Types of Wood Paneling: Creating Great Designs For Walls and Ceilings

Wood paneling has made a significant comeback and is now seen as a stylish option for adding character and warmth to both home and office environments. It’s an excellent choice for those looking to create accent walls or enhance their spaces with durable, aesthetically pleasing wall coverings. Whether aiming for a rustic vibe with panels full of natural character or a sleek look with uniformly finished wood, paneling can elevate the design of any interior.

The market offers many types of wall paneling options, catering to diverse aesthetic preferences and design needs. For those prioritizing sustainability, eco-friendly wood paneling options are available, offering both beauty and a reduced environmental footprint. Meanwhile, reclaimed wood paneling repurposes the natural wood from old structures, giving it new life and a unique story, perfect for adding depth and history to modern and traditional spaces alike.

Wall paneling’s versatility lies in its ability to adapt to numerous design themes, from minimalist modern to classic rustic. It can be installed in different paneling styles, such as beadboard in dining areas or shiplap and tongue and groove for a more refined look. Whether you’re covering an entire wall or only adding a decorative portion, wall panels have a variety of edge options that make them easy for homeowners to install. These installation methods not only add eye-catching interest but are also accessible for DIY enthusiasts, making these products a practical choice for transforming spaces.

In essence, wood wall panels offer a unique blend of aesthetic appeal and functionality, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking to enhance their living or workspaces. Let’s explore the various wall paneling ideas and types of wood paneling available to find the perfect match for your design style.

9 Types of Wood Paneling

Dive into the world of wood paneling with our guide to the top 9 types you need to know about. From the cool, rustic vibes of shiplap to the cutting-edge designs of 3D wood panels, we’re covering what makes each style special and how they can make any room pop. Whether you’re planning to do it yourself and give your space a makeover or you’re into designing spaces that stand out, this rundown is packed with ideas and tips. Wood wall paneling isn’t just about looks; it’s also about creating spaces that feel warm and inviting, fitting all sorts of styles from modern to classic. Get ready to explore how different types of wood paneling can transform your space, making it cozy, stylish, or downright striking.

Shiplap

Shiplap paneling is characterized by long, horizontal planks with a slight overlap and a distinctive groove, known as a rabbet, on either side. This design ensures a tight seal, offering a stylish and practical solution for accent walls, creating a seamless yet rustic charm. Shiplap’s versatility allows it to blend into a variety of interior spaces, from modern to farmhouse, adding texture and depth to any room.

Tongue and Groove

Tongue and groove paneling features planks with a protruding tongue on one edge and a groove on the opposite edge, allowing the pieces to fit snugly together. This type of paneling creates a smooth and uniform surface, perfect for both walls and ceilings. It’s a popular choice among DIYers for its easy installation and ability to provide a refined, cohesive look, enhancing the overall ambiance of interior spaces.

Pallet Wood Paneling

Pallet wood paneling utilizes repurposed wood pallets, offering an eco-friendly and cost-effective option for adding warmth and character to interiors. This type of paneling brings a unique, rustic appeal to spaces, with each plank showcasing varying wood grains, colors, textures, and weathering. Pallet wood is ideal for creating a statement wall or adding a touch of authenticity to a modern industrial design.

Vertical Wall Paneling

Vertical wall paneling arranges wood planks vertically, elongating the appearance of walls and adding height to rooms. This orientation can also enhance the sense of space in smaller areas, such as an entryway. Vertical paneling introduces a modern twist to traditional wood walls, offering a fresh, contemporary look while maintaining the warmth and texture of wood.

Board and Batten

Board and batten paneling consists of wide boards separated by narrower wooden strips, or battens, creating a textured, three-dimensional look. This style adds architectural interest and depth to walls, making it a popular choice for both exterior and interior applications. Its classic design complements a variety of decor styles, from country cottage to modern farmhouse.

Flat Panels

Flat paneling offers a sleek, minimalist look, with large, smooth panels that provide a clean and contemporary aesthetic. This type of paneling is perfect for modern interiors, where the emphasis is on simplicity and elegance. Flat panels can also be used to create a subtle background that allows furniture and art to stand out.

Beadboard

Beadboard paneling is composed of vertical rows of narrow wood planks, each with a characteristic bead or ridge running along the edge. This type of paneling adds a charming, cottage-like feel to spaces, often used in bathrooms, kitchens, and as wainscoting in dining rooms. Beadboard can be painted or stained to match any decor, offering both versatility and timeless appeal.

Wainscoting

Wainscoting refers to paneling that covers the lower portion of a wall, traditionally topped with a chair rail. This decorative feature adds elegance and sophistication to any room, from dining rooms to hallways. Wainscoting can vary in style from simple flat panels to more elaborate raised or recessed panels, providing a range of options to enhance interior designs.

3D Wood Panels

3D wood panels add a dynamic and modern element to walls, with geometric patterns and designs that offer depth and texture. This innovative type of paneling can transform any space into a visually striking environment, ideal for creating accent walls that serve as the focal point of a room. 3D wood panels are available in various patterns and finishes, catering to contemporary tastes and design preferences.

Different Wood Species for Wall Paneling

One of the benefits of choosing wood wall panels is the ability to select the species of wood and to know its characteristics ahead of time. Each wood has its own grain pattern, personality, and color tones, which can help you find the right one for your wall treatment.

American Ash

American Ash is a wood that is commonly mistaken for oak. It varies tremendously from sapwood to heartwood, with the sapwood containing creamy white and light, grey-brown tones and the heartwood has a deeper, richer brown color. Ash is a classic looking wood that works well in formal and traditional settings that don’t necessarily need a dark background.

