Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Horizontal Wainscoting Widens Wall Appeal
Turn beadboard or paneling 90 degrees and watch it wake up your walls in a whole new way
Houzz Contributor. Fresh out of journalism school, I fell into decorating media and immediately discovered a new passion. An Atlanta native, I spent several years as an editor for Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine before making the leap to national publications and websites such as Houzz, Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Accents. I live in Birmingham, Alabama, with my husband and son, who’ve gotten used to coming home and finding the furniture rearranged. When I'm not dragging case goods across the floor, I enjoy good food and wine, college football, music of all kinds, and traveling.
Houzz Contributor. Fresh out of journalism school, I fell into decorating... More »
Not long ago I toured a bathroom where the contractor had the idea to turn the tongue and groove wainscoting on its side. Rather than running vertically from the floor, the grooves stretched around the room in a horizontal path, and I couldn't get over how fresh and up-to-date this treatment made the bath feel. It inspired me to search for other spaces with horizontal wainscoting, each with its own distinctive style. Here are my favorites.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
In most rooms, wainscoting ends midway up the wall. This one flips that approach by taking the boards close to the ceiling. They draw the eye upward to give the illusion of height, while their horizontal orientation lends the impression of width — a skillful double play.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Horizontal wainscoting in this dining room helps to stretch the space visually — it feels larger than it is. It also lays a foundation for the creamy tones of the chairs, table and draperies. |
Wainscoting preserves this bathroom's simple cottage style, yet its positioning feels more contemporary than conventional beadboard.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| In this bedroom, the wall planks reinforce the strong horizontal structure of the room (lampshades, floating night tables, twin vents). |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
In a monochromatic color scheme, texture is vital for visual depth. Turning the wainscoting 90 degrees gives this bath just enough of an edge to provide interest.
|
by Wright Design
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This bedroom would have felt old-fashioned were it not for the unusual ceiling and wainscot treatments. Painting the wainscoting a few shades darker than the walls helps to ground the space. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| So much wainscoting is painted white that it's always fun to see a different take, such as this richly stained wood. While mounting it vertically would have given the feel of traditional paneling, its horizontal placement makes it modern. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The wainscoting helps to pull together this open-plan kitchen and living space and suits the transitional feel of the design. More: The Wonders of Wainscoting Beautiful Details: Wainscoting and Paneled Walls |
Comments
patscats2 Love, love, love wainscoting. Have it in 4 rooms of my house and would have it in all of them if I could. It's the easiest way to transform a room from just OK, to fabulous. I meet people all the time who ask "is wainscoting too country or in style?" It is timelss and speaks of all styles AFAIC. Can I get a hell yeah?
12 months ago · Like
· 
3
3
dancingfish Cheering Patscats2! Timeless!
12 months ago · Like
· 1
1
Russell Grether Pretty! Great ideas!
12 months ago · Like
kathleenrn I like the idea, but the verticle wainscoting looks to me like the room was an add on to an exterior wall of a house and the siding was painted to match the decor
12 months ago · Like
texasann51 We have horizontal, stained wainscoting in the small entry of our home. Really draws the eye into the open-ness of the adjoining music and living rooms, rather than just the traditional vertical hanging. Caught my attention right away whn we were looking at the house. Also makes picture hanging a breeze - level every time!
12 months ago · Like
Shannon Ggem ASID- Ggem Design Co LLC Thank your for this! I love to see what heights and chair rails are being used- every example is so harmonious and gorgeous, I want to wainscot everything right now! Very inspiring!
10 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on May 14, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
basements · bedrooms · dining rooms · entries · family rooms · garage and sheds · halls · home offices · landscapes · laundry rooms · powder rooms · wine cellars and more.
