Why You Should ALWAYS Paint Paneled Walls and How to Do It!

by Bright Green Door

Recently we moved into a beautiful house that was built in the 70's. Although many updates had been made for some reason they paneled walls were left untouched.

why you should always paint paneled walls and how to do it, how to, painting

The living room has no lighting and the dark planked walls were making the room feel even darker.

Can you believe what a transformation it took from this dark and dated room to this light and bright modern room?

As much as I LOVE the new bright white look, I decided to leave the trim and window trim natural wood. If you've ever considered painting dated paneling it will be a lot of work but in the end it will be well worth it! To see other ways we are updating this house head over to my blog and home tour!

To see the rest of this tutorial head to www.BrightGreenDoor.com or click on the link at the bottom of this page.

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BrightGreenDoor is a place where readers can come and be inspired to create a home that they love. It includes everything from simple home DIY's, design tips, and delicious recipes. If you enjoyed this post you'll love the rest of the posts there!

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Elaine DeLong-fuehrer on Jan 20, 2016
u did such a good job.! that is a huge room and a Big job. ive done that before. lots of time on a ladder.. did u have to repaint the ceiling? ur brick fireplace is beautiful and i also love the floors.. is it real wood?

1
Joanne on Jan 27, 2016
Did you have to sand it first? Thanks

3
Julianne Boone on Feb 07, 2016
Was this real wood paneling? We have the "fake" paneling from the early 1970's in our den and I so want to paint it but am uncertain how it will turn out! Great job!

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4 of 141 comments

Drd4223999 on Feb 21, 2016
This turned out so great! Lots of work for sure. I would consider painting the fireplace too

1 Reply
- Bright Green Door on Mar 07, 2016
  @Drdyson1204 Yes! I think I am going to paint it, I just want to be REALLY sure first!
  
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Susanroy36 on Mar 05, 2016
Love how your room looks. Painted paneling looks "cottage" or "lodge" and can really add to the texture of the room. Someone asked if you could paint "fake" paneling -- you can! I live in a 1976 mobile home and I "filled" my paneling grooves with sheet rock mud, and smooth it best I could after it dried. I then primed the entire wall and then sprayed texture (out of cans). Painted pretty color and had WALLS! No one could believe it began as paneling. My neighbor saw it and went home and used the mud to cover her cement wall with a light coat and then sprayed with canned texture too, and voila'. Go for it! p.s. you can find primer in any color -

2 Reply
- Bright Green Door on Mar 07, 2016
  @Susanroy36 WOW! I'm glad it worked out so well! I had bad fake paneling in our first house that I wish I would have done that to.
  
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