Refining a Room with Beadboard Wainscoting

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Of the many types of wainscot and paneling options, beadboard stands out for its unique appearance and classic cottage house feel. Beadboard is far from a one-size-fits-all wainscot, however. There are numerous variations within the Beadboard wainscoting gives this bathroom a refined look. Photo courtesy of Wainscoting Long Island. family that bring a wide selection of individual panel widths and bead depths and spacing, as well as configuration and height options. Consumers also have a choice in material and finish, from pre-primed ready-to-paint products to authentic woods like cherry or maple. Installing beadboard wainscot can be a fun weekend project. DIY homeowners can outfit a room in several hours with little more than a table saw and a nail gun. Popular “pre-fabricated” wainscoting packages are even easier to install, sliding and locking into place like puzzle pieces. Beadboard History The three main styles of wainscot—raised panel, flat panel and beadboard—are all derived from the works of Western European woodworkers. Popular in 18th and 19th century Europe, beadboard was commonly found in less formal settings and homes, like cottages or retreats. “They were originally created to protect the lower portion of walls from water damage,” says Harold German of Wainscoting Long Island, an online resource matching consumers with wainscoting manufacturers and distributors. “The flooring structures of homes in those times where not as sophisticated as they are today, thus a decorative solution to the problem surfaced. Today, wainscoting is used as a decorative wall embellishment with nominal practical function.” The Many Faces of Beadboard “Beadboard wainscoting” denotes a style of wainscoting that has individual tongue and groove planks lined up side by side and framed by a chair railing (also called a top rail) above and a baseboard (also called a base, or bottom, Installed beadboard from New England Classic rail) below. In many of today’s beadboard products, the tongue and groove appearance is achieved on long sections or “sheets”—often sold in eight-foot lengths—that are easier to cut and install. The “bead” in beadboard refers to the design that is cut vertically into the panel. The many width and style options of both the individual panels and the beads result in a wide variety of beadboard choices. Other beadboard wainscot products feature the horizontal stiles common in raised and flat panel wainscot, separating the beaded panels at regular intervals. Consumers will face material decisions, as well. In addition to wood, there are MDF (medium density fiberboard), plaster and vinyl/plastic options. MDF is a popular option for settings subject to humidity and moisture, like coastal homes or bathrooms, because the MDF will resist the warping and cracking that can afflict some species of wood, such as pine. The MDF products are also less expensive when compared to higher-end hardwoods like cherry, maple and oak. “MDF beadboard costs about half to a third as much as hardwood,” says Richard Duke, customer service manager for New England Classic, manufacturers of wainscoting systems. MDF products can come with a wood veneer that achieves the look of finished or unfinished hardwood and can be pre-primed and ready to paint any number of colors suitable for the room. New England Classic can also do custom colors if a customer sends a color sample to them, according to Duke.

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