We used a faux wainscoting technique in our back hall. Our 1910 house has 12' ceilings. The chair rail is 5' from the floor. The base boards are 9" wide. The 1" x 4" vertical boards are spaced 22" apart. I bet we used a case of caulk before painting to make everything look solid and tight. Everything from the chair rail to the floor was painted with two coats of oil-based enamel paint. The walls were painted a cigar leaf brown. We hired a carpenter in install and paint the crown molding and corner blocks. It took a lot of time and effort, but the hall looks much more finished. You can do it!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

Here is another picture from the opposite end of the hall.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

Thanks pinkpaula. I love the look you have created. The color is beautiful. I appreciate your sharing with me. Approx how long did it take to put the boards up. Am trying to coordinate timing with carpenter.

Seeing how beautiful yours is makes me want to do this application. Thanks again.

Thank you! Since my husband and I did everything except the crown molding, it took us 2 days to install all the wood, 2 days to caulk ALL the gaps, and about a week to complete the two coats of oil-based paint, which must be completely dry between coats. A professional carpenter could do this job faster. The hardest, and most important, part is making sure everything is level and at right angles. In an old house, nothing is ever level, so this was our biggest challenge. I did a Google search on how to install wainscoting and came up with many good suggestions. Good luck!

If your going to use a wood product I just put in some cedar wainscoting from www.cedarwalldesigns.com. It turned out absolutely beautiful.

They have a bunch of pics on their site

Here is a link that might be useful: cedarWallDesigns.com