Plain white walls are easy to live with, but they can leave a room feeling flat. Mouldings and wall panels add shadow, rhythm and a sense of craft, and they suit a modern apartment as well as a period house. Here are ten ways to use them.
1. Finish the floor with a proper skirting
A taller skirting makes a room look finished and protects the wall from knocks. Painted the same colour as the wall, it looks calm and modern; in a contrasting colour, it frames the floor.
2. Hide old skirting with a cover profile
Cover skirting fits over an existing skirting or tiles, so you can update a room without removing anything first.
3. Crown the room with a cornice
A cornice softens the line where wall meets ceiling and makes a ceiling feel higher. Choose a slim profile for a modern room or a richer one for a classic look.
4. Light the ceiling indirectly
Some cornices are made to hold an LED strip, washing the ceiling with soft light and hiding the source.
5. Draw panels on a plain wall
Panel mouldings (thin frames fixed to the wall and painted with it) turn a plain wall into a panelled one, behind a bed, along a hallway or in a dining room.
6. Make a feature wall with 3D panels
Three-dimensional wall panels, with ribs, waves or geometric patterns, give a wall texture that changes with the light through the day. They work well behind a sofa, a TV or a reception desk.
7. Add a dado rail
A rail at chair height divides a tall wall in two: paint the lower part darker, the upper part lighter, and the room feels more grounded.
8. Frame doors and openings
Door surrounds give simple openings a sense of importance and tie them in with the rest of the mouldings in the room.
9. Hide curtain tracks
A curtain hider profile conceals the track, so curtains seem to fall straight from the ceiling.
10. Use flexible profiles on curves
Flexible versions of many profiles follow curved walls and bay windows, so the line runs on without breaks.
Light, easy to fit, ready to paint
The ORAC mouldings and panels we supply are made of high-density polymer: lighter than plaster, they are glued in place, come primed and ready to paint, and are water-resistant. Many profiles belong to collections that share the same lines, so skirting, cornice and panel mouldings match.
Visit our showroom to see the profiles at full size, or book an appointment and bring photos of your walls: we will suggest profiles and arrange fitting.
