The styles of timber skirting

Often, a plain, minimalist profile without intricate detail will work in modern homes. But a period style may, too, especially when great care is taken with its colour and teaming it with the right furniture and furnishings.

It is important to note, though, this will not apply in the reverse scenario. For example, contemporary profiles in a period home have other features that must be matched (such as door or wall trims and dado rails). It is all about getting the balance right.

Take, for example, Georgian and Victorian-style homes. These mostly have tall and airy rooms—some up to 3 metres—which accommodate high and more ornate profiles.

Then Edwardian homes, which are not quite so spacious. Or the contemporary home with a 2.4-metre ceiling height. Skirtings for these must be kept in proportion, not only with the height of the ceilings but the size of the room.

Certain profiles cannot be mixed and matched in different rooms, adjacent corridors, or certainly not in the same room. Some traditional or period-style profiles have such distinctive ridges and mouldings that this would not be possible anyway.