This jessica helgerson designed space is pretty much peak mid century but thanks to the varied shades of wood it stays away from the clichés.
Update half wall wood paneling.
No matter what it says on the package spackle does shrink so let it fully dry.
Grab some drywall compound at your local home improvement store then use it to fill in the distinctive cracks and lines of the wood paneling.
If you re mimicking this in your own living room keep one wall a clean white.
Afterward sand prime and paint the wood whatever.
Chip showed tina a dark blue shade called north sea get the most creativity out of your wood paneling by starting with some spackle.
If both the color and texture of your paneled walls is an issue you can still use paint to update their look you just need to be more creative about how you apply it.