how high should wainscoting be with 9 foot ceilings

And it suits a lot of folks who want a less fussy look. You can even get it made out of plastic, but I prefer to draw the line unless theres a compelling reason. Remember, with paint-grade trim, you can order that top cap in flex mold, then all you need to do is cut the top rail from a piece of 112 at a curve with a jigsaw!!!! Low-profile wainscoting is a great modern look for your home. So depends on look you want. (Note: Click any image to enlarge). And that may be anywhere from 24" to 42"Casey. The baseboard can be a separate piece (or pieces); the baseboard can also be an extension of the lower rail, as shown in the graphic. In these fresh takes, you might see plate rails as the top trim and even a bold contrasting color for the very top of the wall. There are many factors that will determine the height of a wainscot. We have not physically installed wainscoting at this level before, but our home did come with board and batten in our entry hallway which isyou guessed it, 2/3 of the ceiling height. So depends on look you want. We independently select these productsif you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. hydroponics Ben IS allowed, haha, and this is his image. Heres What You Need to Know. The Tuscan order is the strongest or stoutest of the orders, and the simplest or least adorned, yet every major architectural author advocates their own rules of proportion and design for this and each of the other five classical orders. Your books, DVDs and seminars have only fueled my interest. Orac Decor makes a board and batten applied wall moulding. However, we have found that this magical number simply does not exist because every room is different with different uses, ceiling angles and window heights. Generally speaking, one cant wrong with the rule of thirds. For an eight-foot ceiling, that would be about 33 inches high off the floor. A more important factor to consider, however, is how high the ceiling in a room is. In a Georgian style house with an Adam ornamental plaster ceiling, which this is, I seriously doubt you would find a wainscot based upon anything but chair backs whether the ceiling was eight feet.or. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Start in a left corner, and line the panel up with the baseboard and the line you made for the wainscoting height. For shorter walls, stick to the rule of thirds or keep wainscoting to at least 32 inches high. Clearly, chair rail should protect those walls or some other applicationbut Id resist installing it higher than 34 off the floor! First we have to take a quick look at the classical orders, you know, the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite. For rooms with 8-foot ceilings, aim for around 32 inches. Shiplap vs. Tongue and Groove, Know Your Moldings: 10 Popular Trim Styles to Spiff Up Any Space, Wainscoting in the bathroom, for example, may wrap around the roomand eventually meet up with or act as the backsplash for a vanity or tub. To quote from a Pro Construction site: 'There really is no standard height for wainscoting. This is for the standard lower third of the wall wainscoting. Fence

When you come across an outlet, youll need to cut notches into the panels to make room for the outlet. My ceilings are 10' and the finished height of my wainscot is 40". But, I would say 5.5-6 for an eight-foot ceiling. The pictures felt far too high above the sofa. An attractive scale would be so that the upper panels are square. Expert advice from Bob Vila, the most trusted name in home improvement, home remodeling, home repair, and DIY.

I have no idea about the dado. Continue with Recommended Cookies. It will only be 4 inches taller and visually will look more seamless as the window sill will flow right into the top of the molding. For taller wainscoting, such as one with a plate rail, cap it two-thirds the way up the wall. So if your wall is 12 feet from floor to ceiling, youll install wainscoting from the top of the baseboard to the four-foot mark. 1/3 the height of the wall for low, 2/3 for high wainscot. Beautiful New York apartment with charming mouldings. I dont really care for vertical cap molding anymore than I care for vertical baseboardit goes against the logic grain because those details are always horizontal, or rake as on a stair. Photo: shutterstock.com. However, its important to keep in mind that these are just guidelines and may not work for every bedroom. Rules are made to be broken. We weren't either, which is why it took us an entire day to decide on the "perfect" height. WebTo quote from a Pro Construction site: 'There really is no standard height for wainscoting. Another great article, to remind us proportions. WebSo if the ceiling is 9 feet, go for 3-foot wainscoting. So depends on look you want. Look to these bathroom layouts for optimal space planning, See how designers use tile and other elements to make a tight layout feel more spacious and stylish, Smart design details like niches and frameless glass help visually expand this average-size bathroom while adding character, Different heights, angles and materials can deliver a personalized viewing experience in a space that looks good, More visual height is no stretch when you pick the right furniture, paint and lighting, No room for a big chandelier? Good advice above to be mindful of electrical placements with either choice, both outlets and light switches. Yes! I dont have the tools to make curved moulding so that is beyond my ability right now. For example, if your room is 9 feet tall, then your wainscoting should come up to 3 feet. You dont have to settle for anything less than perfect, howeverthere are plenty of options available that give a flawless finish without added time or fuss. Master Bathroom Design Yes, My Bathroom, The Frieze One of Architectures Hottest Elements. For people that would like to invest in something that looks great but are not planning on staying in their home for very long, low-hanging wainscoting might be the best bet. These rules have been interpreted in many different ways, but the result is still pretty close, and most often MUCH lower than the back of a chair! Of course, everyone always wants the short answer, so here it is: Somewhere between 26 in. An enfilade!!! PRO Patricia Colwell Consulting 5 years ago Good idea since you only have 8 ft. ceilings anything higher will look wrong IMHO miss lindsey (She/Her) 5 years ago Your room is very cute and home-y by the way! The one thing I didnt appreciate before I started this pursuit of understanding is how much it has helped my business. But, I would say 5.5-6 for an eight-foot ceiling. The trim is craftsman style. When its all painted, you could not tell that there was no rail and stile. We have plans to paint the wainscoting a muted pink and leave the rest of the wall and ceiling white (check out our mood board here), so I wanted there to be more color than just 1/3 of the wall. I will attempt to up load a photo. In my opinion, when in doubt with mouldings, go smaller, not larger. I hope this isnt too far off topic, but what are your thoughts on the chair rail termination behind the drop leaf table?

