Decorate your home and make it just as warm with wainscoting styles. The idea of wainscoting has lasted for roughly four centuries. Back in the day, people use wainscoting or wall paneling to insulate their home from cold. Progressively, today people use wainscot paneling to decorate their homes.

As of today, many materials and designs are made to fit the wainscoting to modern home interior. Thus, making the wainscot paneling transcends over time by making it relevant.

We have curated twenty wainscoting styles you can choose for your home design. We will give you more insight to what makes wainscoting and what it can be paired with.

Wainscoting Materials

Materials to make a wainscot vary from one era to another. Back in the day, people used high quality riven oak boards, which later was replaced by softwoods, to make a wainscot panel. Today, as industrial era comes forth, the materials for wainscoting have grown in variations. Modern wainscoting uses non wood materials such as PVC plastic, MDF (medium density fibreboard), tiles, and even metal. With these materials, wainscoting becomes less rigid and more stylishly designed decorations for home interior design.

PVC White Wainscoting

Plastic materials are light and easy to design. This type of board can make for a modern style interior. The design and the styling can fit any kinds of home designs. From a traditional home to a modern home, this kind of panel will make do for a stylish and easy wainscot installation.

MDF Wainscoting Panel

As an engineered wood, MDF can last longer and more durable than non processed woods. If you wish for a traditional wainscot with strength of non-wood materials, then this type of panel may be for you. While MDF is made for woods, it’s more dense than regular woods. It’s also easy to shape and fairly adaptable to changes of temperatures.

Tile Wainscoting

Tile wainscoting will make your room as sleek as ever. When you hesitate to use PVC and MDF, you can always choose tile as a replacement. It’s strong and varied in shape, color, and material. Ceramic tile, for instance, is a very fine choice to be used as your bathroom wainscot because it’s waterproof and immune to humidity. Aside from its durability, tile can also give you room a little more attractive look with its creative design. As it is, you can always choose which kind of tile you wish to use to wainscot you rooms.

Corrugated Metal Wainscoting

For a little experimental look, corrugated metal will be a fine choice for you. Metal wainscot usually takes shape of most PVC but with a reflective surface. Instead of insulating the room, corrugated metal wainscot will only give a hand in decorating your room. Additionally, it is not wise to use this type of material if you live in an area with an extreme changes of temperatures since metal is highly reactive to heat and can be cold when the temperature gets low.

Wood Wainscoting Panel

The traditional type of wainscot panel will give your room the warmth. If you’re a fan of woods, then this classic wainscoting material will be a perfect choice for you. Wood wainscot panel comes in various types of designs and colors. Beside warming your room, wood panel will also keep your drywall protected. The hard surface will cover the easily broken drywall from the unforgiving shoes and uninvited bumps here and there. In short, the traditional way will still prove to be as stylish and as functional as you have ever hoped.

Highland Oak Wainscot Paneling

With its dark and traditional texture, highland oak wainscot paneling will give you a timeless look. This material will perfectly warmth your room without dominating it. You can combine the ever traditional wainscot to a lovely painted wall with any types of coloring. Beside its perfect insulation, highland oak wainscot paneling is also easy to install and versatile for both domestic or commercial use.

Red Oak Wainscot Paneling

A different type of oak that is no less traditional and timeless than another oak. What makes red oak different from high oak is its origin. While highland oak can be typically found in United Kingdom, red oak can be found in Southern part of America. In fact, it is also mostly used in Southern home interior design. This type of oak wainscot can be easily found in America because, similarly to highland oak, it’s quite durable and easy to install.

Hardwood Wainscoting

Hardwood is commonly used for interior design as either floor board or wall paneling. Because of its density and durability, many people prefer to use this material over softwood. A practical and functional use of hardwood can be usually found in wood flooring and wainscot paneling. You can use the rest of hardwood materials from your flooring to make your own wainscot panel. If you intend to utilize hardwood for your interior design, use it wisely because it slowly becomes rare.

Recycled Redwood Wainscoting

Recycling woods can prove useful when it comes to wainscoting. You can always use recycled woods to make wainscot panel since it’s durable and warm. On the other hand, you can also add the antiquity and the traditional vibe of the room with recycled redwood material. Because of its prestige, you can’t find redwood easily. It’s rare to find redwood unless it’s old, salvaged, or recycled. However, the ancient being of this material will only prove its prestigious value to architectural design with its natural trait, like inherent color variations. In short, if you think your home needs a little touch of antiquity, then this material will be a fine choice for you.

Wainscoting Designs

Designing wainscot requires you to pay attention to wainscot panel styles, heights, and colors. There are four typically used wainscot styles, such as raised panel, flat panel, overlay panel, and board and batten. They use differently according to their wainscot paneling height. You can decide the height of your wainscot panel yourself. From the height of the windowsills to the shoulder height, wainscot height definitely depends on you and your room. Lastly, be mindful when you choose the coloring of your wainscot panel. It’s important to match the wainscot to your wall color while also making it stand out in your room. So, those are three points you need to keep in mind to install wainscot paneling. For further information, you can find them below.

