Wainscoting Collection

A combination of decorative boards or panels and moldings that extend partway up a wall’s face, wainscoting is a centuries-old marriage of form and style. Dating to the 1300s, the Dutch used it to shield the bottom half of plaster walls from such hazards as jostled chairs, spurs on riding boots, perhaps even carelessly swung scabbards.

Wainscoting still guards our walls, but today it's from dirt-caked gardening shoes in mudrooms, olive-oil fingerprints in kitchens, and the inevitable scuffs in the close quarters along hallways and stairways.

Covering your walls with wainscoting made from stock boards—or "sticks"—and panels is easy to do yourself, if you know your way around a chop saw. And if you don't, there's wainscoting that arrives on your doorstep fully assembled and ready to install. 

Below we show these and other products and some basic design options, plus a how-to plan for creating a pleasing layout. Just the kind of knowledge you'll need to boost the architectural integrity of any bare walls in your house.

1. Entries

In mudrooms, where boots, backpacks, and wet umbrellas can damage walls, beadboard makes a good choice because there are fewer prominent edges to dent and ding. The walls in more formal foyers are often clad in paneled wainscoting.

2. Stairs and hallways

The walls of these narrow passages benefit from wainscoting's scuff and mark protection. The horizontal rails and the cap generally follow the pitch of the stair; the stiles or beadboard remain vertical.

3. Dining Room

Dining rooms wainscoting could use tall wainscoting topped with a grooved plate rail displays fine china and serving pieces. For more casual kitchens, wainscoting capped at chair height with a prominent top rail safeguards walls from being marred when diners push back from the table.

4. Family rooms and dens (Living Room)

Adding wainscoting to areas where kids—and pets—congregate can have a calming effect, the architectural equivalent of a shhh. Rec rooms benefit too, with a cap rail that's wide enough to perch a drink, Ping-Pong paddles, or pool-cue chalk.

5. Bathrooms

A traditional alternative to pricey tiled walls, wainscoting made from warp-resistant wood, specially treated MDF, or solid surfacing helps protect the drywall or plaster underneath from water damage. It also has a warming effect in this room, where cold porcelain fixtures, ceramic floors, and tub enclosures can predominate.

6. Kids' rooms

Children probably won't give two hoots about it, but parents will appreciate the way wainscoting looks and how easily it cleans up after being used as a canvas for finger paints and crayons.

Generally, the cap sits about one-third the way up the wall. So if the ceiling is 9 feet, go for 3-foot wainscoting. For taller wainscoting, such as one with a plate rail, cap it two-thirds the way up the wall.

V-groove panels are a type of wainscoting panel that features V-shaped grooves cut into the surface. These grooves create a decorative pattern and add texture to the panelling. V-groove panels are often used to achieve a traditional or rustic look in interior wall panelling.

V-groove panels are typically installed by attaching them to the lower portion of a wall using adhesive, nails, or screws. The grooves can be oriented vertically or horizontally, depending on the desired look. The panels are often complemented with a cap rail and baseboard to complete the wainscoting design.

Tongue and groove panelling is a type of wainscoting where the panels have interlocking edges. Each panel has a "tongue" on one side and a "groove" on the other. When installed, the tongue of one panel fits into the groove of the adjacent panel, creating a seamless and tight connection.

Tongue and groove panelling offers several advantages, including a snug fit that minimises gaps between panels, creating a polished and cohesive appearance. It also provides added structural integrity and stability to the wainscoting. This type of panelling is often used in high-moisture areas like bathrooms and kitchens.

They should all be the same, so avoid cutting individual panels down at corners and doorways to get them to fit walls of varying lengths. Architects and kit makers use computer-aided design software to calculate panel widths that work for your specific room dimensions.

For beadboard, simply cut it to size. For paneled wainscoting, order a center panel that's the same width as your cased window. Its height will vary depending on the distance between your window's projecting bottom stool and the floor or baseboard top.