Wall panelling styles in elevation and section

At a glance

“Drawn here” sizes are examples, not catalogue or partner sizes.

The styles chart

Each style is drawn twice: in elevation, as three modules or boards seen face on, and in plan section, cut horizontally through the edge of a stile and the panel beside it. In the sections the wall is hatched on the left and the face is on the right. Where a style has no frame, the section cuts across a joint, a gap or a run of battens instead.

What makes each style what it is

The chart follows the way joiners and the sources we read use the names, and where the names overlap or conflict it says so.

• Frame styles (Shaker, raised and fielded, bolection, and the flat style with applied mouldings) are all stiles and rails round a panel. What separates them is the panel and the edge: a flat panel set back in a square frame is Shaker; a panel with a raised, bevelled centre in a moulded frame is raised and fielded; and where a moulding stands proud and laps the frame and the panel, it is bolection.
• “Raised” and “fielded” are used for the same panel, and the trade often says “raised and fielded”. We draw one panel for the three names. The flat style with applied mouldings is sometimes sold as “raised” panelling because the mouldings stand up from the board, so check what a supplier means by the word and draw the section.
• Board styles (beaded, V-groove, flush, shadow gap, fluted or reeded, slatted) have no frame. The joint, the groove or the gap is the whole detail, so set-out and substrate flatness matter more than they do for a frame.
• Upholstered panelling belongs here for completeness, but it is a fabric and foam build-up on a board rather than a timber style.
• Wainscot, dado and boiserie describe how high the panelling goes and how traditional it is, not how it is built. Any of the styles above can be a dado or run full height.

Full-height panelling in tiers

Traditional full-height panelling, the kind associated with Georgian and later period rooms, divides a tall wall into tiers: low panels under a dado rail, tall main panels above it, and a shallow frieze under the cornice. The tiers are made with the same frame and panel as any of the frame styles above. The stile lines usually run straight through all three, so the wall reads as a grid.

The proportions in the drawing are illustrative. We found no source that gives a rule for the heights of the tiers, so each wall is a drawing decision. Our set-out sheet shows how to divide a wall into equal panels and where to put the joints.

Choosing a style for the room

A style follows the room, and the effort in making it follows the number of parts and how much machining each one needs. Our reading, for the partner workshops to confirm, is that stuck-on mouldings and flush sheets are the lightest to make, and raised and fielded and bolection the heaviest.

• A period or formal room usually points to raised and fielded, bolection or the flat style with applied mouldings, with the tiers shown below on a tall wall.
• A plain, calm modern room points to Shaker, flush veneered or shadow gap, where the set-out and the finish do all the work.
• An informal lower wall, such as a boot room or a hall, points to beaded or V-groove boarding.
• A room where sound matters, such as a cinema or a meeting room, points to slatted or upholstered panelling. How well it absorbs sound depends on the whole assembly and on tested data for it, not on the style name. Our home cinema joinery page shows where this is used.
• A tactile wall points to fluted or reeded panels; see our fluted and reeded wood panels page.

Substrates, movement, fire and sound

The substrate and the face are two decisions, as our journal guide on bespoke panelling puts it: the face decides what you see, and the substrate decides how flat and stable the wall stays. For most of the styles above the options are MDF or plywood (painted or veneered), or solid timber for mouldings, beads and boards. Which one a partner workshop uses for each style, and how the panelling is fixed to the wall, is a question for the workshop and the building, and we give no figures here.

• Movement. Solid timber moves with the humidity of the room. Frame styles let the panel float in its groove, and board styles leave room at the edges, so the drawing should show where the movement goes.
• Fire, in England. Wall panelling is not named among the narrow members (architraves, skirtings, picture rails and similar) that Approved Document B leaves out of what counts as a wall lining, while fitted furniture is excluded (Volume 1 paragraph 4.3, Volume 2 paragraph 6.3; 2019 edition incorporating the 2020, 2022, 2025 and 2026 amendments). So a panelled wall is a lining that has to meet the class for its room, and the evidence needed is for the whole build-up: substrate, face, finish and any felt or fabric. The fire engineer or building control decides; this sheet gives no class. Our moulding profiles sheet sets out what we read.
• Sound. Slatted and upholstered panelling is often chosen for acoustics. We give no absorption figures; ask for test data for the assembly as built.

Ref [P-01]: framed wall panelling, [Shaker / raised and fielded / bolection moulded]. Stiles and rails [22 / 26] mm thick, [70] mm wide, [square / moulded] inner edge as detail [D-nn]. Panel [8 / 22] mm thick, set back [14] mm from the face, floating in a groove. [Bolection moulding projecting [33] mm, lapping frame and panel.] Substrate [MDF / plywood]. Finish [ ]. Set out as drawing [no.].

Ref [P-02]: [flush veneered / shadow gap / fluted / slatted] panelling. Sheets [18] mm on [ ] backing, [veneer species and matching]. [Recessed gap [8] mm with a shadow strip / [3] flutes [12] mm wide at [ ] mm centres / slats [18 x 12] mm at [22] mm centres over [6] mm acoustic felt.] Substrate flat to [ ] mm over [2] m. Acoustic and fire evidence for the assembly as built to be supplied before approval.

A style name in this schedule (Shaker, fielded, bolection or similar) does not fix a shape or a size. The 1:1 section drawing for each reference governs over any catalogue or supplier name.

Standards and sources

• Approved Document B Volumes 1 and 2 (England), 2019 edition with amendments to 2026: Volume 1 paragraph 4.3; Volume 2 paragraph 6.3 (what a wall does not include). Read November 2026.
• BS 1186-3, wood trim and its fixing: named only; not read. No style definition or size is claimed from it.

Questions we are asked

What is the difference between Shaker and raised and fielded panelling?

Both are a frame with a panel inside. In Shaker the frame has square edges and the panel is flat and set back. In raised and fielded the frame has a moulded inner edge and the panel has a raised, bevelled centre, so it throws more shadow and takes more machining.

What is bolection moulding?

A moulding that stands proud of the frame and laps over the joint between the frame and a recessed panel, so the moulding, not the joint, is what you see. It is used in panelling and doors, and it projects further from the wall than a flat applied moulding.

Are raised panel and fielded panel the same?

In the sources we read they are used for the same panel, with a raised centre bevelled down to the frame, and the trade often says raised and fielded. Some suppliers use raised for a flat board with mouldings stuck on, so draw the section.

Which panelling style is best for sound?

Slatted and upholstered panelling are the styles usually chosen for acoustics, but how well a wall absorbs sound depends on the whole build-up, including the felt or foam and the cavity behind, and on test data for it. The style name does not tell you.

Does wall panelling need a fire rating in England?

It is a wall lining for the purposes of Approved Document B: panelling is not among the narrow members, such as skirtings and architraves, that the document leaves out (Volume 1 paragraph 4.3; Volume 2 paragraph 6.3). The class depends on the room, and the evidence needed is for the whole assembly, so ask the fire engineer or building control.

Can panelling run full height?

Yes. Full-height panelling is usually divided into tiers, such as dado panels, main panels and a frieze under the cornice, with the stile lines running through. The tier heights are a drawing decision, since we found no rule for them.