I’ve recently used VJ boards in my home in two different rooms, and two different ways, so I thought it would be fun to share some more inspiration about using this very popular type of wall panelling and what to bear in mind!
But hang on, what is it?!
First off, what is VJ? A lot of people give me a blank look when I casually throw this term into conversation! VJ stands for vertical joints (also commonly known as tongue and groove), and it’s a kind of timber or MDF wall panelling with vertical panels, equally spaced. That said, some people use it horizontally too.
It has become very popular as a way to add character to bare walls (and ceilings!) and is also being used to pull together things such as a TV wall, bedhead or office nook. It can be used full height or half height (or anywhere in between!) as wainscoting, usually with some type of chair rail at the top and skirting at the bottom. Large boards of MDF VJ, such as Intrim’s VJ Boards Pro are quick, easy and affordable to install and suitable for most interior applications. In rooms where there is moisture however, like a bathroom, a timber lining board is more appropriate and practical.
One of my favourite things about VJ panels is you can paint them whatever colour you like and you can use a little or a lot, depending on the look you’re going for. Plus, when you’re after a new look, you can simply paint them a fresh colour! They also look great in traditional homes (of course you’ll find them everywhere in old Queenslanders!) and modern ones, with their clean lines.
Let’s look at some ways to use VJ that are a little less obvious…
TV wall
TV walls are notoriously hard to get right due to the mess of cables. And unless you have a Samsung Frame TV that looks like art when it’s not in use, those big black rectangles aren’t often our favourite feature in a room! Adding VJ behind your wall mounted TV and entertainment unit is a great way to pull the whole look together. You can even make your TV ‘disappear’ by painting a dark coloured VJ wall behind it. I recently used Intrim’s VJ Boards Pro behind our new built-in TV unit and it was the thing that brought the whole look together. I don’t think it would have been half as aesthetically pleasing had it been a bare painted wall instead.
Images: Jacqui Turk
The VJ Board Pro is an MDF sheet with the grooves cut into it, which comes pre-primed and ready to paint. So easy! My carpenter simply glued this onto the wall with a few nails for extra strength.
In a hallway/entry
Hallways and entries by their very nature get a lot of action and lining their walls with VJ can be a great way to make them a bit tougher against all the knocks and scuffs! Mounting wall hooks on top of VJ, like in this image below, is a great way to create a mudroom look without having an entire room dedicated to your coats and hats!
Image via https://www.instagram.com/this_old_house52
Lining your entry with VJ is a low cost way to really improve the first impression of your home and to get an idea if you like it before using it in larger areas.
In a bathroom
I love the look of VJ in bathrooms, a room where we often don’t think beyond tiles (which are gorgeous and waterproof but expensive, especially when you factor in the tiler). In my recent en suite reno I had the brainwave to cover over existing old (but solid) wall tiles with VJ panelling but the VJ Board Pro wouldn’t be the best choice here because MDF and moisture aren’t a good match. My dream wasn’t over however, as Intrim advised I could get the same look using their timber lining boards.
Images: Jacqui Turk
These are individual boards which simply click together and they’re available in a choice of MDF or FJ Pine, the latter being the best choice for a bathroom or laundry. Althought they take a bit longer to install because they don’t come in a sheet, the other benefit is that they’re flexible and can fit easier around tricky spots such as roof rafters.
Don’t be afraid to think beyond walls! You can just as easily use VJ on your ceilings alone, or carry it on from your walls across your ceiling.
Image via https://www.instagram.com/this_old_house52
Around built-in joinery like a bench seat or cabinetry
Below, the VJ has been used on the whole of the wall in this gorgeous room, but it could just as easily be used to highlight the window seat only. If you’ve thought about creating banquette-type seating in a dining nook for example, VJ could be the perfect finishing touch.
Pic via https://www.instagram.com/this_old_house52
Inspired?
I hope this post has shown you there are so many ways you can use VJ, large or small, in your home. I warn you though: once you start, it’s hard to stop!
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Today, I’m sharing our en suite, which probably involved the most thought, planning, work and money, of the three projects we completed just before Christmas. Funnily enough, this room was the most modern (I’m guessing an 80s/90s extension) of them all when we moved in. Which is pretty funny when you consider the before pictures below! Hello, beige and brown!
Bathrooms are, by their very nature, bloody expensive rooms! And while we did a complete rip out and re-do with our main bathroom, we didn’t have the funds (nor did we consider them worth spending) to do the same for our en suite. But after almost four years, we really wanted to finally finish off the two remaining very dated rooms of this “nanna house,” this and the laundry. They were definitely a couple of pimples on an otherwise pretty face!
Where the shower wall tiles meet the wall panelling
We all know tiles and particularly tiling, add up in a bathroom reno. In a bid to avoid some of this cost, as well as the time and mess involved in a “real” bathroom reno (I have limited patience!), we decided to tile over the existing tiles (which is perfectly fine to do if your tiles are sound), and we did that with the floor tiles. The new floor tiles from TileCloud are as similar as we could find to the ones we used in the main bathroom.
We never considered DIY-ing this part and left it to a professional tiler. And yes, we waterproofed underneath, especially as we also took the opportunity to remove the hob around the shower! It was reassuring to find a quality copper fold shower tray underneath! The tilers did our laundry and front porch at the same time which cost less than doing the three jobs separately.
