Do you have Dado rails.

Go for it, as others have said, have whatever you like in your own home!

We live in a 70s house and someone had added a dark wood dado rail up the stairs. Since then, someone has added a handy rail up the stairs, so it doesn't really look right.

The hall/stairwell needs decorating, but to get rid of the dado rail would mean a lot more work, so we may have to just live with it... but if it was part of the living room, that would be different!

I grew up in a house with dado rails in most rooms. And strange
panelling on the walls. Everything was brown and cream.
It was all very gloomy. I think we hung paintings from some dado rails. Paintings of highland cattle in dark and dull scenery. These are early memories.

We have dado rails in the hall,on the stairs and in the lounge.
We can then change the decor by painting the bottom part of the walls as and when we feel it needs a bit of a facelift .

Have what you want Bikergran, it’s your home. We had all sorts of “ period features” in our 200 year old previous house and nothing at all (there aren’t any unless you count ranch style staircase which we removed for a more “traditional” one) in our 1970s present house. All of our furniture suited the old but we’ve kept most in this house as it’s quite spacious. We have what we like and so should you! Good luck!

I have dado rails in my large living room.
No intention of getting rid of them.
I like them and it’s my house, my choice.

We have dado rails in lounge, dining room and hall (1980s house) and moulding underneath. I quite like the moulding, adds a bit of texture and interest but still easy to paint.

I don't much care about trends - some people are restoring old features and some still taking them out.

Agree with Thoro about the taller bookcases and cupboards though, either they have to be built in around the dado, the dado altered or they are two or three inches away from the wall.

Henetha
I think the pictures would have hung from the picture rail.

Your choice but personally I think they are just another surface to gather dust.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202301/medium-389620-screenshot-20230125-175039-instagram.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202301/medium-533818-screenshot-20230125-175026-instagram.jpg

I think it's your home, your choice.
Lots of inspiration online. Dado rails were "in" recently anyway so don't be put off by those people saying it was all 80s.
Here's a before and after picture:

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202301/medium-156922-screenshot-20230125-180225-chrome.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202301/medium-777153-screenshot-20230125-180107-chrome.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202301/medium-151661-screenshot-20230125-175713-chrome.jpg

Here are more images. Easily found online...

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202301/medium-273768-screenshot-20230125-175444-instagram.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202301/medium-657938-screenshot-20230125-175338-instagram.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202301/medium-816106-screenshot-20230125-174943-instagram.jpg

And yet more

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202301/medium-894742-screenshot-20230125-180307-chrome.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202301/medium-921318-screenshot-20230125-174911-instagram.jpg

Even more.

Lots of contemporary ideas out there if you look.

I have just put up a dado rail in my hall, I didn't want walls all one colour top to bottom, although I say it myself it looks really good.
I also work p/t at a large diy store, dado sales are on the increase, so you are not alone.

Thoro

Do you mean those dust collectors half way up the wall! Yes I’ve got them in our 80’s built house.
They do collect dust (especially behind doors you forget to look behind)
They also mean that you can’t have bookcases etc flush against the wall.

Who has bookcases (or doors, for that matter) on the stairs?

Put a wallpaper strip along the wall, then you can remove it if you don't like it.
We once lived in an old-ish house that had Lincrusta paper on the bottom half of the wall, painted in gloss paint. To have it removed would have meant re-plastering the whole of the hall, landing and stairs, much too costly then.

I’ve had a close look at how far the dado rail sticks out in relation to the skirting board, and it doesn’t protrude any further out, so if you have a skirting board, then book cases etc, will still sit a little away from rather than flush to the wall, whether or not you have a dado rail.

Ziplok - I think it depends on the profile.

But of course shape determines hoe chunky we "read" it visually.
My dado rail in the hall looks huge but I've just measured it and it's actually only ¾" - but to my surprise the skirting board, which looks slimmer is much fatter - 1½".
I suppose the skirting board looks slimmer as it's very tall and has lots of curves!

Some lovely ideas. (my brain is ticking over) thanks for all the interest.