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Home decoration
Original poster

dado rail vs wallpaper border??

19 replies

movingonup2015 · 13/07/2015 13:07

Hi all, I want to paint my hallway two different colours, white at the top and light grey at the bottom. I have in my head a dado rail to break it up but OH says its going to take ages to get it installed and I might be better off with a wallpaper border??

Is this going to look naff? are there any nice wallpaper borders out there?

OP posts:
ItMustBeBedtimeSurely · 13/07/2015 13:10

Definitely naff now, sorry. The height of fashion in 1992 though, if that helps.

RiverTam · 13/07/2015 13:13

Naff, very 80s.

Heels99 · 13/07/2015 13:15

Omg remember wallpaper borders!

TurnOverTheTv · 13/07/2015 13:16

Noooo! Bloody awful.

Haggisfish · 13/07/2015 13:28

Nooo-wall paper borders are very old fashioned now and a pain in the bloody arse to get off.

minipie · 13/07/2015 13:37

Watching with interest. I want the same OP, and I don't have a dado - and it would be quite tricky to get one put in because there are lots of curved bits in our hall and stairs.

I wouldn't do a wallpaper border, but I wonder about just painting the two colours with nothing between them? Would use masking tape to get a neat line where the two colours meet. Thoughts anyone?

Heels99 · 13/07/2015 13:52

I think a dado in this case is the better option but I would paint the dado in the same colour as the upper part of the wall, but use eggshell paint for the wooden dado. Don't have a wooden dado.

I don't think a two tone hallway without the dado would look good.

I prefer wallpaper below a dado there are some beautiful ones around.

I assume the house is from a period when it would have originally had a dado so you are just replacing the original? It wouldn't look right in a modern house

Original poster
movingonup2015 · 13/07/2015 15:09

well its a 1930's house - not sure when dado's were originally in, but as I wanted two colours I assume this is the only way im going to be able to do it without it looking odd...ok so I wont go with the wallpaper border i'll stick with the dado! was going to paint it in satinwood same as the skirting board? the "white" above the dado is going to be an off white rather than bright white as I think it will make it look too cold... I really like F&B whimbourne white for above and cornforth white for below but going to the get the nearest colour in dulux (whatever that is!) because I want it to be scrubbable and you can choose your finish/properties at the dulux mixlab in homebase I believe...

OP posts:
Ouchmybloodythumb · 13/07/2015 15:14

Oh god, please please don't get a border. It's not 1993, you're not on Changing Rooms, there's no Handy Andy in sight so there's no excuse.

Dados are late Victorian, early twenieth century so better but still I just prefer all one colour.

Heels99 · 13/07/2015 15:31

i Like 1930s houses but I wouldn't put a Victorian dado in. But if you want to I would paint it same co,our as above the rail and paint the skirting same colour as below the rail so the dado doesn't stand out too badly. Or just paint it all one colour, the dado is normally used for two contrasting colours not sure two shades of white . But your house your call!

BitOfFun · 13/07/2015 15:38

I'd rethink the plan, tbh- dado rails were designed to stop chairbacks scuffing the walls, and by the 1930s it wasn't usual to keep chairs in the hallway, so they didn't use them, except sometimes in dining rooms. It looks kind of strange installing out-of-period features in a period home, I think.

SoupDragon · 13/07/2015 15:48

My 1930s house has a dado rail in the hallway. I imagine it was put there by the previous owners who were not known for their taste IMO but it looks fine. It's bare wood stained something like "antique pine" and then waxed. From seeing a neighbouring house, I think it would originally have had panelling.

SoupDragon · 13/07/2015 15:48

A wallpaper border would look shockingly bad.

firesidechat · 13/07/2015 15:49

NO, NO, NO and NO again to wallpaper borders. Do they even make such things these days?

Just about possible to get away with a dado because it's not a very modern house, but I wouldn't even do that. It could look a bit fussy, costs money to put in and makes decorating more tricky. Fine if the era of the house is right for a dado, but otherwise not worth it.

firesidechat · 13/07/2015 15:52

I do like picture rails though if your ceiling is tall enough. Still have the cost and decorating issues, but they look quite smart.

Heels99 · 13/07/2015 16:07

Soup dragon yes I rented a 1930s house back in student days and it had wood paneling. It was lovely but made the hallway very dark.

wowfudge · 13/07/2015 19:38

We have a 1930s house that has a dado rail in the hall, up the stairs and on the landing. It's wrong for the period of the house but isn't horrific. What was commonplace in smarter 1930s home was a plate rack at picture rail height in the hall. Panelling was also frequently a feature. That kind of thing is more in keeping, but gives you the opportunity to use two colours.

Hannahouse · 13/07/2015 19:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BitOfFun · 13/07/2015 19:49

To protect walls from chair backs scraping.

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