Why Should You Install Skirting Boards?

If you are thinking of doing some redecorating in your home, one of the things you may want to do is to install skirting boards if you do not have them yet.  Skirting boards, or baseboards, as the Americans call them, are panels of wood that are attached to the wall right where it meets the floor. They are a type of wood moulding, and they come in many different sizes, shapes and finishes.

Why should you install skirting boards as part of your redecorating efforts?  There are many reasons that can compel you to put up baseboards in your home, but the most common reasons include the fact that they can serve as protection for your walls, they can hide unsightly wires, and they can give any room a distinct look and character.

Skirting Boards as Protection for Your Walls

Some types of furnishings such as cabinets, shelves and armoires need to stand against the wall.  The edges of these pieces of furniture can scratch your walls, and this can be a problem if your walls have elaborate wallpaper or panelling or if your walls are made of beautifully grained wood.

In time, the space on your wall that is not covered by these furniture pieces will fade, causing an uneven colour on your walls.  All these can be bothersome when you decide to rearrange or replace your furniture, and you may have to repaint your walls or replace your wallpaper.

However, if you have skirting boards, you can completely avoid the necessity of repainting or repapering your walls when you replace or rearrange your furniture.  That is because your furniture will not have to rest entirely against the walls.  The baseboards will create a space between your furniture and the wall.

Skirting Boards Hide Unsightly Wires

Aside from dirt, dust and marks of disrepair, nothing looks more unsightly in a house than wires hanging like vines and tendrils against the wall or snaking along the floor.  Instead of letting the wiring of your home stick out this way, you can gather them and hide them behind baseboards.

If you have the talent and the patience for carpentry, you can fashion baseboards with space for wirings on your own.  You can also buy baseboards that already have the allotments for wirings that you need.

Skirting Boards Give Character to a Room

Aside from the utilitarian purposes that baseboards have, perhaps the most important purpose of baseboards is that they give a distinct character to any room.  Baseboards painted in a colour that contrasts the colour of the walls can draw attention to the details of the wall, or perhaps on the pictures and hangings that decorate the wall.  Baseboards can also have elaborate mouldings and carvings that can serve as a decorative feature of the room.

Skirting boards have many uses.  They are not just decorative elements in a room; they are also protection for the walls.  Thus, when you redecorate your house, you ought to consider adding skirting boards if you do not have them yet.