Wainscoting Styles ideas – If you are looking for a convenient way to adorn Tour house, installing wainscoting can be your best bet. Wainscoting is used to protect the lower part of the wall from smears and scuffs. However, wainscoting styles have improved a lot, making them more than just wall protectors.
[su_heading size=”22″]Wainscoting Style Ideas and How to Install Them[/su_heading]
Check the following wainscoting style ideas to add a dramatic look to your house.
1. Wainscoting style Ideas
The First wainscoting style that we are looking at is the flat panel. Flat panels provide a simple and clean look to your wall. It definitely spruces up the wall with its unsophisticated design as well as making your room look more elegant.
The flat panels stick to the wall very well and accentuate it without making it less attractive. The combination between olive color and white makes them look adorable. Not to mention the vinyl baseboards and the moldings that look similar to the chair rail and the top rail.
Read more: Ceiling textures
2. Wainscoting Styles Ideas
Styles are never obsolete. Old-fashioned thing can be surprisingly chic if treated properly. Just like these walls denoting a throwback to the eighteenth Century in which wainscoting covered the floor to the ceiling rather than the lower part of the wall only. It still looks stylish in spite of being old-school.
The flat panels wainscoting inject the touch of elegance as they combine the sleek look and the soft gray color. This wainscoting style will make you feel as if you were walking in a castle in a fairy tale. It is so adorable, classic, yet has some modern touch.
3. Beadboard Wainscoting Styles Ideas
Installing wainscoting? Or installing beadboard?
Sometimes, it is hard to decide when it comes to two choices. But, why do you have to choose one of them if you can get them both?
Beadboard wainscoting style can be a great adornment that freshens up the look of your home. It combines the clear stiles and rails with the a row of narrow wood planks arranged vertically creating a distinctive accent.
Now, you do not have to install a lot of wood planks one by one in order to create beadboard style. Today’s beadboard styles come in sheets with the patterns imitating the look of a row of vertical wood planks, hence the easy and quick installation.
4. Wainscoting Designs Walls
Instead of covering half of the wall with ainscoating style – either flat or raised panels – , why don’t you try covering the whole walls? You can even get many benefits from covering the whole walls using wainscoting.
- It adds a classic touch to your home, making it look more elegant and lush.
- It covers all the stains, scuffs, or any unwanted flaws found on the surface of the wall.
- It protects the walls from scuffs and any damages caused by chairs, door knobs, and people.
- The olive color makes the room look calm and feminin. It gives the nuance of vintage style.
- It is East to clean. You will still need to wipe them down to maket hem stay in their A-1 position.
5. Wainscoting Height
Installing wainscoting is not solely attaching the panels and nailing the stiles and the rails down. You also have to measure the height of wainscoting. Otherwise, the wainscoting will worsen the look of your home rather than improving it.
Two rules are usually applied to determine the height of wainscoting.
- One third rule: it is the most prevalent rule of determining the height of wainscoting. One third rule means the cap molding is at one third of the total height of the wall. If the height of the wall is 96 inches, for instance, the cap molding of the winscoting has to be 32 inches.
- Two thirds rule: if you wish to have a taller wainscoting, it must be the two thirds rule meaning the height of the cap molding has to be two thirds the height of the wall. For example, a nine-feet wall will have six-feet wainscoting.
6. Bathroom Wainscoting Ideas
Wainscoting in a bathroom functions as decorative stuff sprucing up the appearance of the bathroom and protectors that protects the wall from splashes of water.
As a good protector, the wainscoting style has to be higher than the vanity or sink whose walls are prone to get wet and damp owing to splashes. There is no standard for determining the height of wainscoting in the bathroom. The typical height is from 38 to 54 inches off the ground or higher. The higher the wainscoting is, the better protection you will get.
You will also need to consider the top-notch materials used in your bathroom. Wooden panels can be a nice choice because it provides natural look. Just make sure you paint them using interior latex for the finishing touch as it will protect it from moisture while making it look awesome.
7. Elevated Panel Wainscoting Styles
Elevated panels, also known as raised panels, is a traditional wainscoting style that is still applied by many homeowners to create a subtle nuance of elegance. It is a throwback to colonial days, but it still looks great if applied in a modern house.
The elevated panels are created as a means of decorative stuff. It is created by beveling the edges of the panels so that each panel has sloping edges.
Typical height of this wainscoting style is about 30 to 40 inches, but it can be adapted for higher- ceilinged spaces that makes your room look sleek and more spacious.
8. Wood Wainscoting Styles Ideas
Wainscoting panels are made of a wide array of materials. One of which ── and maybe the most ubiquitous one ── is woods. It may be many homeowners’ favorite since it provides the natural look and durable.
However, wood wainscoting styles entail some drawbacks especially if they are installed in a high humidity room such as bathroom.
- Woods are prone to soaking up moisture if they are not painted or stained properly. This humidity issue can lead to swelling or any serious damage.
- Wooden wainscoting panels are too way exorbitant. You can get a more affordable one, but the quality is not usually as good as the more pricey one.
- Woods are natural products, thus they can deteriorate over time. To overcome this issue, a proper and regular maintenance is highly recommended.
