Every great interior stylist knows that how you decorate with skirting boards can elevate your room scheme. With the help of The Skirting Board Shop, I’m going to show you how to transform your home, using skirting boards in unexpected ways.
Paint by Benjamin Moore
Why do I need skirting boards?
Back in the day, skirting boards were installed to conceal uneven plaster finishes. Then, at a later date, they we handy to hide the ‘expansion gap’ round the edges of the room when wooden flooring was fitted. They also provide a good barrier to stop the vacuum cleaner scuffing wallpaper or paint.
Today, interior stylists are using the different style of skirting boards to add an extra design element a room. They are easy to install, and when you paint them they can have a big impact.
I’ve picked out three ways that you can use skirting to decorate your home. Want to look at them with me?
Timeless Skirting Boards
If you live in a property that has ceiling cornicing, then your skirtings can be ornate and decorative. In the room below, the pastel walls are framed by the white cornicing and skirting that frames this room. Painting them white draws attention to the plaster details in the room.
The styles I like most have fabulous names like Ogee, Georgian or even Lamb’s Tongue.
Paint by Farrow & Ball
Harlequin painted glass console by Jonathan Adler
Low ceilings? Then go for a slim-line skirting because it will make your walls appear to go up-and-up for miles. Just look at how they have used this trick in the room above. The Skirting Board Shop have most styles in a 18mm height if you want to copy this look.
TIP: If you are looking to update your boards in a weekend, then it is worth buying skirting that comes ready painted so you can just fit them with no need for a paint brush.
They also come in a range of deep shades – like Rosewood, Mahogany or Black Walnut – that sit so well with the 2018 love of pastels paint shades. Dark wooden skirtings are less prone to showing scuff marks from everyday life. Great for busy homes.
Below, I love the way dark wood skirting boards match the rustic stain on the floorboards. These tones shouldn’t work but somehow they blend so well together.
Paint by Little Greene Paint Company
Bold Skirting Boards
If you are decorating your walls with wallpaper, try painting your skirting boards in a colour that picks out the shade in the print.
In the room below, the skirting has been colour matched to the navy blue wallpaper. Personally, I think if it had been matched with the peachy/blush tone of the flowers that would have been a far stronger look.
Either way, white skirting boards here would just look all wrong, don’t you agree?
Wallpaper by Farrow & Ball
Paint by Little Greene Paint Company
Paint by Little Greene Paint Company
In period properties, you can paint your home in the colours of the rainbow and still bring a sense of charm to your room styling.
Here, the skirting and the window shutters are painted in the same deep tone of green. Then a lighter tone above leading up to the picture rail, then above that, go for a vibrant raspberry shade. This creates a bold striped effect which colour lovers will adore.
Tip: To cut down on your painting time, buy skirting that comes primed. That way, two coats of paint, and you are good to go.
Tonal Skirting Boards
Another idea for decorating your skirtings, go for a harmonious look with tones of the same colour.
Try painting your skirting and half your wall in the same shade looks contemporary especially when teamed with black architrave. Paste a pretty wallpaper up above to create a room fit for a magazine shoot.
Paint by Little Greene Paint Company
Paint by Farrow & Ball
This bathroom makes me swoon. The skirting has been painted the same shade as the walls BUT the owners have put a simple stripe of off-white paint just above which elevates the room. This tiny detail makes make this neutral scheme exciting to look at.
TIP: Use the skirting calculator on the The Skirting Board Shop homepage to work out exactly how much you need for your room.
Paint by Little Greene Paint Company
Don’t be afraid to go all matchy-matchy. Painting your fireplace the same as your skirting brings a room together – perfect for big spaces that you want to make feel more intimate. Bonus points awarded for the extra tall skirting used here too. The Georgian range goes up to a size 22mm high which is the dream.
TIP: Order your skirting boards on-line and they can be delivered to your door. Taking the hassle out of decorating.
There’s how you can decorate your home with skirting boards.
I’m hoping the ideas above have shown you that you can let your imagination run wild. You can find a variety of board profiles at The Skirting Shop and they have a wide range of different finishes including white primed, light Oak as well as Mahogany, American Black Walnut and Rosewood. Each range comes in a range of heights.
If you love posts like this, then you will adore my post on all the Finishing Touches That Transform A Home – from skiritings to light switches to tiles. Give it a click
Which is your fave look? I would love to know.
** Disclaimer. This was a sponsored post. All thoughts are my own. All images are credited to their owner.
After reading this would love to add some. Does not seem expensive. Thanks for sharing!
Awh. I’m so pleased.
I have found your website quite simple and interesting because I am seeking guidance on finishing some Aust. red cedar skirting boards in my house. I have stripped and sanded the paint off of them and now they are nearly perfect for some finishing layer or coating that can enhance the colour and appearance of the wood and still have a tough and durable surface finish. If you are interested in my case study, would you like to reply to me by e-mail with a possible suggestion of what might be good to use. I did or do have some shellac flake around in my storage somewhere which I was going to use with meth spirit and apply 2 or three substantial coats for a finish with lustre. Do you think that would be a good option to take or are there more suitable finishes other than varnishes?
Hey. I think what you may need to do is try a few of your ideas on small sections of the woodwork, and live with them for a short while, and see what looks best for your home style
Love everything about your blog, you such a great inspiration for new ideas!