Decorative Panels

Panelling: material, layout and fixing

Decorative panelling covers several quite different things: traditional moulded panelling built up on the wall, flat modern panelling in sheet material, slatted and fluted panels, and cast decorative panels used as a single feature. They share a wall but they are different trades in practice, and they are set out and fixed differently.

Layout is what makes panelling look designed rather than applied. Panel widths are set out from the centre of the wall or from a dominant feature so that cuts fall symmetrically, rail heights are related to the room, and the setting-out is checked against sockets, switches, radiators and door architraves before anything is fixed. Working left to right from one corner is what produces an awkward narrow panel at the other end.

Fixing depends on what is behind the wall. Plasterboard on dabs sounds solid but offers little to fix into, so heavier panelling needs battening, adhesive appropriate to the substrate, or noggins planned in advance. Solid walls take a fixing anywhere but are rarely flat, so battens are packed to a level plane first or the panelling will follow the wall.

Junctions are where panelling is judged. The meeting with skirting, architrave, ceiling and any external corner is detailed before installation, and joints are filled, caulked and sanded before decoration so the wall reads as one piece rather than a set of parts.

We design and install decorative panelling for architectural interiors, commercial statements and residential feature walls across London.