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Inspiring Chair Rail Moulding Ideas for Your Home

Valerie Albarda

By Valerie Albarda
Updated February 4, 2022

Chair rail moulding is a great way to add beauty and an eye-catching architectural feature to any room in your home. It’s a functional and streamlined option that helps to unify the space. We’ll show you ideas on different ways to use chair rail moulding to enhance your home.

A room with tan chairs, windows, coffered ceiling, a piano and chair railing around room perimeter.

What’s Chair Rail Moulding?

Chair rail moulding is a strip of moulding applied horizontally to a wall, usually at chair height. It was originally added to walls to protect them from damage caused by the chairs scraping against them. Today, you’ll find many people use it as an architectural and decorative element, adding a finished look to rooms. Chair rail moulding helps establish a room’s proportion and scale. When combined with wainscoting, it adds dimension to an otherwise flat wall.

Chair Rail Moulding Styles

When you’re looking for chair rail inspiration for your next project, there are a variety of styles and materials to choose from. Materials include wood, polyurethane, medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and more.

Each chair rail moulding style has its own profile, which is how far the moulding projects into the room from the wall. High-profile moulding works well in large rooms, while low-profile moulding looks best in smaller rooms.

A white silo image of an intricately detailed architectural style chair rail moulding.

Architectural Style

Architectural Style: A sophisticated, intricately designed example that has great depth of detail.

A natural wood traditional style chair rail moulding.

Traditional Style

Traditional Style: Three half-round chair rail mouldings create a striking profile with clean, interesting lines.

A white silo image of a colonial chair rail moulding.

Colonial Style

Colonial Style: Inspired by architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries, colonial chair rail moulding is refined and classy.

A silo image of a natural wood modern chair rail moulding with an impression.

Modern Style

Modern Style: Add a unique touch to any room with this decorative, modern chair rail moulding.

A silo image of a tan embossed oak leaf trim chair rail moulding.

Victorian Style

Victorian Style: Designs like this embossed oak leaf trim chair rail moulding add an elaborate ornamental touch reminiscent of the opulent Victorian era.

Chair Rail Moulding Ideas

Adding chair rail moulding is about more than protecting walls from wayward chairs. Here are a few chair rail moulding ideas for every room of your home.

Make an Entryway Statement

An entryway with a plant, coat rack, table, and half-red wall with matching chair rail moulding.

Chair rail moulding isn’t just for dining rooms. Red is a powerful color in any room of your home, but when used in your entryway, it’s an eye-catching hue that makes a dramatic statement that greets your guests as soon as they come in your home. This red moulding matches the red bottom portion of the wall and works as a great separation point for the wallpapered, lighter upper half.

Achieve a Farmhouse Feel

A bathroom with light green wainscoting and chair rail, white sink cabinet, mirror, and wall art.

Achieve a charming farmhouse look in your bathroom by capping off wainscoting with matching chair rail moulding. Muted colors and accessories keep the rustic-chic look alive.

Create an Inspiring Monotone Palette

A monotone vanilla bathroom with white chair rail moulding and wainscoting, sink and toilet.

For a clean, sleek look, try a monotone color scheme. The chair rail moulding and wainscoting are painted neutral to blend in with the walls.

Embrace Contrasting Hues

A room with a wood floor, a table and chair, and blue and white wall with white chair rail moulding.

Add depth and interest to the room by installing chair rail moulding that contrasts with a deep-hued upper painted wall. Pair the classic chair rail moulding with baseboards for a sophisticated look and feel.

Add Texture to the Bedroom

A white bedroom with crown mounding, wainscoting, a gray bed, a window, a rug, and a fireplace.

Although unconventional, adding chair rail moulding in the bedroom adds visual interest and brings a contemporary flair to the space. Breaking the conventional placement rules, adding the moulding lower on the wall gives the appearance of a taller room.

Go Big and Bold

Deep green walls with white crown moulding, upper and lower wainscoting, a white door, and window.

For a unique look, go bold with contrast. Colonial-style chair rail moulding painted stark white will always be in style. When paired with white wainscoting and contrasting deep green walls, it’s a true eye-catcher.

Create Classic Appeal

White wall with wainscoting, white chair moulding and black patterned wallpaper on upper wall.

For a classic and timeless look, attach chair rail moulding to separate a wallpapered upper wall from a nonpapered wall below. Adding panel moulding to the bottom half of the wall creates another architectural design element.