We are doing up an Edwardian property and were putting back on the dado rails but are now unsure whether to leave them off or not. The colour of the walls is Farrow & Ball Purbeck Stone (darkish grey) and the dado rails will be white. We're not sure whether the dado rail makes the walls look too 'bitty'/'busy' and may end up looking a bit fake or whether it is actually a really nice feature? Grateful for thoughts and opinions please.
Hi. I can see the dado follows the skirting boards but it doesn't look quite right to me the way it finishes under the window and also where it meets that little walls that juts out to the left of the window? Keep it safe somewhere for future owners but I think I'd leave it off as it looks lovely without
PROI would have to agree with everyone here and take them off. I think it's unnecessary and not nice enough to have a place here. I am curious as well: why is there a cornice half way up the left wall?
Hi Hutsly,
Thank you for giving your opinion which has been very useful. In the 1st, 3rd and 4th pictures, there is a shelf halfway up the stairs. Behind the piece of decorative skirting that forms the side of the shelf was housed a lot of the pipes for the house. I expect that this was a later addition but most of the houses up the street, which are identical, have something similar here. There is a mix of some of the houses in the street having dado rails and others not so we have assumed that they were original to the houses. We are trying to do the house up as sympathetically as possible, hence the refurbished leaded lights on the 2nd floor landing (picture 2). It is just difficult to decide whether today they just look out of place and should therefore be excluded or whether to be true to how the house was originally.
Hi ambirchall1985, thank you for your comment. Sorry for any confusion but we do think that the dado rails were original so not sure if this changes your view. I will look up the Victorian Society and see if they can help though we are slightly under pressure from the builder to make a decision...
PROI'd go for it. Edwardian houses are full of fun and variables,so dado and picture rails are very much part of that.
Lauren