# Request for Suggestions: Wainscot & Turning a Corner



## lothian (May 25, 2018)

I've got an aesthetic dilemma and I need some perspective, some alternate ideas to consider.

I'm in the process of installing wainscot (using Gary Striegler's system) throughout the first floor of this house. Take a look at the image below. I plan to wrap the arched opening in casing, but I also intend to skirt the niche within the opening with wainscot. I've worked out a couple ideas in CADD but I cannot find a transition that looks right.

I'm open to suggestions.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=361074&thumb=1


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

You could design a newel that is compatible with your wainscoting, quarter the newel and wrap the corner and let the wainscoting die into the newel. A newel something like below:


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## nywoodwizard (Oct 31, 2006)

I dont see a pic..



lothian said:


> I've got an aesthetic dilemma and I need some perspective, some alternate ideas to consider.
> 
> I'm in the process of installing wainscot (using Gary Striegler's system) throughout the first floor of this house. Take a look at the image below. I plan to wrap the arched opening in casing, but I also intend to skirt the niche within the opening with wainscot. I've worked out a couple ideas in CADD but I cannot find a transition that looks right.
> 
> ...


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## lothian (May 25, 2018)

The images are of the area that vexes me--the Area of the Archway. 
Maybe I'm too up in my head, but I simply cannot visualize out how to turn the corners with new wainscot and trim,even as I design in CAD. Nothing looks right, and frankly it all looks too busy to my eye.

I'd like to wainscot the area under the niche, but the niche isn't perfectly centered and the wainscot might draw attention to the asymmetry. 

And I have no idea how to drop the casing to meet the bottom step. Plinth block here, perhaps?


S.O.S.


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

Lothian - what part of the country are you in ?
is this a house that you are building, renovating, or ??
are you doing the actual work yourself - or are you just the designer.
I have a couple of ideas, depending on your skill level.
it's been almost two years since your original post.

.


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## lothian (May 25, 2018)

Hiya, John.

This is my home. I've been trimming it over the course of years as available time, project re-prioritization, and life's inexorable interruptions permit. 

This archway is among a few in my house that confound me in that I cannot visualize (or design in CAD) a solution that works both sensibly and aesthetically. I understand why the builder didn't trim it--but it looks ridiculous to my eye. Flextrim I purchased specifically for that arch has been sitting in my closet for over two years!

I'm eager to learn your ideas!


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

if you already have the flexTrim, that is pretty much the solution.
seeing what you have would help a lot.

in my experience, coming back after it is all done to trim out doors
is a Royal Pain as the baseboards, chair rails, and wainscotting
have to be removed and retrofitted.

in your CAD drawing, that is exactly what you show.
do you want to do all your arch doors this way ??
if this is your "Plan A" - what is your "Plan B" ?
if you look closely at your CAD drawing, some sacrifices
must be made to achieve the look you want.
again, seeing photos of the trim you intend to use will help.
and your realistic vision of the vertical trimwork.


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## lothian (May 25, 2018)

I install casing first then fit wainscot in between. 

And that means installing the wainscot on that wall is held up by the dilemma of the archway (which you may have noticed from the images). I've stared at this area for years. The way I see it, I have just two options: either turn the corner with the wainscot and bail on trimming the arch; or trim the arch as shown in the drawing. Neither is ideal. I had considered steam-bending the casing to fit the arch, but bailed on that idea due to the shear complication of setup. So I bought a length of Flextrim that was hurty-expensive and it sits unused.

...sucks.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

To me you don't need the wainscot in that area. Stop before you turn the corner.

The wainscot minimizes niche IMO, not what you want as the niche is a focal point.


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## lothian (May 25, 2018)

shoot summ said:


> The flexTrim...is pretty much the solution.





shoot summ said:


> The wainscot minimizes niche IMO, not what you want as the niche is a focal point.













FlexTrim complements the arch perfectly. I've stayed wainscot in the niche for now; but the area niggles my aesthetic sense somehow. Maybe the solution is paint.


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## FirebirdHank (Jan 25, 2021)

The only thing that jumps out to me is the baseboard at the corner. Maybe a plinth block to tie everything together?


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## lothian (May 25, 2018)

FirebirdHank said:


> The only thing that jumps out to me is the baseboard at the corner. Maybe a plinth block to tie everything together?


I track with you on that corner. All casing in this house extends to the floor. We're considering cutting in plinth blocks throughout. But that detail is outside of this discussion.

This area is seemingly tricky to trim in a manner that accommodates a seamlessness, aesthetically sensible look.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Just a suggestion of one I built years back:


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

FirebirdHank said:


> The only thing that jumps out to me is the baseboard at the corner. Maybe a plinth block to tie everything together?


From that angle the arch gets me, no other arch or rounded features everything else is flat/square, the arch has nothing to connect to.


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