Different Wall Trim Treatments And Designs That Put The Extra Something Special In A Nashville Home

When it comes to home design, every detail is important. When we’re renovating or building a home in Nashville, I spend a ton of time considering how even the smallest finishing touches fit into the whole of a house’s style, from trim color to door knobs and hinges.

One of my favorite ways to bring personality and that extra something special to a space: wall treatments.

Sure, you can slap two coats of paint on your walls and call it done, but with a little extra imagination, creativity and attention, you can create a master bedroom that inspires as much as it comforts, a showpiece dining room, a living room that makes you feel immersed in a magazine shoot.

What’s your take? Thumbs up/down? I’m always happy to hear feedback from Nashville homebuyers and homeowners.

Inspired by our latest bouts of wall-treatment brainstorming, I wanted to share a few of my other favorite options, many of them from projects we’ve done with Infinium Builders here in Nashville. Take a look, and let me know what you think!

classic flat or recessed-panel wainscoting

This kind of treatment has been popular in dining rooms, on stairway walls, in baths for ages, and it’s stood the test of time for a reason: It makes a space feel more interesting, and more elegant, without giving it an overly precious vibe. It’s why adding flat panel wainscoting to anything from a farmhouse-y cottage to a more modern ranch just works.

classic shiplap

If you’ve spent a little too much time with HGTV, you might be over the simple lines and subtle texture that comes with shiplap. Me? Not even close. It’s a classic look that was forgotten, but really never went (and never should go) out of style. The above is from another renovation we did in Woodbine, and I think it works with the classic white subway tile and dark grout to make the space simple, but simply beautiful.

flat panel with a twist

This was from a new Williamson County build we did that had Craftsman aesthetics, and we made prodigious use of it, running that pattern throughout the great room and up the stairs. It’s kind of a combination wainscoting pattern, or recessed-panel wainscoting with a twist. We felt like it took the familiar, mature aesthetic of flat panel wainscoting and made it a little more creative and expressive.

gridded trim

Upstairs in that home, we took a different approach, with a full gridded trim treatment that added interest in the master bedroom, floor to ceiling. The room was spacious and cool without the wall treatment, but doesn’t that detail take it to another — still classic — level?

full paneled wall

This option’s just a little different from a gridded treatment, but with the same floor-to-ceiling texture and interest. The gridded pattern feels more playful to me, while this feels distinguished and mature. (Photo above from Decorchick, where a helpful DIY tutorial lives too.)

form-plus-function wainscoting

Another example from a past Cheatham County project. It’s easy to overlook knee walls and leave attic doors as a function-with-ugly-form situation. But here, my Infinium Builders cohorts used simple flat panel wainscoting-inspired trim design to bring more visual interest to the space, and hide the attic door inside an aesthetic addition.

beadboard wainscoting

This is what most people think of when they hear the word “wainscoting” (which is fair, and accurate) — textured tongue-and-groove wood panels, framed by rails and stiles. These have been installed as far back as the 1800s, largely to protect the walls. We don’t do this much, not because I don’t like it, but because beadboard texture tends to feel the most of-a-piece with, say, Victorians, which we rarely work on. In those homes — like the above 1899 Victorian we listed in Dickson County a few years back — it’s a finishing touch that inspires.

Any of these catch your eye more than others? Feel encouraged to share your thoughts on the TJ Anderson Homes Facebook page.

And if you’re looking for a new home in Nashville that has all the right finishing touches in place, I’d love to help you find it. Call or email TJ Anderson Homes here.