Good advice above to be mindful of electrical placements with either choice, both outlets and light switches. Now THIS is where rules are important. The chair rail can either be a horizontal piece with a specified profile or even a small solid crown moulding. And also this post about how to deal with a boxy boring home. You should be very happy. Try one that covers the bottom two-thirds of the wall. A good general rule for the height of a wainscot is that it be a third of the way up the wall. Hedge Need An Area Rug? Ina room with a lofted ceiling and 15-foot walls, the rule of thirdswould have wainscoting height at 5 feet. (A skill I rarely use. If you choose a method like floating, make sure boards are properly supported and sealed on all sidesespecially around edges where moisture can seep through more easilyand be sure they arent resting directly against an air barrier.

Beadboard Vs. Wainscoting: Do You Know the Difference? But it can also be an easy detail to get wrong. WebConsidered going higher with wainscot (that was why original question was height formulas) but think we will keep existing height. 12 Farrow and Ball Colors For The Perfect English Kitchen, A Long Narrow Hallway - Help For A Dark Scary Mess, All About Wainscoting + The One Thing You Must Never Do, 12 of the Best Paint Colors To Go With Red Brick. It's a gambrel colonial close to the beach built in the 80's. Depending on the room, you can also make a statement by installing wainscoting on a majority of the wall. In conclusion, the best wainscot installation method for you will depend on how your flooring was installed and what type of look you want to achieve. RELATED:10 Wall Paneling Ideas that Dont Look Dated. Sorry for the late response, butthe height of wainscoting depends on a lot of details. This is the approach we took and we could not be happier with our choice. Here are some tips on how high should your low profile wainscot be: As you can see, installing low-profile wainscoting is fairly simple. Er, wood. Gary, In conclusion, the best wainscot installation method for you will depend on how your flooring was installed and what type of look you want to achieve. You can space the boxes about 3 or 4 inches apart and not less than 2 inches on the ends. This may seem frustratingly inexact, until he goes on to point out that, in many classically inspired homes, the height of the wainscot is the same as the height of the windowsills. Use a stud finder to find the studs, which youll need for nailing in the wainscoting. It looks great with many colors of paint or even patterned wallpaper. Want to shake things up with a much taller wainscot? Board and batten as a style is usually higher than wainscoting. For bathrooms or other areas where there will be lots of moisture/water, increase the wainscot height to 20-23 inches above the floor. A good general rule for the height of a wainscot is that it be a third of the way up the wall. You can include an image in your comment by uploading it below. In this example, from the Gardner-Pingree home in Salem, MA (1804, designs by Samuel McIntire), the matching front and rear parlors share the same stool and wainscot cap, as well as mirrored mantelpieces! Is there a cornice? Gary, Great article Gary. Make sure to. at most, be added to the dado. You want to work with the rule of thirds for wainscoting. Lets talk about wainscoting. Home Appliances Got a standard-size bathroom you recently fixed up? Its not a bad gig. Home Orac Decor even makes a preassembled picture frame moulding that just gets glued onto the wall. I recommend keeping the spacing even between the boxes and increasing or decreasing slightly on the ends. Yes, a taller wainscoting is trending! Wainscoting is usually under a chair rail molding which is typically 32" high. to 32 in. Thanks! In fact, with the soaring 13.5-foot ceilings, my Boston living room has a wainscoting height of 40. I have to admit my understanding of these rules would be extremely limited if it werent for the help of Todd Murdock, who not only understands all the math and proportional ratios, but he can draw in SketchUp, too. A beadboard wainscoting is a popularwall treatmentand, in some cases, backsplashin both bathrooms and kitchens. Need professional help with your project? IPGGutenbergUKLtd / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Ima. Do the proportions feel comfortable? Wainscoting is typically installed on the lower portion of walls in order to break up the expanse of flat wall space. It's based on the backs of chairs so it is usually between about 32" and 36" no matter what the ceiling height is. This would be in dining room? Board and batten as a style is usually higher than wainscoting. vertical blinds The height of wainscoting and chair rail depends on many things: the style of the home, the size of the room, the height of the ceiling, as well as your personal opinion of what looks good. Hi, Im Laurel, and Laurel Home is the website and blog for Laurel Bern Interiors.

