Cumbria Life: How to introduce panelling to your home

Maureen Whitemore

TPast to present….Cumbria Life’s interiors expert on how to introduce panelling to your home

here’s an amazingly evocative descrip- tion of panelling and light in Hilary Mantel’s novel,

Bring up the Bodies: a servant brings a candle to Thomas Cromwell’s room and ‘the light shivers, then settles against dark wood like discs pared from a pearl’.

That Tudor-set image could equally describe the traditional Arts & Crafts wooden panelling of which we have several gorgeous examples across Cumbria. One of those properties, Blackwell The Arts & Crafts House at Bowness-on- Windermere, has classic wood panelling in the hallways, intricately carved panels in the gallery and reception rooms and a rich sense of warmth and atmosphere throughout. At this time of year, you only need to add the lights of a Christmas tree and the scene is complete!

But you can also create a more modern equivalent in your own home. It may not have the patina of well- polished and aged wood but you can still add that architec- tural feel and classic style using sheets of a good quality MDF. It’s about a tenth of the price

of timber, the sheets cut down

MDF panelling can be designed to fit your space and style

The upstairs corridor at Blackwell has classic wood panelling

installation time and, unlike timber, it won’t shrink and expand every time the heating goes on and off.

However, MDF does vary enormously in quality and type so be careful when choosing your supplier. Make sure that you choose a moisture-resis- tant board, especially for bathrooms, kitchens and any other rooms where the panelling could easily get splashed. The better quality board, the better quality surface and paint finish. Even with the best quality, I’d recommend using a contempo- rary oil-based eggshell primer and paint for a low sheen finish as well as good coverage.

A skilled joiner can use

combinations of beading, architrave and boards to create a variety of styles of panelling to suit all sorts of rooms. For instance, tongue and groove boards suit traditional cottages or the ‘downstairs’ quarters of grander properties. Designs that incorporate squares and rectangles give a more classical feel and tend to suit town

Panelling styles range from the practical to the grand

houses and larger country properties. In a more modern home, tongue and groove can work really well in a hallway, offering a protective, practical and stylish finish.

Finally and probably most important of all: make sure that you’re using panelling as a fabulous addition to your home and not as a sticking plaster or a disguise. Panelling will never work in the long term as a cover up for damp or other structural problems – they need to be sorted out first. Having said that, the only exception would probably be rough or blemished plaster where panelling can be a
great solution.

I hope that this gives you ideas and inspiration for your own home – and I wish you the very best of the season. See you in 2018!

Maureen Whitemore owns Whitemore & Thwaytes interiors in Penrith. She has been in the interiors design trade for nearly 50 years and is on the board of the Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishers. See

Maureen’s website at whitemoreandthwaytes.co.uk.