Picture rails

[Waitingfirgodot]

Hello, we're moving house soon (or not soon considering how long it can take for a house purchase to go through) to a Georgian house with lots of lovely period features, including picture rails. Obviously I understand that you're supposed to hand pictures from them, but whenever I see this is looks old fashioned. Also, the ceilings are unbelievably high (the kitchen has hooks in the ceiling for hanging hams and I think you could hang a whole pig without having to duck to get past it) so won't the pictures be too high? Just wondering if anyone has successfully used them without it looking dated!

If you choose to use the picture rails to hang pictures from, you use hooks and chains - there are modern alternatives to traditional chains. Absolutely nothing to stop you from hanging pictures on the walls and not from the picture rails. I really don't understand why they would be too high. Our house is Edwardian with picture rails. We haven't hung anything from them.

Thanks, I'll take a look at more modern chains. I just think the pictures might end up being out of line of vision, but I suppose it's just a case of having longer chains. I think I just can't get past the idea that they're something my grand-parents had in their houses!

You don't have to use them - do what you want.

We have picture rails... The pictures are the right height as you adjust the length of chain to make them so.
I'm a bit bemused by why you're buying a Georgian house with lovely period features and then wondering about things looking old fashioned... 🤔

We hang our pictures from them on invisible wire. I love them. We can move things around easily without having any hooks in the walls

Oh I’m so jealous! I love picture rails- I think they can actually look really contemporary; as long as you aren’t hanging oil paintings of random pale children and pastoral shepherds, I don’t think you need to worry...

You do sound a bit like you hate the house though. Maybe worry about that?

Sorry I misread your original post.

It doesn’t sound like you hate the house, but I’m still not sure what you have against picture rails...

why buy a period house with original features and then say it looks dated.
a bar in the corner would be dated, or stone-cladding, or artex false ceilings, pine everywhere, coloured bathrooms, etc,
but the original features can never look dated, they are classic.
it's when people hack about with houses without understanding or respecting the integrity of the original design and build, that the results look dated.
anyway if you were to remove the picture rails, the ceilings would look even higher.

I think these look like a contemporary way of using picture rails

Whoops, here are photos

Have a look on Instagram at the picture rail hashtags. Definitely can look modern.

Wow! Lots of reading between lines going on here! I definitely don't hate the house - if I did, we wouldn't be moving. But whilst I love the period features, I am concerned about it looking dated - I was to live in a home, not a museum, and I think it's quite possible to make a home look contemporary whilst being sympathetic to the time period. Thanks for the useful comments though - particularly the ones about invisible wire and adjustable lengths - I was unaware of the two things.
Also, I have no intention of removing them - just wanted to know how other people use them!

The most modern way to treat them is to "paint them in" and paint all parts of the wall the same colour.

Thanks. I'll have a look at pictures of that. I've seen pictures of the bit above being painted white like the ceiling - I quote like that.

@alexdgr8 as well as the lovely period features we do unfortunately also have one artex false ceiling which will be going as soon as the more urgent rotting, cracked windows have been sorted out and a mint green/aqua bathroom suite (it's an ensuite to the room our middle child is having and she absolutely loves it - so that one can stay!)