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Design Dilemma Building a Home

Where does wainscoting start/stop?

7 years ago

Question on board and batten wainscoting placement.

I was thinking about adding it on our stairs running it continuously up through the hallway upstairs (but not into any upstairs bedrooms/bathrooms).

Stairway is easily visible from the front door so can I have the wainscoting run up the stairs but be nowhere else downstairs?

Idea photo for reference...

Help!

Featured Answer

ILoveRed

7 years ago

My house is really not formal and will not be when it is finally furnished and decorated, but it is traditional. The Amish craftsmen that built my stairway also designed and built my wainscoting. He did a really good job. I didn’t know what I was doing. He designed everything. Let me know if I can answer specific questions. We are not even fully moved in yet although we are living her, so don’t expect much. A few pics.

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Comments (20)

suzyq53
7 years ago
Yes, I think its fairly common to do just that.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
7 years ago
FYI that space you show is IMO a bad example waincoting is a fairly formal look and that door in the picture is not the same style at all. I would have to see your space before advising .
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PRO
Anglophilia
7 years ago
I agree - wainscoting is fairly formal. One typically stops it at a door frame. It doesn't work very well in "open concept" as there are few of those!
Erica Bjella
Original Author
7 years ago
Ok and we are fairly open concept downstairs. It’s a new construction house so it’s all framed in and insulation going soon. I’ll grab some interior pics so you can get a feel for the space. I’d like to add some finish carpentry details but am not sure what’s the best option.
Cheryl Hannebauer
7 years ago
following...
ILoveRed
7 years ago
Here’s the foyer which is embarrassingly empty in case you are interested. Same profile, just taller.
NewEnglandgal
7 years ago
Looks beautiful ILoveRed!
ILoveRed
7 years ago
Thanks NEG...too worn out to decorate and furnish. It’s going to have to wait. But I have a tree!
jonio
7 years ago
So pretty! Nice job so far!!
User
7 years ago
I have my wainscoting installed exactly as you’ve described....none on the first floor, and only going up the stairway and on the second floor landing (and not in any of the upstairs bedrooms). It looks perfectly fine.
1 - New Build in Process... · More Info

1 - New Build in Process... · More Info
Sam Goh
7 years ago
Some beautiful examples of wainscot in this thread. That's been one of the things we've been fretting about in our build. Who knew this much went into the decision?

I think we'll end up with some deep baseboards like ILR's example, just got to get the returns right because the baseboard is thicker than the door trim.

Think our wainscot will end up at about 51 because of light switch placements (want the whites to blend). Decided to wainscot up the wall instead of doing a chair rail up the stairs, hoping we will like it. It's a larger area and 1x4's in board/batten style seem a little small but 1x6 seem too big.

Meeting with the trim carpenter to finalize tomorrow!
gthigpen
7 years ago
Nidnay and ILR - your wainscoting looks great. I'm following this as I think at some point, we will 'upgrade' our foyer to include wainscoting. I think ours will lend itself to the higher profile like in ILR's picture. But then we have some tricky lower windows on our staircase we have to work with. And no door casing at the top of the stairs to end nicely.
Linda
7 years ago
I think the inspiration picture looks great. IMHO i dont think wainscotting is "formal" anymore. I see it in bathrooms. Last I knew bathrooms are not formal. Im also in the process of buying a new construction, farmstyle open floor plan and the model has board and batten, floor to ceiling on one wall in the loft, and in the dining room 3/4 of the way up. I've also seen it in models going up the stairs, in a man cave, it goes wherever you want it. I've also seen it at different lengths. I love the mixes in the inspiration photo.
shead
7 years ago
I LOVE the look of wainscoting on stairs. I had that same style in a large portion of my main level of my last house and on the stairs. Want to know what I hate about it on stairs? Having to use a freaking Qtip to clean the tiny little angles formed on the bottom lower part of the wainscoting on. Who knew that angle could collect so much dust and dirt?!?!? Never again no matter how lovely it looks :(
PRO
Virgil Carter Fine Art
7 years ago
Wainscot? Wherever you like it.
Erica Bjella
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks for sharing your examples! Those stairways and hallways look great. I feel like it gives them just that ‘extra something special’ that steps it up from a basic build. I’m still working on grabbing some pics and will post when I have them.
ILoveRed
7 years ago
Sam Goh “I think we'll end up with some deep baseboards like ILR's example, just got to get the returns right because the baseboard is thicker than the door trim.”

my casing is a flat board and a backband, trying to mimic old house trim. The backband is 1” thick. My baseboard is not as thick. So in places where there is no wainscoting there was no issue... The baseboard was thinner than the backband.

However where I have wainscoting I was very concerned about how the returns would look since the baseboard was installed over the wainscoting...making the base thicker than the casing. My guy assured me it would look good. He 45’d the base off and it actually has a really nice, beefy profile. So your worry about the returns may be an easy fix.
ILoveRed
7 years ago
Pic of baseboard without wainscoting to illustrate the difference.

Pics of baseboard 45 degreed off . Again, only necessary where wainscoting raised baseboard depth making it thicker than casing.
Sam Goh
7 years ago
@ILoveRed - Thanks for the pictures. We're in the same situation with having to figure out a thicker base on the wainscoted area. Right now it's designed to return just shy of the casing but the 45 might work too.

What we had not thought about however, is how your "boxes" include a 1x horizontal above the baseboard so that the 1x border appears even all the way around. I think our boxes start at the baseboard and there's a cap on the upper 1x. Got to figure out how it looks...

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