Where to use it
- Entries. In mudrooms, where boots, backpacks, and wet umbrellas can damage walls, beadboard makes a good choice because there are fewer prominent edges to dent and ding.
- Stairs and hallways. The walls of these narrow passages benefit from wainscoting's scuff and mark protection. ...
- Eating areas. ...
- Family rooms and dens. ...
- Baths. ...
- Kids' rooms. ...
How to install wainscoting the right way?
Prepare for Installing Wainscoting
- Calculate the Amount of Wall Paneling Needed. Measure the total linear footage of the room and divide by the width of the panels in feet. ...
- Remove Existing Moulding and Outlet Covers
- Mark a Level Line
- Mark the Wall Studs. Wainscoting is usually installed from left to right. All directions are given assuming you're working from left to right.
How much does it cost to install a wainscoting?
The costs of wainscoting projects average between $3,000 and $4,500. For example, to install wainscoting in a 12 x 12 foot room in a flat-panel material made of solid mahogany, primed, and painted on-site, the average homeowner pays around $3,600 for the finished project. Prices can be much lower or higher.
How to install wainscoting onto drywall?
- You may need to cut your beadboard to fit these areas.
- Due to the thickness of the beadboard panels, your outlet will be slightly recessed and not flush with the face plate.
- The easy solution is to use an electrical box extender.
- Install outlet box extension rings that allow you to bring the outlet to the wainscoting surface. ...
How to create an easy DIY wainscoting look?
What are the best materials to use to make your own wainscoting?
- Painted Finishes. For painted finishes, you can buy moldings in pine, poplar or MDF. ...
- Plywood or MDF. Another way would be to apply a birch plywood backer panel to the wall surface and then attach the rails, stiles and panel moldings to the plywood.
- SUMMARY OF MATERIALS. Your materials will vary – depending on the style of wainscoting you choose. ...
How do I know where to put wainscoting?
The traditional rule of thumb is that wainscoting height should be a third of the wall's height, including the cap or any moldings. So if you have 9-foot walls, then 3-foot (or 36-inch) wainscoting will look great. Scale down to about 32 inches for rooms with 8-foot walls.
Should wainscoting be on every wall?
The choice is yours! And remember, you don't even have to install wainscoting on every wall in a room. One of the cool things about wainscoting is that you can use it on just one wall and it'll look great.
Does wainscoting make a room look bigger or smaller?
It is known that wainscoting makes a room, look smaller rather than larger, but it does depend on the color you use to paint the panels and the height of those panels. Wainscoting is mainly used to protect the lower part of a wall and to make a room look more elegant, instead of using it for sizing purposes.
Does wainscoting increase home value?
Wainscoting doesn't necessarily add value to your home Wainscoting enhances your home's appearance, but it doesn't increase its value. “An appraiser isn't going to add an extra $5,000 to $10,000 to your home's value simply because it has wainscoting.
Does wainscoting have to be the same throughout the house?
Everything that you can stand in the middle of the house and see needs to be style consistent. If one room has taller judges type paneling rather than wainscoting, then some unifying element needs to exist. The same horizontal line all the way around.
Does wainscoting go out of style?
Some interior design features never go out of style, and a classic is coming back in 2022. This time, though, it's getting a modern update. Wainscotting is set to be a major interior design trend in 2022 according to experts, but it'll take on an updated feel.
What is the correct height for wainscoting?
What is the proper height for wainscoting? Generally, the cap sits about one-third the way up the wall. So if the ceiling is 9 feet, go for 3-foot wainscoting. For taller wainscoting, such as one with a plate rail, cap it two-thirds the way up the wall.
Should wainscoting be lighter or darker than walls?
Painting the wainscot in the same color as the walls tones down its inherent traditional feel and makes it more contemporary. Choose a color a few shades lighter or darker than the walls, or use the exact same shade to make the molding as subtle as possible.
How high should wainscoting be in a hallway?
Traditional wainscoting is decorative wood panelling along the lower wall that protects the wall from scuffs. The height of traditional wainscoting is usually 36 to 42 inches.
Is wainscoting in Style 2022?
"Dark wainscoting is a trend that has blown up in the design world in 2021 and will continue to rule 2022," she said. "Wainscoting in a deep, saturated color is popular because it leans into the moody color trend, adding an elevated look to any room with features that make the space look much more expensive."
What brings down property value?
Closure of facilities – public services, employment, amenities; if any of these services close, it could impact the value of your house as they're often appealing to buyers. Low school ratings – buyers pay to live in areas with good schools because they want their children to have access to the best education.
How much should wainscoting cost?
The price of wainscoting ranges from $7 to $40 per square foot, depending on the type of panel. Installation costs average $90 per hour or about $5.50 per square foot, including materials and labor.
What is wainscoting in dining room?
Dining rooms wainscoting could use tall wainscoting topped with a grooved plate rail displays fine china and serving pieces. For more casual kitchens, wainscoting capped at chair height with a prominent top rail safeguards walls from being marred when diners push back from the table.
How to mimic wainscoting?
Glue and nail rails, stiles, and cap molding directly to smooth drywall or plaster to mimic flat panel wainscoting. Paint the boards the same color as the wall, or finish the wood in an accent color to match the rest of the trim in the room.
What is wainscoting in a name?
