Sheila reached out to me in a panic. Her house had been on the market for 60 days and they had no offers.
“Everyone says it's dated and dark. Everyone wants open concept and light and bright. If I hear those two things one more time, I don't know what I'll do.”
When I got to her house it was in a beautiful neighborhood, but, in fact, the house felt dated and dark. Even though I was just there to help her decide what furniture to bring with her as she downsized, I couldn't resist inserting myself into their selling process with some real estate staging advice.
They had a large sunken family room that was the bane of their sale with its wall-to-wall-pine paneling like the photo above and she wanted to know if she should paint the paneling. She didn't want to but well-meaning family members were trying to talk her into it.
In Sheila's case, I gave her a few recommendations for that room and one of them was NOT to paint the paneling. At first, I thought she should, but the more I stood in the space, I realized that there were two big issues, the blinds on her ginormous windows were always down and she had some dated decor that almost smacked you in the face as you stepped into what otherwise was a gorgeous room.
Lifting the blinds and removing the dating dated decor generated 2 offers in under 2 weeks!
I'm sure you're like, that's great, Lori, but should I paint the paneling in my house? Ok, let me give you some guidelines:
How to Know if You Should Paint the Paneling
YOU CAN AVOID PAINTING THE PANELING IF…
These are great of examples of how you can work with your dark pine paneling if you don't feel like dragging out the drop cloths! If you have a nicely updated room with furnishings and accessories that feel current, painting is totally not necessary. And, honestly, this is a trick for so many things.
Notice how the dated paneling actually looks fresh, current and beachy with the updated decor:
If the room feels like a cozy, traditional library:
If it is in a bonus room or room further into the house than the first few rooms that a buyer will see:
You're gonna need to paint the paneling if…
It is your entire kitchen.
These cupboards and soffit would look so much better painted white like the image below:
If your accessories haven't been updated in the last decade.
It is crazy how the same pine paneling looks hopelessly tired with older accessories. The cheaper, less time-consuming solution to this is going to HomeGoods:
If you haven't updated your furniture in the past 10 years:
I am always amazed by the fact that updating even just a few elements in a room like furniture, drapes or accessories can really make a paneled space feel updated. Here is a room that we did this past winter. The house sold in 3 days and this was the second room you saw when you walked in so it was a make-or-break space. By that time, I already knew the ending to Sheila's story and knew that we could make the pine paneling look great without painting. The more you know….
Over to you, my dears, what do you think? Is paneling an “always paint” for you?
I am currently in this conundrum. The previous owners of the home had it build and they LOVED that wall paneling. It’s in the basement and even in the boat garage, car garage and the work space room where one of the water heater and HVAC system is located.
I’m currently painting a small alcove section of the basement and updating the bar to a coffee bar.
But do I paint the rest of the basement? I consider it an eyesore. Would anyone consider buying my home with all of this paneling?
I personally love real wood wall paneling. I know some people paint it to lighten the room. But it would be the type of home I would look for.
Thanks so much for your thoughts Heidi! I grew up in a house with this kind of paneling and loved it too. Today’s buyer is really into light and bright but I think that we show how you can make it feel that way by using lighter furniture without having to paint it. Because with all of those knots in it–wow!–that’s a big job!