photography by Brandon Barré
If there is one thing to love about classic buildings, it’s definitely the wainscot. And just to cover all bases, wainscot is wooden panels, most often seen covering the lower part of a wall. It was originally popular for its insulationg property, but is mostly used as decoration these days.
A more simple and less costly variant of wainscot is the shadow box molding. It’s basically just thin molding, and the possibilities are endless. Let’s take a look at some great examples:
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The owners of this entryway added tall baseboards and shadow boxes on the lower half of the walls and even on the door, to make the space more interesting. It definitely worked!
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Although these shadow boxes looks to be recessed, this style can easily be recreated with thin strips of molding. (to see paint color suggestion for this room click here )
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Another example of shadow box molding. Such a great way to bring contrast to a dark paint color. (To see more of this bedroom and paint color suggestion, click here)
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But that’s not to say that shadowbox molding doesn’t work equally well on lighter walls as well. You can see a very different take on this in the teen bedroom of the same home as the one above ;)
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A beautiful beige living room decorated with shadow box molding. I think this is a great example of the depth this molding can create.
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The moldings may be in a color contrasting to the paint color, or painted the same color as the walls to add texture instead of a prominent visual element. (You can see more of this bedroom here).
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Mix it up for a more modern take. Here the boxes are designed in a geometric pattern, using bamboo moldings.
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Here’s a fun example where the interior of the shadow boxes are painted a color that complements the general paint color. Such a fun and pretty dining room!
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Another variation is to paint the moldings a color other than white (not pictured ;).
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Or you can of course use beautiful wallpaper!
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And here’s a fun option for renters: metallic tape shadow boxes!
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