When we want to remake a room we usually think about painting and maybe pasting a border or perhaps a beaded wood panel and a new wallbase.
I recall being shown a vacant apartment in an 80 year old building a few months ago in which panel doors had been utilized as a wainscoat. The dinning room for example previously had white walls with a dark oak crown and wallbase, The designer used hollow core panel doors as wall panels, with a nice chair rail around the top. The panels and rail were treated with a primer made for stain and then painted with a glossy mohagany finish. The molded artificial wood grain found in the light weight hollow core doors had a demensional effect.
In this room, the wainscot was created by cutting the doors with an even space above and below the longest panels. They were set vertically on the wall with a 1X6 spacer between each wall panel (door). In this case, the plaster was removed to inlay the panels and they were attached to the studs and lathe, leaving about a 3/4 inch outer lip for the edge of the chair rail.
The original wallbase was cut and reinstalled and the original crown mold was left as it was. The walls were painted wine red with ceramic sconce lights and a small crystal chandelier hanging from a 9 foot cieling.
Not a huge investment and the result will surely transform those four walls into a warm, relaxing atmosphere.
PS - will take pics of this one and post an update with the pics on this topic
