• Chair rail was originally intended to keep chairs from scuffing the wall.chair image by inacio pires from Fotolia.com
  
  

Base Height on Wall Height

• If your chair rail is to be purely decorative, you may choose to base the height on the height of your walls. The standard is typically a third of the height of the wall--around 32 inches for standard eight-foot ceilings.
  
  

Base on Chair Height

• If your chair rail is to be functional, choose the height of the chair rail by positioning a chair against the wall and determining where the chair back touches the wall. This is where the chair rail should be positioned.
  
  

Bottom Line

• Decide whether your chair rail is to be functional or decorative, and position it accordingly. Decorative chair rail should be placed in relation to ceiling height; functional chair rail in relation to chair height.