The Easiest Wood Paneling in the World

Jonathan Fong shares the steps for adding warmth to your walls with balsa wood.

Adapted from Jonathan Fong's Walls that Wow by Jonathan Fong. Published by Watson-Guptill Publications, a division of VNU Business Media. Reprinted with permission.

According to design expert Jonathan Fong, wood paneling has a natural warmth and richness that makes you feel instantly comfortable and at home. However, this isn't a look back to the era of 1970s wood paneled walls--Jonathan's wood wall project uses lightweight balsa wood, which is available in arts and crafts stores, as well as model airplane shops. Not only is the material easy to work with it also stains beautifully. When arranged in a simple grid-like pattern it takes on a contemporary craftsman look that's both masculine and elegant. If you don't have the time to create the look across an entire wall, Jonathan says it would also make a great headboard.

Here's what you'll need for this project:
balsa wood sheets, 1/32-inch thickness
cutting mat
double-stick mounting tape
drop cloth or plastic sheet
5 all-purpose paint brushes, 3 inches wide
general purpose leather work gloves
laser level
pencil
rubber gloves
straightedge
steel wool (grade "000")
tack cloth
wood conditioner
wood stain and sealer in one, 4 shades
craft knife

1. Create a Diagram

Next: 2. Trim the Wood

To achieve this look you'll first need to create a diagram on paper and decide what size panels you want to use and how much wall space you want to cover. Decide if you want to use the two easy-to-work-with sizes that balsa wood comes in--1x2 feet and 1x3 feet--or if you want to work with a third size (which is accomplished by cutting the 1x2-foot sheets in half). For variety, three sizes of balsa are used in this project; 1x1 feet, 1x2 feet and 1x3 feet. Once you've decided which sizes of balsa wood panels you'd like to use, you're ready to map out how you want the different-sized panels to lay on the walls. You can either draw a schematic design using a computer program but you can do it by hand as well. Next, number each box in the diagram, going from bottom to top; you'll use these numbers as a reference for later. The total number of boxes also tells you how many panels you should buy. (Get a few extra, just in case.)