DIY Faux Wainscoting with Picture Ledge and Wallpaper

Hey friends! Today is the LAST post from my kitchen and dining room reveal! Today I’m sharing all about how I built that DIY faux wainscoting with picture ledge AND wallpaper!

Yes… it’s going to be a meaty post because I’m going to share about the wainscoting, the picture ledge, AND the wallpaper, all in one post. So buckle up!

Here you can see what when the dining room was *almost* done that the long wall was just too long and plain. 

**post contains affiliate links** I started out by using my brad nailer to attach baseboard trim, and then vertical five foot pieces of trim, each spaced about 24″ apart. Then I installed a 14′ piece of trim along the top. Lastly I stained a 1″x4″ board and attached it with my trim nailer going into the wall trim and the wall diagonally.  Once I completed the trim and picture ledge, I used painters caulk along all of the seams, the places that the trim met, and in the nail holes. Then I painted it all Benjamin Moore “Chantilly Lace” to match the wall color. It still felt just a bit too bare though. This is when I decided to add wallpaper. This was my first time ever installing unpasted wallpaper, and it was WAY easier than I thought it would be. First I used a paste brush to paint the wallpaper adhesive onto the wall. 

I created a GIF so that you could see how it progressed, but I cut the first piece to the size of the wall. Then I just matched each additional piece to the pattern and used a plastic piece to smooth it onto the wall.  I made sure that the seams butted up against each other without overlapping. Then when I was done I used a sharp knife to cut the top ceiling edge. In total I was able to do this entire half wall in about an hour! I used just under one roll of this paper. Any time that glue oozed beyond the seams, I would use a damp sponge to wipe it off. I rinsed the sponge often. 

Once it was done I was SO happy with the results! I just love the subtlety of the pattern, and the way that it balances the grey curtains on the other side of the room. 

I didn’t want to cover up too much of the wallpaper, so I added just a few pieces of framed art to the photo ledge. They’re just leaned there, not attached to anything, but none of them have fallen off yet!

Now that it’s complete I feel like this wall really completed the entire room. For all the sources in the reveal post head here! I hope this post inspires you to take charge of your home! Maybe you have an empty wall that needs some faux wainscoting with picture ledge. Or maybe a wall that could use some wallpaper? Thanks so much for stopping by to read today!