I had a bit of a revelation when I painted the bedroom a few weeks ago. I had actually been questioning it far far longer than that – in fact it went back to September 2011 when I originally painted the back wall of the bedroom black. I had asked the question of whether I should have painted above the picture rail.
It was long-time favourite blogger and all-around cool no-nonsense Hollie of I’m Busy Procrastinating, who told me YES, I should paint above it. I knew she was right. So, like so many other things, it went on my ‘to-do’ list and it was only a few weeks ago when I actually went for it.
Once I did, that was my revelation – why oh why didn’t I do this when I first painted the room?!?! The ceilings look higher (just like Hollie said) and the room takes on a more elevated look. So, I just wanted to say THANK YOU to Hollie for not being afraid to just say, ‘Yep, it looks alright but it could have looked better!’
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I have never claimed to have all the answers and I am the first to admit if I’ve made a bit of a dog’s dinner of something and I do graciously accept advice from the lovely folks that stop by here at Swoon Worthy and continue to read my rambling thoughts – that’s you guys right there. :)
Getting back to revelations, once I painted above the picture rail in the bedroom, I knew I needed to do it in one more room. The living room.
Ya see, when we first moved in, none of the rooms had been painted above the picture rails and I think I just followed that lead – I assumed that was the ‘done thing’. In the living room, I made even more of a mistake of it. Not only didn’t I paint above the picture rails but I didn’t paint a whole wall – hard to tell in the pics but in the bay window, I’d left the entire thing white while the rest of the walls were painted grey (or wallpapered, obviously). Again, I just followed the lead of the previous owners – I think about it now and think how STUPID was that?!
So this past bank holiday weekend, I decided I was getting out the paint brushes again. And I have to say, I love it. I honestly have no idea why I didn’t do this the first time!
A little more before and after may be necessary here…
Before…
After…
Before…
And after…
Better no? I like how it frames the wallpaper with the picture rail left in white but at some point, I may just wallpaper above the picture rail as well as I still have plenty of paper left. W, however, is the wallpaper-er around here and he was busy damp-proofing his ‘man cave’ – the cellar. So, another project for another day, perhaps.
One more revelation – when I painted the radiator in the bedroom, I realised how much of a difference it made to having it blend in. It was only after watching Abigail Ahern on her new Channel 4 show that I noticed her painting out the radiators and that reminded me to try it. For whatever reason, I assumed it would be a big deal to paint them – turns out, because they’d already been painted, I just needed to get a small pot of Dulux Wood & Metal Paint in my chosen shade and slap that stuff on. 2 COATS. THAT’S IT. (If it was bare metal, I would have needed to do a coat of metal primer first but still not much of a big deal.)
WHY DIDN’T I DO THIS WITH ALL MY ROOMS?!?! WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO LEARN THIS??
Needless to say, the living room got the treatment (as well as one other room which I’ll be sharing soon). I know it’s hard to tell in the pics but that sucker used to be bright shocking white. So much better now.
So there ya go. As they say here in the UK, ‘Every day’s a school day.’ It most certainly is. And just goes to show how much I still have to learn! Is it sad that learning these things excites me no end?!
What do you think of the change? Have you ever made a small change in a room that you realised you should have known all along? Any major revelations you might want to share? If so, I’d love to hear it and possibly save myself learning it the hard way! ;)
Want to see some updated pics of the living room? You can see my most recent posts here.
it looks gorgeous! you should be so proud! :) xx
definitely swoon worthy! i love that room!
Definitely much better! It is great how just a small change can make such a difference.
Looks wonderful! Just wondering what brand and shade your grey colour is. I tried painting my living room gray (more than once) but with so much sunlight in the room I kept getting a blueish tone to it in the afternoons and a shade I just wasn't a fan of at night. I ended up having to go to a slightly green hued taupe but still dream of going grey again~
I think it looks fab! Great job.
I'm obsessed with the change!! So glad you did it!!!<br /><br />Xx. Patience
I love the room! I love that mirror, the ceiling, the chandelier, the rug, the wallpaper on the accent wall. Great job lady!
what a fabulous change. every time i clean my house, i fall in love with it, and i go WHY DON'T I JUST DO THIS ALL THE TIME and then amnesia sets in within like 15 minutes and a few weeks later it begins again.<br /><br />i miss my picture rail in our first home!!!! a 1920s chicago bungalow in the middle of mcmansions. can you imagine its charm? it is gone now. a million dollar mansion in its
Thanks for the shout-out, lovey! The living room walls look great. I like how the picture molding pops out now. Love your new rug too. It's huge!
