MDF wall panelling, Creating a feature wall on a budget

MDF wall panelling, Creating a feature wall on a budget

Panelled feature walls are still really popular appearing in many living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and hallways. They add drama and class to a plain wall and whether painted the same as the rest of the room or a contrasting colour they are understated yet eye catching. Panelling a feature wall adds some texture to a plain wall giving a room a focal point. 

Adding panelling to a hallway or entranceway adds some grandeur to a busy walkway but also can disguise blemishes on the walls hiding plaster imperfections by way of decoration with cleverly positioned planks. 

 

The panelling itself is very much a project that even the most basic of DIYers can take on, well with some patience and basic tape measure skills that is. The items needed to create your panelled wall are :

  • MDF strips ( Us here personally favour a 9mm thick MDF in 100mm wide strips )
  • Tape Measure
  • Spirit level
  • Pencil
  • Paper
  • Adhesive ( We have used No Nails but many similar products would work )
  • Possibly some decorators caulk for small gap fill

                   

 

Im guessing you can see where im going next ... We just happen to be-able to provide you with the materials needed to create your own stunning wall of your chosen design, even able to cut your MDF to size for you if you provide measurements making your job even easier. 

All you have to do now is grab pencil paper and design your wall.....

Measure your wall

Once your sketch is done, the best place to properly start your panel wall is by measuring every inch of it – as it’s crucial to get your measurements right so your panel sizes are even.

Just follow our five simple steps to make sure everything’s measured correctly:

  • Grab your tape measure and measure the full width and height of the wall you’re panelling.
  • Jot down your measurements on your sketch so you don’t forget them.
  • Decide how many panels you want your wall to have.
  • At this point, you also need to decide what width you want your rails and stiles (the horizontal and vertical MDF pieces used to create your panel shapes) and base rail to be. Mark those measurements down on your sketch too.
  • These measurements will all be essential for creating a cutting list.

Create a cutting list

Here’s how to make a list of exactly what sizes you need 

Horizontal rails

  • For your horizontal rails, multiply the chosen width for your pieces (from Step 2) by the number of pieces you need for your columns. If you get stuck, your sketch should help.
  • Then, take that total number and subtract that from your wall’s total width.
  • Finally, divide your new figure by how many panels you’ve decided on.
  • This will leave you with the exact size of your wall panels and your horizontal rails.

Vertical stiles

  • For your vertical stiles, combine the depth of your base rail with the depth of your top rail.
  • Then, take that total number and subtract that from your wall’s total height.
  • This will leave you with the exact length of your vertical stiles. Now all you need to do is take that cutting list and get your MDF pre-cut by us should you so choose
This is obviously based on a basic square / rectangle design but you should get the gist of it. 

Finally is the creative part the finishing but that's down to you to choose colours .... as with politics and religion we consider personal creative choices too heavy a debate ..haha

 

 

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