These tiles are very similar to those in our main bathroom and I adore the texture
Despite this whole tile-on-tile situation making me stress out a bit over how it would come together, it all worked out really well. We also tiled over the tiles within the shower itself. Again, we chose tiles as similar as we could to what we used in the main bathroom, again from TileCloud, for some continuity, keeping it all very simple and clean.
No fancy in-wall cistern here, just a new, slimline toilet to save money!
Where we really saved money (and also got a great look aesthetically), was in going over the remaining wall tiles with VJ panelling (which we painted the same blue/grey as the other VJ in our kitchen, dining and living rooms). While floor to ceiling tiles always look great, they’re really not that necessary unless you plan on throwing water around your room in a big way! And of course the cost of the tiles, and the tiler, adds up.
I initially planned for this paneling to be painted the same navy as our bedroom in order to achieve a nice flow from one room to the other, but I made a last minute call to go grey instead because I felt the dark blue would overpower the small room. I think this was a good call. The lesson learned here was not to feel you have to stick rigidly to your plan! Although we already had the navy paint and it feels a waste (I’ll find somewhere to use it with my love of navy!), we had leftover grey paint so thankfully it didn’t cost us any more.
We used clear silicone around the sink
We didn’t use Intrim’s VJ Board Pro in here (like we used in the living room) because MDF and wet rooms are not a match made in heaven. Intrim advised that a much more sensible option was their timber lining boards (their LB03 lining board in 185mm wide panels) which click together and come pre-primed and ready to paint any colour you like.
We kept everything in the same spot, just replacing with new, to save time and money.
The trickiest part of this entire room was working out how to attach the lining boards safely to the wall, covering the tiles, and how and where the shower tiles would meet the panelling without looking clunky. Lucky I had my superstar tradesman Trent Ayton from Pure Renovation Group on hand to come up with the solution because I sure didn’t have a clue! He didn’t feel that simply gluing the panels onto the wall tiles and adding a chair rail was secure enough.
In progress
He explains: “We made sure the existing tiles were sound and cleaned them well. Then we used a U-shaped metal tile trim that was both glued and screwed onto the existing tiled walls, then fit the VJ using quality adhesive. We used the same trim top and bottom and painted this the same as the timber so it all blends in well and you don’t even notice it’s metal.”
Trent looked after everything except the tiling, plumbing and electrical (really just replacing light switches and sockets with new, disconnecting the old mirror light and connecting the new, under-vanity LED light. Trent also gave me very helpful direction on which trades I needed and when in the process, allowing me to confidently project manage the job myself and save a lot of money.
We had hoped to use a Bunnings off the shelf shower screen (we replaced what was there when we moved in with one of these because the door kept getting stuck!) but after tiling over tiles on the wall and floor, things were not plumb enough! So that cost us more than we hoped ($800) but having semi-frameless does look much more streamlined.
The LED light adds a touch of luxury in an otherwise quite basic en suite
The look and feel of this bathroom is very clean, light and modern (but also quite classic!). I really love the look of the VJ panels and I feel we added some important warmth and a bit of wow-factor with the beautiful vanity and mirror cabinet (thanks to Matt Michel for suggesting this size and style and letting me bounce ideas!) from The Blue Space. I loved that we were able to customise these Timberline products online, choosing options like the LED lighting (which is perfect for going to the bathroom in the middle of the night!), a white ceramic waste (which we also have in the main) and the timber veneer colour, which I’m thrilled with. I also love how the timber veneer is the same on the outside of the mirror cabinet to match the vanity below. It’s a very similar look to our more expensive solid timber vanity in the main bathroom.
I much prefer the view from our bedroom now!
We decided to use chrome tapware rather than matching the brass in the main bathroom, mainly to save money on having to replace the shower, and gold shower options are limited. We also avoided moving any plumbing unless we really had to (we had to move the plumbing up behind the vanity because we replaced a floor standing one with a floating option). We chose Meir tapware though, as we have for our kitchen, laundry and main bathroom, because we love the look and quality and it provided continuity in style if not colour. The wall hooks, towel rail and toilet roll holder are also from them.
I am delighted to say someone took the old vanity off our hands via Freecycle (who doesn’t hate landfill?) although the same cannot be said for the old toilet with the padded seat!
To avoid drilling into two layers of tiles (nerve-racking much? Plus, maintaining the integrity of the waterproofing), I researched the suction options and this Fusion-Loc brand from Bunnings (about $40) gets rave reviews, actually stays on, doesn’t rust and looks pretty good for a stick on option!
Every decision we made with this bathroom was a careful weigh-up between aesthetics and cost. This bathroom is not the showstopper the main bathroom is, but it wasn’t intended to be and frankly, we didn’t need it to be. We do really love it though, and the colour palette means it’s really light and bright, a far cry from the beige and brown!
However, as it didn’t end up being a navy bathroom to tie in with the navy master bedroom, I’m now thinking about re-painting the bedroom the same blue-grey to tie it back in with the bathroom (It never ends in this house!)! I have loved having a dark and moody bedroom but maybe I’m ready for a change! Dark walls also show up dust!
We finished off with a few accessories from my favourites Oliver Thom, including the navy Zone bin, Skandinavisk toiletries and Norm toilet brush. The Angus & Celeste pink jelly planter was a Christmas gift from my dad and adds a nice pop of colour.
We are replacing our old windows later this year and I’m looking forward to swapping the older sliding window (nicely hidden behind the shutters) with louvres. At this point, I’ll probably ditch the shutters as privacy and keeping light out aren’t considerations and louvres and shutters would be a bit much. What do you think?
I hope you get some ideas from our semi-budget en suite reno! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
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