33 Beautiful Panelled Accent Walls You’ll Love

A panelled accent wall is a great way to add decor interest to your interior space. You can go for a classic style or make a modern feature just by the pattern and shapes you choose. Whether you’re looking to add texture, depth, or simply a bold statement, panelled walls are a versatile and stylish way to elevate any room.

And one of my favourite ways to add character and interest. This decorative element works wonders for almost any space; it remains a popular style for good reason. 

What Is a Panelled Accent Wall?

A panelled accent wall is a decorative wall that features wood, MDF, or other materials arranged in patterns or panels to create texture and visual interest. Unlike wallpaper or paint alone, panelling adds a three-dimensional effect that can dramatically change the look and feel of a space.

If you have a home with original wood panelling features, you are blessed! But if not, this technique can be installed and customized easily to suit your space and style.

Benefits of Adding a Panelled Accent Wall

• Visual Interest: Adds depth and architectural character to flat walls.
• Versatility: Works with almost any design aesthetic, from modern minimalist to traditional and farmhouse.
• Cost-Effective Luxury: Offers a high-end look without a full renovation.
• Customizable: Choose from endless patterns, colors, and materials.

Best Rooms for Panelled Accent Walls

Panelled accent walls can make a statement in almost any room:

• Living Room: Use behind the sofa or TV unit for a bold focal point, or panel the full room. 
• Bedroom: Create a cozy, luxurious headboard effect, or go all the way around the room. Full height or half height panelled walls. 
• Entryway or Hallway: Make narrow spaces feel curated and intentional, rather than just a pass-through section to get from one place to another.
• Home Office: Other than making a great focal point for your home office, a panelled feature wall is a fantastic background if you’re recording videos or often on video meetings. 
• Bathroom: Panelled walls are a great alternative to tiling the whole bathroom. Once painted, the walls are easy to wipe down and offer a different look to a flat painted wall. 

Popular Panel Styles and Design Ideas

• Board and Batten: Classic, evenly spaced and symmetrical, ideal for traditional or transitional interiors. 
• Shiplap: Horizontal wooden boards, perfect for coastal or farmhouse styles, usually about 6 inches wide. 
• Rustic Wood Panelling: Wide and textured wooden planks that bring in an organic and natural feel. 
• Tongue and Groove: Planks that fit together either horizontally or vertically. 
• Picture Frame/Box Molding: Adds elegance to formal spaces like dining rooms.
• Geometric Slats: Diagonal or asymmetric patterns suit modern and contemporary homes.

Depending on the width of wood panelling, the style, and the colour you choose.

Panelled Accent Wall Inspiration

Some inspiration for you on how you can use panelled accent walls in your space.

Bedroom Accent Panelled Walls

This wooden slat wall highlights the headboard area up the wall and across the ceiling. An unexpected and modern way to highlight the bed. The light colour tone of the wood gives it a Scandinavian feel, and it’s a great feature for the bedroom!

How about building out a panelled wall section in a room? This beautiful bedroom uses the panelled decorative feature as a minimalist headboard to the bed and incorporates a shelf. Decorative and functional.

If you’re limited on space but still like the idea of a place to show off your artwork, this panelled bedroom shows a different way of doing it. Using panelling up two-thirds of the wall, a slimline ledge tops it off, where artwork is layered and displayed.

Slimline picture frame molding adds interest to the top half of this bedroom wall. Mixing a traditional element with modern rattan material for the headboard.

Two-Toned Panelled Walls

Strong contrast is a great way to add visual interest. This living space combines slimline traditional picture molding with a bold painted two-tone colour feature on the walls. The neutral white colour is used for the majority of the space, and a rustic red is used for the bottom third for a contemporary look.

Another panelled two-tone colour wall with a soft cream and a mossy green shows how the change in colours transforms a room. These colours create a relaxed and cozy atmosphere.

Panelled Corner Accent Walls

This corner makes a great little reading nook. I love the dramatic painted black against the corner, styled with plants and a side table. The tan colour of the armchair pops out against the monochrome walls and the greenery.

Geometric Panelled Accent Walls

For a modern look, geometric panelled accent walls are a great option.

This hallway has an interlocking pattern for the panelled walls, painted in a neutral colour. A simple but effective layout for a modern hallway.

A geometric panelled accent wall in a neutral paint colour is perfect for a gender neutral nursery.

The smallest of entryways can have a panel wall makeover, like this one. It’s a nice feature to highlight the wooden bench where people come in and take off their shoes.

The panelling of this modern living room takes on a cubist style, made up of random squares and rectangles. A light blue colour complements the fresh pastel and blush shades of the living room.

The forest green colour of this geometric wall is a great feature for this mid-century modern bedroom office combo.

If you’re going for a bold, patterned geometric accent wall, you might consider using a simple bed frame to make the wall the main focal point of the bedroom.

Full Height Hallway Panelling

Vertical panelling is one of the best ways to make your space feel taller. These narrow and evenly spaced molding trims add dimension to the space and draw your eye up the ceiling. The neutral paint colour makes the space feel bright and open.

A thick board and batten pattern is a classic look for a hallway. Fixing hooks make the wall a functional feature. I love the fresh pink that’s been painted in this space, which gives it a modern twist.

If you like the clean and uncluttered look, this hallway keeps things minimal with a few hooks. While the panelled accent wall keeps the hallway from looking boring.

Hallway Halfway Panelled Walls

Halfway panelled walls are a nice compromise for adding some visual interest, with the option to go modern or traditional on the other half. This hallway opts for painted white on the top and a green panelled half wall for the bottom.

You can incorporate a panelled wall feature into a half wall, too. This half-panelled wall maximizes the small entry space with a ledge and hooks.

With a panelled wall, this tiny area is converted into a fully utilised space with hooks and a picture rail. Plus, a little bench underneath. Functional and compact.

Bathroom Panelled Walls

Tongue and groove panelling in the bathroom in a bright yellow brings vibrancy and character into the space.

A powder room can be given the panelling treatment too. Halfway panelled walls don’t make the room feel closed in, and white walls help to open up the space.

If you’re feeling brave, try pairing your panelled walls with patterned wallpaper on the top half of the walls.

Panelled Walls In Dining Spaces

Panelled walls are a lovely feature for a seating area. As everything is painted in neutral colours, the panelled walls offer a simple but striking decor feature.

Create an elegant statement feature in your dining room with a panelled accent wall. A bold black with decor elements such as artwork and plants makes a strong dining room focal point.

Incorporate panelling into a bench seat, like this modern dining room space.

Panelled Wall Features In Small Spaces

Try a more abstract wood panel design like this modern snug room.

Box molding offers a more traditional feel for a snug room. Mixed with muted earthy tones gives it a fresh and up-to-date style.

Office Accent Panelled Wall

Create a sophisticated and stylish office with panelled walls from floor to ceiling. I love how this office ties the open shelves into the wall design as well. Practical with plenty of storage for equipment and supplies.

Living Room Panelled Accent Walls

You can still display your favourite artwork pieces on panelled walls. A large artwork piece makes it more of a focal point.

This half-panelled wall with a built-in shelf makes a lovely display area behind the sofa. I love the simple colour blocking that takes the eye up to the wall and onto the ceiling, to highlight the area further.

Box panelling is used to show off the fireplace of this Victorian home. A perfect fit for a traditional style home, the grey and white colours give a fresh and modern touch to the space.

Struggling with how to decorate behind a sofa? A simple ledge on top of a panel wall is an attractive feature for your living room.

Incorporate shelves into your panelled wall for a beautiful display piece for your living room.

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