14 Chair Rail Moulding Ideas for Your Home

January 18, 2021

By: The Finished Space

Are you interested in chair rail moulding ideas for your home? Chair rail is a type of moulding that is used in the middle of a wall. Originally, chair rail moulding was added to dining rooms to protect plaster walls from getting damaged by dining room chairs.

These days, chair rail moulding isn’t just about adding protection to vulnerable walls. It’s a decorative element that can elevate a room’s design. There’s no shortage of inspiring and modern chair rail ideas for every room of the home.

Here are 14 inspiring chair rail design ideas for your home:  

1. Add Some White Space to Eccentric Wallpaper

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/what-wall-treatment-works-for-your-space/ 

Wallpaper can be tricky to pull off – especially if you choose a bold print. The white chair rail moulding helps break-up this eccentric wallpaper and breathe white space into the room. It creates a unique look that still feels light. 

2. Match Your Chair Rail with a Dark Wall Color

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/an-oasis-in-the-prairies/ 

The grey chair rail moulding matching the wall color helps create visual interest in this playful living space. The moulding helps merge traditional and modern design and creates a successful marriage of elegance and comfort. Painting the wall and moulding a dark color helps add depth and makes the moulding pop off the wall, creating interesting shadows. 

3. Add Multiple Layers of Chair Rail

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/theyre-fashion-forward-regina/ 

This is one of our favorite chair rail ideas for bedrooms. Layering chair rail moulding helps create a luxurious feeling while adding textural and design intrigue. The curved chair rails in cream hues help elevate this fashion-forward bedroom. 

4. Add Classic and Sophisticated Trim

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/10-timeless-panel-moulding-looks-we-love/ 

Pairing classic chair rail moulding and baseboards with sophisticated panel moulding provides a terrific backdrop for this art wall. The art and perfectly decorated table bring your focus to the finishings on the lower half of the wall, making the entire wall a swoon-worthy spectacle.  

5. Match Modern Minimalism with a Flat, Angular Design 

https://metrie.com/gallery/modern-portland-open-plan/dining-room/?slide=1

The flat, angular moulding adds a clean line to this minimal design. It helps break up the taupe paint and create subtle interest without pulling too much focus. Sticking with flat and angular styles is a perfect way to nail a modern simplistic motif. It’s also one of the more conventional chair rail ideas for a dining room.  

https://metrie.com/gallery/modern-portland-open-plan/dining-room/?slide=1

6. Enhance Your Stairwell

https://katepearcevintage.com/2021/03/our-eclectic-staircase-reveal-a-marriage-of-modern-and-traditional/

This stairwell is covered floor to ceiling with panel moulding, and it’s absolutely awe-inspiring. Who says stairwells and hallways have to be bland? You can use all types of moulding, including chair rail moulding, to add excitement to your stairwells and hallways. Most of our favorite chair rail ideas for a hallway involve layering chair rail moulding and panels to create a regal feeling like this design. 

7. Create a Bold Color Scheme

https://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/house-interiors/g885/tale-of-two-stories/slide-5

This bold room designed by Architect João Mansur shows how you can use chair rail moulding to create a bold and unexpected color scheme. He chose to paint the chair rail cherry-red to create a vivid contrast against the green apple walls. It goes to show that you can use chair rail as a method for creating bold color schemes. 

8. Use Chair Rail for an Alternative Project

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/inspiring-chair-rail/  https://www.spacialeffectsdesign.com/

Consider using chair moulding as something other than its intended purpose in order to create a one-of-a-kind fireplace or a hand-painted craft. Don’t be afraid to use chair rail’s interesting shape and texture as a tool or material in other projects. 

The unique combination of floor-to-ceiling trim elements creates something dazzling and truly architecturally interesting in the fireplace example above. For the name sign, it’s a way to prevent putting so many nails in the wall! 

9. Add Texture to Your Bedroom 

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/inspiring-chair-rail/ 

This upscale bedroom features many complex design elements that create a relaxed and classy atmosphere. The chair rail moulding helps add texture to the wall that would otherwise be one-dimensional in color and texture. The chair rail, along with the chandelier and multi-dimensional ceiling, help imbue a cozy and encapsulating feeling. Even if you aren’t aiming for an upscale design, using moulding to create texture is one of those chair rail ideas that always looks good. 

10. Install Chair Rail on Indoor Columns

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/10-rooms-with-beautiful-wainscoting/  http://www.terrenehomes.com/neighborhood.aspx?id=12&view=photos

Chair rail moulding isn’t limited to the wall. This spacious living room uses chair rail on its columns and walls to produce a consistent and seamless feeling throughout the entire space. If you’re looking for chair rail ideas for a living room – this is definitely one to try. 

11. Use Chair Rail for Contrasting Panel Moulding

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/the-spring-2017-one-room-challenge-roundup-week-three-2/  http://www.oldbrandnew.com/blog/2017/4/one-room-challenge-week-3

The gold panel moulding takes center stage on these walls. However, without the soft chair rail moulding, it wouldn’t be quite as attention-grabbing. This room’s design does a wonderful job at balancing contrast and minimalism, and it does so mostly with its trim elements and a few thoughtful decorations. 

12. Create an Edge with Angular Chair Rail

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/10-timeless-panel-moulding-looks-we-love/  http://kerrshomeproducts.com/wp/ 

This recessed panel paired with an angular chair rail helps create a modern look. The dimension of the panel helps make the walls appear to have a small edge. It’s an edgy twist on plain chair rail moulding – figuratively and literally! It helps lift the design from a more traditional space to something a bit more unique.   

13. Cap Off Wainscotting

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/emily-hendersons-must-see-portland-project-featuring-metrie-trim/  https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/

If you’re looking for chair rail ideas for a bathroom, look no further than this stunning bathroom designed by Emily Henderson. Emily created a fun take on a classic design by using navy shiplap to create a moody wainscotting effect. However, rather than having the visible seam between the shiplap and the wall, she capped it off with chair rail moulding to create a more visually appealing transition. 

14. Create a Dual-Tone Wall Design

https://metrie.com/thefinishedspace/trend-alert-yellow-makes-serious-heatwaves-this-summer/  https://www.instagram.com/p/BT7UPQbAC_n/

Even with a bold color like yellow, chair rail moulding is a fantastic way to create a dual-toned wall design. As it turns out, the standard chair line guideline of placing the chair moulding one-third of the way up the wall is the perfect proportion for two colors. Painting the upper two-thirds of the wall with the primary color and the bottom one-third with the accent color helps the room look elegantly balanced. The chair rail moulding helps add a definitive break between colors, making it even easier on the eyes.  

Try the Chair Rail Moulding Ideas that Inspire You

If you’re ready to transform your home with chair rail moulding, we’re here to help. We have a complete line of finishing touches that are sure to impress. Find out which chair rail moulding fits your style with Option M today.