Chair Rails and Shadow Box Colors

Hi Christine

On your website, you mention that the darker color should always be on top of a chair rail. But, many pictures on your and other websites show white at AND below the chair rail with a color on top. Typically the white below the chair rail has shadow boxes as well. Do you think white at and below the chair rail with a color on top works? We have golden brown hardwood floors in the dining room with a darker brown dining room set. I wanted to do Benjamin Moore antique white in a semi gloss at AND below the chair rail, with show boxes below the chair rail, Benjamin Moore atrium white on the molding around the archway to the living room and door opening (no door) to the kitchen, with a fairly dark blue (Benjamin Moore Blue Lapis (2067-40) eggshell on top of the chair rail. Do you think that would work? What should I paint the crown molding and ceiling in? The room is approx 12 x 13. The dark blue is the thing that I question the most.

Thank you for your time.
Mike

Dear Mike,

If I actually said that the darker color is supposed to be on top- please show me that post- I would not have meant to say that. To avoid confusion- I will try to be more clear- but the subject itself is somewhat confusing- so- follow along here.

1. When you have two colors below and above the chair rail- I would put the darker of the two below. Why? Yes- there is a reason. The darker shade is more visually heavy. It is subconsciously uncomfortable to be in a room that is a little top heavy. Having the heavier weight lower feels better- subconsciously.
2. When the area below the chair rail is a wainscot- the rules change. Your wainscot is part of your wood trim. In most cases- it is better for these to all be the same paint. Same paint on the window casings, door frames, baseboards, chair rail, picture frame mouldings, floor skirts, and wainscoting. (This is a most of the time rule- not an all the time rule). Frequently this color is white. White as a wainscoting below the chair rail and a color on top is perfect. Does that make the room visually uncomfortable because of the top heavy thing? No- because the visual weight of the mouldings is more than the darker color. However- sometimes- I think this is pushed a bit- when the top paint color is too dark- like in the photo above. I personally think the paint color is too dark here- and the room would be more comfortable with a lighter shade. I know the desired effect is drama- and perhaps with the right window treatments, and other furnishings- this might look amazing- but I will say that as is- it is a top heavy room.


3. If I were to do the shadow box- or picture frame moulding like you are describing- I personally- would paint it all like it was wainscoting. To me- that is what it is trying to be- and when it is all painted the same white- I think it looks the best. I would treat it like wainscoting. Paint it the same color as all other mouldings. For example- I do NOT like the photo above. I think it would look better to have it all white below the chair rail. Theoretically you shouldn't be able to really tell it is not a real wainscoting- and yet here they are drawing attention to it. I don't like it. It's like hanging a sign on your fake purse that says, "I am not really louis vuitton."

So there- is that clear- or still confusing?

Too Much Negative Space

Hi Christine,

I came across your blog and would love your opinion on something. The first attached picture is the living room of a house we just bought. I am told the woodwork around the windows is of very nice quality and is admittedly in really good shape. However, its not my style. I am more of a white molding type of girl. My aesthetic is black furniture, white couches and punches of color with rugs, pillows, accessories, etc. Do you think painting the moldings white would be a terrible idea? I am also kinda in love with the black moldings I’m seeing popping up more and more in interior design but think that may be a bit too risky since much of our anchor furniture will be black. Any other general suggestions for the room? The furniture is not mine (current owners) by the way and we are starting from scratch with furnishing so any suggestions are most welcome! The baseboards are white- and the window casings are wood. I think your purse already doesn't match your shoes- so go ahead and change your shoes. Translation: paint your trim. Your window trim should always be the same as the baseboards. The furniture arrangement is hideous- but I really need a floorplan to help you with that specifically- but I will say that the focal point is the TV- and yet the majority of the furniture does not face it. (I know this is all the previous owner- I just don't want you to make the same mistakes.) The rug is floating in the middle of nowhere- leaving a huge negative space in the center of the room. See this post on negative space. If you had your furniture drawn on a floorplan- and then made a shape showing the area without furniture- that is the negative space- if it is a big area- that's not good. Pull in the furniture- bring it around the TV better- consider an arrangement like the sofa and two chairs that I gave to this reader. Or perhaps have two sofas perpendicualr to the TV with a large square ottoman between them.
My second question is about the second picture – it is the dining room which is open to the living room in the first picture (notice the same black leather chair in each picture to get the general layout). Do you think we need to paint both rooms the same color since they are so connected as one space or can we do something different with the dining room? I am also a huge fan of wainscoting and always dreamed of a molding happy formal dining room but I don’t think I can add that in this space since it's so connected to the living room. Thoughts?

