How to Install Beadboard Paneling in 5 Steps

Beadboard, also known as beaded-panel wainscoting, is decorative thin wood paneling that covers a lower wall inside a home. Homeowners generally apply beadboard in bathrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, laundry rooms, and entryways. In old houses—especially those dating to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—this wall treatment supported fragile walls, contributing to a home’s overall durability.

Beadboard gets its name from the small, rounded indentations between the individual vertical strips that make up the paneling. These indentations are known as “beads.” Beadboard has a country feel and can add visual interest to interior walls.

Wainscoting can be made of various materials and comes in various styles, but beadboard refers to a specific type of wainscoting paneling.

• Wainscoting: Wainscoting can include board-and-batten, raised panel or flat panel, shiplap, and other types of patterns and materials. It can be any height, and is used everywhere from the living room to the kitchen backsplash.
• Beadboard: Beadboard is a specific type of wood paneling. Beadboard wainscoting has an old-world elegance, gives a sense of fine craftsmanship, even though it is mostly prefabricated and installed with ease. It can add a sense of warmth to your interior design. You can also apply beadboard in non-wainscoting areas; indeed, beadboard ceilings are an old-fashioned design feature that are becoming popular once again.

Modern beadboard paneling comes on long, unbroken sheets that can be cut to custom-fit a particular room. If you’re interested in incorporating this type of decorative paneling in your DIY home project or remodel, follow these steps:

1. 1. Measure your sace. Choose a space in your home to install your beadboard, and measure how many square feet of beadboard you will need.
2. 2. Purchase beadboard. You can find beadboard at your local home improvement or hardware store. Modern beadboard can be made from sheets of MDF, PVC, hardboard, or other inexpensive materials that mimic the individual boards of the wooden original. These faux wood materials make installation simpler than installing individual wood boards. Often, you can choose from several different colors and finishes of beadboard.
3. 3. Affix the beadboard to the desired space. The beadboard sheets can go directly over the drywall. To adhere the beadboard, use industrial adhesive and press it gently but firmly. Nail the beadboard at the top and bottom, hiding the nail in the grooves of the board. You may need to cut beadboard sheets with a jigsaw to fit around door frames and corners.
4. 4. Add trim to the beadboard. Once the beadboard is in place, cover the bottom with a baseboard and the top by the chair rail—a horizontal strip of molding that adds a stylish accent. Baseboards and chair rails can conceal any visible nail heads in the beadboard.

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