Wall panels in the interior +75 photo examples in the design

The ideal option for creating a unique interior in the house or in the workplace, without capital investments of finance and labor, will be the finishing of the room with wall panels. Such a solution can be seen almost everywhere: in shops, cafes and restaurants, offices, office buildings, railway stations, airports, residential buildings. A wide field for design gives the format of products. They can be rack, tiled and large-format (sheet). The successful combination of elements of the same series, but different colors, creates unique solutions. The choice of material for the most part will be determined by the purpose of the room. For example, for offices well suited products from chipboard or MDF. A stone and glass will be appropriate for rooms with high humidity, either on the external facade of a public or residential building. The tree will harmoniously fit into any interior style, the restriction for some species will be only the high humidity of the room.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of wall panels over other finishes is the ease of installation. With them, the interior of the room will take on a different look, and this will be achieved without major repairs. In addition, they have the following number of advantages:

• Sound and heat insulation. The installation feature using guides allows to install insulation or noise insulation in the space between the plates and the wall;
• A large number of options for color and design solutions. On the market, you can buy products of various colors, forms (relief), types of coating (veneer, paint, plastic spraying, film), as well as semi-finished products for subsequent painting or application of another coating;
• Low cost, comparable to the price of the wallpaper, with a longer service life;
• Aesthetically appealing look;
• Durability, resistance to the effects of care products. They can be washed using household chemicals without damaging the decorative coating.

Like any human creation, wall panels have disadvantages:

Kinds

The range presented in hardware stores, is limited to three main types: typesetting rack, typesetting tiled, sheet.

Rack

The long (240-370 cm) and narrow (12.5-30 cm) elements, from 8 to 12 mm thick, vaguely resemble the slats, from which they got their name. Their dimensions are great for covering small rooms with many corners. Installation provides for the preliminary creation of a metal or wooden crates. The panels are interconnected by the tongue-and-groove method, or using a tab if the elements have only grooves. The construction is fixed with special brackets that are inserted into the batten. Or self-tapping screws, twisting into the groove. Make of MDF, a chipboard, DVP, PVC. There is also an additional hardware (plugs, baseboards, corners, etc.).

Tiled

Available in the form of a square with a side of 30-98 cm. Fitted together by the principle of "groove-insert-groove". For fixing to the wall, glue or clamps are used. The main difference is the ability to dock them with different faces, creating individual unique patterns on the wall.

Leafy

Of the three species, they have the largest dimensions, comprising 1.22 m in width, 2.44 m in length, and 6 mm thick. The front surface is ennobled by a multi-layered structure with a pattern applied or a texture with imitation of natural elements. Installation is made on special glue. Joints conceal the moldings included in the package. Such panels can cover large areas in a short time. The materials used in the production - PVC, or impregnated with resin fibreboard.

Materials

For the production they use both natural materials or materials based on natural components, and products of the chemical industry. The first are: solid wood, fiberboard, chipboard, MDF, drywall, gypsum vinyl, glass. For the production of the second use PVC. Often, manufacturers use two or three types of materials at once, combining organic matter with artificial substances.

PVC

Panels of this material make up the majority sold on the market. Available in all three types of performance. The popularity of this material is due to universality, i.e. the possibility of using in premises for various purposes and any climatic conditions. Polyvinyl chloride is easily processed, taking any form, you can directly put on it various drawings, patterns, photos. It is easy to reproduce the imitation of a brick, tile, board, stone or marble slab. The main flaws of PVC plates are fragility, flammability, and toxicity during strong heating.

MDF

The composition is similar to fiberboard, but have a lower density. For this reason, MDF is sometimes called "soft" fiberboard. But at the expense of such "softness", the plates have increased heat and sound insulation properties. In the production process, they give other properties. For example, using PVC as a lining, you can achieve good moisture resistance of the plates. Special compositions, which the manufacturer often impregnates the panels, make them refractory. Such technological maneuvers can not affect the growth of value, but this is a fully justified trend.

Gypsum vinyl

They can be called the modernization of drywall. The front layer of cardboard was replaced here with a vinyl layer. From this material, you can make walls, partitions, ceilings. Drywall is noticeably inferior to gypsum vinyl in strength, durability, presentation. The latter does not require painting, because it already has a finished drawing or other colors. Initially, this product was intended for public buildings with a large flow of people, but over time they began to be used for private housing.

Fiberboard

Common material in the industry of wall panels. In the manufacture of wood fibers are used, which are interconnected by hot pressing. The advantage of such plates are low cost, environmental friendliness, the possibility of laminating with veneer, plastic. Sometimes you can find hardboard, upholstered in natural wood. Release all three types of execution. The plates are mounted directly on the wall, or on a pre-mounted crates. Between themselves, they are connected by the locking method or the thorn-groove method.

It is not recommended to finish the rooms with high humidity with MDF plates, since they are strongly deformed from moisture and move away from the walls.

Chipboard

Produced from waste wood. Therefore, they are in many ways inferior to the natural array of wood. But all the disadvantages are more than covered by the low price. To give the chipboard sheets a presentable look, they are covered with plastic. The color range of the plastic coating can be very diverse. In the process of manufacturing wood chips are mixed with the adhesive composition and pressed. The glue used is toxic and harmful to humans. But the presence of a plastic coating neutralizes this factor. Like fiberboard, chipboard boards do not withstand high humidity, greatly swelling. A large proportion (higher than that of common wood species) imposes restrictions on the form of chipboard production. They are produced only in sheets.

