Decorative Painting Ideas for Wainscoting

Solids

• Enhance the elegance of a formal dining room or sitting room with solid colors. Traditionally, darker colors are used below the chair rail and lighter colors above to make the ceiling appear taller. Try using two different shades of the same color such as a deep olive below the rail and a pale green above. If your decorating style is contemporary or post-industrial, paint the area beneath the rail gloss black and the area above gloss white or silver. Use soft pastels in a child's room and dark gray with a lighter gray above for a masculine effect. Painting the area beneath the chair rail bright white and using an earth tone or pale color above the chair rail suggests Tuscan or Country French decor.

Chair Rail

• Wainscoting is typically topped by a chair rail, usually made from a length of molding, defining the boundary to the wall above. Make the chair rail the focal point of a room's decor by painting it a bold, contrasting color. A bright red rail with primary colors above and below compliments art deco decor. Make a wider chair rail with painted, 1- by 4-inch lumber for a country cottage look. Cover a chair rail with wallpaper before you install it to add a pattern that you can pick up in the room's draperies or upholstery.

Stripes

• Painting stripes above the rail, below the rail or on both areas of the wall can be dramatic, but can overwhelm a large room if used on all four walls. The treatment, typically seen in smaller rooms like foyers and powder rooms, complements a home with formal decor. In larger rooms, a solid color below the chair rail and wallpaper with a very pale stripe on the upper part of the wall is a better choice. Add color to a playroom by painting stripes in alternating primary colors -- red, blue and yellow -- below the chair rail. Paint the upper part of the wall white.

Whimsical

• Have fun with the wainscoting. Draw flowers or paint a pastoral mural. Alternatively, buy wallpaper with a colorful pattern featuring large flowers, stars or polka dots; paint the wall a cheery color, cut out the flowers, dots or stars and apply them to the wainscoting. Create a harlequin pattern by painting black diamonds on a white background, or use black and white paint to make a checkerboard. In a child's room, paint the wainscoting with chalkboard paint and add a chalk tray to the chair rail.