Panneling

Pannelingcan be used on cabinets, walls, bookcases, fireplaces, you name it. The most difficult to work with is the backs of paintings. Because they won't hang 'backwards' on a wall, it takes some work to get them placed correctly (and usually some sweat, tears, hair pulling and swearing!). Since none of the pre-made cabinets have quite the look I want for my kitchen, I'm going to make some custom panneling on a counter. We'll be working with Faydark Tavern Tables and Fine Landscape Paintings.

First, I want to place my tables. These particular ones are short, so I'll raise them off the floor to an appropriate kitchen counter height (using <Ctrl> and the mousewheel to float them up).

One table isn't long enough for the counter I want. So we'll use two.

Now we need to place something to hang our paintings on. I like to use the redwood room dividers. Get it up as close to one edge of the tables as possible, so there's no gap when we're done.

We're ready for the paintings now. But first, they have to be the right size. We don't want them too short. Use <Shift> and the mousewheel to enlarge your painting. Keep track of how many 'clicks' it takes, it will help when placing the rest!

Time to slide the painting over (I like to start from the wall and work out). Keep an eye on the top too, lower it just below the surface of the table. You can see from my screenshot, the painting needs to go down just a bit more.

You can see we need another painting here, one just isn't long enough to cover our whole counter.

Remove your divider and have a look. My tables are just a tad longer than the paintings. I don't want to add a third painting though, that would make the counter too long, or have way too much overlap on the paintings for my taste. Easiest adjustment in this case is to move the table over a touch.

Now I'm going to place my end painting. This one is going to go vertically, and I'll just let the long end be burried in the floor.

Here's the part that's usually the most difficult for me. Move your divider around to the last side, right up against the tables again. Then we need to remove the tables so we can see where the paintings are going. This is also the technique to use if you are putting your counter up against a wall and only need to pannel the front.

We placed the painting across the end already, so we've got something to line the tops up with - since the tables have been removed.

Place your tables back,

remove your divider,

and decorate!

 

You're ready to try it on your own now! The same basic techniques apply for just about anything you want to pannel. Remember though, if you're doing a wall you need enough room behind (and a way to get back there) to get your paintings hung up. Like anything, it takes practice. LOTS of practice. If you're planning on using this in your room, try starting with the area you want to pannel, so that any design adjustments can be made as necessary based on how it turns out.