How to Paint That Old Grooved Wood Paneling

Annie
by Annie
2 Materials
$700
1 Week
Easy
We had a house with that old 1960's wood panelling. You know - that horrid stuff with the grooves? Here's how we totally updated it, brightened up our house AND save a bunch of money!

NOTE: The $700 cost was for the ENTIRE HOUSE.
This. This stuff. Horrible, dated and dingy. The only good thing about this old wood paneling is that it is really easy to fix it up!



The living room. The stove doesn't normally live there, but I was painting the kitchen when I took this photo. But look at this living room, it is so dark.



And it's dreary. But here's what it looked like after I finished this project. And the living room took one day from start to finish. We sat here the same evening with all the furniture back in place. Easy fast project, if you take it room by room.
There are certain tips that are good to know for painting grooved paneling. It's not a picky job because the whole wall will be painted in the end, but it is a step by step process to get the very best look at the end. Come on over to the website and grab them all!


Here's the stair landing right off the front entry during the project.
And the after - looks much better don't you think? I love the way the woodwork pops now and would never paint it. I love all the wood in old houses!


Have a stairwell with scuffed up drywall? Take a look at how we totally transformed our basement stairwell!


We painted almost every single wall in this old house. Our total cost was $700. Your cost will depend on how many rooms you are painting and their size.


Give this project a try if you have old tired looking paneling. You will be surprised at how good you can make it look!


Resources for this project:
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Annie
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  1 question
Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 14 comments
  • Joan Stanley Joan Stanley on Jan 21, 2018

    My family room was dark paneling too. It was so dark in that room! I painted the paneling with a spray painter, first with primer then off white paint. LOVE, LOVED IT! That was 20 years ago. It'seems now ago very light gray. LOVE it even more!

    I encourage anyone thinking about doing this to DO IT! It looks great! Kind of a cottage look.

    • Annie Annie on Jan 21, 2018
      Isn't it amazing how much it brightens everything up!
  • Genie Genie on Feb 05, 2018

    You took a lemon and made lemonade! Beautiful transformation!

Next