Gorgeous Details: How to Make Your Millwork Shine
A designer shares his tips for creating beautiful rooms with wainscoting, paneling, molding and more
If you have decorative wainscoting or wall molding, or you’re thinking of having some installed, you need to think not only about how to finish the molding, but also about what to do with the rest of the wall. To help you get a beautiful, balanced and polished look for your entire wall, here are some of my favorite ways to work with molding and wainscoting, no matter the room or style.
Need a pro for your interior design project?
Let Houzz find the best pros for you
Let Houzz find the best pros for you
A chair rail is one of the simplest forms of strip molding. It’s a straight horizontal strip running across a room that divides the wall into an upper and lower half. Traditionally the purpose of a chair rail was literally to keep the backs of chairs from hitting the wall as they were pulled out or pushed around. However, many modern chairs have a back height too low to hit a traditional 32-inch-high molding, so today chair rails are often installed for style more than anything else.
What Is Paneling?
Paneling is molding in large, solid pieces instead of strips, dressing one or many walls in panels.
What Is Wainscoting?
Wainscoting is a specific form of panel molding, typically defined simply as paneling that runs only up to the height of a chair rail or lower — 32 inches and below.
Collectively, trim, paneling and wainscoting are often referred to as millwork.
Paneling is molding in large, solid pieces instead of strips, dressing one or many walls in panels.
What Is Wainscoting?
Wainscoting is a specific form of panel molding, typically defined simply as paneling that runs only up to the height of a chair rail or lower — 32 inches and below.
Collectively, trim, paneling and wainscoting are often referred to as millwork.
Why Add Paneling or Molding?
Paneling can be functional and also decorative. It can help protect a wall in a high-traffic or moisture-prone area, similar to tile but less hard (and generally less expensive). If you move furniture around a lot or have rambunctious children at play, molding will take impacts better than drywall and usually will be easier to wipe clean, although this depends on the paint or finish on top.
Paneling can be functional and also decorative. It can help protect a wall in a high-traffic or moisture-prone area, similar to tile but less hard (and generally less expensive). If you move furniture around a lot or have rambunctious children at play, molding will take impacts better than drywall and usually will be easier to wipe clean, although this depends on the paint or finish on top.
Strip molding doesn’t offer the wall much protective coverage, but it adds a lot of decorative impact. Both forms of molding can break up a wall to allow for creative wallcovering combinations and help draw the eye to different features.
In this example, the chair rail helps the high-ceilinged space feel a bit more proportionate. The horizontal line across the room breaks up the tall walls. The lower part of the wall is painted a subtly darker shade, so the walls feel richer without being busy.
In this example, the chair rail helps the high-ceilinged space feel a bit more proportionate. The horizontal line across the room breaks up the tall walls. The lower part of the wall is painted a subtly darker shade, so the walls feel richer without being busy.
In this example, the paneling acts as a sort of headboard and a feature wall to highlight the bed. It gives the room an architectural richness and likely also conceals some wiring leading away from the sconce lights.
How to Decorate Around Molding
So if you’ve decided to add molding to your home, or you already have beautiful molding you want to show off, what do you do with the rest of the wall? There are many options to suit virtually any decor taste and molding style, but let’s start with one of the simplest.
So if you’ve decided to add molding to your home, or you already have beautiful molding you want to show off, what do you do with the rest of the wall? There are many options to suit virtually any decor taste and molding style, but let’s start with one of the simplest.
Paint
The easiest way to complete the look of a wall with half-height paneling or molding is by using a contrasting paint color to dress the unadorned portion.
The easiest way to complete the look of a wall with half-height paneling or molding is by using a contrasting paint color to dress the unadorned portion.
Subtle off-white. Pale off-white for the plain wall portion contrasted against crisp white molding gives a subtle sense of definition, putting the visual emphasis on the molding and other details. Note that with a paint effect this subtle, you will likely still want to add at least a few decorative pieces to make the wall feel a bit more filled in (more on that later).
You can also reverse this paint scheme (with the off-white on the molding or wainscoting instead) if you want to reduce the appearance of scuffs and marks on the molding in busy areas.
