4 min readFew decorative details evoke smoke-blurred memories of the 1970s quite like wood paneling. These dark, often synthetic wallcoverings are associated with the retro design era and were often the bane of homeowners’ existence when they bought these homes 20 years later in the 1990s.
Trends always have a way of coming back around, though, and with the current obsession with nostalgia, it’s not a surprise that wood paneling is becoming relevant again. Today’s wood paneling, however, is not your grandmother’s.
“We’re moving away from veneer and toward more solid, expressive woods where the grain, knots, and natural variation are left visible,” explains Blair Moore of Moore House Design, a 2026 Next Waver. “Clients are drawn to the irregularity of the grain, the tonal variation, and the imperfections.”
Read on to learn more about why wood paneling is coming back, and see how today’s designers are working with the soulful, natural material.
A New Outlook
When wood paneling first entered the scene, it did so on an overwhelming scale. Designer Ashley Gilbreath remembers this feature vividly, covering hallways in its heavy, dark faux woodgrain. Paneling didn’t so much add to a space or feel integrated into the architecture of a room, adds Moore, but it read more as a surface treatment. Wood-paneled walls eventually fell out of style, and homeowners would end up either removing them altogether or painting over them in a lighter, brighter color.
When looking at the type of material being used, the biggest shift in today’s wood-paneled walls revolves around the color and the species.
“What we're using now is much lighter—white oak has been the dominant choice, and the approach has been to either keep it very blonde and natural or go in the opposite direction with something like an espresso walnut,” designer Kelsey McGregor of Kelsey Leigh Design Co. explains. Using wood veneer isn’t as common anymore as people are craving expressive woods that show off unique grains, knots, and natural imperfections.
“You see wider planks, better proportions, and a stronger connection to the overall space, often wrapping a room or highlighting a specific moment rather than covering everything indiscriminately,” Moore says. How we frame these panels comes into play too—transitional trim, moldings, and baseboards are the finishing touches that give these coverings a feeling of intention and thoughtfulness.
The Nostalgic Factor
Once-popular design choices don’t just come back into the spotlight for no reason—the return of wood paneling is the result of a particular set of circumstances occurring in the interior design industry.
It started around 2013, when HGTV’s Fixer Upper first aired, and Joanna Gaines introduced “shiplap” into the general public’s lexicon. The wide wooden boards are commonly found wrapping the walls of true farmhouses and were a common design choice used in many of the designer’s early remodels. Gaines’s choice, however, to not only add shiplap to many of her non-farmhouse renovations but also paint over the panels in a creamy white tone started this country’s obsession to the modern farmhouse interior style and, in turn, set off the resurgence of wood panels being cool.
Rather than keep the rustic chic aesthetic though, wood paneling has moved into its more sophisticated era, in part due to the ongoing yearning of what once was.
There’s currently an appetite for nostalgia happening across industries, so much so that people are going analog in their apartments and collecting decor that could be described as something your grandmother might have in her home. At the same time, design industry experts are leaning more on warmth, timelessness, and depth in their home projects.
Natural wood, especially when it covers the walls, doesn’t just create a strong connection to the outdoors, as Gilbreath points out, but “it adds an organic quality that’s difficult to replicate with other materials and gives a home a more layered, inviting feel.” It can help a home, no matter its age, feel more storied and lived in, rather than copy-pasted from every other house on the block.
In an era dominated by mass-produced goods, consumers are pushing back by craving authenticity. “We’re oversaturated with synthetic and overly finished materials, so natural wood restores a sense of earthiness and grounding,” Moore says. Wood evokes permanence and patience, McGregor adds—there’s no instant gratification when it comes to natural wood paneling.
A Surprisingly Versatile Statement
If you’re interested in adding wood paneling to your own space, think of using it similarly to how you would wallpaper. Keep in mind that it’s going to add dimension to the room, no matter how much or how little you use.
Covering a room in natural wood panels definitely makes a statement, and unlike with wallpaper, you can easily make the floors the same material for the ultimate cocoon. Or you can choose to create separate zones within one room by covering certain areas in wood, as Moore and McGregor did above. A coffee bar within your kitchen, for example, is easier to spot when the wall is a different color and material than the rest of the room. Try covering just that fifth wall—the ceiling—in wood planks as well, for a more architectural emphasis.
No matter how it’s used, though, the stain and type play a huge part in the perception of your space. Pictured above, Moore added built-ins that used the same white oak on the walls, making the great room feel more storied.
Over time, designers are expecting more homeowners to resonate with this natural wallcovering.
“Wood has an interesting way of reminding us that nothing in design is actually new,” McGregor says. “You can walk into a historic home with paneled walls that are hundreds of years old, and they feel just as right today as they ever did.”
