Add Elegance to the Dining Room with Easy Wainscoting

Wainscoting is an easy way to add elegance and distinctive style to your dining room. It adds texture and depth in a unique presentation that can be customized to fit any style of decor. Even better, wainscoting is easy to install yourself. It used to be that installing wainscoting was an art left to the skills of a master carpenter. However, today’s raised panel or bead board wainscoting is easy to work with and can be installed by the average do-it-yourself homeowner.

All text copyright Shanel. Photo from Flikr - "29 Rip 12.JPG" courtesy of spm435.

Choosing Wainscoting that Fits your Style

When shopping for wainscoting, you’ll find two basic varieties: paint grade and wood finish. Paint grade comes in a factory primed finish and is ready to paint in any color of your choosing. Wood finish wainscoting features a wood veneer over a core and can be found in standard natural wood finishes such as maple, cherry, or oak.

Benefits of Modern Wainscoting

If you prefer a solid wood wainscoting that is manufactured from a blend of woods, you can find it at lumber stores and home improvement stores, but modern wainscoting has been designed to eliminate many of the challenges presented by traditional wood wainscoting. First, modern wainscoting is easier to install; the process basically involves fitting the pieces, trimming the corners and topping it with a chair rail cap. Many wainscoting kits come with a chair rail that is notched to slide on top of the wood panels. Using wainscoting with a chair rail also protects your walls from dings and scratches and wainscoting is easy to clean. Second, modern wainscoting is more environmentally friendly because it is made from engineered wood, which is a recycled wood product. Third, because modern wainscoting is engineered and not natural wood, it is not subject to the same tendency to crack, warp or contract, as is the case with traditional wainscoting.

All text copyright Shanel. Photo from Flikr - "The mess!" courtesy of Vitamin C9000.

Decorating with Wainscoting

Wainscoting lets you create a custom look for your dining room, from traditional and formal to casually cottage. Flat paneled bead board looks more casual, and when painted in creamy white, it offers a fresh cottage or shabby chic attitude. White or near-white bead board topped with a breezy floral wall paper give your dining room the fresh scrubbed look of an English country house. Darker stains and raised panel wainscoting adds a more traditional, masculine or formal appeal.

How you accessorize will define your style. You can shop for traditional paintings, contemporary art or decorative wall plaques online and in your favorite local stores. Buy floor vases for a corner of the room and fill them with roses and wisteria for a cottage look or set an elegant floral display atop a pedestal stand for a more formal approach.

Getting the Look on a Budget

 If the cost of wainscoting is beyond your budget but you’d like to add dimension and depth to your walls, you can create a similar look with wood moldings. Start with a chair rail to divide the room horizontally then use a variety of moldings to create squares, rectangles and designs on the wall, cutting 45 degree angles with a miter saw to make the corners. The moldings can be attached to the wall with glue. Paint the molding the same color as the wall to create subtle relief and depth, paint them in a contrasting trim color, or match other wood trim in the room.

 All text copyright Shanel. Photo from Flikr - "bleu." courtesy of snarky_momma.