Why Coloured Skirting Boards Are Taking Over.
“You can have any colour, as long as it’s black,”
Henry Ford is often paraphrased as saying. When it comes to skirting boards, it’s traditionally been a similar story: regardless of your interior design style, the colour choice has generally been shades of white.
But times are changing. It’s now possible to buy skirting boards in a range of colours, so there’s no need to think in terms of the same old white-and-beige palette. This means that your skirting boards can be adapted to suit a wide range of interior design styles, rather than being a bit of an afterthought.
This article takes a look at some of the best ways that coloured skirting boards can breathe new life into a room, whatever your interior design preferences.
Give your skirting boards a Scandi Pop
Pretty much the whole world has fallen in love with Scandinavian-style interiors. Inspired by the simple, minimalist styles that grew in popularity throughout Scandinavia in the 1950s, it was borne out of a desire to ensure that beautiful, functional objects weren’t exclusively available to the rich.
One of the things we love most about Scandi style is that it works in almost any type of room. While the Scandinavian ideal generally involves hardwood flooring and contemporary furniture in neutral hues, it’s possible to adapt the look to suit your own space.
The Scandi Pop trend is an evolution of the “classic” Scandinavian interior. It involves enlivening a pared-back, neutral room by adding a splash of pastel or neon colour. Whether you live in a small, contemporary inner-city apartment or a spacious suburban home, it’s pretty easy – certainly compared to other, more extravagant interiors trends – to take a neutral room and add a few well-placed pops of colour.
Typically, those colour pops have been provided by things like bright cushions on sofas, strikingly painted chairs or vibrantly coloured plates on a shelf, but now we’re seeing skirting boards get in on the act too. If you’re decorating a Scandi-inspired room, simply choose a bright or pastel colour for your skirting boards to take advantage of this super-trendy interior design aesthetic.
Contrast your skirting boards and walls
Like the idea of a Scandi Pop-themed room, but looking for something a little more striking than pastels and neutrals? Sounds like you need a bit of colour contrast in your life!
There are a few different types of colour contrast that you can use to inspire your interior design planning:
- Contrasting tones (think black and white or red and green)
- Lights and darks (this could include different shades of the same colour)
- Warm and cold (like red and blue)
While each of these looks can be applied to your skirting boards, I particularly love the contrast of a dark skirting board against a light wall. This contemporary design trend is a really good way to bring a sense of spaciousness to a room, making it a perfect choice for smaller houses and apartments. The darkness of the skirting boards helps to frame the lighter walls, which can make them seem larger than they really are and helps to bring some definition to the lighter space.
Take inspiration from the Georgians by matching skirting boards and walls
Georgian architecture was characterised by a love of all things elegant, with pastel colour palettes – particularly pea-green, mauve and pink – coming to the fore. Interior mouldings such as skirting boards were often painted to match the walls, which creates a calming effect when coupled with pastel colours.
Whether or not your home boasts an authentic Georgian interior, this design trend is well worth considering. While wealthy Georgians had sprawling country estates to play with, this style works equally well in smaller rooms, providing the illusion of extra space by removing any clearly defined borders.
Matching pastel-coloured walls and skirting boards is also a great way to bring a feeling of calmness to your home. This makes it perfect for all you lovers of Hygge, the Danish lifestyle craze that’s all about invoking feelings of comfort and contentment. If you’re not a fan of Hygge, maybe you should be? After all, it can’t be a coincidence that Denmark is routinely named as one of the world’s happiest countries!
Image 1 : Farrow and Ball
Image 2 : Little Greene
Guest Post
Depends on how brave you are. Contrast is a perfect choice on any design!
These look so good Amanda!