Panelling is the lining of interior walls with wooden boards or panels, used both to insulate rooms and to provide a decorative finish. It was widely used in British houses from the medieval period onwards, and the term wainscot is often used for oak panelling in particular.
Early panelling consisted of small framed panels, sometimes carved with the linenfold pattern that imitates folded cloth, or with Renaissance-inspired arches and strapwork in Elizabethan and Jacobean rooms. In the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, larger raised-and-fielded panels became fashionable, often in pine painted in fashionable colours, with cornices, dado rails and architectural mouldings. The Victorian and Edwardian periods revived Tudor and Jacobean oak panelling, particularly for halls, libraries and dining rooms. Antique panelling salvaged from historic buildings is sought after for its character and craftsmanship, and can be adapted to new rooms, used as cupboard doors or incorporated into furniture. When buying, check the quantity, condition and whether sections are complete enough for the intended space.
