I would suggest using Annie Sloan chalk paint and wax products. Its made for all types of surfaces. NOT CHEAP but it's a wonder product believe me. The look will absolutely astound you....I PROMISE :)

i had a full family room which we divided into two rooms( one family room with fireplace and one room for son's bedroom) half was painted wall, half was paneling. The fireplace/ living room side has a large ( one entire wall) sliding glass door and paneling around that. The fireplace wall is paneled also. I got tired of the oak paneling and stained/painted it a nice satin black and also stained the mantle( a bit glossier black) and painted the regular drywall walls a satin shade of gray( a light airy gray, not a dark gray as I thought that would make it look dreary.) The natural light from the sliding glass door is very bright( have to close black fully lined curtains to darken room) I have bright Chinese/lipstick red as a color pop throughout the room> the finials on the curtain rod over glass doors, pillows on couch, candles on hearth).I am going to be doing the fireplace in a nice black marble( it is a dark black& red brick now...not a functioning fireplace anymore...just for show with red candles in glass sconces on a silvery candelabra stand on the hearth).Son's room still has the paneling but am seriously thinking of pulling it out and hanging drywall so entire room can be painted blue.He has wall to wall royal blue carpet and the paneling is only on the one wall, so not that extensive of a job.Walls in there are white now and finding just the right blue has been tough.I was thinking of painting ceiling in family room black also but am afraid it will be much too dark overall....i saw a black ceiling in a magazine and it was amazing...but room was MUCH smaller( a bathroom) and had wallpaper on walls in black and white pattern..with red as accent color through out.( I stole the general color scheme from it)So, my ceilings are still white.Am thinking of going with a darker gray flooring in family room...right now it is a horrid dark olive green vinyl tile with "holes/dents " in it that are black...want a nice gray ceramic tile and a big bright cheery red area rug. Furniture is black,tables are a dark wood( brown/black mahogany like grain)....all shelves are black and have some silvery accents as well. Staining the paneling was a MAJOR pain but really love the way it looks now....sometimes it pays to run with an idea as long as it has been thought out and are willing to do the work( or pay someone else to do it,lol)

conniesuehahn - we had a lot of cedar paneling in our new home. We did remove some but in our master bedroom we had one accent wall. We cleaned the wood really well, then used a good primer (have your home improvement store recommend one for priming wood) and then 2 coats of cream colored paint. It turned out so good. there are knots and holes in the cedar that make it more rustic. It is a lot of work but so worth it :)

It all depends on the condition of the paneling, if it's out of date, or doesn't go with your decor. I gladly painted the paneling that was wainscoting in my home and it looks incredible, brightening and updating the room. I've seen some paneling that I wouldn't ever touch because the wood was incredible and just needed to be oiled and repaired.

Back when my husband and I were first married and couldn't afford our own place yet we lived with my parents. Mom told me to go crazy and do whatever I wanted as far as decorating. I got a pale pink (really looks more white than pink) paint and went to work on the paneling in the livingroom. My father grumbled when he found out my plan but after it was finished even he thought it looked great. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. We now live in a house with ugly gray paneling in the kitchen. I'm definitely painting over it!

gailretske, I'd leave one as an accent wall to begin with. If you decide in a few weeks that it should be painted too, then just go ahead. :)

I agree with all of the people that said that the decision to paint or not to paint depends upon the quality of the panelling. Often wood walls look great painted. Look at the Old Cottage pictures on my page here on Houzz. Often though, wood panelling looks great in its natural state, revived by soaking oil into it. (Try an out of the way corner first to determine which oil to use and how much). If you are concerned about the room being too dark, you can always pickle the panelling for a fresher look. It really depends upon whether the panelling detail is well-done and if you like the quality of the wood used.

The last two houses my husband and I bought had old ugly paneling. Rather than paint it we hired a carpenter to remove it and texture the Sheetrock behind it, then we painted. Best money we ever spent!!!!

Usually a no no in my book, but it does depend on the quality and species of wood. I wouldn't mind painting over stain grade alder, but walnut or mahogany...never.

I love the interest painted paneling gives a room! We painted the paneling in our 1960's fixer, it looks wonderful (!).

Not a good quality wood paneling, but the inexpensive paneling from the 60s and 70s.....I say go for it! Just be sure to prep first, and it will turn out beautifully.

Depends on the period of the decorating and the level of light in the room.

painting paneling this is the difference after painting my living room paneling.It was knotty pine and it took 20 years to convince my husband who now loves it!!!

It really depends on the room, the wood species, and the condition of the paneling.

tofutown1, I have the exact same paneling throughout my entire (small) home! I would love to paint the living room and master bedroom, but the prospect seems daunting. What steps did you have to go through to get those results?

Tofutown1, I love the change once you painted! It gives me more confidence to do the same

I have painted over all the paneling in my rec room area. I have paneling that is the odd size 'stripes' which were ideal for painting in a stripe motif. It's mostly an off-white with mother earth green paint on an accent wall and in the small sized 'stripes'.....looks awesome.

tofutown1, it really opens up the room...nice!

We had cheap paneling in the kitchen, living room, and dining room when we purchased our home over 30 years ago. We removed the paneling in the kitchen and found lovely bead board underneath. We removed the paneling in the living room to find 1 x 12 wood planks underneath so we installed drywall. We just didn't feel like doing a major re-do of the dining room, so we taped the "gaps," lightly textured the walls and painted them. It looks like drywall now. Much cheaper and less time-consuming than the major projects we did in the other two rooms.

depends on your style and what you want the overall room to look like/feel like

I like my floors stained, my woodwork white and my walls painted. But, if I owned a house from the 1700’s with the very wide paneled walls, I would never, ever paint. If I owned a Craftsman home, again, never. If the stained wood goes with the architectural style of the home, and is authentic, leave it.