American Hickory

American Hickory is one of the strongest domestic hardwoods available. It can be very coarse-grained and wildly varied in color and grain. The grain may be straight or dramatic and wavy, and its colors can range from creamy white to deep brown even in one plank. This is one hardwood that will create a dramatic statement in any setting.

American Walnut

American Walnut is another species that has a lot of popularity and instant recognizability for its color and durability. Walnut has a deep, rich color with the heartwood tending nearly toward purple and the sapwood slightly lighter in tone and color. It has a lot of variation in grain and is one of the most sought woods for cabinets and wall paneling.

Barn Wood

Reclaimed barn wood planks make a great impression in a restaurant as just a small feature wall or as a floor to ceiling entrance. The possibilities are endless and the looks and textures are as well. Grey barn wood wall paneling has gained popularity in recent years and adds a rustic appeal to interior walls. 

For a wall panel that has maximum character and appeal, consider milled barn wood. Milled barn wood is taken from old barns, then milled to give them new life and a new finish. Barnwood has many tones and shades from the weathering in its lifetime, which is part of what gives it such enormous appeal.

Douglas Fir

Douglas Fir is another well-known wood that can give you a very traditional and rustic or rustic-modern look. It has a pronounced grain and a rich pink/gold color, along with visible sap marks and knot holes. More consistent than regular pine, Douglas Fir will give you character that you can count on.

Heart Pine

Heart Pine has one of the most classic and traditional appearances of any wood. Pine ranges from soft to hard in strength, which means that the boards can develop a lot of character over time, with saw marks, sap and knots showing easily. This makes heart pine wood paneling ideal for creating a rustic style in any home.

It’s not hard to see why creative design is drawn to these beautiful applications of reclaimed wood covered walls. The woods have a way of bringing a calm and relaxed vibe to the room or space that they are installed in. This is important when thinking about how we interact with design and how it makes us feel. 

White Oak

White Oak is one of the most traditional and versatile woods out there. It has a natural, blue/grey finish color with a creamy white background. White oak can be brushed or polished, formal or rustic in appearance. It works well in nearly any home, depending on the color of the finish.

With its strong grain and variation from light to dark, this is a wall panel made to stand out from the crowd. You can also mix a lot of different accent colors into the room, simply pulling from the different shades within the wood, and all of them will be sure to match the style. This type of multi-colored wall paneling design is ideal for informal rooms, where you want a slightly more exotic and different impact from the decor.

Sustainable Wood vs. Reclaimed Wood Paneling

Regardless of the type of wood paneling you choose, wood has a lot of options and benefits. When discussing sustainable wood, the label is simply to differentiate it from other types of wood being used in wall paneling, including antique and reclaimed wood. Sustainably cut wood is real wood that has been recently harvested and has not had a previous use or life prior to being milled for wall paneling.

Reclaimed wood paneling also has many benefits but differs from sustainably cut wood wall panels in several ways. Rather than being made of freshly harvested wood, the reclaimed wood products are made from wood that is likely more than 100 years old, salvaged from places such as old barns and other structures.

Benefits of Sustainable Wood Wall Panels

Sustainably cut wood tends to have more consistency in color and texture. Reclaimed or mixed-use wood may have wood taken from several species or several areas and contain more variations in tone, color, and grain pattern. The color, grain pattern, and sizing of the wood boards are then controlled during the milling process.

You may also find more control in the sizing of the wood boards, which can make for a more consistent placement and easier DIY installation. When you prepare for the installation, your planning is less difficult.

We tend to see sustainably harvested, freshly milled woods being used on walls in a more modern design. These woods tend to be sanded smooth and have a soft natural finish that is low sheen, helping create a warm natural setting.

Benefits of Reclaimed Wood Wall Panels

Reclaimed wood often shows more marks and signs from its previous life. This may be a rich patina, saw marks and nail holes. These marks are not always present, but the wood typically has more variation in terms of tone, color and grain.

Wood that has been reclaimed is always cleaned and freshly milled for its new use, but different wood species or different sources of wood can be mixed together in one panel. This lends richness and depth to the paneling, as well as a lot more interest. When saw marks and other characteristics are present, these panels grant their history to the room. An accent wall made of reclaimed wood becomes a focal point and a conversation piece, rather than just a simple backdrop.

Like sustainably cut paneling, you can find reclaimed paneling in a wide selection of colors and quite a few popular wood species. And just like sustainably cut wood, this wall paneling is made to last forever. Since the solid wood has already been in use for decades, it still has many years of natural beauty. Choosing this wood is also environmentally friendly since new trees are not harvested, you are contributing to the global green movement.

Our rustic and reclaimed woods are so versatile and find themselves in modern industrial office spaces to a rural mountain cabin and everything in between. The reclaimed wood product can be installed with or without a finish, but a finish will tend to help maintain the look and beauty of the wood while also providing a nice soft glow to the real wood.

Choosing Your Wall Paneling

Wall paneling gives you more options, personalization and color customization than any other form of wall cladding. You can choose from not only different species of wood, but also different color finishes and textures, which can let you compliment a wider range of styles and designs.

Because you have these options, it’s possible to make more out of your interior design by selecting your wood to match existing wood and finishes already in play. For example, if you want to include an accent wall in your living room, which is open to a kitchen where you have oak cabinets, you can select oak paneling in a finish and color that will complement your kitchen. This can give you a more cohesive design and appearance.

Reclaimed wood also lets you make more of your design, but by setting the tone and style for the space. Using milled barn wood, for example, will let you bring a rustic-modern vibe to your home.

You can order free wood paneling samples and also receive a free catalog for more details about Elmwood’s collection of high-quality paneling products.

Please feel free to contact the experts at Elmwood to find some wall panels that fit with the interior design of your home or business today!