Faux Paneling I: Planning

Faux paneling (or wainscoting) has been on my desired to-do list for 2 years now. We bought the trim and it's been sitting in our basement all this time, so I think it's time we do something about that.


Step 1: Take measurements and jot them down. I have a notebook designated with house related stuff. ie. Plumber's number, cost of appliance for future purchase, to-do list, ideas, reminders and little sketches. I went around the room with a tape measure and recorded all the dimensions on a rough sketch of the floor plan. Make a note of wall lengths, trim widths, baseboard height, door openings, and their relation to outlets and switches.


East Wall facing back yard.

Step 2: Based on the lengths of each wall, make a decision about how to break up the "boxes". I browsed magazines and images to see what the standard panel size was. Our chair rail is a tad higher (39") than a standard chair rail is supposed to be (because of the old wallpaper we had to hide), so the proportions of our boxes are different from what you may want in your house. I drafted mine in AutoCAD because it's easier for me, so I wouldn't have to do the math (and I'm just hardcore like that!)


North wall to kitchen

Step 3: Verify your measuremnents. Go back and check that your measurements were right in the first place. Take a second look at your room and make sure you didn't miss anything. Were you including the trim when you measured your wall? Is one door opening wider than the other but you assumed they were all the same width?

I think when doing a project like this, it's important to lay it out this way. It makes the rest of the project easier because then you don't have to think about it.