So if your ceiling height is 8 feet high, try a baseboard thats about 7 inches tall. Of course, everyone always wants the short answer, so here it is: Somewhere between 26 in.

For rooms with 8-foot ceilings, aim for around 32 inches. A good general rule for the height of a wainscot is that it be a third of the way up the wall. And this pic shows how I transitioned on the adjacent wall. But the one thing you must never do with your wainscoting is applied it half-way up the wall. The long answer might make you regret asking the question. For a bathroom wall, aim to keep wainscoting height to one-third of the entire wall height. groveraxle as the right numbers - but be sure to check that the chair rail won't it a light switch or other impediment. And Some Unusual Solutions. If youre unsure, its generally better togo with a shorter wainscoting height than a taller one. Swans fix should be etched in stone, for it solves one part of the problem: If the room be 10 feet high, I should think about 2 feet 5 inches would be a moderate height for the dado; and for every foot that the room is higher than ten, let 3/4 in. It definitely takes a real craftsman to execute that correctly. Again, you have to get right on top of it, to notice that the center panel is recessed more deeply than the surrounding rail and stile. My home has a very open floor plan and I can't imagine anything shorter than the 40". Now heres the same answer I wrote in JLC, and Ill bet youll regret asking this question! All of the moldings we install inside and outside homes originate from the classical orders; but equally important, so do the linesthe elevation lines for each decorative detail on a home. Copyright 2023 Acton Media Inc. All rights reserved. If we base this on the chair back height then how high should I have this wainscot be? WebFlo Mangan. In my original comment when I said it would look funny if the handrail was above the wainscot I meant if they both were on the same wall. The term wainscoting refers to any type of paneling that covers the lower portionusually the lower thirdof an interior wall. Bookcase After all, they didnt exactly have central heating, and as we all know, the warm air rises. In a room thats nine feet tall, for example, this would put the height of the wainscoting at three feet. WebFor 9 foot ceilings, this translates to a height of between 3 and 4.5 feet. In addition, there may or may not be a rail (horizontal, flat piece) and a stile, a vertical flat piece. The other situation where it doesnt make a lot of sense is if the furniture covers nearly the entire available wall. Any shorter and I think it would looked dwarfed. First, measure the wall, then measure to the height youd like for the wainscoting. Now what if you want taller wainscoting to add more visual interest to the room? Tres ugly. Light Blue Wall Colors-Don't Make This Mistake! Take a look at the stairwell picture I sent you, there is wainscot in there that is this height and the ceiling is 12 feet. If this wainscoting height feels awkward and out of place, you may opt to bring it down to a height that feels more balancedsomewhere in the ballpark of 36 up to 48 inches generally works for these loftier spaces. WebHidden Doors For a 9-foot ceiling 36 inches is ideal.Adjust wainscoting height to be taller 36 to 48 inches in a room with a lofted ceiling.So if you have 9-foot walls then 3-foot or 36-inch.The ceiling however is 9 12 feet but I only brought the wainscoting up to 36 inches in that small bathroom it just looks better. Typically, wainscoting works best on the lower portion of the wall, so plan to install it on the lowest one-third section. Youre right, code requirements today sometimes have a huge impact on design. Someone said 54 inches. There's also plate-rail height wainscot, which is usually found in dining rooms but can also be used elsewhere. A beautiful French apartment. Houzz Pro: One simple solution for contractors and design pros. Today we have plans to install the chair rail, fill the nail holes with spackle and maybe get to caulkingmaybe. Start by installing the new door trim and baseboards around the room with a nail gun. If you are replacing older trim, wainscoting may boost a homes value. Interior Design

And heres another transition, but not on a stair. Now heres the same answer I wrote in JLC, and Ill bet youll regret asking this question! Try one that covers the bottom two-thirds of the wall. In a room thats nine feet tall, for example, this would put the height of the wainscoting at three feet. The short answer to this question is, somewhere between 26 to 32 inches. The one thing you dont want is for moisture to get into the adhesive thats holding your wainscot in place. Doing it this way is quite valid and saves a lot of money. WebSo if you have 9-foot walls, then 3-foot (or 36-inch) wainscoting will look great. Georgian homes were classically inspired; they attempted to follow rules of classical design, without interrupting the lines or divisions of the classical orders. The bottom of the windows are between 24-25.5in from the floor. I havent seen very much written on how to handle tricky terminations and transitions like this. Gardening And, heres the link again for the dozens of moulding posts. Installing wainscoting is possible to do yourself, although you can ensure it is aligned evenly and applied quickly with the help of a professional. However, the baseboard is a whopping 11 high, and the chair rail is 3.5 high. Here are some tips on how high should your low profile wainscot be: The bottom edge of the wainscot should be 17-20 inches above the floor.