Trend to Try: Wood Panelling
The words ‘wood panelling’ might bring to mind seventies-style kitchens and a major overuse of timber. But as a hallmark feature of design movements like Hamptons kitchen style, wood panelling, when done right, can add depth and character to your home.
Learn how you can incorporate a modern wood panelling look into your kitchen across various design styles.
Contemporary kitchen
If you are opting for a more modern influence on your kitchen design, wood panelling can work to avoid a traditional feel and create a feeling of space.
Clean, uniform lines are central to a modern kitchen – achieve this look with vertical panelling that’s evenly spaced. This type of panelling works best in neutral colours – shades like charcoal or light grey are contemporary and easy to style.
Alternatively, leave your timber unpainted and instead use a matte stain to enhance its natural colour. This pairs great with textures like white stone or concrete.
Typical of Queensland homes, panelling as a wall finish is often a feature of older houses. Giving your wall a fresh coat of paint can help breathe new life into your space and fit in better with more modern elements of your kitchen.
Where panelling is employed from floor to ceiling, it can also be an effective way to conceal cabinetry or integrated appliances. The panelling will minimise the joinery lines that would otherwise overwhelm the kitchen space, meaning you can implement more storage than you perhaps could with traditional cabinetry.
Farmhouse kitchen
Farmhouse kitchens lend extremely well to the panelling look. While you can combine elements of the contemporary style like the clean, vertical panels to keep it modern, opting for more rustic timber can add to the character of the farmhouse style.
Painted shiplap (wooden planks mounted horizontally that overhangs slightly onto the panel beneath) is an excellent alternative to uniform panelling and adds to the warmth of your kitchen. Imperfect is perfect when it comes to shiplap, so you don’t need to worry so much about exact alignment or sanding down rough edges.
Hamptons style kitchen
Famous for its heavy use of wood, Hamptons kitchen style and timber panelling is a match made in kitchen design heaven.
Elevate shiplap panelling as a wall feature by pairing it with traditional shaker-style doors for the cupboards above your bench.
You could introduce V-groove panelling (also known as VJ panelling or tongue and groove panelling) for the centre panel of your cabinetry or use this to add dimension to the sides of your island bench.
Coastal kitchen
Proving its versatility as a design element, wooden panelling can also work well in beach-inspired homes.
Clean v-groove (vertical) planks match the understated, laidback feel of a coastal kitchen. Where a contemporary design will incorporate modern colours like grey and charcoal, reference a beach-inspired palette with deep blue hues.
Complementing your panelling with additional wood features like timber door hardware completes the look. Alternatively, for cupboards and cabinets, leaving your joinery lines unbroken and going handleless is a much less formal look than the structured Shaker doors used in a Hamptons style kitchen.
Not sure how to best incorporate wooden panelling into your home? Or not sure which design style would work best in your kitchen? Our eBook covers different styles, palettes, trends and renovation tips – access it here.
For personalised kitchen renovation advice, get in touch with us to discuss your upcoming project. Work with one of our designers and receive a no-obligation quote to bring your dream kitchen to life.
