Nate Berkus' Den Makeunder

In the old space, wood paneling competed with exposed brick walls. To reduce the number of textures, Nate's team put wood panels on every wall and painted over them with light, neutral paint. "I wanted to unify all of the walls," he says. "Now, we have a backdrop."

Don't be afraid of paneling—Nate says you can paint over almost everything these days. "You just have to ask an expert at a paint store. Tell them what it is that you're painting over, and there's a primer that will work."