Options for Wood Paneling

It is quite common to see certain vintages of homes with one room of the house with wood paneling, often the family room or the room with the fireplace. Although designed to be that warm, cozy area of the home for the family to get together, it is now usually the forgotten room or a room that is simply not utilized. When we ask why, the reply is usually, “It’s just too dark because of the paneling.” Or, a close second, “the recessed lighting has not been updated in decades.” In many cases, it’s both. 

Although you can sand, prime, and paint wood paneling so that it appears different — and you can improve the lighting — many of our customers wish to remove the paneling altogether. It gives you more options moving forward and feels more like the finishes in the rest of your home. 

Is It Worth It? 

Although it is a little more expensive, wood paneling removal allows us to address any insulation concerns while we work. Today there are products that have a better R-value or thermal resistance than perhaps were used in the 1950s or 1960s. We often find that even insulation installed in the 1970s may have been done poorly, or it has settled over many decades, which creates areas that have no insulation at all. All of these things can be addressed if the paneling is removed. 

Lighting upgrades

Although it’s a good time to take a look at lighting upgrades, it’s also a great opportunity to look at how much natural light you might be able to take advantage of. Some have decided to install a few more windows or upgrade to more energy-efficient windows, which will make a huge difference. It may even help you to connect visually to an outside patio or other space that you have invested in over the years. These visual connections are important, not only in daily life, but especially when entertaining.

Electrical upgrades

Removing the paneling also gives the client the opportunity to do updates to their electrical. This is often needed if installing a wall-mounted TV or in-wall speakers. All these things not only look good, but also provide a very useful function for the family. It gives the room a different feel because it helps create more space as these items no longer rob square footage from the room, they are now part of the room. Those benefits are very obvious if the room will serve multiple functions or is part of your daily traffic pattern. 

Simply Put: Yes

When we do panel removal for clients, they’re always in complete disbelief that this room is now in their home. They often wish they had done the renovation earlier. Although we do quite a few of them, we often can’t believe the difference either.

Oftentimes, clients also can’t believe how much the other details of the room pop. They’ll now love the brickwork or fireplace that they never really looked at before because it just blended in with the dark paneling.

Ready to Transform Your Space?

Do you have a room in your home that sounds like what we have described? If so, let us help you develop a game plan to renovate your space so you’ll fall in love with that room once again.