DIY mum makes her own panelled staircase for just £70

Panelled walls have been one of the hottest interior trends of 2021.

From headboards in the bedroom, to feature walls in the living room, panelling – often painted in pastel colours, or rich jewel tones – has been growing in popularity, as people are taken by the luxe feel and the blend of traditional and modern.

However getting panelling installed in your home can be really expensive, as Patricia Bradley found out when she called in a builder.

The 43-year-old from Renfrewshire, wanted to pep up her hallway with panelling, but when she was quoted £900 for a builder to do it, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Patricia managed to pull off the stylish new look by herself for just £70 using budget materials from B&Q. 

‘I wanted to make a feature of the staircase,’ says Patricia. ‘First I changed the stairs, which were done by a carpet fitter by putting laminate on the riser and carpet on the tread.

‘I was aware that wall panelling is very popular just now and looked into the cost and availability of joiners to perform the job. 

‘I was quoted in the range of £650 to 900 for the work but struggled to see how the cost matched what I thought about what was required in terms of materials and labour. 

‘I then Googled some info on how to panel a staircase.’

The NHS worker says she used to really enjoy DIY, so she decided to roll up her sleeves and get the job done herself.

‘I used a picture rail along the top and used decorative moulding strips from B&Q to create the panelling effect,’ Patricia told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk.

‘I used a hack that I found on Pinterest for creating the required angles, which involved using cardboard as a template. 

‘This was inexpensive and worked very well. The only tool I used was a small handheld mitre saw for cutting the moulding to size, a strong adhesive for gluing the wood to the wall and a tube of wood filler to perfect the angles. 

‘The panelling was then painted a light grey in keeping with the colour of decor I had chosen. The cost of the materials used was approximately £70. I am pleased with the result and that I was able to perform the job myself and made a huge saving in the process.’

Patricia completed the job in her free time around her full-time job, and in total it took her two to three days to complete.

‘The breakdown of costs was £54 for 12 smooth natural pine astragal mouldings, £10 for two picture rails and £13 for paint,’ she says.

‘I had the adhesive in the house, but it costs £4.60 to buy and that was one recommended by someone online.

‘There is so much information available on the Internet nowadays that it is easier than ever to teach yourself skills.’

Patricia says she feels a bigger sense of achievement because she not only got the desired result with her hallway, but she also saved money in the process. 

‘My tips would be to do your research into the work you want to have done, use YouTube and Pinterest to pick up handy hints and tips and have the confidence to have a go,’ she says.

‘However, it’s also important to understand when tradesmen are required for safety reasons.’

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