Decorative paneling made easy

Living in a period house has its perks. It gives you the opportunity to restore or add in features that would have once been present in the home 100 years ago.

Back in the day paneling was often used on the lower portion of the wall, under the dado rail to add in extra insulation due to the lack of a damp course. The type of panelling we have gone for is the moulded panelling, which generally was used purely for decorative purposes.

It gives such an opulent and grand finish to the wall and although it possibly looks more dramatic in a larger room, we wanted to add in this touch of luxury to our lounge.

We have previously added paneling to our headboard wall in our master bedroom but it’s a much chunkier style. The living room, although the same size as the bedroom, feels much smaller because of the furniture. We felt that a more delicate style would suit better.

We have been working with Wickes for this project as part of a paid partnership and they have supplied all materials for us to complete this project.

The dado rail we used was the MDF 18mm x 58mm x 2.4m. It comes ready primed and white so you can either leave it as it is or paint it.

There are a few types of moulding that Wickes offer but we decided to go for the pine decorative cover moulding in 31mm x 12m x 2.4m. We preferred this style because it mimicked the original moulded pieces that are on our picture rail and also on our door panels. We have needed 36 pieces for our lounge, which is around 3m x 3.5m.

As with most DIY projects, the measuring and prep takes the longest. Before we could apply the mouldings we needed to think about the shape we wanted to create. Would the panels need to be square or more of a rectangle? Where will the dado rail sit?

We needed the dado rail to run at the same height as the bottom of the mantle piece to ensure it looked in keeping with the style of the room. We decided that the majority of pieces would form a square but over the fireplace it would need to be more of a rectangle. As the space below the dado rail is smaller, the bottom half of the paneling would form a more rectangular shape also.

We normally use a bog standard spirit level for our projects but Adam felt it would be too tricky to get everything precise using this method so we purchased a laser light and a telescopic pole. It made the job so much easier, almost like having a builders mate to hold everything for you.

We bought the Bosch Quigo self-leveling laser. It comes with a clamp so you may attach it to a pole or alternative surface.

It projects a horizontal and diagonal laser line onto the wall. Even when projecting onto an uneven surface it levels and projects a straight line. It enables you to align wallpaper, hang shelves, put up pictures, tiles and paneling.

We also purchased the telescopic pole, which retracts to 3.2m and provides a supportive base for you to attach your laser level on to.

Adam measured out where the panels should go and made pencil marks on the wall. He then positioned the laser level so that the beams projected against where his pencil marks were and used the laser as the guidance.

Adam used a mitre saw block to cut the dado rail and then using ‘No more nails’ adhesive, he stuck it to the wall.

Once we had the moulding pieces, Adam used a mitre saw again to cut the angle. No more nails adhesive was used along the length and then he used small tacks to ensure they were firmly attached to the wall.

 He worked his way around the room, completing the top half of the paneling first.

He then began to add in the bottom half of the panels under the dado rail, using the above paneling and the laser level as guidance.

Decorator’s caulk was then used in the joins to ensure a seamless finish. This is a vital step as it means the beading will blend into the wall and appear to have always been there, rather than a looking like a square of wood stuck to the wall!

Once all of the caulk was completed we then began the priming process. We used a basic wood primer in white overall of the beading pieces.

Once this stage is completed all that’s left to do is paint the walls with your desired shade. We prefer to paint the walls and the paneling all the same colour as they would have during the period that our house was built but some prefer to paint the paneling a contrasting tone to the wall.

Wickes have just launched their online service ‘What’s your colour?’ to assist customers to pick their perfect shade. They have also just launched 19 brand new colours to their existing paint range.

We are so happy with the finished result. It’s given the room such a grand feeling and adds warmth and new dimension to the walls.

This project has taken us around a month to complete as we could only complete it during our spare time whilst our children were in bed but if you had more time then it could easily be completed in a week.

Wickes offer an extensive range of tools and products for even the most amateur DIYer and they also have lots of How-to guides to support you in your projects so give it a go and get creative! We are now thinking of creating the same paneling throughout our hall, we’re obsessed!

#AD #Wickes #Madewithwickes