(photos) Panicking - worker here to install picture rail and not sure it's the right choice

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I ordered picture rails and planned to have them installed today. Suddenly I am second guessing everything.

Should we go for it?

This is ground and first floor. The ugly clothes rail will obviously be removed from any final decoration scheme. We will be installing traditional Victorian tile flooring on the ground floor.

Here is the before in case of interest

I think it’ll look fine, you’ve got just the right style of house for picture rails. And, it’ll be really useful if you like to change which pictures you hang up frequently without damaging the wall.

Having seen your inspiration pic then I take back my previous comment and think you should do it 😁

It won't hurt so let them crack on now they are there. But my Victorian house has them in all rooms except hall/landing/bathroom/toilet/kitchen

Still discussing if and if so, where.

I think that I will probably say no to the ground floor but install on the first floor. But it's still a cliffhanger knowing what we will do

No to the picture rails. The walls aren’t high enough and you have the sconces there which would make the picture rail too low (you can’t break it up around the sconces).

When people are saying sconces, do you mean corbels (decorative faces)?

No. It isn't necessary, you have that lovely ornate coving which is a beautiful feature in itself.

Yeah, sorry from the angle and at a quick glance they looked like lights! Teaches us to skim read!!

We have corbels in our hallway and no picture rails. I think it would be too cluttered. I’d say no to the rails upstairs too as the ceilings look lower and you have the dado rail, I think it would make the ceiling look even lower.

Yes, I think it means the picture rail would have to be too low to be usable.

Nope - don’t think it’ll fit with that era and with the sconces etc. Beautiful as it is!

Oh wow your house is gorgeous. Very jealous!

Not sure if it helps but I don’t think it looks right running it under the corbels (the first pic).

Do you mind me asking if it’s expensive to install? Is it plaster?

It's pre-primed MDF. The rails themselves are not too expensive, but extra work needs to be done to secure them to the wall if you (unusually) want to actually hang pictures from them. I don't actually know what our builder is going to charge 😬

He's here doing a couple of tasks today and tomorrow.

We have corbels in our hallway and no picture rails.

Same here, corbels and dado in the hall, no picture rail. Picture rail in bedrooms, dado in the study with a low(ish) ceiling, picture frame panneling and dado in the receptions - so it is all related to a function, and the proportions of the rooms.

See, when you originally said you were doing one side only, I thought it sounded mad.

Then I thought "I'd have either a picture rail or a dado rail, but not both".

THEN, you posted this photo and now I'm confused, because I love that too and it goes against my gut instincts!

Sorry - not helping at all am I?!

I love a picture rail. Add them upstairs. I think the corbel would make it too tricky in the hallway.
I assume there is a standard percentage of the height from the ceiling that they should be, in order to look right? I would guess that ours are about a sixth of the way down the wall if that helps?

If they scrape away the paint then you can stick the picture rail on with no more nails and it will be strong enough to hang a smallish telly from. Probably more sensible to screw it in and use no more nails though.

It looks nice here! What did you decide?

please post more pics of your house I bet it’s stunning 😍

I’d place some beautiful art pieces in the hallway.

Picture rails are incredibly useful for hanging art if you use the proper hooks. But I wouldn’t have one with a dado rail. Get rid of the dado and go for your life with the picture rails, it means I can move my pictures all over the house when I fancy a change.

Picture rail should follow seamlessly along from the top of the door frame.

It's a no from me too. The Inspo pic hallway has even higher ceilings than yours

Also because in my house, pictures in the hallway need to be firmly on the wall not hanging on a rail or they'd get knocked off constantly.

This is a Victorian house...the door frames all are a different distance from the ceiling 😂

Ahh, mines Edwardian and didn’t have that issue.