Wainscoting is most often applied to high-traffic spaces like a mudroom, bathroom, stairway, foyer, or powder room, where beadboard paneling is quite common to protect the wall surface. Wainscoting can add such an elegant touch to living rooms as well though and can provide them with a classic look.
Take a look at the living room wainscoting ideas below if you are thinking about installing wainscoting in your interior. Some of the ideas are constructed with wood paneling, while others use small moldings attached to the wall.
Finish the look off with a tone-on-tone wall color, a darker or lighter tone, or even a striped wallpaper on top of the wainscoting if you are feeling adventurous.
White wainscoting combined with beige walls
The beautiful beige wall color is applied in between the wainscoting and the white crown molding underneath the ceiling. Since only the top portion of the walls is painted, the interior doesn’t get too dark considering the dark hardwood flooring.
The curtains and the pendant light in the middle of the space have a warm beige tone, which pairs up nicely with the warm grey tone on the walls.
Styled by Emma Fisher, photographed by Frederik Karlsson for Alvhem
Wainscoting on a glass partition
The glass partition wall between the kitchen and living in this turn-of-the-century apartment has subtle wainscoting paneling applied to it, to make the new element fit within the old architectural details of the apartment.
This custom look works perfectly in combination with the historic glass doors and the grey marble fireplace in the corner of the living room. The new built-ins match perfectly with the time period of the historic elements in the space.
via Alvhem
Tone-on-tone wainscoting matching the paint color on the walls
The walls and wainscoting in this gorgeous interior are painted in the same color for a tone-on-tone look that provides a subtle textural effect. The wainscoting takes up about one-third of the wall and a large white trim underneath the ceiling combined with the grey walls accentuates the room height of this interior.
When decorating this beautiful space, a mixture of antique and modern-style furniture was carefully selected to create an eclectic interior decor style that honors the historic elements in the house.
via Sjoman Frisk
Traditional wainscoting in a majestic interior with grey walls
This beautiful interior has intricate board and batten that goes halfway up the grey walls. The wainscoting, door frames, and floorboards are painted the same as the walls for a homogeneous look from which the white molding on the ceiling stands out in a powerful way.
The crystal chandelier in the middle of the space, combined with the two blue velvet couches and the mirror set on the wall create a classic interior style that complements the wainscoting nicely.
via Alvhem
White wainscoting against white walls for a minimal look
White wainscoting has been applied to the lower portion of the wall, adding clean lines to this playful living room.
This is probably one of the simplest wainscoting ideas on the list, as it features an all-white look and is paired up with a slightly darker color on the floor. The beautiful gallery wall above the sofa aligns on the bottom with the top of the wainscoting. The rest of the interior is kept quite minimal, to let the details shine.
Home by Idestrup Via Lokalbolig, found on Homesick
Ceiling-high wainscoting on dark grey walls
Another simple wainscoting idea, yet reaching new heights this time, with moldings that go from the floorboards up to the ceiling. The art piece above the black velvet sofa fits right in the middle of the wainscoting and the white trim accentuates the dark color on the walls in a lovely way.
via Behrer
Wainscoting that continues from the entryway into the living space
The wainscoting in this hallway continues into the living room, connecting both spaces together beautifully. The entryway in this house has a beautifully curved doorway that is accentuated even more because of the high beadboard on the walls.
The eclectic mix of modern and vintage works nicely in this historic house and the gold mirror side table set reflects the details in the interior in a lovely way.
Warm beige wood paneling and organically shaped furniture
The large historic windows in this combined dining room and sofa area give the space a very classic look, which is enhanced by the use of the warm beige wood paneling on the walls. The warm beige paint color on the board and batten is paired up with an off-white wall color on the upper wall for an elegant and warm look.
The gallery wall on the top half combined with the organic furniture pieces adds a modern appearance to this classic interior with lots of visual interest.
Ferm Living designs a suite in the Hotel Villa Copenhagen
A modern dining room with white traditional wainscoting
The board and batten with a picture ledge on top adds a classic touch to the modern dining room setting. This is one of the more traditional wainscoting ideas on the list and it follows the curved walls in a beautiful way.