You can also reverse this paint scheme (with the off-white on the molding or wainscoting instead) if you want to reduce the appearance of scuffs and marks on the molding in busy areas.
Rich deep neutral. Using a deep, rich neutral paint for the upper wall portion may seem like it would visually shrink the room, but dark colors visually recede when contrasted against light shades, so the combination can actually make a room seem grander. Here, the dark green-gray paint appears to recede, highlighting the depth of the molding below.
It works especially well here because the molding rises more than halfway up the wall. This is a great solution for walls with molding or wainscoting about three-fifths to two-thirds of the way up. If the molding weren’t as high, the overall look could be too dark or feel too empty.
It works especially well here because the molding rises more than halfway up the wall. This is a great solution for walls with molding or wainscoting about three-fifths to two-thirds of the way up. If the molding weren’t as high, the overall look could be too dark or feel too empty.
This space uses a similar deep shade on the walls from top to bottom, which makes the wainscoting less immediately noticeable. The walls feel rich, with a sense of architectural texture, but other elements in the space feel like more of a feature.
If you prefer to emphasize other architectural elements like windows or door frames, this is a good option to make the walls feel “finished” but not busy.
If you prefer to emphasize other architectural elements like windows or door frames, this is a good option to make the walls feel “finished” but not busy.
Contrasting Molding
A bold yet classic way to dress wall molding for maximum contrast is to use a different hue on the entire wall area and use white or a pale color on just the molding. This is the strongest way to highlight rich molding, especially delicate molding like this that leaves a lot of negative space.
A bold yet classic way to dress wall molding for maximum contrast is to use a different hue on the entire wall area and use white or a pale color on just the molding. This is the strongest way to highlight rich molding, especially delicate molding like this that leaves a lot of negative space.
This can be applied to molding that runs floor to ceiling or just partway up the wall, but it’s generally safest to use a dark color for the wall and white for the molding. Using a bold color for the molding itself can work, but it’s definitely a bigger design gamble. When in doubt, look to heritage homes for timeless color combinations, and bring in modern or trendy touches with elements that will be easier to change.
Keep in mind that painting the walls and molding separately will take more effort, especially if being done retroactively after an installation has already taken place, so you can expect a labor-intensive (but rewarding) DIY, or a higher rate from a hired painter.
Find a painter
Keep in mind that painting the walls and molding separately will take more effort, especially if being done retroactively after an installation has already taken place, so you can expect a labor-intensive (but rewarding) DIY, or a higher rate from a hired painter.
Find a painter
Bold Accent Hues
For those who love a bolder paint hue, applying it directly to molding not only emphasizes the molding itself but also adds a lot of life to a room.
Conveniently, the molding also provides a natural stopping point for a bold shade, making the look much more livable than if the wall were painted top to bottom. With such a bold shade on the lower half of the wall, you’ll likely want to hang some art on the upper half for visual balance, so we’ll talk about art next.
For those who love a bolder paint hue, applying it directly to molding not only emphasizes the molding itself but also adds a lot of life to a room.
Conveniently, the molding also provides a natural stopping point for a bold shade, making the look much more livable than if the wall were painted top to bottom. With such a bold shade on the lower half of the wall, you’ll likely want to hang some art on the upper half for visual balance, so we’ll talk about art next.
Art Above the Molding
When hanging art above molding or wainscoting, there are no hard or fast rules for where it should and should not be placed, but there are certainly some guidelines that can help if you don’t trust your own artistic instincts.
When hanging art above molding or wainscoting, there are no hard or fast rules for where it should and should not be placed, but there are certainly some guidelines that can help if you don’t trust your own artistic instincts.
For basically any hung art, it’s best to give it a little breathing room so it isn’t too close to the molding. For a small piece of art, hang it at least 1 to 2 inches above molding or wainscoting. For larger pieces (36 inches wide or 24 inches tall, and over) give at least 3 inches of space above the molding.
For very large pieces that fill up half or more of the non-dressed wall (the area with no molding), place the art so the spacing above and below is roughly symmetrical, even if that puts the center of the art a bit above your eye line. It doesn’t have to be exact, but keeping these border areas roughly the same (down to a few inches) will keep your composition looking balanced.
