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Classic Chair Rail Trim In A Mid-Century Home

The other day on Instagram, I received a message from one of my followers asking about the chair rail trim in our home. They were curious how this painted wooden accent flowed throughout our home, and also how we “stopped” it when moving from a room that had chair rail into one that didn’t have chair rail. Truth be told, we didn’t install this trim in our home. It was here when we moved in, and had been put in place (we assume) by the original homeowners back when the house was built in 1966. This is actually our first time ever living in a home that had chair rail trim, and we absolutely love it. It adds such a nice touch of elegance to the spaces that have it, so I thought I’d spend a blog post talking through our particular chair rail layout in case it helps those of you looking to replicate this retro look in your own homes.

Classic Chair Rail Trim In A Mid-Century Home

First, I should mention that not all of the rooms in our home have chair rail. It was installed in our snug lounge area (pictured above just off to the side of our kitchen), sunroom, dining room, entryway, and primary bedroom. Our hallway, two extra bedrooms, front living room, and bathrooms don’t have chair rail. Since we live in a traditional 1960s ranch, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that we have zero “open concept” rooms. Each room is its own distinct space with four walls, so the previous homeowners were able to pick and choose which rooms had chair rail without worrying about where to “stop” it.

The only exception to that is in our entryway, which you’ll see pictured below where the botanical wallpaper meets the blush pink-painted lower section of the wall. There is a line of chair rail almost all the way around our entry, but when the space makes a 90-degree lefthand turn down our hallway toward the bedrooms, the trim had to have a stopping point. To do so, the previous homeowners simply cut the trim at a 45-degree angle, effectively giving it a clean transition from trimmed wall to clean wall. Another option in case you’re trying to figure out how to stop your chair rail trim from one space to the next is to create a squared-off end cap using two opposite 45-degree-angle cuts, as shown in this YouTube video. This simple hack makes your chair rail transition look really clean and intentional.

I really love our chair rail trim, especially because it makes it really easy for me to use two different wall treatments in one room (one above and a different one below the chair rail), but I will say that it has created some challenges when it comes to decorating. Because they effectively cut your walls in half, chair rail trim makes it difficult to hang large collections of art from floor to ceiling. I’ve found that I have significantly less wall space for art in this house. It also lends rooms a more traditional tone rather than modern, which is something that I think I’m still adjusting to as I’m a pretty major modernist when it comes to décor.

Since sharing our home online, I’ve gotten some feedback from followers who say that the chair rail in our primary bedroom is “wrong,” but I vehemently disagree. Yes, chair rail is intended for rooms that actually have chairs in them, but a person should never call anything in someone’s private home “wrong.” It was a choice that I had to adopt from the previous homeowners, but I like it, so there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. If you love chair rail trim, then install it in your space! Whether the room is meant for seating or not, chair rail trim immediately elevates the look and style of a room. Moral of the story: Don’t sleep on this beautiful, classic decorative accent. We love it in our home, and hope you’ll consider trying it in yours, too.

Let me know in the comments if you have questions or if you need direction/tips for how to incorporate it into the flow of your floor plan. I’m happy to help! Oh, and while I have you, make sure you sign up for the DGD Home Matters newsletter if you haven’t already. I’ve got some really exciting news to share this Wednesday. You won’t want to miss it! Sign up here.

*Today’s post was made possible by PALASSIO, and features gifted product for the purposes of a candid review. All opinions are my own.

A little over a month ago, I shared that we had made the switch to quilt bedding on our primary bedroom mattress, and I haven’t looked back since. No more dealing with a bulky comforter or struggling with fitting one inside of an unruly duvet cover! It has been so easy to live with and clean, and I mean that with every fiber of my being this week as I’m dealing with two sick cats who have forced me to do laundry every single day. In other words, it’s much easier to wash a lightweight quilt in the machine than a duvet cover and insert. I’m a true convert to the quilt lifestyle, and today I’m sharing another option for you that’s ideal for summer: a crisp, lightweight cotton quilt set in bright white.

This one is made by our friends at PALASSIO, just like the “Wheat” colored quilt that I talked about last time, and it’s every bit as amazing. The machine-washable cotton only gets better with age, feeling softer and softer after each turn through the washing machine, and I love the modern geometric stitching. It looks just right in our retro home, as does the bright white color of the fabric. It’s a nice change from the warm, earthy look of our other quilt. That said, I wanted to mention that there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to styling a bedroom with white bedding.

If you look carefully at the photos in today’s post, you’ll notice that we actually don’t have that much bright white color in our bedroom, but there’s just enough to make the quilt look cohesive in the space. It’s important to make sure you include a few other bright white elements in the bedroom you’re designing before incorporating bright white linens, otherwise, it will look sort of garish and out of place. We have bright white drum shades on our nightstand table lamps, and I also made sure to pepper the tabletop styling with some white pieces to make the color look balanced throughout the room (the planter on John’s dresser, a couple of accessories on our nightstands, etc.).

I wanted to soften the boldness of that bright white quilt just a little more, so I layered on our existing wheat-colored quilt at the end of the bed. That folded quilt helps bring a little warmth to the bed (who else dealt with an unseasonably cool May?!) but it also creates a much-needed visual break from the bright white color of our base quilt. The warmer tone of the end-of-the-bed quilt speaks to the beige painted walls, and the underlying white quilt nods to the few bright white accents in the rest of the room, making the overall look seem more balanced and intentional.

Maybe you didn’t think there were so many things to consider before incorporating white bedding into your room, and if you already have a bunch of bright white accents or paint in your space, then you probably can skip some of this strategic planning. But for us and our mostly beige bedroom, we had to be careful not to let the bright white bedding look out of place.

Click here to shop our PALASSIO quilt set (which I almost forgot to mention is also great for sensitive skin!), and let me know in the comments if you have your own thoughts for how to style a space with bright white bedding. This set is under $80, just like our last one, and such a great deal if you’re looking to freshen up your bedroom or guest room for summertime. It also makes for a great living room throw blanket if you snag the twin size.

By the way, can you believe that we’re only about two weeks away from the official start of summer?! As cheesy as it sounds, I’m finally feeling ready for it with this quilt set. Our house has original 1960s windows, and it gets hotttttt in here during the summer months…The cooling feel of our new quilt is going to save me from lots of stress and discomfort—I just know it. Comment and let me know what you think about these design updates to our space.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission when you purchase products that I recommend at no additional cost to you. This allows me to provide free creative content for you to read, save, and share. Rest assured that I never recommend products we wouldn’t use or don’t already love ourselves.

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