Full-Wall Picture-Frame Panelling

The room had the long thin proportions typical of a Dublin 6 period reception, with the chimney breast on one wall and full-height windows on another. Picture-frame panelling does two things in a room like this: it gives the eye a rhythm to follow along the long walls, and it puts a deliberate frame around the chimney breast so it reads as a centrepiece rather than a wall obstruction.

The frames are set out to match the proportions of the floor below — the herringbone parquet sets the rhythm and the panel widths follow it. The panelling is applied, caulked and prepped ready for the painter, with the cornice intact above and the deep skirting matched into the new work.