Painting my living room & dining room; has chair railing / plate rail.?

Mikel Bethay: Chair Railing In Dining Room

Alonso Crehan: I think to fully accent that detail, which is really awesome, you should keep the wall the same color, but keep the plate rail white, or whatever color you are keeping the moldings. If you did decide to paint the top part a different color, I would stick with the same color, but a shade or two lighter, this might make the wall seem taller. If you use contrasting colors, it will make the walls look like they are shorter than what they are, just because of the height of the plate rail. You'd probably be able to get away with contrasting colors if the plate rail was a good foot lower, but as it is, it would make the room look closed in. Here's a few pics I found where the wall is the same colorhttp://www.prairierisings.com/cartimages/prd_sp_10...http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_U9D-_EvdfsE/R92_LZyCxKI/......Show more

Dorine Nurre: I agree. You need visual separation to define living and dining space. You might th! ink about running a false beam from floor to ceiling where the chair rail starts into the dining room and for even more definition, choose one of your colors to paint the wall below the rail.

Arlen Hamper: I would either use the same color or go with two different shades of the same color and use the lighter of the two on the top.