Bedroom wall panelling ideas for beautiful room decor

When freshening up your home’s interior design, these bedroom wall panelling ideas are a great place to start.

As the first room you see in the morning and the last one you see at night, having a welcoming and cosy bedroom is essential. And a key element to consider is the walls.

Wall panels are an easy way to add textures and interest to a room, making them an increasingly popular choice for home DIYers. Whether updating your master bedroom, nursery or spare bedroom, panelling is definitely worth thinking about.

Ready to redecorate your room? Here are our top bedroom wall panelling ideas to suit a range of homes and styles.

1. Arrange wall panels in classic squares

For an understated (and very chic) look, try shaker wall panelling. This is a classic, timeless design where panels are arranged in evenly spaced squares on the wall. It’s a versatile style, suiting a wide range of homes and spaces. As such, it’s a super popular way for DIYers to improve their bedroom walls.

Symmetrical panelling is always pleasing to the eye, creating a tranquil environment. It’s a style that suits just about any house, new and older properties alike.

To find the right panels for your room, use our cut-to-size panelling tool or see our range of DIY panel strips.

Top tip: If you have a modern bedroom, wider panelling strips are a good option. These create a chunky looking panelled wall, which tends to suit contemporary home designs.

2. Create a panelled headboard

You don’t necessarily need to panel your entire room to make an impact. Instead, panelling just behind your bed creates the appearance of a built-in headboard, adding character and elegance.

A good way to approach it is by panelling the wall around the bed and painting it a bold colour, with the rest of the wall painted in a complementary tone. This helps to make the bed the focal point.

To simplify the process, we’ve made a tool to create a bespoke headboard panelling kit. Just enter the dimensions of your desired panels, and we’ll provide an instant quote. Better yet, we offer a free priming service with panelling kits, and you’ll receive your panelling cut to size and ready to install.

3. Add half-wall panelling to your room

To go one step further than a panelled headboard, an alternative is to panel the bottom half of an entire wall with decorative panel strips. You could either focus on just one feature wall (usually the one behind the bed) or apply the panelling to the whole room. Either way, it will elevate the room with a sophisticated yet homely look.

Half-wall panelling is worth considering if you have a small room, where a panelled headboard would cover most (but not all) of the wall. It avoids any glaring gaps between the panelling and nearby corners of the room.

Having said that, it can also help in a large bedroom to fill the space a bit more. Long, bare walls can sometimes make rooms feel a bit sparse. So, in cases like these, panelling enriches the walls with interesting designs.

A popular trick is to paint the half-wall panelling in a deep, luxurious colour like navy or maroon that contrasts the rest of the wall. The rich tones will give the feel of a boutique hotel, offering a sense of cosiness without being overpowering.

4. Use vertical or horizontal panels on bedroom walls

Especially if you have a small bedroom, think about wide-set vertical panels. These keep the look simple and enhance the space, without making the room feel too busy.

A vertical arrangement of panels gives the appearance of height, helping to make ceilings feel taller.

Horizontal panelling, meanwhile, can make rooms feel wider and more spacious.

Think about whether your room would benefit more from feeling taller or wider, as this can help you decide which panel arrangement to use.

To achieve either look, one option is to install MDF wall panel strips from floor to ceiling, with around 30cm gaps between each one. They can be easily glued to the wall with no-nails adhesive, and are ideal if you’re new to panelling.

Alternatively, use tongue and groove panelling to get the look of a cosy cabin or country retreat. This is where panels have interlocking boards to achieve smooth, minimalist lines. If you look for wainscoting panels, these will look elegant while having the added benefit of protecting the walls from scuffs.

5. Make a statement with 3D effect panels

A top bedroom panelling idea with a modern twist is decorating the wall behind your bed with 3D effect panels. Our collection includes MDF panels in a range of designs like chevrons and tiles.

These make a bold statement when installed across an entire wall, offering some extra visual interest to the room.

To ensure the panelled feature wall blends in with the existing décor, try colour drenching the wall. So if, say, the rest of the room has white walls, you could paint the panelled wall entirely white too. This way, the dramatic texture will continue to stand out while being cohesive with the rest of the bedroom.

If you’re feeling creative, another option is to apply thin panelling strips in custom geometric designs. This will help you achieve the perfect panelling for the wall, designing it all to fit the specific dimensions. The resulting look will make an impact with fun, abstract panelling that’s unique to your room.

And this tip doesn’t only apply to bedrooms. Geometric wall panels also add depth in living rooms, as we cover in our list of the best home wall panelling ideas.

6. Frame wall art with panelling

Depending on the size and arrangement of your wall art, panelling can offer the perfect backdrop.

For example, if you have three large images to go along one wall (each of the same size) you could add panelling strips in rectangular shapes along the bottom half of the wall. As long as the images are all in line with the panels, it will offer an overall look of balance.

Alternatively, you could add the panels around the artworks like built-in frames. To make sure it all looks deliberate and carefully curated, we suggest adding the panelling symmetrically across the wall.

7. Combine panels with the right lighting

For optimum effect, take the time to choose the best lighting for your panelling.

In particular, consider how you want the shadows to fall from the panels. For lighter shadows, it can help to get soft lights. Combined with this, we suggest thinking about panels with beading to avoid heavily defined lines across the wall. In smaller rooms especially, this helps to keep rooms feeling open.

Or, if you’re creating a bold, geometric look, you might decide to introduce stronger lighting that highlights the panels’ clean lines.

For inspiration, see our Instagram for lots of beautiful rooms with expertly arranged panels and lighting.

As well as lighting, it’s also important to ensure the paint colours you choose work well. If, say, you’re adding warm lights to the room, it can help to use warm-coloured paints, such as creams, reds or oranges. Thinking carefully about all of these details will help you bring the whole look together and create the panelled bedroom of your dreams.

To start DIY wall panelling, follow the easy steps to panel a wall.