Why We Picked Decorative Metal Wall Panels for Our Interior Wall

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Decorative metal wall panels have become very popular for interior walls especially when you are trying to accent a specific wall or create a sleek modern focal point in a room. Today I am showing you why we picked decorative metal wall panels for our interior wall in the pool house. We have partnered with Armstrong Ceilings for a variety of projects in the past and this time around, we decided to try out their gorgeous Metallaire small floral white panels. 

If you have been following along, we have been plugging away at our pool house addition and we are in the final stretch of completion. Between the cold weather here in Massachusetts and Jim’s busy work schedule, the pool house became a side project that we have been pecking away at and it’s turned into a pretty stunning outdoor space. Wait until you see it!

A little backstory if you are new here. Last summer, Jim really wanted to create an outdoor pool space similar to what he had at his old house. Originally, we were going to add a small outdoor space with a bar overlooking the pool but that simple idea turned into a much larger addition with an indoor tv space, indoor / outdoor bar and a covered outdoor seating area overlooking the pool. Needless to say, Jim went a little crazy and wow, it looks amazing! Stay tuned, the final reveal is coming soon!

Metal Wall Panels that Make a Statement

Why did we pick metal wall panels for one of the interior walls? We wanted to create a modern focal point that was sleek and sophisticated yet coordinated with the coastal theme we had in the space. The original pool house had brown stained pine wood on the walls and vaulted ceiling so we ended up painting the entire inside of the old pool house “polar bear white” by Behr in order to tie in the new modern coastal style addition. 

The Metallaire panels by Armstrong Ceilings can be used on the ceiling, walls or even a backsplash. We installed our metal panels right over the plywood wall. I love how it looks with the shiplap ceiling, gray beams and board and batten wall trim. 

The decorative metal wall panels come in a variety of styles and colors and honestly, I had a hard time picking which style. There are so many fun colors and styles to pick from! I knew I wanted white and the small  floral circle design ended up being the winner. I wanted something subtle and the round circle style helped soften the square lines in the space. 

Items Needed to Install Metal Wall Panels

• Metal Wall Panels (we used 24×48 Metallaire Metal Walls “small floral circle”)
• Wire cutters
• Adhesive (see directions for recommendations)
• Cone head white head finish nails 
• Hammer
• Carpenters chalk line or string to make a starting level line
• Level

Decorative Metal Wall Panels – the installation

The entire wall took about 4.5 hours for 2 guys to install. The tools you need are wire cutters (to cut the panels to size or cut around electrical outlets), fitted gloves that are easy to work with (the metal is very sharp) adhesive and small finish nails (mine came with the metal panels but some do not so be sure to check that when ordering ).

Here is the interior wall before we added the white decorative metal wall panels

We had a lot of cutting to do and a large/high wall so if your space is smaller with less cuts, it will go quicker.

If you have electrical outlets to cut around, use a measuring tape and black sharpie pen to mark your cutout and use the wire cutters to cut the hole.

If you draw the entire electrical cutout it will be easier to cut the correct size.

The backside of the metal wall panel is silver. Draw your cutout on the backside. 

The metal wall panels are very sharp so I highly recommend wearing a pair of fitted gloves to protect your hands. 

To start your first near the floor, snap a chalk line along the bottom of the wall to create a straight level starting point and work your way up the wall. The directions are very self explanatory and the entire installation consists of adding adhesive to the wall and tapping small finish nails in the corners of each panel. That’s it! 

Our addition was attached to the existing pool house so our wall that we covered with metal wall panels was not 100% level (this happens as foundations and buildings settle over time) so when we snapped our line along the wall to create a starting point, there was a small gap between the wall and the floor. Don’t worry if this happens because your baseboard molding will cover the gap. You want to have a straight line when starting otherwise as you work your way up the wall, your panels will look crooked and not level if you hug your floor line as a starting point.

Interior Metal Wall Panels

This was my first time adding interior metal wall panels as a decorative measure to create a focal point and wow, it looks so good! If I am being honest, I wasn’t sure at first if a metal wall was the way to go but I decided to take a chance and branch out from the traditional walls planks and / or board and batten trims I typically prefer. 

Metal wall panels are a great way to add character and visual interest to any space. 

I am super impressed with this product and how quickly it added so much style and architectural appeal to a boring plywood wall!

Armstrong Ceilings has an inspiration gallery on their website that shows a variety of interior wall ideas using decorative metal panels and my favorite is the wet bar and kitchen backsplash. The possibilities are endless with metal wall panels and a great choice for any home improvement project! We still have some touch up painting to do, finish the bar top and install the bar window that leads to the outside seating area. We priced out hydroair flip up windows and a roll top black framed garage style door oh my … they are so expensive, like $5000 plus so we are figuring out plan B. Stay tuned, the final reveal of the pool house is coming soon. 

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Armstrong Ceilings. All words and opinions are 100% my own.