It’s amazing how much difference a bit of paint in the right place can make! I wouldn’t have said there was anything wrong with your walls before you painted above the picture rail, but you are so right, it looks fabulous now and your eye is immediately drawn upwards! I also didn’t know you could paint radiators (every day is a school day indeed). I think a trip to Homebase is in order for me!
It really does make the room look taller and the wallpaper really stands out (I love that paper) Great job and that's a beautiful gray on the walls!
Picture rails are funny things, aren't they? There's always the question of whether to paint above it or not. I love how you've added height to your rooms by painting above it. A friend of mine has a large period house with very high ceilings and she painted her living room a deep blue, and tried to paint above the picture rail, but it didn't work for her, so it's all a bit
This looks so good! My living room is very similar and I'm planning on painting the walls a different colour above the picture rail to really make the trim and the ceiling pop!
Perfect timing, thank you. (Well, thank Google as well, as that's how I got here.) Getting keys to my home in two days, painting the front sitting room was a top, top priority (it's an unfortunate medley of oranges now). These examples added clarity to my "paint above the picture rail" dilemma. Now the next question is whether or not to keep the chair rails! Anyone have
Hi, what colour grey have you used on the walls? Its really nice!
It's Dulux Dusted Moss 2 :) You can see my source list above under 'Where did you get that?' x
I'm so happy I found this article Kimberly. I'm thinking of redecorating my living room, which has a picture rail, and I was wondering what the best option is. Now I will definitely paint above the rail. Good point about the radiator too! Thanks!!
Yay! You're very welcome – honestly, it's the little things you learn along the way – life changing ;) x
Rooms looks great, but in my opinion I thought it was better before with the white, but hey ho, nice room.
Hi, the room looks fantastic! Wondered what you think is best for a room with both a picture rail and dado rail (so there are three sections). I was thinking painting the middle only but not sure if it would look better to paint middle and top, or middle and bottom?x
Hi Sally, I would do one of two things – either paint all THREE sections so the dado rail pops out, making it a feature. OR paint the dado rail the same colour as the walls so that it blends into the wall. The problem with not painting one or two sections is that your wall automatically looks shorter and thus, your ceilings will look lower. So it’s better not to interrupt the eye. Whatever you do, DON’T just paint one or two sections – paint all of them. :) Hope that helps! xx
Love this! Was just debating what to do in our Edwardian home. Is it me or did you paint the ceiling grey too? I was considering painting the ceiling a shade lighter than the walls so the white ceiling rose would pop. Advice appreciated!!
I didn’t paint the ceiling although I have considered it for AGES (shame I can’t be bothered when the room is virtually finished now!). Yes, go for it! It’ll look fabulous ;) xx
Thank God, I have finally found someone who has resolved my dilemma – to paint above the picture rail with the same colour as the wall. You have convinced me now. I have been tossing up ‘to paint or not to paint’ above the rail. I now know what to do. Thank you.
Yay! Happy to have been of help Peter. Happy painting ;) xx
Hi there – just found this article as I was deciding whether to paint a colour above a plate rail as well as below. I think it looks great in the grey you have used. Would you also do this for a darker blue colour or would you leave the area above the plate rail white? Thanks for any advice!
I did our bedroom in a very very dark slate (almost black) and I went above the picture rail and I think it really made the whole room look so much taller and more grand. (you can see it here: https://www.swoonworthy.co.uk/2017/06/summer-updates-bedroom.html/) So yes, I would always recommend going above the picture rail, no matter what colour you use! Hope that helps xxx
Great thanks Kimberly. I think your bedroom looks great! I will definitely go above and on the rail with the dark blue we have chosen. Thanks for sending the link. X
Your room is beautiful! A quick question would you wallpaper above the picture rail?
Hi Jessica, we didn’t in this room when we did the wallpaper and I regretted it ever since! So I think especially if you choose something quite bold, then yes, I’d do it! Hope that helps ;) xxx