Wood Paneling and Wretchedness

A few words about wood paneling. First of all, due to its ubiquitousness in home decor from the late 50s into the 70s, one has to assume that it was either a.) very stylish or b.) very cheap. And, secondly, it must have been brilliantly marketed to convince millions of otherwise sane people to clad their walls in plastic: grooved, textured and printed to bear some vague resemblance to actual wood. Because nothing says natural and organic like printed sheets of plastic! But, I digress, given that 3 of The Hives rooms were walled with the stuff (both bedrooms and the living room/hallway)  I decided priming and painting were the path of least resistance.
I learned, after some research, that an oil based primed (Kilz and Bullseye both make them) was recommended to cover the wretched panels as quickly and thoroughly as possible. What they did not tell me is that oil based primer is sinister stuff. It smells evil, is syrupy thick, unforgiving and adheres to everything it touches, especially hands and clothes. It is definitely not eco friendly, but will definitely get you high in an unventilated room. However, the oil based primer required only two coats, water based might require 4 or more, so if time is of the essence (or if your help's vacation is almost over) oil based is definitely the way to go.
After priming, painting with a low voc water based paint was a snap; hopefully the two somehow cancel each other out. The living room/hall are painted in "rope", the guest room/office is in "apple" and the bedroom is in "pecan praline" (all Valspar brand available at Lowe's.) Each of these colors took months to select...thank goodness paint chips are free. I am thrilled with the grey in the living room, it is easy and accessible (I know grey is the beige of the moment but I wanted to keep the main living area as neutral as possible so I had more flexibility with accessories and seasonal decor), but feel both bedrooms may be a bit too specific for most people.  I find the guest room as cool as a bowl of cucumbers and the "master" (if a 12x12 space can be called that) has an exotic spicyness that I love. Keep in mind, if you paint a room and are shocked or overwhelmed by the color try living with it awhile, once your furnishings, fabrics and art are layered in the color will have dissipated.