What's In a Name? Beyond the beadboard or paneling at its center, wainscoting is the sum of many parts. It typically stands on sturdy base molding, and it's always crowned partway up the wall with a cap rail. Shown here are the moldings that combine to create flat panel wainscoting.
Why is beadboard a good wall covering?
In mudrooms, where boots, backpacks, and wet umbrellas can damage walls, beadboard makes a good choice because there are fewer prominent edges to dent and ding. The walls in more formal foyers are often clad in paneled wainscoting.
What is the best wood for wainscoting?
The original wainscoting material. Paint lesser species, such as pine , or clear-coat the good stuff, such as walnut and cherry, to highlight its color and grain. Wood requires careful installation and finishing to prevent cracks and gaps caused by seasonal expansion and contraction.
Can kids use wainscoting as a canvas?
Children probably won't give two hoots about it, but parents will appreciate the way wainscoting looks and how easily it cleans up after being used as a canvas for finger paints and crayons.
Can you cover walls with wainscoting?
And if you don't, there's wainscoting that arrives on your doorstep fully assembled and ready to install.
What is wainscoting made of?
Traditionally wainscoting is made of wood, or it can also be made out of MDF board. You can even get it made out of plastic, but I prefer to draw the line unless there’s a compelling reason. However, I rather love these polyurethane mouldings from Orac Decor. We saw a beautiful crown moulding here.
Where did wainscots originate?
Wainscoting (pronounced Wayne’s coating) or the alternative term, wainscot had its origins around the 14th century in Holland. Not only was it decorative, but it was also a means to protect the lower half of the wall as well as provide insulation in homes.
How high off the floor should an 8 foot ceiling be?
That’s a good question. Generally speaking, one can’t wrong with “the rule of thirds.” For an eight-foot ceiling, that would be about 33 inches high off the floor. We did ours at 35,” and it was perfect. This is for the standard lower third of the wall wainscoting.
Is Dado a wainscot?
Dado is another word for wainscot, but it does not necessarily have paneling, nor it necessarily made of wood. via Flickr. Above is the exquisite carved stone Dado of the Taj Mahal. This is a door designed by George Saumarez Smith of Adam Architecture in a photo I took during my trip to England.
What color wall contrasts with white wainscoting?
For a wainscoting idea that strikes a balance between subtle and statement, take a cue from this Brigette Romanek-designed home. While the dove gray walls contrast nicely against the white wainscoting, the combination doesn't take too much attention away from the room's artwork and dining set.
What color is Benjamin Moore's wainscoting?
Turn your wainscoted walls into the room's wow factor by dialing up the drama. In this Los Angeles house tour, the full-wall wainscoting and Benjamin Moore's Juniper Green hue pop nicely against the black ceiling and dining set.
What color is the wall in the house of Elle?
In the House of ELLE Decor, the tonal combination feels elegant, yet understated. The wall is painted in Pigeon, the wainscoting in Blue Gray, both courtesy of Farrow & Ball.
What's black, white, and chic all over?
What's black, white, and chic all over? This powder room in Ernest de la Torre's upstate New York home. The black wainscoting, which is painted in Benjamin Moore's Midnight, picks up the black accents and whimsical illustrations on the Shantell Martin mural.
Can you wainscot a wall?
Design rules are meant to be broken—and, yes, that includes wainscoting your walls. Wainscoting is generally defined as placing wooden panels at the bottom half of your wall, but why stop there? As this Upper West Side prewar apartment proves, the sky (or ceiling) is the limit.
How high should wainscoting be in a room?
In a room with a lofted ceiling and 15-foot walls, the rule of thirds would have wainscoting height at 5 feet. However, extending wainscoting this high could potentially take emphasis away from the grand size of the room.
What is wainscoting on a wall?
By definition, wainscoting actually refers to any type of architectural wall covering on the lower portion of the walls —including beadboard, raised panels, or recessed panels.
How high should beadboard be above tub?
If acting as a backsplash for a freestanding tub, too, it might rise to 8 inches above the tub’s lip. In kitchens, beadboard is often carried up to the bottom of the upper kitchen cabinets, which is 54 inches from the ground.
How tall should wainscoting be?
The traditional rule of thumb is that wainscoting height should be a third of the wall’s height, including the cap or any moldings. So if you have 9-foot walls, then 3-foot (or 36-inch) wainscoting will look great. Scale down to about 32 inches for rooms with 8-foot walls.
How high should a bathroom vanity be above the countertop?
In that case, homeowners might choose to extend wainscoting 40 inches from the floor—that’s 4 inches (approximately the height of a standard bathroom vanity’s backsplash) above a countertop —or until it reaches the bottom of a medicine cabinet. If acting as a backsplash for a freestanding tub, too, it might rise to 8 inches above the tub’s lip.
What is beadboard wainscoting?
A beadboard wainscoting is a popular wall treatment—and, in some cases, backsplash— in both bathrooms and kitchens. Their particular fixtures will force homeowners to take a different approach than the one-third rule.
How to get a feel for a finished look?
The best way to get a feel for the finished look, however, is to live with it. Take your measurements, and use a pencil to mark the proposed wainscoting height around the room. Or, mark the top of the wainscoting in painter’s tape. Heck, you could even tape up large sheets of paper to depict your panels.
