Paint Brief - Research: Chair & Picture Rails

The architectural elements of a room, including chair and picture rails, and walls around them can be decorated in a number of different ways - all of which have varying effects on the overall appearance of a space. It is often the case that these period features are painted white, through force of habit, or in some cases to draw attention to any particularly grand details of outstanding architectural beauty. 

While this method of decoration is perfectly acceptable and most frequent, it can in some cases create rooms with an overly busy aesthetic. This is due to the eye continuously been drawn to the white stripes around the perimeter of the room, rather than the desired colour 

of the wall.

These rails, as purely functional parts of architecture, were originally painted to cover up mismatched wood colours and grains. The chair rails protected walls from furniture, while picture rails were for hanging paintings. All considered, there is no practical reason why they should be highlighted in a different colour. This attempt to transform them into a feature is a relatively recent trend, though has given the features misplaced importance, often leading them to guide the whole decoration process.

In most contemporary homes, the rails are removed or simply painted the same colour as the walls for a cohesive, unified aesthetic which also makes the space feel bigger due to lack of contrast. Should you decide to make a feature of them, it is best to do so in the same colour as the rest of the trim, which may be white or a more sympathetic tone to your scheme for a greater feeling of harmony and visual balance.

Having a chair rail provides the opportunity to consider a split colour scheme, with one colour above the rail and another below. It is advisable for the colour below the rail to be the darker of the two, as this will help avoid a top-heavy aesthetic and provide and more grounded, open feel whilst also making the space seem bigger. It may be best to 

paint the rail itself the same colour as the colour below to prevent the 

eye being drawn to a dividing line of contrast. 

In regard to the picture rail, if the rail and area above it are painted the same colour as the rest of the wall, the ceiling height will appear much higher. By using a different colour above the rail, you can trick the eye into thinking the ceiling is lower, bringing any especially tall ceiling heights down to a more comfortable level. Another option is to consider a  graduate colour scheme, by which the main wall and rail should be the strongest colour, with a slightly lighter tone above the rail which a sympathetic shade of white used on the cornice/moulding. This transitional approach creates a light, airy feeling space that appears more spacious.