The wainscoting is paired up with blue walls in this dining room, which adds a beautiful contrast with the intricate details in the white wood paneling. The details on the white fireplace go so well with the details on the wainscoting and these soft curves and details also come back in the pendant light above the dining table.
From the blue dining room, you can look into the other space, which has beautiful wallpaper coming through.
Styled by Emma Fischer and Linnéa H. Manaberi, photographed by Henrik Linden for Alvhem
Minimal wainscoting in a minimal interior
Apart from the wainscoting applied to the wall, the rest of this interior is kept very minimal. The glass coffee table in the middle of the space pairs up nicely with the soft furnishings and the wall lamp is the only wall decor that decorates the area above the wainscoting.
via Nuura
A black and white interior with white wainscoting
This simple interior is enhanced by wood panel wainscoting that adds a classic touch to this otherwise modest interior. The black furniture stands out against the white walls and adds power to this monochromatic interior look.
via Bjurfors
A modern sitting room with subtle wainscoting
This house has the most beautiful curved windows and high ceilings. The interior is remodeled with a beautiful hardwood floor and wainscoting that wraps around the corner of the curved door and continues on the wall in the other room.
The off-white paint is used on both the walls and wainscoting, while a regular white is picked out for the ceiling, setting the two apart beautifully and making the black wood window and frames stand out in a contrasting way.
photographed by Kristofer Johnsson and designed by AO/JND interiors forNordiska Kök
Light grey walls combined with a darker tone on the wainscoting
Most of the wainscoting ideas in this list either include tone-on-tone or white wood paneling on the walls. In this beautiful interior, however, the wainscoting has been covered with a darker paint, which has a beautiful effect on the space.
The wainscoting is applied to every wall in this combined living and dining room, accentuating the size and angles in the floor plan.
Styled by Grey Deco, photographed by Frederik J Karlsson for Alvhem
Full-wall wainscoting in a spacious historic apartment
The combination of the wainscoting with the intricate molding and the overhead lighting in the same color provides this turn-of-the-century apartment with a custom look and accentuates the beautiful angled walls.
The combination of the modern marble cube tables and the curved sofa has a beautiful effect on this already stylish interior with soft wam grey paint on the walls.
via Wrede
Intricate board and batten in a majestic dining room
The beautiful white board and batten paneling in this dining room is matched with intricate wood details in the ceiling, white crown molding, and beautiful historic doors and window frames for a majestic look.
The dining set includes a black oval table and metal dining chairs, which adds a modern and functional element to this classic dining room.
Styled by Nouvel Interior, photographed by Alen Cordic for Bjurfors
Simple wainscoting in a large space with angled walls
The subtle and simple design of the wainscoting enhances this beautiful interior and accentuates the angled walls leading up to the stained glass window, which is the real eye-catcher in this room.
The black wood and rattan storage cabinets and the black TV frame stand out against this light wall color, while the beige armchairs add a beautiful warm tone to the setting.
via Behrer
White wainscoting with contrasting blue walls
This is another one of those inspiring wainscoting ideas with a dark blue wall on the top half of the wall, resulting in a beautiful play between the wall paint and the wainscoting.
This white-soaped flooring and the white ceiling add a light and modern touch to the interior, while the dark wood tone of the vintage dining room table and chairs warms the look in a lovely way.
via Entrance Makleri
Grey wainscoting paired with beige living room walls
The balance created by the grey color on the wainscoting and the beige paint on the walls in this interior works in such a powerful way and accentuates the historic features of the building. Because of this powerful color combination, this is one of my personal favorite wainscoting ideas on this list.
Photographed by Mia Borgelin, styled by Lind, for sale via Historiska Hem
Light grey walls and grey wainscoting
The grey wainscoting in the gorgeous historic living room is painted in the same color as the window and door frames for an integrated look. The wall above the wainscoting is painted in a lighter shade of grey, to accentuate the darker grey elements in the space.
Styled by Åsa Copparstad, photographed by Fredric Boukari for Historiska Hem
