Bedroom Panelling Ideas

Looking to add a contemporary flavour to your bedroom design? Wall panelling brings instant style to plain walls, creating depth, texture and a sense of balance within the space. As well as the visual impact, wall panelling also offers many practical benefits, helping to insulate the room and soften everyday sounds for a quieter, more comfortable ambience.

Wall panelling is a stylish way to introduce character, warmth or colour to a bedroom. It can add depth and texture, define key areas, such as the wall behind your bed, and create a standout feature wall that brings the whole space together. Even in smaller rooms, the right panel design can make a big difference.

They are also surprisingly versatile, complementing a wide range of interiors. It pairs effortlessly with your bedroom’s colour scheme, furniture and overall personality, helping to bring the space together with confidence.

From more classic-inspired designs to bold, modern styles, wall panelling can be used to make a striking statement or simply add a subtle layer of interest to an otherwise plain wall. Whether you're after impact or balance, it’s an effective way to create a more cohesive, refined bedroom space.

Whether you’re working with a completely blank canvas or refreshing an existing space, here’s some inspiration to help you get started on a wall panel design that feels stylish and truly your own.

Bedroom wall panelling offers a simple yet effective way to introduce a touch of style into your room. And the best part? How you decide to make it your own is entirely up to you.

One way to take a bedroom with a chic, modern interior to the next level is by installing simple, contemporary-styled wall panelling that complements the overall aesthetic. Using a square or rectangular grid design with clean, sharp lines is an effective way to inject modern style into your bedroom walls. Paired with monochromatic colours, it creates a flawless, sleek finish that elevates the entire space.

Slatted wall panels are an on-trend solution, drawing inspiration from Scandinavian design’s clean, natural aesthetic. They offer a subtle way to bring soft, natural shades and textures into your bedroom walls while maintaining a sleek, understated look. Often paired with light, minimalist interiors, wood panelling creates a polished contrast that adds warmth and depth to the space.

If you’re decorating a small bedroom or spare room, wall panelling provides the perfect opportunity to introduce style without overwhelming the space. Small rooms often feel dark or cluttered, which can make styling a challenge. But fear not! With the right panelling approach, you can create an illusion of depth and light, making your smaller space feel brighter, more open, and effortlessly stylish.

Using a light colour scheme on a feature wall can help amplify natural light while adding personality to a space often overlooked.

Slatted wall panelling, popular in living rooms as a stylish backdrop for feature walls or TV mounts, can also work beautifully in small bedrooms. Installing long, sleek wood panels draw the eye upward, creating the illusion of greater height and making the room feel far more spacious.

Having the wooden wall panels span from floor to ceiling helps to elongate the look of the bedroom and give the illusion of a higher ceiling. This could also be done using wallpaper with patterns that stretch vertically to lengthen the space.

If you're considering creating a decorative feature wall or enhancing the sense of space in a smaller bedroom, our slatted wall panels are a great place to start. Available in a beautiful selection of natural shades, they offer a stylish, effortless way to transform your space.

There are so many ways to get creative and breathe new life into your master bedroom design with wall panelling. Don’t be afraid to go bold and turn your feature wall into a true focal point, whether through clever use of colour, texture, or layout. With the right approach, even the simplest design can make a truly lasting impression.

With more space to work with, a master bedroom offers the perfect opportunity to explore bolder, more luxurious wall panelling. A feature wall in a striking, contrasting colour can add drama and depth, instantly drawing the eye and bringing new energy to the room.

This is often done using wall panelling behind the bed as a focal point or headboard. Headboards are a simple way of subtly inserting your decorative style into your bedroom, whether that be a vibrant modern look or a refined, timeless style.

Going with a more traditional moulded or bevelled panel design can work wonders in a period property for a classical and established look that ties in with the remainder of the home. This can also be a trick for adding interesting details to newer and more contemporary style walls.

Wall panelling can also be a clever way to incorporate additional storage into your bedroom. Rather than panelling an entire wall, consider cladding just the lower section, built out slightly to your chosen height, to create integrated shelving that complements the rest of your bedroom.

These shelving wall panels could be used to display decorative items such as artworks, house plants, books and other knick-knacks, or make use of the functionality of the wall by adding trailing plants.

This extra storage helps reduce clutter, providing a convenient surface that keeps your bedroom neat and organised. By freeing up floor space, it also allows room for larger furniture and statement decorative pieces.

Following on from the use of panelled walls as shelving, half wall panelling is a great way to create visual balance using just the bottom half of the wall.

Historically, half panels were used in order to protect walls in hallways and other high-traffic areas of the house from damage or denting. Now they can be used with this in mind, but also as a stylistic choice to help tie pieces of interior design to the rest of the home. For instance; a painting could be hung up above the half-wall panelling to create sectors on the walls.

Another functional use for the half-wall panels is to conceal electrics and plumbing. This way, unsightly cables and pipes aren't left clogging up areas, creating a sleek and modern look to your bedroom. As well as producing something visually exciting, this method is ideal if you're looking for a cost-effective way to remodel your bedroom as it uses half the materials of a full wall panelling design.

Cladco 600mm x 600mm acoustic internal slated wall panels are an ideal size for half-wall panelling. Lightweight and easy to install, they’re perfect if you’re planning your next DIY project.

