Fitting a picture rail

[mimos4]

I am a DIY novice, and I'm considering fitting a picture rail in our very narrow downstairs WC. It measures roughly 3m x 0.7m. It's not exactly rectangular either, so one corner is maybe 70 degrees.

I don't have a mitre saw, but do have a hand saw. Would I be crazy to attempt this? Any advice?

Get a mitre block then go for it.
www.screwfix.com/p/mitre-box/7454V?tc=KC6&ds_kid=92700055262507126&ds_rl=1244066&gclid=CjwKCAiA3L6PBhBvEiwAINlJ9Ph17FsR2CiYvcwahPQ2Zhxt_VtyIcbYVyPeQaUTDDc9jlSeRJlEHxoCEBYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks so much - that's certainly less of a commitment! These boxes seem to only cut 45 and 90. Given the corner is more like 70, will the box be a bit pointless?

Have a look on YouTube for a video for how to measure the internal angle of the corners and how to mitre them. There's a method using a compass and dissecting two arcs.

No advice, but out of sheer curiosity, why do you want a picture rail in a WC? How many pictures do you want to hang? Surely one or two picture hooks would do?

It's not even to hang pictures really... it's just such a tall (2.5m maybe) and narrow (0.7m) space, I feel like it would benefit from a picture rail to break up the wall a bit! I attach a photo.

@Alicetheowl any other ideas welcome! 😊

Funky wallpaper?

I'm not sure I'm cut out for wallpaper, plus it might be a bit overwhelming? It's a huge wall, and there's not a lot else in that room except wall!

@mimos4

Thanks so much - that's certainly less of a commitment! These boxes seem to only cut 45 and 90. Given the corner is more like 70, will the box be a bit pointless?

I was just showing that ia box was available. You need to find out the exact angle really but there are boxes with other angles available if you Google. I’ve found a 65 & an 85 but not a 70.

Depending where you get the picture rail from, you may be able to get the store to cut the angle for you, if you measure it beforehand. I know some DIY stores do a certain number of free cuts for sheet material, but if you ask nicely you may get lucky - and if you go to an independent, you might have an even better chance.

How about a dado rail and/or panelling on the lower half of the wall?

Thanks all. The more I think about it, the less confident I feel. Maybe I'll just leave it. But how do I break up that vast wall a bit?

Panelling sounds fab but again I don't know if I have what it takes! Has anyone here done it?

Fake it. You just need decent masking tape, not the cheap £1 stuff, a pencil and a tape measure.

Go round marking 50 cm down from the ceiling every foot or so then join the dots with masking tape.

Paint lower part of wall and leave ceiling as is. You will get the illusion of a picture rail without sticking one up.

If it was me and I didn't want to wallpaper I'd paint the ceiling and the top two feet of the wall a really dark rich colour.

I'd also put a handing plant behind the toilet and some pictures framed on the empty wall

I tried hanging some picture frames on the empty wall, and they felt oppressive. It's so narrow in there, the frames felt like they were closing in on me! I also think anyone vaguely portly or less than agile would knock the frames off the wall.

Faking isn't a bad idea! Or maybe a city skyline decal running along the skirting, coming up 50cm (or whatever)?

That photo is before I put up a small picture frame behind the toilet. I agree that space was crying out for something.

Ah, another idea I had was to create a picture rail almost, comprising of a row of hooks. Like this sort of thing.

There's a lot of wallpaper that looks like wood panelling available at the moment. Look for "paste the wall" rather than "paste the paper". It's a lot easier.

I like3 picture rails.

You can bring the white ceiling paint down to the rail to make the room seem less high.

If you cut the angle of the mitres a bit loose, so they meet where you can see them, but have a bit of a gap against the wall, you can smudge in some filler and nobody will see it once painted.

If you screw the rails to the wall with countersunk screws, you need not fill them perfectly. They will not be noticeable when painted, and will be easy to remove should you ever tire of the rails. Or use plastic screw caps. You have to use good long screws and plasplugs because somebody might hang a heavy mirror or painting.

examples:

What do people think about the row of hooks idea?

(I've derailed my own thread, I realise)

Wouldn't it be a bit intimidating in a narrow space, like a Pinhead? Sorry

Haha maybe!! It would be high up though at least, rather than eye height?

Having seen a photo of the room, I'd strongly consider wallpaper. Something with depth where the pattern is overlapping will make it feel bigger. A tropical paper like this www.diy.com/departments/goodhome-ferula-green-tropical-leaves-textured-wallpaper/3663602561439_BQ.prd and it's paste the wall so much easier to hang. If you look at some of the photos in the reviews you'll see that it creates visual depth rather than overwhelms.