Another option for giving large art pieces a sense of organization is to line up the top edge to another element in the room, like how these paintings are aligned to the top of the window frame. Again, placing these pieces above the molding leaves them a bit higher than a typical eye line, but the look feels very orderly.
When hanging a gallery-style grouping of pieces, it helps to make the spacing between the grouping and the molding below wider than the spacing between the pieces themselves. This subtle visual detail helps the pieces look like a single group and gives appropriate breathing room for an elegant composition.
Hanging Art on Top of Molding
If you have molding or wainscoting up to the ceiling, or even just up to the eye line, you can definitely hang art on top of the molding or inside panels of molding for a rich, layered look.
If you have molding or wainscoting up to the ceiling, or even just up to the eye line, you can definitely hang art on top of the molding or inside panels of molding for a rich, layered look.
If you want to keep the look feeling orderly and not too busy, use the lines of the molding to find a point of symmetry. In this example, the art is placed so one vertical band of molding forms the centerline of the entire grouping, so the placement doesn’t feel entirely random.
In this example, two small pieces are placed with horizontal symmetry inside a rectangle formed by the molding. They are also roughly symmetrical on a vertical level between the top of the molding and the top of the bed frame. Again, sometimes these subtle choices help make a whole arrangement feel more composed, which suits the inherent elegance of molding.
If a piece is more than half the width or height of a pane of molding, I would recommend centering it inside so the wall molding acts almost like a second frame around the piece.
Artistic Asymmetry
All of this being said, sometimes art looks best when hung by instinct and not by any rules. Hanging art so it sits partially on moldings and partially off makes a bold, layered statement.
When trying to decide exactly where to place a piece, use painters tape to tack up a printed-out photo or piece of newspaper cut to size to get a sense of how the scale and placement of your piece will look before making any holes in the wall.
All of this being said, sometimes art looks best when hung by instinct and not by any rules. Hanging art so it sits partially on moldings and partially off makes a bold, layered statement.
When trying to decide exactly where to place a piece, use painters tape to tack up a printed-out photo or piece of newspaper cut to size to get a sense of how the scale and placement of your piece will look before making any holes in the wall.
When hanging pieces over rustic wainscoting or beadboard that doesn’t have evenly sized bands, don’t worry about the symmetry of the placement against the wall, and focus on placement above other pieces. Or, again, you can forget symmetry altogether.
Wallpaper
Molding and wainscoting give your wall a sense of richness, so sometimes the best way to complete the look is to bring some visual texture or pattern to the upper half as well. Using a wallpaper on the upper half makes the entire surface like an art piece.
Molding and wainscoting give your wall a sense of richness, so sometimes the best way to complete the look is to bring some visual texture or pattern to the upper half as well. Using a wallpaper on the upper half makes the entire surface like an art piece.
To keep the look from being too busy, a smart trick is to match the paint of the molding with a color in the wallpaper, especially a neutral background color. In this example, the white background of the paper connects to the simple white paint of the molding, giving the two halves a point of connection.
In this example, the white molding relates to the foreground color of the pattern rather than the background, but it still helps the two halves feel connected.
The less the color of the wallpaper and the molding connect, the bolder the look will be. If you love a dramatic look, this isn’t a bad thing. It all depends on whether a combination like this feels beautifully energetic or simply overwhelming.
As in a room without molding or wainscoting, you can use a wallcovering to dress just a single accent wall or fill in a larger wall while leaving the shorter walls uncovered. Again, it helps to connect the background color of the wallpaper to the paint color of the other walls so the change in treatment feels almost seamless.
Browse wallpaper
Browse wallpaper
Wallpaper Panels
As with paint, wallpaper can also be used to dress the area inside panes of molding. This can create a more subtle effect than a solid paint treatment. The labor involved in cutting around the molding will be time-consuming, but the results are stately and sophisticated.
As with paint, wallpaper can also be used to dress the area inside panes of molding. This can create a more subtle effect than a solid paint treatment. The labor involved in cutting around the molding will be time-consuming, but the results are stately and sophisticated.
