Wainscot on bathroom walls will give a nice separation of colors similar to this strip of wallpaper.
Wainscoting offers a decorating style that gives the look of textured wood to an otherwise plain wall. It can be placed on the top or bottom half of the wall and designed to your preferences. When used in a bathroom, wainscoting gives warmth and radiance to the room.
Beadboard
The most popular type of wainscoting used for many years has been beadboard, otherwise known as tongue and groove board. (See Reference 1) The vertical lines of the wainscot give instant character to a room. It looks good painted white or a light color against dark walls or reversed with light walls and dark painted or stained wainscoting. Tim Carter of Ask the Builder recommends painting or staining the beadboard on a flat surface before you install it for the easiest application process. (See Reference 1) Many of the wainscot kits or systems come with a baseboard, often already attached, and a top cap molding piece for you to cut and install.
Custom Orders
The easiest way to do your own wainscoting is by placing a custom order with a company that can take the wall width measurements and desired height of your wainscoting and send panels to you already cut. (See Reference 2) These panels come in Raised, Shaker, Recessed or V Groove. They are shipped in sheets up to 10 feet long, which eliminates numerous seams and makes installation easier and faster. (See Reference 2) There are many design possibilities using online tools or working with a customer service representative from the company for guidance. Custom orders for wainscot may be more costly than traditional beadboard or other options but may be worthwhile to have a smooth project with less woodworking skills required. (See Reference 2)
Design Your Own
The wainscot look can be achieved in a few other nontraditional methods. Build squares or rectangles out of small molding pieces. Center the squares and space them in even increments on the wall. Place bottom baseboard and top molding above the squares and paint the same color from top molding down. This design looks good with a patterned wallpaper or textured paint on the top half of the wall.
For an inexpensive alternative, paint your wall in three different tones of the same color in a straight line to create the illusion of wainscot. (See Reference 3)
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