From wood

In rooms decorated with natural wood creates a feeling of warmth and comfort. And these feelings appear with you for a reason. People have long known heat insulation properties of wood. And the essential oils contained in the fibers, have a beneficial effect on the lungs, having a calming effect. The more expensive the array, the more pronounced the above properties. The most popular raw materials for the production of wall panels made of wood are such species as oak, alder, walnut, maple, linden, cedar, bamboo. Lovers of classic Western-style loves panels decorated with natural veneer. And for admirers of oriental notes in the interior of their home, panels of bamboo mat are more suitable. They are woven by hand from bamboo strips, impregnated with a special adhesive to give a marketable appearance and extend the service life.

For those who decided to decorate a bathroom or a sauna with wood panels, there are products on sale covered with a special water-repellent lacquer or wax, which, when heated, does not emit substances harmful to humans.

Embossed 3D panels

The emergence of 3D panel production technology can be considered a shock therapy for the design of a modern interior. By building compositions of such elements, it is possible to completely change the visual perception of the reality of the internal space of the premises. As a result of the work of numerous designers, a large number of spectacular interiors for private housing and common areas appeared. The principal differences between such decorative elements and their two-dimensional counterparts can be characterized by the following points:

• Properly chosen composition is able to create the effect of reincarnation of reality, reducing or increasing the size of the walls, their geometry, to zone the room without using bulky partitions;
• It became possible to create relief and texture, not peculiar to the material being processed;
• Properly used lighting creates in a room decorated with relief panels a special mood, a feeling of surrealism of the situation.

The opportunity to use the third dimension to create patterns on the coating, gave a powerful impetus to the creation of an infinite number of textures that annually replenish the range of building catalogs. There are textures with a decorative coating already applied, and there are those that require applying a finishing layer (enamel, veneer, film, decorative plaster) after mounting on the walls. This gives an even greater field for creativity.

The new design discovery has expanded not only the boundaries of space, but also the range of materials that are most in demand:

• Polymer composites;
• Leather or its imitation of PVC film based on MDF;
• Fake diamond;
• Glass;
• Natural wood, mostly bamboo;
• Decoacryl is a glass substitute;
• Gypsum;
• Metals, mostly non-ferrous (copper, bronze, brass), aluminum, stainless steel;
• Felt or felt. Such panels have excellent sound insulation;
• Reed Begassa (green mass squeezed out).

From the list you can see that the main raw materials for production are environmental natural materials.

Embossed panels are mounted on a metal profile, while there is a gap between the wall and the back side, which can be used for laying wiring, laying insulating material. The main drawback of such elements, as well as their dignity, is their relief surface, which, although it looks impressive, constantly collects dust on itself, requiring frequent wet cleaning.

Soft panels

The current fashion trend of volumetric decor has added popularity to soft wall panels. In addition to the aesthetic component, this type of finish has a number of other advantages:

• Easy installation;
• Excellent sound insulation;
• Can be mounted on uneven walls. After installing such panels all the irregularities smooth out their texture;
• The ability to use different colors.

Due to the design features, the list of materials for the frontal part of the panels is limited to three positions:

• Genuine Leather. Expensive and stylish stuff. Such upholstery would be appropriate in official places: conference rooms, restaurants for business meetings, a study;
• Artificial leather;
• Textile. Although this is the most budget option, but at the same time providing an opportunity for a wide selection of colors. Well fit into the bedroom interior.

For filling foam rubber and a synthetic winterizer are used. The first allows you to create a lush and soft design, and the second is lighter and does not crumble over time. The basis may be a sheet of fiberboard or particleboard.

To fix such a coating on the wall, use a sealant for massive decorative objects. This is the most popular installation method. The second way is to fasten the panels to the batten with screws or nails. After completion of the installation work it is necessary to close their caps with plugs.

The main difficulty that will be faced after installation is the fixing of additional interior items on the wall: paintings, hangers, wall sconces, sockets. With small items you can still figure out by attaching them to a soft base, but hang a heavy shelf or bracket for a TV so easily will not work. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare in advance for such difficulties, making adjustments to the plan upholstery.

Where to use in finishing

Wall panels in the interior can perform a variety of tasks: from the decorative function to concealing the wiring, various defects of the walls, insulation, noise insulation of the room. If the practical side of things is simple, then everything is much more complicated with decor. There are several methods of distribution of panels on the wall plane, which will help to achieve the maximum aesthetic effect:

1. Only part of the wall. The traditional technique is when the panels are attached at the bottom of the wall. At the same time try to observe the ratio of 1: 3, i.e. they should be located no higher than the lower third of the wall. This will create the effect of high ceilings. Well will be suitable for a drawing room, a corridor, a hall, the nursery, kitchen, a bathroom;
2. On the whole wall. This option is a classic, emphasizes the status of the room. It is better to abandon its use for too small rooms with low ceilings, since the design will weight the room. You should not resort to such a reception in the rooms where you spend most of the time. Here the most appropriate will be wood panels. Suitable for library, billiard room.
3. Focus on decor. With this option, choose a specific area of ​​the wall or several intervals for decoration panels. In this case, you do not need to tie the height of the furniture and decorative objects to a certain size, as in the very first reception. Here you do not weigh down the space if you correctly arrange all the interior items. It will look good in the bedroom, living room, hallway.

And do not forget - the ultimate choice is always yours!