Dining rooms:
And bathrooms:
My mother installed chair railing in two-thirds of our Craftsman-style house in the early 1990s: never my favorite look (the dining room had brick red paint below, pineapple printed wallpaper above) but it was sort of mitigated by the picture molding about 14 inches from the ceiling. Lots of horizontal lines ... very Prairie School meets Little House on the Prairie. We won't discuss the painting of a bald eagle on black velvet that my dad refuses to take down, a gas station gag gift gone horribly wrong.
But each of the beautiful examples above, snatched via Miles, Remodelista (that's ex-Dominoer Dara Caponigro's dining room) and G.P. Schafer, has real deal wainscoting -- chair rail + paneling underneath -- a look I much prefer.
So I'm fully against solo chair rail and 100% 50-50 on wallpaper or fabric above wainscoting. These rooms have a certain chic and I know it's all in the application, but I need hard and fast rules on the topic. Does it get too busy? Too broken up? Fergie Ferg, I know you hear me.
Posts
My mom had a bald eagle framed work done in sequins and beads (actually, a set...that she made)!!
ReplyDeleteIt still haunts me.
(Note to self: Do not let Nick Olsen see house)
ReplyDeleteWe've got the single chair railing throughout our townhouse rental. The walls are painted tan below the railing and off-white above. *SIGH* I guess it adds *some* visual appeal since the place was built in '79 and features popcorn ceilings. Anything to keep your eye from going toward the ceiling, I guess.
ReplyDeleteThe chair rail thing can be done in so many different ways. You dont need such rigid rules - it just needs to be done well.
ReplyDeleteDavid Hicks pulled off the single rail famously and beautifully....
http://www.dh1970.com/Images/258.jpg
I'd rather meet you all the way, Nick Olsen-yeah.
ReplyDeleteSorry. I'm sort of torn on this issue. I think it's all about the scale and, strangely perhaps, the color scheme. A friend of mine recently redid her bathroom with wainscoting that was extra-tall, but in her small-ish, narrow bathroom, it seemed to work. She painted the rest of the wall mustard yellow and has black and white accents. I really like it.
True, I love the coca cola lacquer so much I totally forgot about the chair rail! Loosening up here ... maybe I just hate a contrast color under the rail. Going to meditate on it and do some breathing exercises.
ReplyDeleteJeezus, that David Hicks room makes me cry with happiness.
ReplyDelete(Tonight's word verification: "Warrel")
Years ago in American House Beautiful they published an 18th c. Pennsylvania house by Jeff Bilhuber. In the living room which had soft white trim he glued brunschwig's La Portugaise fabric above a single chair rail and below was painted very blacky-brown lacquer.... it looked divine!
ReplyDeleteI'm an unabashed fan of the wainscoting. I especially like it high.
ReplyDeleteNow I just need to know how to pronounce it correctly
Anything to keep your eye from going toward the ceiling, I guess.
ReplyDeleteWork from home India
i heart wainscoting ESP in the bathroom.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally into wainscot made of plain planks laid on the horizontal, topped with a simple molding, and painted. Rather Swedish-aristo if you handle the furnishings properly. Or could be vrai Jacques Grange left unpainted, with lots of plain plaster and rope chairs.
ReplyDeleteThis is going to sound really weird but I really like the legs to the bathroom sink. They are quite classy looking.
ReplyDelete-Zane of ontario honey