A skirting board is more than a strip at the foot of the wall: it covers the parquet expansion gap and protects the wall from knocks. Here is how to choose and fit it properly.
Most clients treat the skirting board as the last thing to choose, yet this thin strip does two important jobs: it covers the floor's expansion gap and protects the foot of the wall from brooms, feet and furniture. A wrong choice of height or material spoils the look of the room and can even damage the floor.
Parquet and other wooden floors expand and contract a little with the seasons and need a gap by the wall to move. You do not see that gap because the skirting board sits over it. That is why the board must never be pressed or glued down onto the floor; in our article on the parquet expansion gap we saw that the floor must stay free to move. The skirting board should be fixed to the wall, not to the floor.
Where the floor is wooden, it helps to match the skirting board's material and colour to the doors or frames so the space reads as one; for matching wood tones see mixing wood tones in decor.
Taller skirting boards feel formal and classic and work well under high ceilings, while a short, plain board suits a modern scheme. The simple rule is to match the board's height to the ceiling height and the style of the room; in a small room with a low ceiling a very tall board makes the space feel heavy. A simple profile without grooves is easier to clean and more practical in a home with children or pets.
Fix the skirting board to the wall, not to the floor; the floor must stay free.
The most common mistake is gluing the skirting board to the floor and filling the gap completely; then the parquet cannot move in the humid season and may buckle. Another is choosing plain MDF skirting for a place where the floor is often wet. Before buying, decide where it will go and choose the board to suit the moisture and the floor.
Even a correctly installed wood floor contracts slightly in dry heating season and swells a little in humid season. That's normal wood behavior, not a workmanship defect — but ignoring it leads to cracks and buckling.
Parquet can be glued directly to the subfloor or floated over an underlayment; here is the real difference between the two methods and when each one wins.
Every wood decor style follows a different logic: light, natural roughness, or symmetry. Before picking a wood species and a colour, you need to pick the style first.