paneling

paneling, in architecture and design, decorative treatment of walls, ceilings, doors, and furniture consisting of a series of wide, thin sheets of wood, called panels, framed together by narrower, thicker strips of wood. The latter are called styles (the external vertical strips), muntins (the internal vertical strips), and rails (the horizontal strips).

In Europe, simple paneling on doors was used in Greco-Roman classical architecture, as it was in the transitional Italian Romanesque interiors. Its extensive use on walls and furnishings, however, began in the Gothic period. The richness and warmth of interior wood paneling is a highly characteristic aspect of the Tudor and Elizabethan styles of decoration in England. Early Tudor walls are profusely carved, often in fielded panels, in which the central area is raised above the framing. One particularly popular form of fielded panel was the linenfold, featuring stylized carvings that represent vertically folded linen; Hampton Court Palace near London contains many superb examples. In the English Renaissance, paneling became simpler; in the France of kings Louis XIV and XV, it was lavish and ornate; and in the Italian Renaissance, architects restricted its use to ceilings. In 17th-century New England, paneling was used but without decoration; in the 18th century it became more decorative, especially in the Southern colonies of what became the United States.

In all these historical instances the paneling was almost always made of either oak or pine. In the 20th century an enormous variety of materials came into use: solid wood (walnut, mahogany, birch, redwood), plywood (a thin wood veneer on a plywood base), vinyl with surface imitating wood grain, hardboard (or pressed wood), pegboard, and even translucent materials such as lucite.