Easy methods to match your skirting board to your inside type
Does anybody stroll right into a adorning store enthusiastic about skirting boards? Paint colors, sure. Tiles, undoubtedly. Even door handles get their second. However these unassuming strips of timber that run alongside the bottom of the wall? They’re often an afterthought, chosen on the final minute with a fast, “simply one thing easy, please.”
But very similar to a very good body completes a portray, the best skirting board concepts have the potential to tug a room collectively. Get it incorrect and it could throw off the proportions or jar with your own home’s character. Get it proper and it anchors the house fantastically, bridging flooring and wall with goal.
From the ornamental ogee profiles of Victorian terraces to the crisp, square-edged designs in fashionable properties, skirting boards inform a narrative concerning the period they belong to. So how do you match yours to your inside type? We requested designers and craftspeople for his or her professional recommendation.
Victorian, Georgian and Edwardian properties
“In Victorian hallways and residing areas, ogee or torus profiles round 150 to 200mm excessive match completely,” says Scott Godfrey, skilled carpenter at Blackhammer. “They echo the ornamental particulars of the interval and steadiness tall ceilings and deep architraves.”
Gareth Davies, design director at Basic Interiors, agrees, including that ornate profiles like ogee or egg-and-dart give the house a way of grandeur, whereas Edwardian interiors profit from one thing barely easier. “They’re nonetheless tall, however with gentler curves and fewer detailing to go well with their lighter, extra elegant really feel,” he explains.
Prime tip: In terms of finishes, these interval kinds lend themselves fantastically to color. For a contemporary take, think about portray skirting boards in a darker or tonal shade towards lighter partitions. It’s a trick designers use to border a room and add depth to interiors.

Scott Godfrey of Black Hammer is a grasp craftsman with over 20 years of expertise in carpentry and joinery. His spectacular portfolio contains bespoke initiatives from fully-fitted kitchens and shelving to main large-scale ventures resembling luxurious dwelling builds and intensive renovations.

Gareth Davies, Design Director at Basic Interiors, is a seasoned professional in architectural and inside design concord, providing distinctive insights into skirting options and options knowledgeable by his 20 years of business expertise.
Interval type skirting boards
This tall Georgian skirting is regularly utilized in conventional and traditional inside designs, however can complement nearly all kinds of inside.
GoodHome MDF Ogee Skirting
This easy-to-install skirting board incorporates a traditional Victorian ogee design.
Nationwide Skirting (Victorian)
This ornate Victorian type skirting is accessible in an unprimed MDF, primed white MDF and in addition in an actual wooden oak, walnut or Pine.
Arts & Crafts and mid-century properties
As interiors moved away from the heavy ornamentation of the Victorian period, the Arts & Crafts motion ushered in a love of sincere supplies and handcrafted simplicity. Skirting boards turned much less about grandeur and extra about proportion, texture and steadiness.
“Arts & Crafts homes can take an easier method,” says Scott Godfrey from Blackhammer. “Suppose clear, linear mouldings that spotlight proportion with out competing with different options.” These profiles work finest in pure finishes, resembling oak, ash or reclaimed pine handled with oils that carry out the grain.
Thomas Goodwin, property professional at MyJobQuote.co.uk, provides that understated profiles resembling ovolo or bullnose go well with the modest detailing typical of those eras. “These designs supply tender curves and clear strains that echo the craftsmanship and restraint of the interval,” he says.
If your own home leans extra mid-century, go for a slim, unfussy board with a rounded or chamfered edge to take care of the low-slung, architectural really feel of the time. Pure supplies nonetheless reign right here, however you’ll be able to experiment with painted finishes in muted, earthy tones to remain true to the palette of the Fifties and ’60s.
For these designing with sustainability in thoughts, Stuart Murray, founding father of Retrovintage, suggests exploring renewable supplies like cork or bamboo, or recycled composites completed in pure oils. These choices nod to the handcrafted ethos of the Arts & Crafts period whereas feeling completely fashionable in execution.

Thomas Goodman has labored as a property and building professional for MyJobQuote for six years and has labored within the building business for over twenty years. Thomas continues to work on constructing initiatives, whereas additionally offering professional building and property recommendation to business professionals and DIY fanatics.

