Hi Kriti, I'm a designer - I have done several low budget bed-backs. Without knowing your decor/style, one idea you might consider is to use doors you can purchase at a big box store (hollow core are very reasonable) or shop flea markets or Craig's list to get old, used, paneled doors. Depending on the size of your bed you may need one or two doors butted together. Paint them the color of your trim or an accent color. Mount them to the wall with a cleat so they hang vertically just above the base moulding and make sure the doors don't move - they must be fixed firmly to the wall. You can also use one door horizontally to look like a headboard. Doors are typically 80" tall. Horizontal works best on a king size bed. Vertically, the doors will range from about 24" to 36" wide. One may work for a twin size. Add another for larger beds. If using vintage doors, fill the holes from the hardware and sand smooth before painting. It's a great look! I'll attach a how-to video from bh&g that will show you how. They cut the doors down at the bottom to make them shorter. Old shutters also can be used the same way! Good luck!

Are you saying you will be layering a wooden false wall on top of the existing wall to hold the pocket door? If that is the case, you might want to treat the entire side of that new and existing wall ( including the area above doorway) as an accent wall using wood veneer strips. They look like actual pieces of wood plank which have adhesive backing, they come in a variety of finishes and colors...I like the old reclaimed wood look. A diagonal pattern would add extra visual interest, but would be more intense to cut and install. That will camouflage the additional layer and create a beautiful accent wall.

Leave them alone if you are not going to change them out completely, Halfass will look worse in my opinion.

Are they real wood doors? Can't you take them down, sand them, and restain them? Or pay someone else to do it if you can't?