When it comes to making your home or office as perfect as it can be, you need to pay attention to the little details that come along with them, such as skirting boards that are also known as baseboards. They are usually in the form of a wooden board that covers the lowest part of the room’s interior, whilst the simplest skirting comes as a plank that is nailed or glued to the wall. There is another more modern type of baseboard though, mainly plastic ones that are made purely out of UPVC. These types of boards play a few important roles in properties.

One of these roles is serving as decoration. Skirting boards can be used purely for decorative purposes in newer buildings that allow for it. They are also often seen in old houses, often complementing traditional solid oak flooring or carpets.

Another use of skirting boards is protection. They will typically defend the wall from accidental knocks, along with tears from furniture and soiling and scuffs from mops and hoovers. If you’re redecorating a room, you’ll have more flexibility when it comes to choosing the right baseboards that can provide decoration and protection at the same time.

Surprisingly enough, they can also be used to hide unwanted and uneven wall edges and rugged floors. If you’ve accidentally scraped the wall when moving furniture around in your room or If you’re ever feeling self-conscious about a specific part of your room that could’ve been made better, you can always make sure no one else notices it’s even there with the help of these boards, though this of course is not their primary use.

You will struggle to find a building in the UK without skirting so there will come a time when you need to decide on a style that’s right for your new or established property. There are decorative designs as well as clean and contemporary styles constructed from oak, UPVC, pine and other woods, and you can buy them online pre-made so all you need to do is install them or have your floorer carry out the work for you.

Skirting may not be the most complicated, complex or important decision you need to make when you’re carrying out a building job or restoration project, but the boards are necessary, and a room will never look complete without any form of baseboard. We recommend you take your time and choose a style that’s right for your home. For consistency, you should run with one particular type of skirting throughout your home, including bedrooms and hallways. That way they will blend in seamlessly, so much so that your guests won’t even notice them, which is the way it should be. If you choose oak skirting, which you most likely will, then it’s recommended you finish them with an oil, wax or paint coating as soon as possible, to reduce chances of damage when they’re installed.