It makes great sense to me. I'm not used to 10' ceilings and hadn't thought about this problem!

I would want the beadboard to be *below* the light sconces and *below* the art work. In a usual ceiling height it goes up either 1/3 of the way (approx 36") or 2/3 of the way. What would it look like if you went up 2/3 of the way for a normal ceiling?

Oceanna, thanks for the input. On an 8ft. ceiling 2/3 of the way up would be a little over 5 ft. and 2/3 up for a 10' ceiling would be a little over 6. Is my math correct? I'm thinking the 5ft. would be the way to go and that way the sconces and artwork would be above the railing.

I guess it depends on the look you're going for. I have wainscoting in my formal DR that is a little over 3.5' high on 11' walls.

Here's sconces on a wall with beadboard 2/3 of the way up (8' ceilings). We're presently finishing up a bathroom remodel that will have sconces but the beadboarad will only be half way up. We also recently finished a guestroom with beadboard all the way up to the ceiling. I love all 3 looks - just depends on what else you want to put on the walls and the look you want.

We put beadboard wainscotting in the MBath at our cottage. I love it! For the bathroom you have to take into account how mirrors or cabinets will hang over your sinks.

We have pedestal sinks and the beadboard goes up to the height of the faucets. You'll want to leave enough clearance for the mirror or medicine cab. I don't think you'd want them being half on and half off the beadboard.

Here is a pic of what we did in our family room. Ceilings are 9 1/2' and beadboard goes up to 6' (even with the height of our entertainment center). Luckily, the art we chose was small enough to fit in the space above the beadboard, so we didn't have to deal with what you are concerned about. I think your sconces would look nice on the beadboard itself, so stick with the 6' you are considering if art isn't an issue.

We are currently finishing (trying) our new build & installed it in the mudroom. We have 10 ft ceilings too and decided to only go 4 feet with a chair rail on top. I wanted to be able to hang artwork, etc too. We opted for the 4 ft because of budget too. We used an expensive (IMO) birch interior board. We saved a lot by going 4 ft, they come in 8 ft so we had no waste. So, if you need to save in any areas....you may consider the 4 feet. It looks very nice!

Just a warning, we had waist high wainscotting (probably 4') in our kitchen and then changed it to 6ft and in our small space, we found it seemed to make the room feel more closed in. The lower wainscotting seemed to open up the room somehow.

There are no "rules" about this, Brutuses. It's important to suit yourself. I think 5' sounds about right. Do you have the sconces and the artwork? If so, you can mock them in or draw them in on your wall, then draw a line where you think the beadboard should come to that looks aesthetically pleasing to you. You could even use pieces of flat cardboard from boxes and just tape them to the wall to see what looks right to you. That's what I'd do.

I'm so excited for you! I know your new home is going to be just lovely. I can't wait to see the pics as it comes together.

oceanna, thanks for those words of encouragement. As you know, as others who frequent this board know, I've been messing around with different colors, etc. for over a year. Taking my time, still not making any concrete decisions on paint. Then wham, today I learn I need to have my colors chosen within the next 7 or so days!! This happened so quickly because we decided to contract out the floating and painting since it's so much work. My poor DH is just about to drop. This will free him up for the more detailed things like moldings and other things.

I have picked out my master bedroom color. It is a SW color called Misty. I had BM mix it up and it was right on. I couldn't find the touch of the mix on the SW sample. So I guess that's as good a match as one can get. LOL It's a silver blue and one I couldn't find in any BM blue. The master bath is Gray Cashmere, a gray green that is the same hue as the blue. My most difficult decision of course is finding that right cream for the great room/kitchen. I think I may have found it in Rich Cream by BM, but not certain. Still have a zillion more colors I want to sample. I wish I wasn't such a fanatic when it comes to wall color. I'm making myself crazy. When this is over I'll be so very happy!!! Then it will be all downhill as far as I'm concerned. I think picking the wall colors is by far the most stressful.

With all the samples of paint I'm not using in the new house, all I can say is this house I'm living in now will have some very unique wall colors when it's up for sale. HA! The samples are all in the same color family and the same type of paint so I think I'll be able to put a lot of it to good use. Those $10 quarts at BM add up in a hurry, let me tell you!! I'm trying to be frugal, but my desire for that perfect cream keeps me going back again and again. LOL

brutuses, some benjamin moore stores with mix any BM color in a 4oz sample tin, so no need to buy quarts. You have to call around, as most do not.

amrad, I will definitely ask around at the other BM stores.

We have 10 foot ceilings in our house and I used bead board in baths and foyer at a height of 56" in baths and 6' in foyer which is 2 story.

I gave wrong info in above post.
Oops.....i gave wrong measurement for bathroom bead board. It is 65" high with 10' ceilings.