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Say "cedar paneling" to most people and they picture a 1970s ski lodge: orange-toned tongue-and-groove running floor to ceiling, a stone fireplace, shag underneath. That image is the reason cedar has an image problem, and I'll be honest about my bias up front, because the muddy-warm palettes of the '70s genuinely make my skin crawl. But the wood isn't the problem. The way that era used it was. Wood on a wall is one of the oldest and best moves in design, and cedar in particular does a few things nothing else does. You just have to know where it belongs and how to keep it out of the ski lodge.
So here's the honest designer's version: what cedar is actually good for, where wood paneling goes wrong, and how to put wood on a wall in a way that reads collected rather than dated.
What cedar is genuinely good at
Cedar earns its reputation for real reasons, they're just narrower than the renovation blogs suggest. The wood is naturally rot- and insect-resistant thanks to its own oils, and it holds up in damp air where other softwoods sulk. That aromatic quality everyone knows from a hope chest is the same oil at work. Those are real properties, and they point to where cedar actually shines: closets, a genuine cabin or lake house, a sauna, a porch ceiling, the back of a wardrobe. Places where the smell, the moisture tolerance, and the honest rustic warmth are the whole point.
Where I'd push back is the idea that cedar belongs on every feature wall in a suburban living room. In a room that has nothing to do with a forest, raw orange-toned cedar reads as costume. The material is telling a cabin story the rest of the house isn't in on.
The cedar closet is the one everyone gets right
If there's a single unimpeachable use for cedar, it's lining a closet. The aroma deters moths, the oils help with damp, and nobody sees it but you, which makes it exactly the kind of small private luxury I love. It's the same logic I use for papering the inside of a closet: a little material, a real pleasure every morning, no one to answer to for the choice. If you want the softer, patterned version of that same trick, a print from our removable wallpaper collection lines a closet beautifully too, and the two aren't mutually exclusive. And once the closet is lined, the doors in front of it deserve the same thought, which I get into in my guide to bifold and closet doors.
Where wood paneling goes wrong
Almost every dated wood wall fails for one of three reasons, and none of them is the wood itself.
The undertone is off. This is the big one, and it's the painter in me talking. Raw cedar and a lot of stained pine run orange, and orange is the hardest undertone to live with in a room that isn't built around it. Undertones are the most important thing to get right and the hardest, and an orange wall fighting a cool floor will bother you every day without your being able to name why. Hold any wood sample against your floor and your trim in real daylight before you commit.
It covers everything. Floor-to-ceiling-to-every-wall is what makes a room feel like a box built out of one material. Wood on a wall works best as a feature or an accent, one wall, a wainscot, a ceiling, not a full envelope. Restraint is the difference between "architectural" and "rec room."
The proportions are cheap. Thin, uniform tongue-and-groove with no reveal reads as builder-grade. Proportion is what separates real millwork from a kit, and it costs almost nothing extra to get right at the planning stage.
How to do wood on a wall the modern way
The version that looks collected instead of dated usually comes down to four moves.
Paint it. This is the single biggest shift. Painted paneling, board-and-batten, a limewashed plank wall, or a deep lacquered wainscot keeps all the texture and architecture of wood while losing the orange cabin association entirely. A painted plank wall in a soft green or a dusty blue is timeless. The same wall in raw cedar is a decade stamp.
Choose the right species if you're leaving it natural. White oak and walnut have far more sophisticated undertones than orange cedar or yellow pine, which is why they've quietly taken over the wood everyone actually wants right now. If the goal is natural wood in a refined room, start there, not with cedar.
Mind the direction and the reveal. Vertical planks lift a ceiling; horizontal ones stretch a wall; a proper reveal between boards is what makes it read as intentional. These are free decisions that do most of the work.
Let it be the backdrop, not the whole show. A wood wall wants contrast in front of it, the whole point of putting old and new next to each other. A modern light fixture, an antique mirror, a saturated rug on the floor. Old things look better with new things next to them, and a paneled wall is one of the best backdrops there is for exactly that kind of mix. I get into that push and pull in my piece on mixing modern and vintage.
Cedar and wood paneling, in the right rooms
Put simply: use real cedar where its properties earn it, closets, a true cabin, a sauna, a porch ceiling, and let the smell and the rustic honesty be the point. Everywhere else, if you want wood on the wall, reach for a better species or paint it, keep it to a feature rather than the whole envelope, watch the undertone like a hawk, and give it something contrasting to stand behind. Do that and a paneled wall stops being a throwback and becomes the quietest kind of architecture. If you want the broader framework I hang all of this on, it's in my guide to timeless interior design styles, and lighting a textured wall well matters more than people think, which I cover in the interior lighting guide.
Complete the room
Paneling and paint aren't things we make, so for the pieces you'll actually be shopping: a board-and-batten or plank kit sized to your wall, limewash or a good flat paint with sample pots to test the undertone before you commit, a sconce or picture light to graze the texture, and real cedar planks if you're lining a closet the honest way.
Frequently asked questions
Is cedar paneling outdated?
Raw, orange-toned cedar running floor to ceiling reads as 1970s, yes. But wood on a wall isn't dated at all. Painted paneling, board-and-batten, or a natural white oak or walnut wall looks current. What dates cedar is the orange undertone and covering every surface with it, not the material itself.
Where should you actually use cedar?
Where its natural properties earn their keep: lining a closet (the aroma deters moths and the oils help with damp), a genuine cabin or lake house, a sauna, or a porch ceiling. In a suburban living room with no connection to a forest, raw cedar tends to read as costume.
How do you make wood paneling look modern?
Paint it, or choose a more refined species like white oak or walnut if you're leaving it natural. Keep it to a feature wall or a wainscot rather than the whole room, mind the plank direction and the reveal between boards, and give it contrasting modern and vintage pieces to stand behind. The undertone is the thing to watch most closely.
What is the best wood for accent walls now?
White oak and walnut have taken over because their undertones are far more sophisticated than orange cedar or yellow pine. If you want a painted wall instead, board-and-batten or a plank wall in a soft, muted color is the most timeless version and hides an inexpensive wood entirely.
Does a cedar closet really work?
Yes, and it's the one cedar use almost nobody argues with. The aromatic oils genuinely deter moths and help with damp, and since no one sees the inside of a closet but you, it's a small private luxury that costs little. Removable wallpaper is a softer, patterned alternative that lines a closet just as nicely.
Where to start
If you love the idea of wood on the wall, start by testing the undertone against your floor and trim, then decide between painting it and choosing a better natural species, and keep it to one wall. Once the wall is settled, it wants contrast in front of it, and a saturated wool area rug is usually the piece that pulls the room together, or commission a custom rug in the exact palette your paneling calls for. And if a closet is where you've landed, line it with real cedar or a print from the removable wallpaper collection, whichever pleasure you'd rather open the door to.
