Your Shiplap Is Outdated—Here's How to Freshen It Up

Gaining popularity in 2015 (thanks in large part to Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines), the modern farmhouse style has been a top choice in home design for years. The aesthetic embraces a mostly neutral color palette, focusing on black, white, and natural wood textures. It's full of clean lines and nods to the historic American farmhouse—with a mix of both of these characteristics coming together through well-loved shiplap.

Shiplap is a great way to introduce visual texture to a space; the wooden wall paneling features a small gap between each board. When used in true modern farmhouse fashion, shiplap is typically bright white. There are even alternatives to the real deal, including peel-and-stick shiplap wallpaper, and it can be used in every room, including mudrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and bedrooms.

However, as homeowners add more color and character to their spaces, plain white shiplap has started to trend downward. Before you rip out all the white shiplap in your house, read what these interior design experts say can refresh your paneling without getting rid of it.

Is the Shiplap Trend Gone for Good?

Interior design professionals agree that shiplap itself isn't the problem. Instead, it's how overused the material was and still is. Ross Blackwood of The Wood Veneer Hub says that the largest issue with incorporating shiplap into a home is that it restricts the homeowner into a farmhouse or coastal aesthetic, which isn't always sustainable if you want to change finishes every few years or so. 

Joey Conicella, president of SOCO Interiors, says that while modern farmhouse design elements, like shiplap, aren’t necessarily up to date, there are facets of the look that can be timeless when done right. "You don’t have to go and rip out your shiplap wall—you just have to update it," Conicella says.

Kelly Devlin, interior designer at Details + Design, and Layne Povey, owner and principal designer at Lynden Lane Co., both agree that shiplap as a material is classic and timeless. It's how the paneling is accessorized, styled, and painted that needs updating. "Shiplap is classic. The key is to update your accessories and art. If you keep the little things new, shiplap will transition," Povey says.

How to Update Your Shiplap

Between paint and styling techniques, there's no reason your shiplap can't stay right where it's at. Conicella says that the traditional white or cream paint color could be making your walls look outdated. He suggests taking your existing shiplap in a moodier direction. Darker, muddier colors will help your shiplap feel more updated.

If you're not ready to commit to a whole new paint color in your home, Devlin says that styling the surrounding space with updated materials can make a world of difference. She urges homeowners to consider changing out their hardware and introducing new textures to their space such as leather and woven fabrics.

Povey says to remove any outdated signage or art to elevate your shiplap walls. Instead of farmhouse or rustic signage, try adding classic art with gold frames. Gallery walls can also take the attention away from the wall covering.

Tips for Choosing More Modern Shiplap

If you want to add shiplap to your home but want it to look more modern, Blackwood says that the selection of finish, wood, and color is vital to avoid an outdated look, as well as the sizing of the wood planks themselves.

"In lieu of shiplap and other wide wood planks, streamline with thinner planks to create a more minimalist approach that can lend itself to multiple aesthetics down the line (Japandi, traditional Scandi, midcentury modern, the list can go on!) and to just give a room an overall sense of modernity and sophistication that often lacks traditional shiplap," Blackwood says. "With shiplap often being placed horizontally, varying it vertically can make a room appear larger and provides a more updated feel."