Wainscoting with vaulted ceilings?

[marjorine]

We are under contract to buy a house with vaulted ceilings in the living and family rooms. I absolutely love wainscoting and have wanted to install it in whatever house we buy, but I'm not sure if it looks good with this type of ceiling (the weird pattern on the wall is a reflection from the window):



I made up a quick photoshop example of what it would look like:



What do you think? Would it look weird to have wainscoting straight across with the peaked ceilings? I did some Google image searches but didn't find very much.

[moonlight]

I think it will look good. I don't see any reason not to do it. I do think that fireplace is just asking for some awesome built ins or a bigger surround though.

[kaylie]

I don't have a yay or nay answer, but a few points to consider:
- Standard wainscoting heights are 36'' and 42''. You can go higher, but it's a more custom job and might cost more since pieces come in predetermined sizes and you'd probably have to go custom. I can't tell for sure, but I think your mock up might go higher than that.
- I agree with moonlight that you should make the fireplace more formal is you do it by adding a surround like this one:

- Most of the rooms I've seen with wainscoting have crown molding, which is a big no-no in rooms with vaulted ceilings.
- There are several types of wainscoting that have varying levels of formality: raised panel, recessed panel, bead board, board and batten, etc. Personally, I wouldn't put anything besides bead board or board and batten in a family room because it's too formal. I prefer the formal versions in hallways, foyers, dining rooms and formal living rooms.
- Your mock up looks like board and batten type which is easier to custom size, so if that's what you're going for disregard point #1.

I did a google image search and I think this is a great example of how you could pull this off really well:

They brought the ceiling down a bit and added the crown molding which is a great way to make it work in that space.

[auntie]

I like Kaylie's picture, especially the second one. Not sure f your vaulted ceiling is high enough to make the same statement. I think if you trim the fireplace it'll add some interest to the room. I love the idea of built-in cabinetry, but the windows sort of take that off the table IMO.

Can you add wainscotting in some other room? Maybe a formal one to a LR or bead board in a bath to quench your thirst for it? My mother has it in one of her guest rooms, sort of different but pretty.

[moolarkey]

I would improve the fireplace as shown above. That is much better. As far as wainscoting in a room with vaulted ceilings, I tried searching for images on Google Images and really didn't find many. Possibly using other search terms would yield better results.

We have a 17' vaulted ceiling in our family room but no wainscoting. We have a 10' ceiling in our living and a "tray" ceiling in our dining room, lower part if 10' and the tray area is probably 10' 9" or something. The dining room has wainscoting and I like it a lot.

My point is maybe you could put wainscoting in other rooms. If you have a 2-story house, what about going up the stairwell with it?

[FoxInFiji]

Your LR looks open to some adjoining rooms. Are you going to run the wainscoting there as well? If not I wouldn't do it because I think it looks cheesy to only have it on a few walls or stop it mid wall. Personally I like the look of wainscoting in a DR which is more formal or an enclosed room like a bedroom or bathroom better than a big open LR.

[marjorine]

@ moonlight - yes, great idea with the fireplace.

@ kaylie - yeah, I used the wrong term! What I would really like to install would be board and batten (or maybe bead board). Something like this:





It is true that most photos I've seen have crown molding along the ceiling. I think that would look funky with the valuted ceilings, unless I can find an example where it looks good. I wonder if it would look okay to have no crown molding, like in this picture (although the ceiling line is straight, so it's not quite the example I need):



I love the example you showed with the vaulted ceiling, although I'm not sure if our peaks are as dramatic as that.

@ callmefia - I agree, I love wainscoting in dining rooms. Unfortunately, the house doesn't really have one. The area in my picture to the left near the window is called a "dining nook", but it's not a separate space. There is also a dining area that jets off the kitchen, but the 3 surrounding walls are all window.

@ auntie - the bedrooms are not vaulted, so if I can't do it in the living room or family room, I could always do that instead.

@ moolarkey - unfortunately, the house is a one-story, but I do love the look of it going up a staircase.

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

[marjorine]

Oct 3, 2012 12:17:54 GMT -5 FoxInFiji said:

Your LR looks open to some adjoining rooms. Are you going to run the wainscoting there as well? If not I wouldn't do it because I think it looks cheesy to only have it on a few walls or stop it mid wall. Personally I like the look of wainscoting in a DR which is more formal or an enclosed room like a bedroom or bathroom better than a big open LR.

Yes, the photo was taken at the front door. This picture is of the living room and dining nook (the kitchen is through a walkway in the nook and the family room (which also has similar vaulted ceilings) is on the other side of the wall on the left). I would wrap it all around the room...here is a photo taken from the fireplace:



So, you can how the ceiling is not level around most of the room (the only place it is straight is along the window to the right in my original picture). I'm just not sure if board and batten would work... But, I suppose I could always install in some of the bedrooms to get it out my system!

[moonlight]

Oct 3, 2012 4:56:26 GMT -5 kaylie said:

I did a google image search and I think this is a great example of how you could pull this off really well:

They brought the ceiling down a bit and added the crown molding which is a great way to make it work in that space.

I REALLY like this idea. It appears that the wall with the large window is level where it meets the ceiling, right? You could do crown molding along that wall and then bring it around the rest of the room. Paint the wall above it the ceiling color. You can even do a sort of ledge with the molding and put some rope lighting behind it. I think it would look amazing.

[FoxInFiji]

Oh I like board and batten for the space much more than wainscoting! B&B has a much more relaxed feeling that isn't as formal and stuffy. It will also break up the big solid color of the walls being that it's vaulted. If you make a nice ledge on the top you can set small things or lean pictures like your inspiration picture (though I'm sure they have something fastening it that way to keep it from falling).

I don't think you need crown moulding with b&b so that shouldn't be an issue. I would definitely paint the ceiling white in there though. That will make it instantly feel more light and airy. A lighter wall color would also help you achieve the look of your inspiration pictures. Make sure you post pictures when you're done! This room could have a completely different look with some paint and moulding.

[kaylie]

I agree with Fox, board and batten is much more forgiving than other types of wall paneling treatments and you can definitely get away with no crown. I would still do something about the fireplace though. Either add a surround or paint it white.

[Deleted]

Just want to add, I prefer it to be taller, around 4-4.5ft. I think taller looks nicer.

[marjorine]

Aww yay, you guys are giving me hope! Now that I googled more formal-looking wainscoting vs board & batten, I can see that B&B is what I want (I thought it was all the same, haha).

@ Fox - I love the idea of painting the ceiling white. We also plan to replace the carpet with hardwoods eventually, so I think the wood floors + white B&B and ceiling + a light gray or blue upper wall would be pretty. If all goes according to plan, we will close at the end of the month, and I'm sure I'll have more questions then.

What do you guys suggest doing with the fireplace? Painting the brick white/removing the brick/laying something over the brick? We have been apartment renters until now, so I am completely clueless about what do with fireplaces.

[kaylie]

FYI that you'll probably have to take out the bottom piece of batten when you put in hardwood or change the floors at all, so if that's in the near future I would hold off.

[marjorine]

Oct 3, 2012 15:15:15 GMT -5 kaylie said:

FYI that you'll probably have to take out the bottom piece of batten when you put in hardwood or change the floors at all, so if that's in the near future I would hold off.

Good to know, thanks!