Wainscoting is a simple decorating addition, but adds an element of traditional elegance to a dining room. If you're thinking about installing some wainscoting in your formal dining room, a couple of different decorating options are available to you. These solutions allow you to mix and match your wainscoting with the colors and styles of your dining room.
Identification
Wainscoting is the term used for a type of wood paneling. The paneling typically covers only the lower half the wall. It became popular in the 19th century. Although it's synonymous with traditional, elegant decorating today, back in its early days, its function was to help walls resist dampness. Additionally, it acted as a kind of buffer to protect the walls in the dining room from damage by chairs, according to the "Online Tips" website.
Two-Tone
Wainscoting very often gets paired in a two-toned type display. This setup has different variations, including a high-contrast, two-toned pairing or a type of shades and hues match-up. An example of the high-contrast type of wainscoting setup features white wainscoting and a vibrantly painted upper wall in a color like red or royal blue. The shades and hues variation features two different shades of the same color --- for example, you might pair a dark green wainscoting with a light green paint. Choose decorative elements like complementary upholstery for the cushions of the dining room chairs to tie the walls in with your decorating style.
Patterned Wainscoting
This type of wainscoting has decorative patterns molded directly into it, making it one of the more ornate choices for wainscoting. Like all wainscoting, this type is a half wall design, which allows you to top off the upper portion of the wall with a contrasting paint color or wallpaper.
Wood and Wallpaper
Originally, wainscoting was constructed of tongue and groove wood, which was also common on wagons at that time. Select a wainscoting featuring the wood of your choice and pair it with a complementary wallpaper. "House Beautiful" features this type of pairing with a traditional wallpaper design like an English floral or a French toile pattern. If you choose the same type of wood your dining room table is made from, you'll pull the look of the room together even further.
Tags: dining room, half wall, shades hues, this type, type wainscoting