Although many are unfamiliar with what wainscoting is, it has become a very popular form of wall design or dcor. It’s actually been used for over a hundred years, but went “out of style” for many years and recently has come back full force. Wainscot is paneling of some sort that is used on the lower half of your walls in your home. This paneling may be marble, wood, ceramic tile, heavy fabrics or wood. With more and more homeowners steering towards wood in their homes, wood has become the wainscot of choice for most. Originally, wood wainscoting consisted of wood wagon siding, which was very plentiful in those days.
Wainscoting can be any height the homeowner wants, but it usually goes up to 48 inches or half the height of the wall, sometimes slightly less. The top half of the wall is usually drywall. The wainscoting will usually run vertically with a top edge, or trim, running horizontally.When wainscot was first used in the mid-nineteenth century, usually tongue and groove boards ran vertically and were nailed down. Some would also have designs created by wood working jigs. Wainscot was used to hide imperfections in the wall as well as joints, but now it is just used for appearance and durability.
There are also many other styles of wainscot besides wood. They began as a fashion statement in dining rooms in the 1900s. They often were as tall as 5 feet or more, were sold as panels 18 to 24 inches wide, and were separated by three-inch moldings. The most popular choice for the wainscot at that time was cloth such as burlap, heavy linen or grasscloth.
Wainscoting now is more popular than ever. Homeowners seem to like change in their home every few years. For many years, drywall the latest fad. Everyone painted their walls the color of their choice. Then 4′X8′ wood product paneling took over the home decorating world by storm. Every women wanted to redecorate rooms with paneling. It looked like real wood and was easy to clean and economical to buy. Years later, drywall appeared and, once again, we’re painting our walls.
Suddenly real wood was in style again, but few could afford to do their walls in all wood. Many chose to just do one or two walls in tongue and groove wood. Suddenly the idea of wainscot became the perfect solution. Only doing half a way made it more affordable, still allowing the room to have drywall. It’s considered by many as the best choice and perfect for any room in the house. Another thing that makes it perfect is that it’s easy to maintain. The heaviest traffic areas in your home, between kids and dogs, are the bottom of the walls. Wainscot can easily be wiped clean.
