Modern Wainscoting: A Slat Half-Wall in an Afternoon

Half-height slat panels with a top molding give the wainscoting look without trim carpentry. What a pack covers and how to plan the run.

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ZETY oak slat wainscoting panels as a half wall behind two lounge chairs

Traditional wainscoting means raised panels, trim and a lot of careful cutting. Slat wainscoting gets you the same idea, a finished lower half of the wall, with far less work.

What is in a pack

Each ZETY wainscoting pack has four slat panels, 24 x 48 inches each, plus two 48-inch top molding pieces that cap the run. Four panels cover 96 inches of wall. The panels have a felt backing, and the slat face helps reduce echo in rooms with hard surfaces.

Finishes

Walnut, Oak, Black, White and Blue. Walnut and Oak warm up a dining room or bedroom. Black looks deliberate in an entryway or office. White gives the classic wainscoting look. Blue brings in color without painting the whole wall.

Planning the run

  1. Measure the length of wall you want to cover.
  2. Divide by 96 inches for the number of packs, and round up.
  3. Note outlets and switches. Panels cut cleanly with a saw to fit around them.

Installing

Mounting hardware is not included. Panels go up with screws and a drill, or with a staple gun for a quicker install. Each top molding piece spans two panels. An installation guide comes in the box.

Where it works: bedrooms, dining rooms, entryways, hallways and home offices, anywhere a half-wall treatment suits better than full-height paneling. Browse the finishes in our wall panel collection.

For the acoustic side of slat panels, read do acoustic slat wall panels actually work.