So, we’ve decided to tackle our upstairs hallway!! (cue happy dance) The space, as is, isn’t too bad. It just needs a little love and a bit more character and style added to it. We also have a few projects we started but never fully completed and I’m excited to finally get them done! Last week, I shared a look at what the hallway looks like now, what updates we made in the space, and the projects and plans we have to complete. I also shared my thoughts on adding wallpaper or moulding to the hallway and the debate going on in my head with both. I’m leaning towards adding moulding to our walls upstairs. Today, I’m sharing my favorite wall moulding styles and the design ideas that are currently inspiring my thoughts for the space.
Favorite wall moulding styles and design ideas
Wall moulding styles
panel or picture moulding
Picture moulding will always have my heart! It’s the moulding style I gravitate towards the most because it’s so classic and elegant. Just what my traditional loving heart yearns for!
Picture moulding, also known as panel moulding, looks like an empty frame on the wall. Hence the term “picture”. It can be laid out in a variety of ways but it’s generally square or rectangular framed box(es) that are applied on the wall(s).
One of my favorite design patterns for picture moulding on walls is to add taller, rectangular boxes on top with smaller, equal width boxes below, separated by chair rail. I would say this is the more classic, traditional way to apply this style of moulding.
You can see a beautiful example of this over on Alisa’s blog, A Glass of Bovino. For the Fall 2019 One Room Challenge, she made over her master bedroom and added picture moulding to the walls of the space.
A modern take on this classic style can be seen in The Makerista’s Mancave reveal for the Spring One Room Challenge in 2016. Gwen added larger, rectangular panels to the walls with 2 smaller rectangular panels inside each other. By adding larger rectangles that weren’t broken up by chair rail, she was able to give the illusion of more height in their basement.
In our living room, we choose to add picture moulding to the lower half of our walls to create a wainscot. This allowed us to gain some architectural detail and interest we were looking for and maintain the flexibility above to move the TV and art around as needed without restriction.
Board and batten
Another one of my favorite wall moulding styles is board and batten. Did you know that this style refers to a type of siding once popular on the exterior of homes? Neither did I!
Batten refers to the smaller, vertical pieces that were used to cover the seams of the larger vertical boards that covered the exterior of the house. Adding additional reinforcement and protection to the exposed seams.
This style has become quite popular again with the farmhouse/rustic style movement. It’s a great way to add interest to boring, plain walls.
As with picture moulding, board and batten can be applied to walls in a variety of patterns. Typically, there is a long, horizontal header and baseboard. Same size, or slightly smaller, vertical boards spaced equally apart connect the two to create wainscoting. This classic example can be seen on the blog Two Make a Home. Jess and Charlie shared their cheap DIY for board and batten in their front entryway.
You can also change up the look slightly by adding a secondary header below the first. Creating squares above the rectangles like Dana from Made Everyday did in her girls’ room.
For a more modern look, add thinner vertical rails the full length of the wall like Emily did in her powder room over on her blog, The Sweet Beast.
We installed board and batten in one of our guest bedrooms to highlight a short wall. It creates this feature wall that acts as a backdrop for the bed and nightstand in the room. We added a shelf above the header to create a mantle for extra storage and display. This feature gives tons of charm and character to an otherwise plain, square room.
Horizontal Paneling
Another favorite wall moulding style of mine is horizontal paneling. There are quite a few different types of horizontal paneling like shiplap and tongue and groove. Emily Henderson has a great resource explaining the differences between each of them along with DIY supplies if you want to tackle it yourself.
I think all of American is smitten with shiplap and rightfully so. It instantly adds age, patina, and character to any room you add it to. Like this sweet little bathroom by Jenny over at Little Green Notebook. She used inexpensive bender board above the tile to create the look of shiplap on her walls.
Also, when added to ceilings it gives tons of interest to a surface that is often overlooked or forgotten. Simply by turning it on a diagonal and adding a few trim pieces, you can create a high end, custom look pretty inexpensively.
We opted to add tongue and groove to our main bathroom upstairs when we remodeled it a few years ago. Even though we decided to paint the wood instead of stain it like we originally planned, it brings great texture into a space with a lot of hard surfaces.
Wall moulding styles giving me inspiration for our hallway
There are tons of other wall moulding styles. These are just a few of my favorites inspiring my designs for our hallway upstairs. Ultimately, I think adding moulding to our walls will bring in the character and interest I’m looking for.
Next, I’ll need to figure out which style I want to go with and start figuring out the layout on the walls.
Which is your favorite wall moulding style and do you have any in your own home?
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