So if you’re really into shiplap or other forms of paneling, you’ve probably looked into the costs and thought, “yikes!” That’s what I did anyways. I had this awkward inset of a wall that I had planned to hang our bicycles from and wanted to accent it with something unique. Looking at the costs, paneling was out of the question. I knew the wall was going to get scuffed up from use so I didn’t want to invest too heavily on it….and that’s when I thought, let me try this peel and stick stuff!
There’s a range of quality when it comes to peel and stick paneling, some are just a literal picture printed on vinyl that you stick to the wall. I decided on a higher quality panel that was thinner than the real stuff but had the look and feel of real wood.
Installation was a breeze, I could score each piece with a box cutter and break to size. Then it was just peel and stick right to the wall. It was great! However, if I were to do it again, I would change some things.
First, I didn’t paint the wall. I thought well it’s getting covered anyways so who cares? Well, you can see itty bitty bits of wall between the boards. Because of this, I wish I had painted the wall a darker color to minimize this.
Second, in my laziness with cutting the boards, I kept one board really long and tiled the boards around it. One end of this board will not stick to the wall. I have zero problems with the shorter boards but this one long one – ugh! It’s been over a year now and so far it hasn’t bothered me enough to do something about it…but I do occasionally smack it back into place as I walk by.
Learn from my mistakes before starting your peel and stick paneling project. Despite all this, my overall thoughts – love it!
Rachel Williams
Artist | Designer | Educator
Making mistakes and fixing them, so you don’t have to