Curtain

• When the wood paneling needs only temporary concealment, cover it with curtains or fabric. Hang ceiling-to-floor curtains or drapes that cover the entire wall. Use one color or alternate solid panels with decorator panels showing scenes, flowers or other room-enhancing designs. For a divided look, hang curtain panels or staple woven fabric on the upper half of the wall only, adding a horizontal wood strip midway down the wall as a divider between the upper fabric and the wood paneling on the lower wall.
  
  

Paint

• Covering wood paneling with paint expands your decorating options. Choose a primer suited to the paneling, such as wood or vinyl paneling, and cover the paneling completely. Filling panel grooves with putty is not necessary, as the grooves give a dimensional look to the painted wall. Apply a textured paint as a top coat or a solid neutral color. Use the painted wall as a canvas and decorate it with a large mirror, picture groupings, accent artwork or poster collections. Special painting effects such as stippling, spattering or rag rolling add visual nuances to the painted panels.
  
  

Wallpaper

• Papering the paneling can be as simple as adding wide wallpaper borders at the top or alternating vertical strips of wallpaper with the natural panel. When the entire wall is wallpapered, prep the paneling by applying wallpaper backing designed for wood panels. Apply the wallpaper over the prime backing. Some wallpaper designs are like murals, offering specific garden scenes or landscape effects. These murals, in movie, sports and other themes, fill a wall. If they do not fill your wall completely, use paint, blending wallpaper or curtains to cover the exposed paneling.
  
  

Options

• Stencil the wood paneling with traditional or deco designs. Professional stencils repeat as borders, hop-scotch designs or effects in different colors. Home stencils allow you to create patterns suited to your home decor or family interests. Another option, especially for a hobby or child’s room, is hanging bulletin boards, dry erase boards or drawing paper on the paneling. These surfaces lend creative opportunities for children and adults while leaving the easy-care paneling in place.