Piece de Resistance: Shiplap Walls

I think the shiplap (basically boards placed horizontally on the wall like siding) on the walls in the Room of the Week definitely takes the design up a notch.  Originally, paneling like this was only used for less-formal buildings, but it’s definitely trendy right now for any room, in any type of house.  It can be created fairly inexpensively and does make a huge impact on a room.

There are several things to think about before jumping on this trend:

1. The sizes of the boards matter.  They should be fairly wide 8-12 inches for a more modern look (as opposed to the way beadboard looks).
2. If you are going to paint them you can use a more inexpensive wood like pine(or even melamine board like Jenny from The Little Green Notebook used), but if you plan on staining you might want something with a prettier grain.
3. Leaving a larger gap between the boards will emphasize the lines they create.  So, if you would prefer those are less noticeable make the gap minimal.

Here are some examples of shiplap in a variety of spaces and styles:

SOURCES: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Do you like this new trend?  Or do you prefer more traditional forms of wood paneling?