I need ideas on what to do with a room full of brown paneling

hi Linda! Are you afraid to paint them? If not, striped paneling can give a modern feel. I liked this one and thought it might help! http://joeadami.com/blog/painting-stripes-wood-paneling/

We once removed the dark wood paneling from a back room and repurposed it to cover the outer walls of a kitchen island. We took the rest and made a headboard attached to the wall for our master bedroom! The walls were then sheet rocked and painted to update the room. Hope this starts some ideas for you!

Possibly you can paint over them, but I think you would need to prime them first. I can be wrong.

Either pull down paneling and put up drywall (expensive) or paint it. Always use a oil based primer or paneling will bleed through.

I have seen it painted and it looks nice

Brenda Sylvania, OHJust now

I have seen it painted and it looks nice

Paint your paneling to enlarge & open up the room; then ask the question again.

Do you know what is under it?

I painted it and it looks great! Any color like a regular room!

We had this and we primed it with Kilz and the painted the color that we wanted. Very happy with results.

I recently did this (painted it) and it is a LOT of work but the outcome is worth it. You didn't say how big your room is so you might not have the same situation I did. Also my paneling was dark brown luan not true wood paneling. I have a lot of trim--3 door openings and 1 big window. I am 71 years old so if I did it most people should be able to. Advice is this--Sand the walls and trim enough to take the shine off, paint with Kilz first. Be sure you use the original Kilz. I got bad advice on that to start with, used the water based one first and had to redo a lot of it. The smell is bad but it dissipates quickly. Just ventilate the room while using it and for a while after. For good results the original is what you need to use (on the walls and the trim). I did 2 coats of Kilz and 2 coats of paint. More advice--do the paneling grooves first with a small brush and it will go faster when you roll on the other. Use a good quality paint ( I used the high end Sherwin Williams eggshell finish). If you are not familiar with what eggshell is--it is a type of finish not a color and looks like an eggshell when dry. I use it on all my walls. Not knowing what your paneling is, I will tell you that my Aunt and my Mother had the true tongue and groove pine paneling and it turned out beautiful. The painter put the original Kilz on it and painted it. It has been that way a long time and still looks good. I will try to keep up with this and see if you have any more questions. GOOD LUCK!

since you said a room full, this might be too costly,but a friend used fabric, she tacked it,stapled it very tight and put up molding to cover tacking. it really looked great.

Prime it and paint---will make a huge difference!