Chair rail with a bead board base molding provides depth and functionality to this room. Chair rail is a commonly used interior design element that adds depth, contrast, and texture to otherwise plain interior walls. Painting a room with chair rail is an opportunity to use your imagination by separating different colors on the same wall, or contrasting a uniform wall color. Chair rail may be painted or stained to match the existing door and window moldings, or as an accent by using a different color. Preperation Professional-quality painting is labor intensive and a majority of the labor required is not spent applying paint to the walls. In fact, at least 70 percent of the labor is consumed in the preparation phase of any painting project. Clean the walls, trim and chair rail with warm water, a mild detergent and a soft cloth rag. This removes dust, dirt and accumulated oils from frying and cooking. Allow the washed areas to fully dry before proceeding. Use drop cloths to protect floors and nearby furniture from paint spatter.
The Painting Process Always paint the walls first and the chair rail and other trim last. Protect the chair rail, baseboard and any other trim on the wall with painter’s tape before you begin rolling color on the walls. Cut in around the chair rail and other trim with a 2-inch, fine-bristled paintbrush. Allow the paint to fully dry before you remove the painter’s tape from the chair rail and trim. Use a razor knife to lightly score the edge between the painter’s tape and the new paint before you remove the tape. This prevents the new wall paint from lifting near the tape's edge during removal. Chair Rail as an Accent to a Uniform Wall Color One design option when painting a room with a chair rail is to paint the upper and lower portions of the wall the same color, and paint or stain the chair rail a different color. This option provides visual depth to a room, making it appear slightly larger than it actually is. Typically, when using this option the chair rail is painted to match the rest of the trim in a neutral or light color.
Chair Rail Separating Multiple Wall Colors Another design option is to paint the walls with different, but complementary colors above and below the chair rail. The chair rail separates the two colors of the room with a visual border, and the produced contrasting effect can be striking. It is best to paint the lighter or warmer color on the upper portion of the wall to create a more open feel to the room. The chair rail and other trim should be painted in a neutral or light complementary color. Chair Rail as an Independent Accent Element Often chair rail is installed in conjunction with wainscoting, a type of paneling installed between the chair rail and the baseboard. Usually the trim, chair rail, and wainscoting are painted the same color, and the wall above the chair rail is painted another color. One option to provide more contrast and texture to the walls is to paint the chair rail in a color designed to sharply contrast with the wall, wainscoting and other trim, creating a distinct visual line around the room.
References The Decorologist: Are Your Paint Colors Chopping Up Your Flow?: The Elegance of Painting Trim and Chair Rail Photo Credits Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images Suggest a Correction10 Tricks for Making Your Ceiling Look Higher Looking Up: 10 Tricks for Making Your Ceiling Look Higher If you live in a space with 8-foot-ceilings, don't despair: Just as some petite women utilize fashion tricks to make them appear taller, designers have tricks for making your ceiling look higher. Full disclosure: As a 5'11 woman living in a home with high Victorian ceilings, I will be flipping this advice on its head: horizontal stripes here I come... Ten Tips For Making A Low Ceiling Look Higher: Ceiling color: Paint your ceiling a color lighter than the walls, preferably white. Some believe high-gloss paint is best because it reflects light and makes the ceiling look somehow less fixed and static, while others say a matte finish will help the ceiling to blend in more. Some designers suggest you paint the wall beyond the top of the wall.
In other words, paint the first two or three inches of ceiling around the perimeter the same color as the walls to give the illusion of taller, higher walls. Crown Molding and Trim: Some say crown molding and trim at the top of the walls should be painted in the same color as the walls so as not to draw attention upward, which would highlight the low ceiling height. I'm a bit conflicted about this because I love contrasting trim, but you can still have contrasting baseboards, etc. High Art: Hang artwork slightly higher than you normally would. Hanging small frames above door openings and windows also tricks the eye into thinking the room has higher ceilings. Decorative paneling: I like this idea from Better Homes & Gardens: You can make the ceiling look higher by covering the lower two-thirds of walls with beadboard or decorative paneling. Then paint the ceiling the same color as the upper walls. In rooms with a chair-rail, consider painting both the upper part of the walls and the ceiling the same light color, with a darker color below the chair rail.