Best Wall Paneling for Van Interior Design
This post serves two purposes, to look at practically at paneling for lining your cargo van’s interior and to give van interior design inspiration. We will look at options from a practical standpoint, as well as some fantastic ones.
Van interior design is very important. Imagine that your van is a blank page for you to write the story of your journey on. You may be on the road alone or with a furry companion, or you might be riding shot-gun to your ride or die partner with a little one in the back. Design your van for your fellowship.
Its a dangerous business, follower, pulling your van out of your driveway. You roll onto the road, and if you don’t keep your wheels, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.
Van interior design is an opportunity to make your dreams come true. If your dream van design is inspired by the Shire, than you are my kind of van designer, so please, please send pictures!
Your choice is up to you. We have listed our favorites but you will likely choose a combination. Again, please send pictures!
After you have installed your insulation you should be able to install wall paneling to cover the length of your walls from just behind the cabin to the back doors. That is, the insulation fills up to the rib joins of your van and this paneling will cover all.
Some important things to consider are material thickness, weight, pliability and texture.
Material thickness is important to consider because adding layers of material means losing living space. For example, if you are sleeping width ways in your van, that is with your head at feet at either wall, and you choose material that is very thick, you could lose inches of space. If you are over 6 feet tall it will meet that you have to sleep at an angle rather than being able to stretch out.
Choosing a heavy material might mean reinforcing your panels after every venture down a bumpy road. It also adds weight to your van which will sacrifice fuel efficiency.
Pliability is important as it will determine how you mount your material. Texture is simply important to consider for personal preference. You don’t want to choose a prickly carpet or a cold tin mold to mount right next to your bed. Or maybe you do, it’s up to you, but still important to consider!
Best Overall
1/4″ Plywood
Plywood is very thin slices of wood that are compressed and glued together. It doesn’t absorb moisture like MDF or particle board. It is relatively thin, pliable and easy to work with. It makes for a smooth surface that can be covered with wallpaper, vinyl or paint, or it can be sanded and stained for a beautiful wood finish.
For faux shiplap, cut a sheet of plywood into 48″ by 3.5″, stain and sand each piece and then secure them to the van wall horizontally, spacing each row using spacers or pennies. Be sure to rearrange the pieces when you are putting them back together on your van wall.
Runner Up
Cedar planks or shiplap
Cedar planks will look fantastic and smell great in your van which, would come in handy if you are camping off a hard sweaty day on the slopes.
You can buy cedar fence pickets from Home Depot or Lowe’s and they typically come 5/8″ thick.
Be sure to secure your panels well. As with anything else that comes in sections that you use to panel your walls, it will take a hit during the normal bumps of traveling. Paneling can become loose. Walling up your van will not be the same as walling up your house. You paneling will experience a wide variety of climate conditions as well as a mobile environment. You could be starting from scratch after a few trips up a pothole ridden forest service road.
Inspiration Make your van the home of your dreams
Deciding what to put on your walls will be one of the biggest design aspects of remodeling your van. The paneling you choose will give you the homey feel you are looking for, and there are hundreds of options. You have an opportunity to design your van to look and feel like your dream home. Personally, I have always wanted an English cottage in the woods, something that looked like it belonged in a fairy tale. I want a brick chimney, ivy covered archways and leaded glass windows with flower boxes full of begonias. Ok, so none of that is really possible in a van, but taking from the idea, I can create my English cottage away from home.
Wallpaper and Decals
Your van has two walls, a back door and a ceiling that are perfect canvases to let your imagination go wild! Below are a handful of ideas that, if we had a dozen vans to convert, we would use them all. You can bring in the moon and sleep under the stars. You could create your sun soaked botanical windowsill with potted herb decals. If you have kids they might want to curl up next to a few friendly woodland creatures at bed time.
Title Wallpaper
We don’t recommend using real tile in your van for obvious reasons, however these peel and stick decals are a very convincing option.
Glow in the dark moon and stars
There are a lot of moon decal options, this one had great ratings and a high quality image. Also, if you want the moon, you have to take the stars as well.
String of Pearls
String of PearlsIf you have a hard time keeping real living plants alive while living on the road, you are not alone. It is hard enough to do at home! These would reach from floor to ceiling in a standard height van and they require no water or sunlight.
Woodland Animals
Woodland AnimalsWe bought these decals and stuck them just above the flooring for our daughter. Above them we used chalkboard paint above the animals and installed a short and shallow bench just below their chins.
Potted Herbs
Watercolor Forest Decals
Watercolor Forest DecalsThese are very large, so be sure to measure before hand. You may have to install these before you put your bed in. These tree tops would look great poking out from behind your bedding.
Watercolor Birch Tree Decals
Watercolor Birch Tree DecalsAnother forest tree option for bringing the woods into your van.
Grass Decal
Grass Decal
Brick Wall Decal
Brick Wall DecalYou could cover a whole wall with these sections, or just cover the wall behind a sink or kitchen area and bring old world style into your van.
Open Window to Garden Decal
Open Window to Garden DecalOk, I’ll admit that this is a little cheese, but who can resist waking up to this face every morning. There are a dozen other versions of the open window decal, but this one really embraces the heart of the concept.
Stained Glass Window Decal
Stained Glass Window DecalThis one will go on your window, so if you have one to spare and don’t plan on looking out of it, you could class up the place with a beautiful piece of stained glass art.
Peony Wall Decal
Peony Wall DecalThis is a beautiful decal that would take up a whole wall in your van, but it might just be exactly what you are looking for.
Paint
Start with sanded plywood walls and a couple of coats of primer and you will have a fresh blank canvas for anything you like. Paint your walls solid, stencil or hire your favorite artist to give your interior some character. You can use chalkboard paint to create a canvas you can change up daily.
Chalkboard paint
Stencils
Stencils
Real or Faux Tin and Copper Panels
Whether you use real tin, copper or faux (made of PVC), these panels are a great option for either a wall or ceiling to add depth and character to your van’s interior.
Copper (PVC) Tile
Black faux tin panels
Black faux tin panels
Tin Panels
Tin Panels
Wainscoting or Beadboard
Wainscoting is a traditional type of wall paneling that can introduce a classic and clean look to your van. It can be used in a variety of ways, but typically it is installed at the base of a wall with baseboard trip at the bottom and it stops about two or three feet up the wall.
Markerboard
Markerboard is clean looking, white and bright and handy if you need to take notes in a pinch.
Vinyl
Vinyl comes in patterns to resemble brick, tile, old barn wood and just about anything else you can image. It is very thin and easy to install.
