Okay, when I first read the title of your post my instant response was, "Awesome." ;)

I would keep it the same as the trim. Very lovely room!

Gorgeous room. I love it as is, and I am usually one for color! That said, how about painting it a coppery color? You could do it the darkest cognac color on the same chart as Mannered Gold (which I also have hanging up in my DR) but use a metallic glaze over it, or, use the RL metallics (I think called Candlelight?). BM & SW both have metallics now too, I think. At any rate, I think it would still be subtle because it would be in the same color family as the Mannered Gold, but very textural.

I can't tell from the photo but, the white doesn't seem to compliment the waiscoting. To see the pretty design I have to strain my eyes. I'm thinking a color might show up the design more, but what color, I can't say. Maybe some other folks will have some better suggestions than I.

Also, if you paint the upper wall in gold it may then make the design in the bottom more pronounced. I don't know for sure. This is the first I've seen of this type of wainscoting.

Fabulous room! Love the windows and the tin wainscot. I think I would tend to keep the room in delicate colors to allow the windows and wainscot to be the focal points. Normally, except for bead-board, I like the lower portion of the wall to be the darker color to ground the room. But in this case, you don't want to glob up the tin panels with more layers of paint. Maybe first get some samples of the golds you like and paint a section of the wall or some sample boards and see how they do with the existing white. Then if that just doesn't work, consider painting the wainscot.
Diane

What a lovely room!

The white tin looks a little sterile to me.

What about a coppery metallic finish? ... with perhaps a wipe of dark brown to make the pattern really pop?

Sorry this is so large ....

{{!gwi}}

There are many paint treatments you could give your tin, from leaving it white and highlighting the raised areas with color, to actually accenting certain parts of it with a brush, to antiquing it, to metallic paints... the choices are almost endless. I wouldn't leave it just plain white. You might want to google "paint tin ceiling" and also look at Images on the web. There's a lot out there about it.

Also, have you googled for the color pallet appropriate for the age and style of your house by any chance?

Please post a pic of it when you're done!

What a fantastic room! I love the windows, the trim, the built-in and the tin wainscoting. I, too, have never seen that before. I agree with the good suggestions above. Post again with more pictures when you're done!

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone! I'm pretty convinced I don't want to leave it white. I'm intrigued by metallic finishes and will look into them--I've never done anything like this before, but I know they are popular today. From what we can tell, both the walls and wainscotting were painted a greenish color originally. Oceanna, I'm using BM historical colors throughout much of the house and may also do so in this room. I haven't yet decided on the goldish color for the upper walls and ceiling (I've got lots of paint chips to go through over the next week or so) but I want to try to capture the yellow-gold of the stained glass.

Re: the BM Historical colors, I decided on using Richmond Gold in my similar vintage DR. It's visually close to the mannered gold, but a touch warmer. It might work for you. There's also Roxbury Caramel on chip down that's a bit lighter.

Such a lovely, lovely room, the trim is wonderful; so well kept it looks brand new. Though I like the subtle texture, as others have suggested, I agree that a light wash would enhance the details of your wainscott. Don't know that I'd paint it copper or a similar metalic color, I think that in a room like that the wainscott was supposed to look like anaglypta paper, which was supposed to imitate fine plasterwork.

In case anyone else is interested in a similar treatment for their walls, sheet metal wainscottis still being made by the F.W. Norman Corporation in Nevada, Missouri. They also produce ceiling panels, siding, roofing, cornices, moldings, and neat-o decorative ornaments in zinc and copper, all made right here in the U.S.A.

(Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in them, other than the fact that I'd one day like to give them large amounts of *my* money - I have a substantial wish list complied from their catalogs - VBG)

Here is a link that might be useful: W.F. Norman Corp

Another BM Historical color you might want to look at is Shelburne Buff. It's a little more neutral than the Richmond GOld, but still has a rich, warm feeling, perfect for a dining room.

Very helpful! Chips for both Shelburne Buff and Richmond Gold are both sitting in my dining room at the moment. I also like Marblehead Gold and Chestertown Buff quite a bit. While I mentioned Mannered and Restrained Gold earlier, I actually think they are a bit too brownish for the room.

Littledog, I have already explored the W.F.Norman site as well as several other sites of companies reproducing tin designs. I haven't found my design yet on these sites. There's a lot of good information on tin use on ceilings, but very little on tin use for wainscotting. I wish I could find more historical pictures of it. I really do believe it was painted originally to imitate fine plaster work, as you mention. I did state above that I believed it was painted green originally, but a little more exploration this morning (in an area where a heat thermometer has been replaced and needs patching) shows that the original paint color was a creamy white.

I've seen tin wainscott in a business built around the turn of the last century, but never in a home. Maybe it was considered too expensive for the average homeowner, but it looks wonderful. Then again, the detail in stained glass shows that yours was not just an average home. :^)

I keep thinking I've seen that pattern on real anglypta paper, but it was probably not identical. I read that the Norman company is able to reproduce any pattern, presumably from a sample. Good to know I guess in case you ever damage a panel.

Very special, thanks for giving us a peek. Just curious, how much of the kitchen is original?

I love the tin! I am wanting a tin ceiling in my basement sooooo bad. I'm hoping if I hold out and save my pennies I can eventually get one???

When I saw the title of this post, it made me think of a movie I watched last weekend (someone loaned it to us). It was called, "The Assassination of Jesse James". There are some scenes towards the end in a bar where the walls are covered in tin (floor to ceiling). I had never seen it until that movie, and now yours. In the movie, they were painted a flat gold, no faux finish or sheen.

It looks like your tin has been well taken care of and there aren't too many coats of paint to ruin the texture. Please post pictures when you're finished.