Stuart Murray is a number one professional on classic, mid-century, and Danish furnishings and design, with years of expertise sourcing and restoring iconic items. Because the proprietor of Retrovintage, he curates a fastidiously chosen assortment of timeless designs, combining historical past with fashionable interiors. Stuart repeatedly advises on interiors, restorations, and traditional furnishings.
Mid-Century Skirting Designs
Metsä Wooden Primed Ovolo Skirting
Primed with two coats of high quality primer, this glossy ovolo design is prepared for set up and portray.
Nationwide Skirting Bullnose
The Bullnose MDF Skirting Board follows a clear reduce look with each inward and outer curves to offer the board distinction.
Oak Absolutely Completed Shaker Skirting Board
This oak-effect skirting board, with its clear strains and delicate groove element, completely enhances mid-century properties.
Trendy and up to date properties
In up to date interiors, the mantra is much less is extra. Skirting boards are pared proper again, designed to mix seamlessly with the wall or disappear altogether. You’ll need to intention for a crisp, architectural look that retains the deal with the supplies and type of the house reasonably than the detailing. It’s possible you’ll even think about skirting board options to put off these fixtures altogether.
“In fashionable properties, you’ll be able to pare issues proper again,” says Scott Godfrey from Blackhammer. “Sq.-edged or chamfered skirting between 80 and 120mm provides a crisp define that fits open-plan layouts and up to date finishes. It retains the look mild and refined, avoiding being overly formal.”
For a very minimalist end, Gareth Davies recommends flush skirting boards that sit stage with the plaster. “These profiles create that uninterrupted look that feels fashionable and spacious,” he explains. “They’re significantly efficient in extensions, new builds and loft conversions the place clear strains are a part of the design temporary.”
Alternatively, shadow hole skirting is a contemporary design characteristic that can be utilized as a substitute of a conventional cumbersome board to create a minimalist look. The impact is delicate however placing – a small, recessed line on the base of the wall that makes it seem to ‘float’.
Easy methods to steadiness proportions and ceiling top
Regardless of the age or type of your own home, the proportion of your skirting boards could make or break the general look. Too tall and so they can overwhelm a small room; too brief and so they danger trying unfinished. Getting the steadiness proper will inform how the attention reads the house.
“Taller skirting boards visually anchor excessive ceilings, giving a way of construction, whereas narrower skirting stops smaller rooms from feeling boxed in,” explains Scott Godfrey.
A helpful rule of thumb, provides Thomas Goodwin, is that the peak of a skirting board needs to be roughly one eighteenth of the general ceiling top. “In fashionable properties with a median ceiling top of two.4 metres, the most typical skirting dimension is round 119mm, however it could go as excessive as 144mm relying on the proportions of the room,” he provides.
Christian Ebbing, product supervisor at Parador, agrees that proportion performs an important position in sustaining concord. “The peak of a skirting board can alter the notion of house,” he says. “Increased boards add formality and grandeur; slimmer boards create a way of openness and modernity. Matching proportions to ceiling top and window scale helps keep visible steadiness.”
If doubtful, try it out. Purchase a brief size of your most popular profile and quickly repair it to the wall to see the way it feels in context. It’s a small step that may prevent from selecting a design that appears good on paper however awkward in actuality.
FAQs
Must you combine skirting board kinds in the identical home?
You possibly can, however consultants advocate treading fastidiously. Follow a constant profile form and end all through communal areas, then modify the peak subtly in smaller rooms if wanted. Sustaining visible steadiness throughout areas is essential to avoiding a disjointed look.
Can shadow-gap or flush skirting boards be retrofitted?
Not likely. Flush skirting sits in a recess on the base of the wall, which is less complicated to plan into a brand new construct or extension than so as to add later. Retrofitting these kinds may be expensive and messy, so that they’re finest thought of early within the design stage.
Ought to skirting boards match the wall color or distinction with it?
Each approaches can work fantastically. Matching tones create a seamless, up to date really feel, whereas contrasting colors body the room and draw consideration to architectural particulars. Gareth Davies from Basic Interiors recommends attempting a deeper tone on the skirting so as to add delicate definition with out overpowering the scheme.
In case you’re renovating, you may be tempted to start out eradicating skirting boards altogether, however it’s value pausing earlier than you do. In interval properties, unique skirting usually carries character and proportion that’s tough to duplicate. The place attainable, restore reasonably than change. If the boards are past saving, think about skirting over skirting, a sensible answer that avoids damaging outdated plasterwork.