Textural Wallcoverings
Wallpapers don’t need to have a vivid pattern to be beautiful. Sometimes a textural effect is the better choice, especially as a backdrop to another feature, such as a beautiful chandelier or pendant light hanging in the room. In this example the wall itself has some “empty” space, from one perspective, but this allows the central light fixture to be the focus as you approach.
Wallpapers don’t need to have a vivid pattern to be beautiful. Sometimes a textural effect is the better choice, especially as a backdrop to another feature, such as a beautiful chandelier or pendant light hanging in the room. In this example the wall itself has some “empty” space, from one perspective, but this allows the central light fixture to be the focus as you approach.
If you want other elements to be the focus, look for papers that focus on texture, or those with a very subtle pattern that can only be clearly seen close up. Those will add a sense of richness and polish but not fight for attention, so your molding — or something else entirely — can still be the star.
Bathroom Mirrors
While art can easily be hung at various heights, bathroom mirrors aren’t very practical when hung above your eye level. In this case, don’t worry about hanging them at a height that overlaps your molding. However, to make sure the look feels intentional, make sure at least one-quarter of the mirror is above and below the top of the molding. If the mirror only overlaps the molding by a tiny bit, it may look more like poor planning than a thoughtful design choice.
While art can easily be hung at various heights, bathroom mirrors aren’t very practical when hung above your eye level. In this case, don’t worry about hanging them at a height that overlaps your molding. However, to make sure the look feels intentional, make sure at least one-quarter of the mirror is above and below the top of the molding. If the mirror only overlaps the molding by a tiny bit, it may look more like poor planning than a thoughtful design choice.
Inset Mirrors
Another option is to fill an entire panel of molding, or the entire wall above the molding, with a flush, frameless mirror, letting the molding act as the frame.
Another option is to fill an entire panel of molding, or the entire wall above the molding, with a flush, frameless mirror, letting the molding act as the frame.
This can be beautiful in a bathroom or elsewhere in the home. For this effect to work, the mirror should be perfectly fit to the molding, which will usually require it to be custom-cut. Using a tinted or antiqued glass completes the traditional effect, echoing the beauty of palaces and centuries-old estates.
Other Wall Fixtures
For other elements such as sconces, bathroom hardware and coat hooks, the best bet is to try to position them to be as symmetrical as possible, so they feel like part of the design and not a blemish.
For other elements such as sconces, bathroom hardware and coat hooks, the best bet is to try to position them to be as symmetrical as possible, so they feel like part of the design and not a blemish.
In this example, notice how the sconces are horizontally centered between vertical bands of molding. They are also positioned so the top and bottom tips are a few inches away from a horizontal band, making them feel balanced vertically as well. The center point of the shades is then roughly in line with the center of the wall-mounted mirror, so each element feels organized, not random.
In this example, someone clearly thought about the placement of this towel ring. While it’s a small detail, it serves the elegance of this rather formal space. The ring is centered horizontally in the pane of molding but also placed high enough so the towel hanging from it sits inside the pane as well.
Ultimately, working with wall molding takes a little extra thought and care, but if you put the effort into it, the design results can be spectacular.
Ultimately, working with wall molding takes a little extra thought and care, but if you put the effort into it, the design results can be spectacular.
Have you used bold millwork in a home design? Please show us in the Comments and tell us about your project.
More
7 Ways to Decorate Your Walls When Painting Is Not an Option
Get more trim ideas
Other Resources on Houzz
See wainscoting photos
Find an interior designer
Find products
More
7 Ways to Decorate Your Walls When Painting Is Not an Option
Get more trim ideas
Other Resources on Houzz
See wainscoting photos
Find an interior designer
Find products
Feeling Inspired? Shop for Similar Products
Item 1 of 4
Sponsored
Virginia's Award Winning One Stop Kitchen & Bath Remodeling Resource
Sponsored
Client-Oriented Interior Design in Loudoun County | Best of Houzz X6
Molding refers to any applied material — usually made of plaster, wood or wood alternatives like MDF — that is used to protect or decorate a wall. It can be applied in strips along the ceiling, baseboard or anywhere else on the wall, in which case it is often referred to as strip molding or trim.