All About Our Classic Chair Rail Trim

The other day on Instagram, I received a message from one of my followers asking about the chair rail trim in our home. They were curious how this painted wooden accent flowed throughout our home, and also how we “stopped” it when moving from a room that had chair rail into one that didn’t have chair rail. Truth be told, we didn’t install this trim in our home. It was here when we moved in, and had been put in place (we assume) by the original homeowners back when the house was built in 1966. This is actually our first time ever living in a home that had chair rail trim, and we absolutely love it. It adds such a nice touch of elegance to the spaces that have it, so I thought I’d spend a blog post talking through our particular chair rail layout in case it helps those of you looking to replicate this retro look in your own homes.

First, I should mention that not all of the rooms in our home have chair rail. It was installed in our snug lounge area (pictured above just off to the side of our kitchen), sunroom, dining room, entryway, and primary bedroom. Our hallway, two extra bedrooms, front living room, and bathrooms don’t have chair rail. Since we live in a traditional 1960s ranch, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that we have zero “open concept” rooms. Each room is its own distinct space with four walls, so the previous homeowners were able to pick and choose which rooms had chair rail without worrying about where to “stop” it.

The only exception to that is in our entryway, which you’ll see pictured below where the botanical wallpaper meets the blush pink-painted lower section of the wall. There is a line of chair rail almost all the way around our entry, but when the space makes a 90-degree lefthand turn down our hallway toward the bedrooms, the trim had to have a stopping point. To do so, the previous homeowners simply cut the trim at a 45-degree angle, effectively giving it a clean transition from trimmed wall to clean wall. Another option in case you’re trying to figure out how to stop your chair rail trim from one space to the next is to create a squared-off end cap using two opposite 45-degree-angle cuts, as shown in this YouTube video. This simple hack makes your chair rail transition look really clean and intentional.

I really love our chair rail trim, especially because it makes it really easy for me to use two different wall treatments in one room (one above and a different one below the chair rail), but I will say that it has created some challenges when it comes to decorating. Because they effectively cut your walls in half, chair rail trim makes it difficult to hang large collections of art from floor to ceiling. I’ve found that I have significantly less wall space for art in this house. It also lends rooms a more traditional tone rather than modern, which is something that I think I’m still adjusting to as I’m a pretty major modernist when it comes to décor.

Since sharing our home online, I’ve gotten some feedback from followers who say that the chair rail in our primary bedroom is “wrong,” but I vehemently disagree. Yes, chair rail is intended for rooms that actually have chairs in them, but a person should never call anything in someone’s private home “wrong.” It was a choice that I had to adopt from the previous homeowners, but I like it, so there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. If you love chair rail trim, then install it in your space! Whether the room is meant for seating or not, chair rail trim immediately elevates the look and style of a room. Moral of the story: Don’t sleep on this beautiful, classic decorative accent. We love it in our home, and hope you’ll consider trying it in yours, too.

Let me know in the comments if you have questions or if you need direction/tips for how to incorporate it into the flow of your floor plan. I’m happy to help! Oh, and while I have you, make sure you sign up for the DGD Home Matters newsletter if you haven’t already. I’ve got some really exciting news to share this Wednesday. You won’t want to miss it! Sign up here.