Wednesday, December 7, 2011

dado rails get fancy for 2012

Wikipedia and I had a chat earlier. "So what is a chair rail for, anyways," I said. Wiki kindly informed me that "A dado rail, also known as a chair rail, is a type of moulding fixed horizontally to the wall around the perimeter of a room. The dado rail is traditionally part of the dado and, although the purpose of the dado is mainly aesthetic in modern homes, the dado rail still provides the wall with protection from furniture and other contact." Who knew? All this time we've called it a chair rail, we could have used its more sophisticated name, dado. Dado, dado, dado.


I've always thought dado rails were supposed to be white or part of the trim color.  somewhere along the line -- and you know Pinterest played a part in this -- i started to notice a trend of trim matching the wall color, especially in dark, cozy rooms.  (See previous posts on hibernating...maybe that is the greater trend these days.)  so, after I spent days painting the dining room the glorious "Sealskin" color, it really bothered me that the chair, ack hmm, dado rail was white.  the contrast was too drastic and was casting a Pottery Barn feel from, oh, 2010 (which is almost two years ago, people).   i took a deep breath and painted right over that fancy blue tape and voila, my dado rail is now the same rich, dark color.  the look is ultra dramatic if you take your wall color to the crown moulding and baseboards.  the best part is, less taping!  go crazy with your brush!

i'm not going to reveal the final look until later, but here are a few good inspirations for painted trim! 















Rocky Ledge LIbrary contemporary living room
Home office eclectic home office
Gilded Chair
Black Walls

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