Due to the impending hurricane, most of us neurotic New Yorkers will be hunkered down in tiny apartments with the covers over our heads this weekend. But let's instead imagine that we've chosen to spend the time indoors at some cool modern country vacation homes that combine rustic building materials with designer fixtures.
Wood paneling is often the first thing to get ripped out or painted over when pre-existing in rooms that evolve to a modern look. We think that when mixed with simple decorative touches, this paneling can actually add warm tones and organic texture to a space. Crisp white bedding, mid-century furniture, colorful abstract artwork, and ornate lighting fixtures are all things that you wouldn't normally expect to see paired with paneling, but they are modern statements that work well to shift the focus of an entire room.
Images: 1. HouseBeautiful; 2. Coastal Living; 3. Design*Sponge; 4. Design*Sponge; 5. Eric Roth.






Shaw's Original Fir...
1 & 3 & 4 are nice but im pretty meh about the others. I think wood paneling can work buts tricky.
I'm really sorry but i don't like wood paneling... the first one is ok as it is light wood!!
I love unfinished wood.
#5 reminds me of The Shining for some reason.
The success of wood paneling with modern furniture is all in the color of the wood. If it's light it works best. Darker wood is trickier, unless it's very, very dark.
Crisp white and turquoise accents seem the deal breaker in making these shots. Like previous comments said, it has to go either very light or very dark. Any color should be fine for flooring (or sauna.) To surround yourself laterally with all that wood, it's more palatable as a abstracted design element (lighter/darker/glossy), or it needs to mimic the nature originally intended (in the fad of multi-colored, unevenly textured pallet for paneling.) Out in the woods, it just isn't this uniform and suffocatingly blah.
two is awful.
It would feel too much like being inside a crate or jewelry box unless the room is large, so generally I prefer other wall treatments.
Thanks for featuring wood paneling which we have in our home. At first I hated it but my husband loved it. So I began the journey to work WITH it and have actually come to enjoy the rustic feel it gives to our home.