Puh-leeze. At least your bedroom HAS walls and carpet. I have dry wall and a concrete slab. I know someone who put a bead of caulk in the grooves of their paneling and then painted the whole thing. It turned out really cool looking. It wasn't me though. I complained about the paneling in our bedroom and Doug ripped it out. I guess the drywall is better than the cinder blocks we had for two years. Hey, maybe I should send Doug up there to do demolition. Then your guy will HAVE to finish the room the way you want it.

My girls' room has teh exact same paneling. If you must, prime it and paint it. You'll still see the cracks in between the panels though when the walls shift ever so slightly (which is totally normal. You just don't notice it when it's just paneling!)

Whatever you do DON'T try to fill in the grooves with drywall compound. Let's not talk about the disaster my husband created doing just that in our living room.

Upstairs, the paneling is that nice light stuff. Downstairs it's dark and crappy.

I feel your pain though. Decorating? What's that? LOL!

May I just ask, How the hell did you get into my bedroom? Seriously?!? I have the exact same paneling and dust. No joke. Now the pink carpet? I do not have. Thank you Jesus for small favors.

If your planning on staying in that house for a long time, then take the time to do what you really want to do and not just settle for living in what you have. In other words, remove the paneling and prep the sheetrock for paint. It will make a world of difference. When your ready for that new bedding, find an outlet mall, or go to Linens & Things or Bed Bath and Beyond when they are having a sale. You can sometimes find the equalivant of "Bedroom in a box", sheets, comforter, bed skirt, pillow shams, the whole nine yards in one package. If ya got any questions, just holler. It's what I do for a living. Later girl.

Why don't you and Joyce sign up for "Trading Spaces"? I'd pay to see that episode.

LOL Driller!!! Indiana to Oregon... Page Davis would wear herself out going from house to house during THAT episode!!!

You decorate bedrooms for a living, Driller? Now I'd pay to see THAT!!!!

Angie, we had the paneling in our living room and dining room. We just primed and painted it. Made a world of difference. Just get some kind of grease-cutting cleaner first. As far as my bedroom, if I had the nerve to post a picture of it, you'd be shocked. I figure we're the only ones that see it, so I'd rather not spend any money on it. I'm that way. I'd buy anything for someone else before I'd buy clothes or gifts for myself. I just don't see the point in spoiling myself when I'm not Mrs. Rockefeller. Ya know??

Eh...that's not enough dust to be embarrassed about. Now the 2 pound hand weights... ;)

If your post and pictures weren't enough, the comments sealed the deal -official NI here! I totally live in that dust. I'm pretty sure that in the fine print (the part that's to small for the magnifying glass), it says that I never HAVE to dust. So it gets done right before my parents come to stay for a week.

Laugh all you want, but when I do a bang-up job and really clean my house, my son walks in and says, "Ugh, what stinks?"

Yeah, can you imagine your room in Trading Spaces and you get Hildi to do the room. How awesome is that? lol Man the dust will make me sneeze and I can go "achu" at least 20 times continuosly. Yeap, I have bad allergies and they are in full bloom right now. Grrrrr!

Angie, Joyce;
Nope, I'm an architect by profession, so I can give you some advice about what can and can't be done to certain spaces.
While not professionally trained, my wife is the interior designer in the family. She has an incredible eye for what works. I'll post picks one of these days on my blog.

Whoa, you need to do something quick! And OMG, that picture is horrendous. I lurve Jake Ghyllenhaal but man, that pic would so freak me out after seeing the movie.