Design Guides
Wall Panelling & Wainscoting Guide
Updated 2 min read
The short answer
Panelling quality is decided by the setting-out, not the installation. Panels should be equal, and the ones meeting corners, doors and windows must be resolved so nothing looks cut off. Height matters almost as much: one third or two thirds of the wall reads well, exactly half looks static and unresolved.
Panelling heights
| Approach | Height | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional one-third | 810–915mm on an 8ft wall | Dining rooms, hallways, bedrooms |
| Chair rail height | 810mm | Dining rooms where chairs contact the wall |
| Two-thirds height | 1500–1700mm | Entries, stairwells, powder rooms |
| Full height | To ceiling | Studies, libraries, feature walls |
| Low with plate rail | 1200mm with a shelf | Mudrooms, informal spaces |
Avoid landing the cap rail at exactly half the wall height — dividing a wall in two is visually static.
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The styles, cheapest to most expensive
- Picture-frame moulding
- Rectangular frames applied directly to the painted wall, with the wall forming the panel field. Lowest cost, very effective in dining rooms and stairwells.
- Board and batten
- Vertical battens with a cap rail. The most versatile and most requested currently. Works in almost any room.
- Beadboard
- Narrow vertical boards with a bead detail. Cottage in character; common in bathrooms, mudrooms and laundry rooms.
- Flat panel (Shaker)
- Recessed flat panels in a stile-and-rail framework. Clean and versatile across traditional and contemporary interiors.
- Raised panel
- Panels with a profiled raised centre field. The most traditional and most expensive; right in formal and heritage settings.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
- How high should wainscoting be?
- Traditionally about one third of the wall height — roughly 810–915mm on a standard 8ft wall. Two-thirds works well in entries and stairwells, and full height suits studies and libraries. The height to avoid is exactly half the wall.
- Can panelling be installed over textured walls?
- Battens and slats can, since they sit proud of the wall and only touch at fixing points. Picture-frame moulding applied directly to a textured wall shows that texture inside every frame, so those walls are usually skim-coated smooth first — an additional step and cost worth knowing about up front.
- Does panelling make a room look smaller?
- Not usually if it is proportioned well. It adds horizontal emphasis at the lower wall, which can make a room read as wider. Painting the panelling to match the wall above keeps it subtle; a contrasting colour makes it a stronger feature and does visually lower the ceiling somewhat.
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