Decorating with Wood Walls

Wood-clad walls, whether stained, painted, or unfinished, add layers of richness and warmth that bring cocoonlike dimension to any size room. Though welcome additions to most designs, wood walls present a few challenges when it's time to decorate a space. The boards introduce an enveloping, repetitive pattern that needs to be considered when choosing fabrics and arranging furniture. When wood walls are high in impact or dark in tone, keep fabric motifs simple, furniture arrangements orderly, and accessories restrained to balance the board-after-board wood wall configuration. Woods, such as mahogany, walnut, or cherry, can darken a room in an unflattering way; you'll need to brighten the room's shadowy qualities with light and breezy upholstery fabrics, silvery finishes, and furnishings with airy silhouettes. Conversely, white-painted, naturally stained boards, and midtone woods showcase vivid upholstery fabrics, black finishes and accessories, and traditional and modern furniture lines. Though style is always a matter of personal taste, consider the following strategies to help you determine what works best with your wood walls.