INTERIOR DESIGN WITH DADO RAILS

Interior design with dado rails

You can’t move on social media for one particular interior design trend – wall panelling! It’s really having a moment, with MDF batons being used to replicate the real deal. While panelling certainly has its place – particularly original examples seen in London’s fabulous Georgian townhouses – dare I say it, it’s beginning to feel a little over exposed.

There is a more understated option for those who like their luxury interiors with a wall adornment – the dado rail. This often ornate but subtle strip of wood was introduced as a safety buffer after interior designers of the past noticed the shunting back of dining room chairs was damaging the expensive Chinoiserie wallpaper.

A dado rail’s primary function explains why it was always set around waist height and many interiors in London still sport a dado rail roughly a third of the way up the wall. Now classed as a period feature, there is an entirely unique approach to interior design with dado rails.

Interior design studios will often specify different paint colours or wallpapers to go above and below a dado rail. For instance, if we were asked to make a room with low ceilings feel grander, we would apply a darker paint shade below the dado rail and a much paler shade above.

Quirkier takes on interior design results when you combine wallpaper, paint and a dado rail. Using patterned wallpaper – perhaps a bold Liberty print – above and below a dado rail will instantly add impact but this can be further elevated by painting the dado rail either a complimentary or even clashing colour – the more unexpected, the better.

One of the simplest but most striking ways to incorporate a dado rail is to follow a monochrome path. Painting white (Clean White from Paint & Paper Library is ideal) both above and below the moulding may feel safe to start with but if you paint the dado rail in an inky colour (Down Pipe from Farrow & Ball is a good place to start), you’d bring a heritage feature into a contemporary realm.

Of course, you may inherit a dado rail as part of a listed property and feel it’s an intrusion on your interior design plans. If this is the case, camouflage may be your best option. Paint from top to bottom in the same shade – walls, skirting board, coving, cornicing and dado rail included -  and the rail will blend into the background and you’ll have achieved another high end interior design trend – colour blocking.  

If interior design with dado rails is proving a challenge, feel free to use us for advice.