Enhance any space to create a stunning Hamptons home or add substance to a Modern or more traditional Edwardian, Georgian or French style home.
Wainscoting panels (boards or panels that extend all or part-way up a wall’s surface) are a gorgeous form of decorative wall panelling that began to rise in popularity as early as the 16th century. Wainscoting panels were originally used to provide insulation, to protect walls from damage, and disguise rising damp from the moisture in the floor. In its contemporary form, wainscoting panels are predominantly an ornamental wall feature that adds extraordinary style, character, and value to your interior.
Applications, materials, and styles for contemporary are diverse. Whether you’re searching for the perfect feature for a colonial-style residence, Hamptons style home, office feature wall, or you’d like to add an elegant interior statement that enhances your interiors’ character and value, Intrim can provide you with a variety of and materials that are both a practical and tasteful way of adding charm and interest.
When it comes to wainscoting panels, there are four main styles: Frame & Panel, Flat Panel, Beadboard, and Raised Panel.
Frame and Panel panel wainscoting – the traditional wainscoting style – first became popular as a method of insulation. Although originally most suited to dining and living rooms in a colonial-style residence, installing frame and panel wainscoting adds grace and appeal to any room or home. This method of wainscoting has become a popular method for traditional Hamptons and Cape Cod American styled homes.
This wainscoting wall style is easily distinguished from other styles; MDF or plywood sheets are placed on the full wall surface where the wainscoting is to appear (typically to chair rail height only), square battens are used to create a shaker style look on the wall, then a decorative inlay mould is placed into the inner recess, framing the center of each panel.
Flat panel wainscoting is used to achieve a shaker style appearance that is more casual and a little more modern than traditional raised panel wainscoting.
This style uses DAR boards that are flat (without bevelled edges or moulding) and, as a result, are often a leading choice when requiring wainscoting that is both cost-effective and quick to install.
Beadboard wainscoting first emerged in traditional Victorian and cottage-style homes. This style of wainscoting consists of gorgeously subtle, vertical grooves (or ‘beads’) milled into the wood. Beadboard is available in multiple styles and widths but is customarily made of thinner, individual lining boards positioned alongside one another.
More recently shiplap style boards have been used to create a cleaner more modern look, as well as the use of VJ Boards which saves time on installation and achieves the same look.
Raised panel wainscoting is where the inlay mould is fixed directly to the wall to create a multi ‘picture frame’ look across the wall. This is a relatively simple, cost effective method which is excellent for interiors requiring subtle detailing without a heavy, traditional Hamptons or American style influence.
The inlay mould can be used with or without a chair rail, and different sized ‘frames’ can be applied to the entire wall, providing flexibility when styling your interior.
Want to find out more about wainscoting? Read this blog post!
To find out how Intrim can help you achieve the right look for your home, request a free quote or contact us today!
Wainscoting is often used in common areas of the home to make a big statement. Areas which are difficult to style due to space, such as entries and hallways, are the perfect locations. Wainscoting throughout the home adds flow by helping join spaces.
Muddy boots, wet umbrellas, and scruffy backpacks are common features of a busy home’s entry. Unfortunately, these are also common causes of damaged walls. Wainscoting can be used in entryways to not only protect walls from damage, but also to greet visitors and returning family members with a captivating welcome that sets the scene for a home’s interior.
The walls of stairs and hallways are often narrow, boring and prone to scuffs and marks, making it the ideal wall for wainscoting panels. When using wainscoting on stairs, the horizontal rails generally follow the slope of the staircase, while the stiles (vertical inlay moulds) or beadboards remain vertical.
For centuries, living areas, kitchens, and dining room walls have been a popular choice for wainscoting panels. The frequency of use, constantly moving furniture, and setting the scene for enjoying shared meals and family gatherings make wainscoting ideal for wall durability and protection, as well as the beautiful impact that it creates.
In bathrooms, wainscoting is used to add warmth, unify decor, and protect walls from water-damage (especially in bathrooms with free-standing baths). Wainscoting walls in bathrooms is a traditional and beautiful alternative to pricey tiled walls – saving you time and money while creating a bathroom interior that dazzles. You MUST ensure that real timber is used (not MDF) as this is prone to swelling and moisture absorption.
Nothing enhances a wall like wainscoting. Wainscoting can be used to create a stunning, timeless feature wall in bedrooms, office spaces, dining rooms and living areas. Wainscoting feature walls provide character and charm, and are immediately impactful in improving interior spaces.
Wainscoting can be added to interior walls to protect from damage, add style, and increase value. The impressive versatility of wainscoting means that wainscoting panels can be added to your walls at any stage! Whether your house is already built and ready for renovation, is currently being built, or you’re looking to enhance the look of your business space (wainscoting is the perfect addition to the office, restaurant or retail store!) it’s never too late (or early) to consider wainscoting your walls. If you’d like some advice on how to update your interior with wainscoting or include wainscoting in your new build, contact us today!
Wainscoting is the perfect solution to a multitude of applications within an interior. When it was first introduced, wainscoting was near essential for keeping a room warm and protecting walls. Today, while these applications are still advantageous in contemporary homes and commercial spaces, wainscoting is more commonly sought after for its stunning aesthetic and heightened architectural styling.
Modern wainscoting styles provide interiors’ with greater dimension and refined detail, creating a sophisticated, elegant home environment. Wainscoting also offers a framed feature to display keepsakes and picture frames, and is a cost-effective method to hide damaged plasterboard and increase the durability of interior walls.
With Intrim’s DIY Wainscoting Kit, covering your interior walls with wainscoting panels is easy to do yourself! Contact us today to find out more and hear some handy tips and tricks on what you’ll need for DIY wainscoting and how you can use our wainscoting kit or choose and install your own mouldings, to achieve the look you’re after.
If you’d rather have someone else install wainscoting on your walls, we have a list of recommended installers who are experts at installing wainscoting.
Intrim recommend using Inlay Mould IN23 with Chair Rail CR22 for 18mm wide architraves, and CR99 with IN32 for 30mm architraves.