It really depends on the paneling. I would paint the paneling in my bedroom because it's starting to look its age.

As many have said, depends on the paneling, and the room purpose. Most of the time, yes for god's sake paint the paneling. In the modest price range of house I could afford, if getting rid of the paneling is not an option, it's most likely not top quality and should be painted.

I bought some breadboard paneling for the guest room. Painted white, and trimmed out it looks quite grand.

Peter, were there stamped grooves involved with your panelling, and if so, how did you incorporate them? Did you use Annie Sloan for your own project? Would love to see a photo of your results!

whenever I would mention I'd like to paint our paneling in the rec room Hubbie would gasp and cross himself...
but when we put that house on the market our realtor suggested
that we paint it a bright cheery color so we did....what a difference it made...I wish we had painted it years and years ago.

Definitely paint it. It lightens up the space…and makes it feel more modern.

My grandmother had knotty pine paneling that looked exactly like tofutown1's photo above. We wiped it down with a sponge mop, rolled Bullseye 1-2-3 primer on it, then rolled 2 coats of cream on it (we did have to get a brush to work the paint into the grooves). It was so lovely and instantly lifted my grandmother's mood. I loved the texture in it too -- looked like a cottage. If you bumped it with something sharp or hard, it would dig down to the paneling color, but it was was easily touched up.

I believe it depends on what you want to put in the room and how the room is structured.

Long gone are the dark and dreary boring cheap walls and ceilings. They are the components that make the style, comfort, time built, and what, who your home says about you. PAINTED Wayne's coating / paneling is an EASY fix..... Paint and cheap moldings, molding tricks, paint effects can easily and cost efficiently change the entire feel of your home. Think about DETAILS..... A flat drywall space can easily become a padded detailed elegant feeling....... Wallpaper with texture, pattern, different textures alone can change the feel. A few cheap molding additions, all painted out with the walls in semi-gloss white can give you an expensive elegant look for less than 1/2 the price of pre made detailed Wayne's Coating.

PaINT THE PANELING

WAINSCOT paneling is one thing, white is classic, but quality stained wood is gorgeous in the right context ... but 60-70 's wall panels is another. Absolutely never keep it as is. I dare anyone to show me how it can look good?! Paint it, cover it with wallpaper (with the underlayment to lay flat), batting and fabric to cover it, or try what I did once - if you are insane enough and hate having free time - fill in each individual line with spackle and sand smooth ( until I learned to hang dry wall!)

It depends on the look you are going for, if you want a traditional warm cozy, den-like look and the wood is of good quality, I would keep as is. If you are looking for a traditional with a contemporary spin and you want the room to look lighter and brighter then you should paint. I have seen many rooms that look like wood boxes and are very dark - and I am such a big fan of light and bright so I can see wanting to change this. Painting a light color brightens the room but maintains the textural appeal of paneling. However, if you want a modern look, rip it down and start with a clean wall because painted paneling will still look too traditional for a modern look.

PAINT IT. Unless it is in a library, men's type of room. But I it's the paneling from 60's, - 80's.... PAINT IT..... Better yet, go drywall or stucco. It will bring your home up to date, and bottom line add value and interest to you home.... Personality

This hallway had 70's paneling. I did Venetian Plaster over it after filling the grooves.

Oops wrong pic above. This is the before.

I had dark wood panelling in one room, matte finish, in the eighties and it just got so dated looking. I thought about painting over it for a long time and finally had it painted over in eggshell. The room came out nice, it was much brighter. I added bamboo curtains and valances on the window with a sheer. No regrets,

Painting wall paneling really freshens up a room and brings it up to date.

There are so many reasons to love, appreciate and use wood. Painting it is not one of them. If it is nice wood, let it show.

If it's cheap paneling from the 70's or 80's, replace it with plaster or sheetrock.

I love painted paneling. In fact I love painted furniture. Just painted the inside of a secretary that was given to me hot pink and wallpapered the back section. I love it. I'll post it one of these days.

Look at the new House and Home. A featured home had the dark paneling painted and it was beautiful and light and bright.

I painted the crap stuff in my downstairs den

Like others said, it depends on the quality of the paneling and also on the type of the house. Good quality wood should not be painted, but cheap plywood should.

PAINT. Especially if its that cheap stuff. I lived in a house for 10 years and my husband would not allow me to paint the wood paneling that was rampant in the house. We finally had to replace a piece of paneling due to some remodeling and we had to paint because we could not match the old paneling with identical stuff. It was such a huge transformation, my husband was sold on the idea. Son painted boring beige paneled bedroom a deep cranberry red and it looked fabulous. I painted the rest of the upstairs bedrooms and hallway a glorious dusky melon color with white trim that gave the entire space tons of personality that it had lacked before.

It really depends on the house. There is nothing wrong with painting it, but in some classic homes, it would not be the thing to do. Some wood work is so gorgeous, and some is just blah.

As much as I can see Paint the Paneling. Sherwin Williams ( Crisp Linen ) is a Georgeous Choice of color very Soft White

I owned a home with gorgeous wood paneling in the living room (good wood). I loved the paneling but it was dark in there. Not a cheery space at all. I didn't paint it but looking back now... I should have, it would have made that part of the home more vibrant! You live and learn. I suppose it depends on the mood you're trying to set.

My very dusty cabin is totally paneled. Hate it, but hate the thought of cleaning constantly with a painted paneling. Does anyone have experience and tips on color for painting paneling in a VERY DUSTY CABIN. Thanks!

In small photos wood walls look great. But when you're sitting in that room with that old scratched, stinky wood it really makes you want to paint it. It's all about letting go...