If you add wainscoting- it should be the same color as the trim. This is a good reason to not paint your trim black- as black wainscoting would be way too dark in a small place like this. You need a huge house to pull that off. Like in the movie Ghosts of Girlfriends Past- keep in mind that house was a huge mansion. These two rooms share a wall- and therefore a color pallet. Does it have to be all one color of paint- no- but it needs to coordinate seamlessly. Right now there is one green wall- and yet that wall is not especially great in any way. I think it would look better to do more than one wall in a second color if you choose to use one.

Thanks much!
Amy

If you choose to add wainscoting- be consistent in style with the craftsman trim you have- whether it is painted or not. Below are a couple of examples of craftsman wainscoting.

You have a beautiful house- great floors- good trim size- it will look fabulous!

Thanks for writing in!

Christine

Set up for Selling Success

Martha Stewart: Brown Gray

Hi Christine,
My husband and I currently have two places...our homes before we met. He has a great 2000 square foot town home that we want to do a few projects on to help it stand out from other town homes in the same neighborhood, before putting it up for sale.
The first is losing the carpeted stairs and replacing with wooden risers (going for the modern family phials house stairs) for the dark wood and white look.
The second area I'd like to discuss is the window from the kitchen/bar into the great room. Right now it is basically the big hole that has barstools... From the great room...it is a focal point. I am looking for ideas on how to make it go from a boring hole in the wall to gorgeous and interesting? Please help!
If you write back, I'll send photos :)
Cindy

Hi Cindy-

2 words: trim and paint.

When you are getting a piece of property ready for selling, it is a very different thought process. But to stand out from your neighbors, I would start with ramping up the trim. See the photo at the top of the post? This is not a fabulous photo- but showed exactly what I had in mind. I would add a piece of half trim above your baseboards- and then paint the whole area. This is a great way to inexpensively change your baseboards from being 4 inches to 7 or 8 inches. It is work- but not terribly expensive. Even if you just did it in the main living areas- it would be so much richer.

Keep the wood saw out and trim out the opening, and add beadboard on the entire wall below the opening. Keep all of the woodwork a crisp white. Check out the beadboard in this post.

The gold paint is absolutely the wrong color with the carpet.

1. Select a paint color that will make your carpet look great.


2. Select a light colored paint- but not white.


3. Select a neutral colored paint.

Look at the paint color in the Martha Stewart photo at the top of the post. A soft Brown Gray like this will go great with your carpet- keep it light and neutral- and yet is dark enough to give you a great contrast with your white woodwork. It will look great with your stairs also.

Your light fixture is OK. But- if you want to stand out a little more- you can get a more updated drum shade like the one below from Uttermost. A fixture like yours will go unnoticed- which is not necessarily bad- but a really fabulous light will get the right kind of notice from perspective buyers. The one below is a little too warm in color- but check out this one.

Good luck selling your place. If you choose to not stage it with furniture- still add some really beautiful plants and uplights.

Also- you can check out this post on staging bedrooms.

Thanks for writing in-

Christine

Picture Frame Trim

Dear Christine,
I just discovered your blog last night and I am hooked! I spent way too much time today reading through your old posts. I have a question about molding. I am attaching a picture of the window in my dining room. I would like to add a chair rail and some trim to the dining room. I have heard that I can nail 1/2" round into rectangular patterns on the lower wall and paint everything in my trim color (Satin Impervo White from Benjamin Moore) and that it will give the illusion of wainscoting panels. What do you think of this idea? What do you think of using an oil-based paint on the walls? Also, at what height would you put the chair rail and how would you deal with the windowseat? By the way, the dining room will not be staying red. And sorry about the big tree blocking your view, that is going bye-bye soon, too!
Thanks, can't wait to hear your thoughts!
Kelley

Hi Kelley,

Above is a photo of the quarter-round look in creating a picture frame wainscot. Personally- I think quarter round is too small- and the whole thing looks "chintzy". I would rather have nothing than this. I think it is not worth the time and effort- and I don't even like the end result.

