with the upper class, as historically, decorative elements in a home were only affordable to the upper echelon. Traditional Colonial and Georgian interiors often featured wood panels to indicate the owner&#;s wealth. This concept still holds true today, so if you&#;re looking for a way to improve the style and richness of your home without investing a lot, paneling is an excellent option.
These are just some of the benefits you can expect from wall paneling. If you&#;re ready to install this upgrade in your home, let The Moulding Company help. We have a knowledgeable design staff and over five decades of experience to back us up. Visit one of our four showrooms in the San Francisco Bay Area to see wall paneling up close, or contact us today for a free quote on your upcoming project!
For more information, please visit painted wall paneling ideas.
The Pros and Cons of Wall Panels
Paint isn't the only way you can transform the walls of a space, as there are plenty of modern options on the market. Changing or updating a room of your home can be done with various wall textures and finishes in the form of panels and boards, as homeowners are no longer limited to paint colours or outdated wallpaper.
Of course, like any wall covering there are pros and cons to installing wood panels or any other type of panelling. Factors to consider include installation, cost, as well as its versatility within the space. However, if you&#;re looking to breathe new life into your home by way of its walls, then wall panels are an attractive and cost-effective option, read on for the details regarding pros and cons!
Advantages of Installing Wall Panels
Source: Canva
Visual appeal of textured accent wall cladding
Of course, one of the main pros of installing panels is the visual aspect. Wall panels can be designed to suit the needs and tastes of any homeowner. Whether you choose wood panelling, fabric or faux stone, wall panels give any surface a pleasant look alongside a revamped aspect to a space.
Not only can they add unique focal points and visual appeal, but they can also work to hide any existing flaws on the walls. Wood panelling is an excellent tactic to hide flaws or unsightly marks, scratches, dents, or cracks that may have occurred over time in your home. The panelling of any sort can even work to hide cables from entertainment systems or electronic devices, whereas paint is not capable of this.
Interior acoustic insulation
Aside from adding visual appeal and depth to a space, wall panels (wood, PVC, vinyl, or brick veneer) also work to keep rooms insulated. Panelling is warm and provides both thermal and acoustic insulation. If you live in an apartment or home where noise easily travels, then panels should be considered to dampen the dispersion of noise.
Further, depending on the material, some models are flame resistant. So not only does wall panelling look good, and insulate your home, it has the potential to keep you safe and comfortable.
Wood Panelling Durability and Maintenance
One of the major benefits of panelling (not only wood planks) is its durability. Most are made of heavy materials, and can, therefore, handle their fair share of impacts, as well as last many years without needing to be replaced. Furthermore, unlike paint, wall panels can be easily cleaned and maintained. Wood or PVC models can be cleaned easily with a damp cloth and some household cleaners.
Fabric panels may be slightly more difficult to clean but if removable covers are an option, you can toss these into the washing machine. If damage occurs in your wall panels, you can easily remove, repair and replace them in a simple DIY job.
Wood panels can be sanded down and resealed to restore their former look and sheen. Peeling or old, faded paint is much more difficult to revamp, and will usually require the homeowner to re-do an entire room&#;s paint job rather than simply remove a single panel.
Cons of Installing Wooden Wall Panels
Source: Canva
Potential rotting
One of the major cons of installing panelling instead of giving your room a simple coat of paint is the potential rotting on the panels. Rot can easily occur on wood or fabric panelling if any form of water sets into the material.
Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done once rot has embedded itself, aside from replacing the entire panel. It's important to replace water-logged or rotting panels right away, as rot can spread and destroy nearby panels that are still in sound condition.
Warping
The potential of warping is especially true of wood panelling, as wood is very susceptible to warping and bulging when the temperature fluctuates or when panelling hasn't been correctly installed. Warping can occur with other materials as well but is less common in fabrics, vinyl, and PVC panelling surfaces. However, warping may still occur, so take the utmost care when installing your panels.
Lack of sustainability
Although it is slowly becoming more common to work with sustainable materials in our homes, most components used for wall panelling aren't yet sustainable. Even though there have been several steps forward in the field of degrading plastics, wood and vinyl, the production process is unfortunately not completely eco-friendly.
However, one way to overcome this is to work with upcycled materials or look for those which have a green seal. These may cost more initially, but, over time, sustainable materials will greatly add resale value to your home!
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