Wainscot. Anything new with paint?

[Miss Peregrine]

I have very long hallway with very dark stained wainscot and chair rail. It is so very dark in the hallway.

 

I want to paint it and in fact, I primed it today. A friend suggested I paint it white but I don't want a "country" look. I need to repaint the walls as well so I am looking for a neutral for that.

 

My style is traditional with some modern thrown in. Will painting it white look "countryish" Are there any new styles of painting walls with wainscot?

 

ETA: This looks exactly like mine.

http://abillco.com/paneling-wainscot-painted-staines-chair-molding/

Edited November 16, 2010 by Miss Peregrine

[zookeeperof3]

We painted ours white and it's not country looking. We have a Victorian house. We painted the walls above the wainscoting with a pale yellow, I think it's called Butter by Glidden Paints. It really brightened up our hallway/stairwell.

 

You could go with a linen or antique white, instead of bright white.Or, you could paint the wainscoting bright white, and the wall above with the antique or linen, to tone it down but still be neutral. Another color we used in our house is called Ponytail, it a light beige with gold tones. It's really pretty, we've received a lot of compliments on it.

 

HTH,

Kim