9. Oak wainscoting panels
This beadboard wainscoting looks incredible. The narrow wood planks are arranged vertically in a very neat row, creating a distinctive look.
Oak wainscoting panels will never fail to amaze everybody who sees them. They provide elegant and natural look even if they are not painted. However, some drawbacks are still there.
- Oak panels are natural products, thus they need painting and maintaining religiously.
- Just like any other wood wainscoting styles, oak panels also cost an arm and a leg.
10. Vinyl Wainscoting Panels
If you are not really into painting and complicated maintenance, consider using vinyl wainscoting style. Vinyl is made of PVC, thus it is not natural. However, some vinyl panels are designed meticulously so that they look like the real deal. Your friends will not aware that the panels you are using are not wooden panels ── they are vinyl panels.
In addition to the easy maintenance, vinyl panels also have some drawbacks :
- Vinyl panels are usually more expensive than wooden panels since it requires various processing to make since they are not natural products.
- It is pretty hard to get vinyl panels as they are not natural. It is not like you are going sight seeing and come across vinyl panels in a home improvement store and simply pick it up. If you are going to use vinyl wainscoting style, you will need to make a special order.
11. Plastic Wainscoting Panels
If you are looking for a more affordable way to accentuate and protect your bathroom walls, consider installing plastic wainscoting along your bathroom walls.
Plastic panels offer you more advantages than the wooden panels do. The advantages that you can get are:
- Plastic panels are easy to install. You will not need to use heavy equipments to make a slight change to the size and shape.
- The best thing of plastic panels is being waterproof. Unlike woods that are prone to be damaged due to high humidity, plastic will be your best bet when it comes to protecting the walls from splashes.
- Plastic panels are durable and easy to clean.
- Plastic is relatively cheaper than woods. Therefore, you can save more bucks if you use plastic wainscoting panels.
12. Wainscoting Designs
This wainscoting design adds the touch of modern look. It remains simple, but it does not compromise the elegant look. The combination of flat panels and the baseboards complements the soft gray walls and dark brown floor.
This wainscoting style denotes minimalist look 101 harnessing the power of monochromatic colors and the bold and edgy fixture and furniture. Therefore, flat panels work bettter in this style than raised panels or beadboard wainscoting.
13. Wainscoting Ceiling
Take wainscoting style to the next level by installing it as the ceiling of your room. Installing wainscoting on your ceiling can transform the entire look of the room from the dull and tedious ceiling that will not be noticed by anyone ── or even left out ── into a conspicuously terrific cottage look.
The key point is adding dimension and depth to the space. It can be done by any wainscoting panels. However, the most favorable panel for ceilings is beadboard wainscoting. It provides unique vertical or horizontal lines along the ceiling.
14. Wainscoting Stairs
Do not let your stair look dull. Accentuate and make it the focal point of the entry by installing wainscoting on the wall beneath the stair.
Again, flat panels are used here to maintain the minimalist look. There is no baseboard molding nor crowns. All you can find is only white flat panels that complement cream tiles and dark brown door.
15. Dining Room Wainscoting Styles Ideas
Adding wainscoting in the dining room can enhance the relaxing ambience as well as complementing the classic furniture and other adornments. Now, you can proudly invite your friends or colleagues for dinner. You will find how the wainscoting style impresses them and boosts their mood.
Make sure the wainscoting only functions as a complementary fixture meaning it has to be simple, not too over-the- top. Paint it with the same color as the wall, but make it softer.
16. Exterior Wainscoting Styles Ideas
Wainscoting can also be used to spruce up the exterior design of your house. Install it along the windows to make the windows’ lines look bolder and firmer. Actually, you can use any panels for exterior design. Each panel will add a subtle nuance to your windows. And flat panels is the best choice if you want a minimalist look for the exterior design of your house.
17. Sorts of Wainscoting Panels
Before installing wainscoting, let’s take a look at parts of wainscoting.
Let’s begin with the upper part ── chair rail. It used to protect the wall from chair damage in a cramped room. Today’s chair rails are installed to add visual interest and separate the walls from the top rail and panels.
Next is the frames. The frames consist of four parts ── top rail, base rail, and a pair of vertical stiles.
Sitting in the middle of the frames are the panels. You can find various kinds of panels such as flat, raised, overlay panels, and many more.
The bottom part of wainscoting style is the baseboard.
Read more: Baseboard Styles
18. Installing Wainscoting Panels
Installing wainscoting might be tricky, but it does not mean you cannot do it by yourself. Save some bucks and roll up your sleeves. Here are the steps of installing a wainscoting style :
- Remove your base cap. You can leave the baseboard as it is.
- Using a long sticky tape, mark a line on the wall for the desired height of wainscoting.
- Cut the 4-by- 8 sheets of wainscoting in half.
- Hold the panel on the marked place. If the panel covers an outlet, mark the location of it, cut a hole for the outlet.
- Use panelling adhesive to attach the panels.
- Place the vertical stiles, secure them with nails. Then, place the top and bottom rails and secure them with nails.
- Install mouldings.
[su_box title=”Conclusion :”]Those are 16 wainscoting styles ideas and the steps on how to install wainscoting for your next DIY project. If you are going to install wainscoting to improve the appearance of your house, make sure you do not install it too high as it can make the room look squat. Good luck![/su_box]