Raised Panel Wainscot Paneling

This traditional style of wainscot paneling will give you an even look of your wall. The accurately calculated panel frames accentuate the entire room’s visual. Raised panel is also considered to be the most formal type of wainscot paneling. So, if you intend to have occasional formal meetings, you can install this type of wainscot. Aside from its formality, raised panel can also be easily installed due to its precise measurement and integrated panels nowadays. With this wainscot paneling, you can achieve all the formal convenience in your business and personal life.

Flat Panel Wainscoting

Flat panel is a classic American wainscot style. It gives off simplicity and honesty in its design. Compared to raised wainscot paneling, flat wainscot paneling doesn’t waste the gap in between the wall board. It fits all the gaps and fills the paneling entirely. You can also use this wainscot panel in case your wall is damaged. The covering will only take a short time since it uses the wall itself to place the panels. The casual style of flat wainscot panel also further the implications of desirable usage for casual household rather than the fancy raised wainscot panel style.

Overlay Panel Wainscoting

Overlay panel combines the flat panel style and raised panel style to achieve the best of both worlds. The combination of both classic takes of wainscoting birth a modern style that you can easily customize with variations of designs. It only takes flat panels and shaped edges mounted to the wall. By using the even and accurately calculated size of raised panels and the flat panels added with noticeable edges, you can achieve a new extravagant look of both classical wainscoting choices.

Board and Batten Wainscot Paneling

Board an batten usually uses for casual households where it exudes simple and modest living style. The style typically utilizes the wide board and narrow batten, or reverse narrow board and wide batten, to create the wainscot paneling. The paneling also can be installed horizontally or vertically, making it the most flexible out of the wainscot paneling styles. So if you wish to install an efficient and easy to install wainscot panel for your humble household, then this style may be what you’re looking for.

Barnwood Wainscoting Reclaimed Wood Wall Paneling

Barnwood wainscoting typically has similar style to board and batten. However, some of them can be easily modified in designs and colors. Take the reclaimed barnwood paneling for instance. The board and batten pattern doesn’t visually present there. Instead, the woods have different variations of paintings to give off the similar illusion of board and batten style. Besides reclaimed woods, you can use another type of woods and paint it to create your own barnwood wainscot paneling.

Carved Wainscoting

It takes a skillful craftsman to make a carved wainscot paneling. The artistic element will give off an aesthetic touch to your wainscot paneling. While it looks like a simple wood being carved, the visual of the carved woods on your wall will exude a different type of antiquity. If you master at crafts, then you can try to make your own craft with this style. However if you don’t have enough skill to do it, then you can find a skillful craftsman to do it for you.

Wainscoting Height

The height of wainscot panel can go for typically shoulder height. However, a traditional wainscoting will go as lower as of one third of the wall. Sometimes you can even go as far as installing a wainscot panel to your entire wall from floor to ceiling. In short, you can adjust the height of your wainscot panel to your own liking. Inspect your room and find what style you think best for it.

Full Wall Wainscoting

A wall full of wainscoting will look just as fine as a regular wall. The paneling will give your room a different and eclectic feel. Furthermore, you can choose the contrast color to your other walls to make it the standout point of the room. Besides the artistic choice it exudes, a full wall wainscoting can potentially cover you dented or damaged wall. You can cover your damaged wall while making it stylish at the same time.

Full Room Wainscoting

Go as far as installing wainscot panel to your entire room. Full room wainscot paneling can hardly apply to modern life style. But you can make your own home as antique as it can be with full on wainscot panel in your living room area, for instance. The paneling itself will give off an unforgettable impression from your guest. To accentuate the paneling styles, you can also paint it to stand out in the room.

Dark Colored Wainscoting

Painting your wainscot paneling in dark color will give off a contrasting value to your wall. The white wall will usually go with dark colored wainscot paneling well. You can go for more bold colors, like variations of red, yellow, and green. However if you feel dark colors, like grey and black, match the room styling better, you can go with it just as well. In addition to the coloring choice, you also need to pay attention to the wainscot panel style. It’s important to note that dark colors will usually go well with traditional raised panel style.

Outdoor Wainscoting

Outdoor wainscoting can go in to an extremely rare choice in a modern home design. You can usually find this type of paneling in garden or beach house. If you plan to decorate or remodel one of those types of buildings, then this idea may help you out. Go for casual board and batten to style the outdoor wall paneling. Adjust the height to your own liking. Lastly, you can paint the wainscot panel according to the style you aim for.

Those are twenty ideas you can use for your own wainscot panel. Consider the material and the style to match with the interior design you desire. Wainscoting will give you a fantastic remodeling if done right. So, be attentive to what your room needs and get creative with your wainscoting ideas!