This dining room wainscoting can easily transfer any dining room into a more elegant and comforting space.
When it comes to your house, there are so many possibilities to add character and it isn't as much work or as expensive as you might think.
One of my favorites is DIY shiplap, but obviously you don't want that in every room.
The beauty of this dining room wainscoting is that you can adjust the height and width as needed. I personally used a chair rail that had a flat top and moulding that I liked the look of.
This is a project that will take a bit of time as you have to measure, cut, nail and paint everything. But by the end you'll want to eat dinner every night in your dining room.
FAQs
Both are architectural additions to rooms. The big difference is wainscoting typically covers anywhere from ¼ to ⅔ of a wall and paneling covers the whole wall.
It is more decorative than actually functional. The white color wainscoting is usually painted with offsets deeper wall colors like navy.
Wainscoting doesn't affect the room size. But the colors of the wall do. If you paint the wall a darker color, the room will feel smaller and more intimate where a lighter color makes it feel bigger and more airy.
The secret to making the caulk look professional is spraying it with some glass cleaner right after applying it. Then use your finger or a paper towel to slowly wipe up. It easily picks up the extra caulk but keeps everything else neat looking.
Pro Tips/Notes
- Measure the wall or walls that you will be attaching the moulding and chair rails so you can calculate your cuts.
- No need to glue the moulding as it will make it a lot more work to remove if you want to down the road. Just use nails.
- Caulk and fill in any gaps after nailing the chair rails and moulding so it looks professional.
- Paint the top part of the wall a dark color if you want a more intimate feel or a lighter color if you want it to feel more open.
Other DIY Projects
If you’ve made this dining room wainscoting or any other project on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more projects, meals and anything else I'm up to.
Dining Room Wainscoting
This dining room wainscoting can easily transfer any dining room into a more elegant and comforting space.
Materials
- Chair rail
- Trim
- 2 inch finishing nails
- Wall spackle or wood filer
- Caulk
- Painter's tape
- Primer
- Paint
Tools
- Miter saw
- Tape measure
- Level
- Nail gun or hammer
- Painting supplies - roller, broom handle, brush
Instructions
- Measure the room to calculate the size of the square/rectangle wainscoting needed for each part of the room. The chair rail should be 32" high.
- Measure and make the cuts for the chair rail, cutting 45° angles for corners.
- Measure and make the cuts for the moulding. You will need to cut 45° angles for the corners of everything so it fits well.
- Make sure the chair rail is 32" high and level and nail to the wall.
- Start process of nailing moulding in pre-measured spots. From there caulk in fill in any gaps as walls aren't perfectly flat.
- Prim and paint everything below the chair rail.
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