Wainscoting - the poor man's way!

One of the many mid-way completed projects around our house is the wainscoting. We made some major progress this weekend by getting all the frame pieces cut as we gear up for winter interior project tackling. In our defense we have made some major progress in the 11 months since we moved in!

Here is a shot of the living room before:



We tore out the carpet and laid laminate, took down the entry way wall, removed the pellet stove, installed a wood stove, re-painted and have half of the room covered in handmade wainscoting.

An "after" shot (before wainscoting):


How does one obtain "handmade wainscoting" you ask? Well, you start with sheets of mdf that you cut into the baseboards and framing pieces:



Inside the frame you install thin drywall as backing and then edge the interior of each rectangle and the entire top rail with trim. To add an extra level of fun do all this without a mider saw!

The "finished" product (note Nick's glass sconce):



It is a major feature of the room that we love. We do now own a mider saw so hopefully this winter will see to the completion of this project. We have the other half of the living room, kitchen and hallway to complete. Wish us luck!