On this side its...

[Markw]

Hello all,
I need advice on the correct way to change colours of skirting boards and architrave between various rooms.

The house other than the kitchen has skirting, architrave and door frames of clear estapol maple. The kitchen has white painted skirting, architrave and an external door & frame so to match the white vacuum formed cabinetry. The dinning room to kitchen archway (doorframe without door) which is yet to be installed will have timber finish on one side and white paint on the other.

What’s the best way to treat this transition point.
1. Painted frame with one lacquered architrave and one painted architrave.
2. Lacquered frame with one lacquered architrave and one painted architrave.
3. All painted frame and architrave.
4. All lacquered frame and architrave.

I am confused please help. :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Kev Y.]

I take it that you are going to be installing a door in the door way at some time?

If that is the case, it is usuall to paint the side faceing the room the matching colour finish.

IF it is paint, you would usually paint upto the doorstops. (there is a technical name for them but I forget it ) Generally when the door is SHUT the finish matches the room.

[ozwinner]

IF it is paint, you would usually paint upto the doorstops. (there is a technical name for them but I forget it ).

I think the technical name is Christopher.

Al

[Markw]

I take it that you are going to be installing a door in the door way at some time?

No not ever.

As it stands the dinning room does not have a window and relys on the light and ventilation from the loungre room & kitchen to comply with standards. This archway is currently an almost arch - square hole between rooms with heavily rounded top corners - 1300 wide max at floor and 2000 high in centre. But what can you expect from a house built in mid 70's.

My intent is to remove the rounded corners and make it square again (1300 wide at all heights) and fit 100 x 19mm maple in the same fashion as a door jamb. The 61mm bull nose architrave between "jamb" and gyprock is just like any other doorway style fitting.

[Kev Y.]

In that case it is upto your taste and what you think looks good.

[wombat47]

I don't think it would look out of place to lacquer the complete frame and have the white paint finishing at the ends of the kitchen skirting boards.

The single finish on the frame will make it look more "solid" than a striped effect of lacquered timber and white paint and will provide a bit of contrast to the white cupboards.

And you can always paint over if you don't like the effect.

[Tex B]

Agree with Wombat. From what you've said, sounds like the moulding would look better all one finish.


Tex

[Driver]

I agree with Wombat too.

Plenty of houses have metal door frames and wooden skirting boards where the door frames are painted and the skirting boards are left "natural" with a clear finish. This looks OK. I'm sure the reverse of this would look equally good.

[Markw]

Thanks to all
Had almost decided on the estapol jamb with white architrave on kitchen side same as a friend's house (this didn't "look" quite right). Will take your advices and estapol the entire assembly with white skirting starting at this point.

[Trav]

Mark

I just saw this thread.

I recently removed the architrave and jamb on some square archways in my house and had them square set by a plasterer. Best money I have ever spent (on plastering anyway). It made the room feel much more modern and joined the rooms up a little more.

You might like to think about it as an option.

I will also disagree with the others about the colours. I did this with my front door some months ago. Outside was grey, inside was whitish. In the end I simply closed the door and painted everything that I could see on the inside with the white, and everything on the outside with grey. There was a colour difference on the jamb, but it looked fine. As you are not going to have a door, the colour difference may be a little more pronounced. Hence my suggestion for square setting the plaster.

Can post pics if you like

Trav

[Markw]

Trav
Thanks for the reply but in my case that would accentuate the problem.

The colour schemes are:
Kitchen - White skirts, and cupboards (plain beveled vacuum formed doors), white beveled counter back tiles and exterior door frame; black with grey flecked counter tops; stainless long tee handles; mid grey floor vinyl and light grey walls to match stainless ovens etc.

Dinning Room - to have flooded gum floating floor (red in colour), estapol'd maple skirts and door frame to lounge room; with a yellow/kahki colour for the walls (Taubmans "Golden Hue" in Dulux 101)

As you can see this is a large difference between the rooms which I feel needs a definitive change point. To use one colour on one corner of the archway with a radically different colour adjacent to it would always bring the eyes to this point and make any bump or fault in the colour edge far more exagerated than it really is. Better to use a change of materials to cover this junction.

[wombat47]

Trav, I'm with you on the front door (but I think that generally the inside colour would also be on the bit that the latch thingy is in - highly technical here).

The square set doorway would solve one part of Mark's problem - but what do you do with the skirting boards? At what point do you change colour?

[Markw]

Wombat
In the current format which has this ugly rounded archway, the skirts continue from one room to another.

The jamb will provide the transition point between colours/types of finishes

[Trav]

Hi all

The skirts need to continue the whole way around. You'd just need to change colour on one corner. Probably the corner closest to the kitchen I'd suggest.

I think the square setting looks great - I had a few doorways without doors in my previous house and while they looked fine, I like the squaresetting much, much more. I guess it makes it look like you meant it that way, rather than if you just decided to take down the door. It will also minimise any conflicting trim colours.

But my tastes probably aren't for everyone.

Mark - go with whatever you think looks best. I don't think there are any rules for this stuff.

Trav

[wombat47]

I can picture it, Mark, and it looks great.

Since you're not installing a door, you don't really need the door jamb profile. You could frame the opening with maple boards (trimmed to the thickness of the wall) and the architraves. It would look as though it was meant to be a doorless doorway and not, as Trav suggested, that "you just decided to take down the door".

Back in the 70's I had a house with an archway between hall and loungeroom I used Gidgee Bricks (plastic stick on "bricks") to cope with the transition between totally different colour schemes. I'm anxiously awaiting the onset of Alzheimer's so I can forget that I ever did it.