Headboard panels offer a unique twist on the traditional headboard by being attached directly to the wall instead of the bed.

By panelling a section of the wall behind the bed, you create the illusion of a headboard, giving you the freedom to customise the size and layout to perfectly suit your space and style, unlike pre-designed or fixed headboards. 

One of the practical benefits of using wall panelling as a headboard, along with the general protection of the wall, is that it can dampen outside sound with the use of acoustic panels and create a more comfortable sleeping experience. As is true if you panelled the entire wall, this smaller-scale change can add character and emphasise the focal point of the wall and bed area.

Adding a splash of colour to your bedroom is easy with a statement headboard. Need ideas? Take inspiration from one of our customers, who created a statement headboard beneath the window that incorporates a natural wood feel using Cladco slatted wall panels in antique oak.

Colour is a fundamental aspect of any interior design scheme, and everything you add to your home should complement the existing motif.

Muted tones create a sophisticated, understated backdrop, allowing flashes of colour to be introduced in other elements of the bedroom design. For a touch of individuality without departing too far from neutral hues, pastel shades offer a subtle yet distinct option.

If you wish to be experimental, colour blocking with brighter paint or wallpaper can add colour to your bedroom walls. Feel brave? A dark shade can add depth and drama to the walls and can complement dark wood grains. Contrast is something to consider when using stronger colours, especially in bedrooms. It can be used to centre the focus of the room, which helps to give it structure as well as adding depth.

Selecting materials is your chance to explore different textures for your bedroom wall panelling to go with your soft furnishings. Panelled walls can be made up of a range of materials to give a varying degree of styles and emphasis, including wood, tiles, ceramic, vinyl, wallpaper and paint.

Wood panelling is a popular and versatile way of bringing a natural feel to a room. The slats can be styled to fit either a modern or more rustic-looking home. Paint and wallpaper are also a worthwhile option for a DIY-er on a budget, as you can imitate panels and spruce up a bedroom wall with a quick lick of paint or paper.

Choice of colour and materials can be an excellent way of incorporating your own ideas into your bedroom decorating project.

There are many ways in which more natural and sustainable materials can be used when you're thinking of adding panelled walls to your bedroom.

Having more eco-friendly options for wood panelling and bedroom wall panelling will help with the reduction of deforestation and waste. Making items that have a recyclable lifecycle and take less energy to produce makes for a more sustainable product.

The benefit of natural materials for the customer is improved air quality due to fewer toxins in the panelling. Fewer chemicals being used in the production of natural items can make for a safer indoor environment.

Examples of more eco wall panel material options include bamboo pulp, recycled plastic, recycled wood and organic or natural textiles. Reclaimed wood is a favoured choice as it gives an authentic and rustic look with a mixture of tones due to natural weathering. Check out our Cladco internal slatted wall panels that are made from wood-veneered high-quality MDF fixed onto a recycled PET felt base.

Wall panelling has been a popular interior technique for centuries, with its roots tracing back to Ancient Egypt. Early examples featured stone, marble, and wood panels, used not only for practical reasons but also as a decorative canvas. These surfaces often displayed paintings and carvings that conveyed religious beliefs and cultural narratives, many of which survive today in the form of hieroglyphics.

Fast forward to the Tudor and Elizabethan Medieval era, where panelled walls were seen as a representation of indulgence and top craftsmanship. The panels often featured woodwork detailing and intricate patterns. These sorts of designs can still be seen today, decorating the halls and rooms of grand country homes.

In Georgian times, there was a move towards symmetry and a more classical style, where flat or raised panels were placed with an emphasis on proportion and balance in design.

During the Victorian era, the focus was on more ornate and standout pieces. Similar to the motifs seen during the Tudor period, they were lavishly decorated with patterns and often imagery of leaves, with Gothic and Renaissance influences.

A shift toward more contemporary ideas during the Art Deco movement introduced a preference for geometric and linear decoration. Wall panelling became more streamlined and luxurious, designed to create bold, dramatic spaces.

Today, we see echoes of these trends in a wide range of wall panelling styles, from classic to contemporary. Scandinavian interiors, in particular, have had a strong influence, championing minimal, muted colour palettes and functional design. This pared-back aesthetic lends itself beautifully to bedroom panelling, where soft tones and subtle textures can help open up a space and create a calm, relaxing atmosphere. It’s a simple yet effective way to transform your bedroom walls with timeless style.

Does panelling make a room look bigger or smaller?

This can depend on the methods, colours or materials used when panelling the walls. If you're working with a small bedroom wall, you can go from the floor to the ceiling with thin slats to help elongate the wall so it appears bigger.

Should you panel all walls in a bedroom?

This may make the room seem crowded if the bedroom already feels cramped. Instead, try a single feature wall that runs from floor to ceiling to make a statement or act as wallpaper in your bedroom.

There are many ways to use bedroom wall panelling to make the most of your space. Whether it's adding colour, creating the illusion of a larger space, introducing dramatic charm or texture, incorporating natural wood, or even providing a home for your houseplants, wall panelling can bring both style and function to your bedroom.

Your choice of colour will often depend on your existing décor and whether you want to introduce warmth or a cooler, more calming feel.

Allow your ideas to flow and let the painting and decorating begin!