Adding a chair rail. Is it tacky?

[juniper9]

We have a strange middle room. It links the tiny patch of hallway near the front door, the kitchen and also the courtyard (although we don't use that door). It also has a weird glass brick window and a chimney breast.

We moved in in August and our DD was born at the start of October, so home improvement hasn't been high on the priority list. We sorted out our bedroom and the nursery, the front room (which is the main living room) is nearly done, the kitchen and bathroom are fine but the middle room is a sort of 'room of requirement' with no particular purpose.

Anyway! I would like to paint it duck egg or similar, but I'm wondering about a chair rail. I don't know if it would look massively tacky or might give the room a bit of character which it currently lacks. The house is a Victorian semi and we have a picture rail in the front room, so it wouldn't be completely out of sync.

So, are chair rails considered tacky? Would it give the room more ambience?

Thanks :-)

What's a chair rail? Is it the same as a dado?

Yeah, it's a dado but at 34 inches off the ground (apparently)

I think they can look lovely ,
Especially as it's a Victorian house.
Have you thought about perhaps panneling below?

Sounds lovely. Also a rug the same shape as the room (rectangle or square ) can help define it as a 'room' rather than just a walk through too !

I think the devil is in the detail - what year is your house? Is it victorian or actually Edwardian? Do any other rooms have a chair rail? What other features does the room have? (A chair rail in a room without a cornice would be a bit unbalanced IMHO). Panelling can look lovely and duck egg blue is beautiful. For me personal opinion alert putting in an old style feature which would have been there is a bit tacky, whereas reinstating is fab. (Maybe be just me justifying the money I've just spent on removing unoriginal features in my house).

We had this type of 'room'. It became our party room. We put floor cushions in, iPod, paper globes hanging and soft lights and two light colour change lights and just danced in it.

Tbh it was our favourite space in the end. Still miss it. Our Toddlers loved it.

I'd be more inclined to put in a picture rail if that's what you have in your front room, as it seems more likely that's what would have been there in the first place. But as said upthread, only if it has a cornice of some sort.

If it runs off the kitchen it sounds ideal as a playroom for when DD is a bit older. Can you see into it from the kitchen area?

Oops

I must learn to proof read my posts. I must learn to proof read my posts.... doing lines Gove style maybe it's the key to remembering