What exactly is Wainscoting?

We hear the word "Wainscoting" alot and know that not all people can know what it is, so here is a detailed description of  wainscoting and examples. 

Wainscoting is a term used for a paining / remodeling technique used by carpenters to bring depth to a room by adding either a wooden trim / or panels along the bottom area of your wall.  This can be done pretty much in whatever room / space you are wanting to "spruce up".

These panels or wooden trim are done in such a way that there is a pattern and most are topped off with a chair railing. You can use natural or painted wood and the pattern you choose can be simple or pretty detailed and complex. These days people are getting a bit more creative and taking the panels up the wall instead of stopping mid waist.

There are different types of wainscoting that are seen in some of the newer homes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area:

Panel Molding: using rails and raised panels to create a look of "raised or recessed" boxes in the lower area of the wall.

Beadboard: Beadboard is the most simple of method of wainscoting. Beadboarding is taking wood panels that have routered lines/ baseboard beneath and has chair railing above.  You can paint the beadboard or stain the wood for a classic country look.

Shadow box: this method uses molds to make a patten or series of a "picture frame" look on the wall giving more dimension and depth to a room.

Village Professional Painters will have more on Wainscoting and Wainscoting techniques as we continue a Part II series. Village Professional Painters provides professional painting to services to the Dallas Fort Worth area, including Flower Mound, Lewisville, Highland Village and more!

Please give Village Professional Painters for a free painting estimate for your residential home painting needs!