Here is one that is a bit larger. My advice is the bigger the better. Notice here the trim is a contrasting color to the wall. The high contrast shows off the size of the trim- the smaller the trim pieces- the less we want it accentuated. The all white look below - like the photo below- does a better job of disguising the scale of the trim.

Overall- I am not a super big fan of this look. When it is installed with large pieces-- I do like it much more. What height? The rule of thirds is a good general rule. I need to know your ceilling height and see better photos to really help you with that. The trim goes around things (like a window seat)- in a similar way that it wraps around the heating vent in the green photo.

These bottom two photos have larger trim- this is more than twice the size of a quarter round. So much nicer.

Did you read my posts on chair rails? Don't read them if you have already added a small one. It might be depressing.

Thanks for writing in!

- Christine

Chair Rails

Hi Christine-

I was doing a search for chair rail moulding and found your blog. I am enjoying looking through the different posts on decorating and gleaning many ideas from your posts.

I am currently in the process of redoing the baseboards in my living room. I have always hated the chair rail and want to redo it as well, but I am having trouble finding something that is beefy enough for my tall ceilings, yet still elegant and simple. (You can't tell from the photos, but my ceilings are vaulted. The short end is 11 feet tall and the peak is 15 feet tall.) All the prefab molding is about 3 inches thick and I want something closer to 5 inches thick, therefore I will probably have to combine moldings to get this look. I read your post on chair rails and how wimpy you think most are, so I would like your ideas on different options to make my room look proportioned right. I am including photos of my living room with the old baseboards. The new boards are 7-1/4 inches tall with a slight curvature at the top. I am including a photo of the unfinished boards for reference. I am not interested in doing wainscoting.

I will have the entire room repainted when I am done with the trim work. The paint color I am planning is a lightened Graham Cracker from Benjamin Moore. I kept some black and red out of the mix. This color matches well with the color in my entryway. I am planning on it being painted above and below the chair rail. I have a lot of different textures and colors visible from the entryway so I don't want to do too much color in this room. But I am willing to consider any suggestions you may have. I am also including a photo of my stairwell so you can get the overall picture.

Thank you in advance for your time and input,
Teri

Dear Teri,

I feel a little like you just asked me for a good sweet potato recipe. (BTW I don't like sweet potatoes.) I say that because I so rarely think that a chair rail is a good solution in a room. First of all, you mentioned that your ceilings are vaulted. If you have a fifteen foot ceiling and add a chair rail at 36 inches... That is never going to be a good proportion- even if you have a 7 inch chair rail. Do you have a crown molding? Frequently rooms with vaulted ceilings do not- how about adding a crown molding instead- at eight feet - like the photo above? The crown molding does not have to be at the highest part of the ceiling- nor does it have to follow the line of the ceiling. Consider a crown molding instead.

If you still go with the chair rail- a couple of things to consider. Without wainscot- have your darker color on the bottom- like the photo above- or have it all the same color. (I think I would paint it all the same color to minimize the entire look.) Whatever you do- do not paint the bottom lighter. It would be visually disturbing.

Layer your chair rail to make it larger than what you find in the big box stores- or find a generous one at a molding specialty source- not a hardware store. This would be your best bet- to keep it simple- and not look too ornate for your baseboard. With a baseboard as simple as yours- you could go with a simple craftsman style that would not be hard to make- (OK- I couldn't make it- but any contractor could.) Remember that your baseboard should coordinate with all of your trim in style and scale.

I hope I didn't come off too harsh. I hope I didn't hurt feelings... I like people to like me....

Thanks to House Beautiful for the photos.