Gen Xers reminisce about wood paneling being 'everywhere' in their childhoods. Here's why it was.
"Better than the particle board era we are in now."
Wood grain and wood paneling were on trend in the 1970s and 1980s.
Design trends come and go. For Gen Z, the color yellow is all the rage.
And for Gen X, the wood grain aesthetic (such as wood paneling) was a beloved choice for practically all surfaces in the 1970s and 1980s. From cars to furniture and walls with wood paneling, it's a "look" that defined a generation.
But why did wood paneling have such a hold? "Chances are you hate it...or you really hate it," quips YouTuber Llewelyn Moss in a video explaining the wood paneling obsession that took place in the 1970s.
- YouTube www.youtube.com
He notes that the popularity of wood paneling boiled down to a couple main factors. The first, warm and earth tones were trending (think yellows and greens), which complimented wood grain. But possibly the biggest reason wood paneling was "in" during the 1970s is because it was practical and economical.
"For much of the 19th and early 20th century. plaster was the most common material for constructing interior walls," he explains. "But plaster tends to crack and crumble easily and can be unsightly, especially in aging homes. Wood paneling was an easy way to cover these cracks. On top of that, it was often more cost-effective than plaster repair, which charged by the square foot and added up rather quickly."
Wood grain, explained
But what exactly is wood grain? Moss adds that "these beadboard panels were often made of wood fibers, pressed and held together by resin, or of wooden sheets with a thin veneer of oak or other hard wood pressed on top of it."
According to preservationists at George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, "Wood graining was a fairly common practice among the gentry in the 18th and 19th centuries. Panels made of a more common wood, like pine, were painted to look like a more expensive wood, such as mahogany. This was done to give the appearance of having spent more money on a particular space."
Moss also shared, "As a result, they were as cheap as they were easy to use." And because of this, the wood grain trend became "oversaturated" in American households and "fell way out of favor."
Gen X remembers wood grain
Today, Gen Xers still have fond memories of wood grain. They reminisced with one another in a Reddit forum.
"Holy crap. Did everyone have one of those hexagon tables?? That was my parents liquor cabinet 😉." - Techchick_Somewhere
"I miss my Grand Wagoneer." - Roscoe-is-my-dog
"OMG everything was so brown and so HEAVY. That damn couch probably weighs as much as a Mazda Miata. That's why our parents would just cover the broken floor model TV with a tablecloth and sit the new 27-inch TV on top of it. Your uncles all told your dad 'Hell no, I'm not helping you move that thing.'" - Mindless-Employment
"I saw an early 90s Buick (I think) wood panel luxury wagon for sale last week and I actually thought about it for like, two whole minutes." - moxiemoon
"We put woodgrain on all the things.... And we miss this? YES." - DiscountEven4703
"Better than the particle board era we are in now." - I_love_Hobbes
"The colonial furniture era. Everything was walnut, oak, pecan, or pine, and it was never finished with anything other than brown stain. It was a revelation when I first saw mahogany furniture finished with red stain." - 25314dmm, SatiesUmbrellaCloset
"How about the Atari 2600? Wood grain on a video game console!" - Awake-Now
"My parents had a wood grain top loading VHS player." - Flat_6_Theory
"Don’t forget the wood paneled walls! My grandparent’s den was faux wood paneled with red carpet. And my aunt and uncle had their basement covered with faux wood paneling as well. All the garages in my neighborhood were covered with faux wood panels but were built in ‘84." - Double_Dimension9948