Wall Panelling Guides

Practical advice for planning your panelling project. Whether you are working out batten spacing, choosing the right height, or budgeting for materials, these guides cover the essentials.

Bedroom with tall shaker wall panelling behind the bed

Bedroom Wall Panelling Ideas: 7 Real Looks With Measurements

Seven bedroom looks shown as before and after photos, each with the exact layout, measurements, and a free template to recreate it on your own wall.

Read the ideas

The Wall Panelling Tool Kit

The 17-item kit a panelling job actually needs, in build order: four essentials, the worth-having extras, and the mistake to avoid with each one.

See the kit

Board and Batten Spacing: How to Calculate Even Gaps

Learn how to calculate even board and batten spacing for any wall width. Covers common batten widths, gap ratios, grid walls, and how to handle uneven walls.

Read the guide

Wainscoting Height: How High Should Wall Panelling Be?

Find the right wainscoting height for your room: standard heights for 8ft, 9ft, and 10ft ceilings, plus how dado rails and proportions affect the choice.

Read the guide

Dado Rail Height: How High Should a Dado Rail Be?

The standard dado rail height is 800mm for a 2400mm ceiling, about one third of the wall. See the right height for your ceiling, stairs and windows, then test it free on your own wall.

Read the guide

Picture Rail Height: How High Should a Picture Rail Be?

How high should a picture rail be? Fit it 300-500 mm below the ceiling, or level with the door architrave. See the right height for your ceiling, plus how to fit one.

Read the guide

Wall Panelling Cost Calculator: How Much Does It Really Cost?

A typical feature wall costs £80-£200 in materials DIY, plus £175-£350 a day fitted. Price your exact wall with the free calculator, with 2026 UK prices for MDF, paint and tools.

Read the guide

Shaker Panel Layout: Planning Even, Balanced Panels

Work out shaker panel sizes with the free calculator: the panel width formula, how many rows and columns your wall needs, and even spacing in mm or inches.

Read the guide

Panelling Around Sockets, Switches and Radiators

How to plan wall panelling around sockets, switches and radiators: when to nudge the layout, centre the socket or move it, faceplate depth fixes, safe fixing zones, and three radiator options.

Read the guide

Wall Panelling on Stairs: How to Plan, Measure, and Fit It

How to panel a staircase wall: the measurements to take, the two saw angles you need, how the panels are set out up the flight, and a step-by-step fitting guide for MDF stair panelling.

Read the guide

Staircase Wall Panelling Ideas: Styles That Work on Stairs

Staircase panelling ideas that actually suit a flight: shaker style, wainscoting, picture frame moulding, board and batten, and colour ideas, with the measurements to plan each one properly.

Read the guide

Hall, Stairs and Landing Panelling: One Scheme, Three Walls

How to panel the hall, stairs, and landing as one continuous scheme: keeping the dado line unbroken up the stairwell, handling corners and doorways, and planning each wall so they join.

Read the guide

Looking for layout ideas instead?

The templates section covers fifteen panelling styles, from shaker and board and batten to Victorian and Parisian, each drawn to scale with a free template you can apply to your own wall.

Browse panelling styles and templates