We wouldn’t recommend going below ⅓ of the total wall height. If you’re looking for an exact measurement, try 32 inches. The average residential ceiling height is eight feet. 32 inches of wainscoting would cover the bottom third of the wall. 32 inches is also the average height of other wainscoting materials, such as beadboard panels.

The traditional rule of thumb is that wainscoting height should be a third of the wall’s height, including the cap or any moldings. So if you have 9-foot walls, then 3-foot (or 36-inch) wainscoting will look great. Scale down to about 32 inches for rooms with 8-foot walls.

Now that you've figured out the spacing and how many battens you'll need, it's time to determine what height you want the board and batten wainscotting. Standard height is one-third of the height of the wall including the cap. If you want a more dramatic look with more neutral white then you could go two-thirds of the wall height.

While some homeowners choose to install a floor-to-ceiling board and batten accent wall, the most popular interior application is its original, practical one: Board and batten is usually installed about 32 inches up from the floor, at just the right height to protect walls from chairs’ dents and dings.

In the old days, the battens were used to conceal the seams between individual boards; today, they are typically installed over 4-foot-wide panels of hardwood-veneer plywood. Height for board and batten wainscoting can rise up to 6 feet or even higher.