Good morning Lorraine, firstly I have admired your design from the first day you posted on Houzz. Hope it is progressing well.
Our cornices are 55mm classic look and there is not a skirting board in the house at all. Our ceilings are 2.7m throughout. My husband wanted a shadow line ceiling, but was not in our budget. The 55mm cornices were an excellent compromise.

We have no need for skirtings. Home is double brick external, single brick internal walls, concrete slab. I’m not aware of your building slab, but with concrete and brick walls, there is no need for skirting. For us it was aesthetic personal choice. I personally was tired of dusting the skirting boards in my previous homes, so decided to have none. I do not regret my choice.

That is a wonderful home example siriusky.

I should add that in a previous build with 2.7 ceilings we used 67mm skirtings and architraves and they looked good - hence hubby's view on sizing! The difference there was they were three step and the cornice was also three step and doors had three vertical grooves close to the handle. I think it was the consistency that created a positive impression.

Thank you Dreamer and Sirius Key. I would love to have no skirtings, Dreamer. I envy you! But there's no way we can avoid them.

That link was helpful Sirius key. I am inclined to want to go minimalist. I would choose Shadowline except that they have to go on before plasterboard and that won't work on this build. I found two very thin profiles on the Intrim site that are very simple and I think might work if I can convince Hubby that Colonial curves don't go in a modern home. And one a bit chunkier but still very simple that I think I might have a hope of convincing Hubby to like.

BTW. Dreamer - the project has not been going well. The delays and errors have been unbelievable, and there have been a couple of distressing cost blowouts. I've been building for 50 years and I've never seen the incompetence, carelessness and greed I'm seeing now among tradesmen! The extremes are mind-boggling. Some are just so good and ethical and others are disgustingly careless and inept and are gouging on pricing something horrific.

Things are looking up now, though. The framing should proceed this week or next (the prefab frames are on site) and we've made major savings on framing, roofing and windows - more than enough to cover the blowouts. It should get to lockup by the end of November or early December. From there it's all fairly straight-forward. I found a great cabinet maker whose quote came in well under budget. Plumber and sparkie are both great guys whose prices were right on budget. We've been very happy with pricing of PC items and the service from suppliers. The climate in the industry is improving - albeit slowly! We'll get there!

In answer to your first question that profile is not modern and will look out of place in a modern home.my house is neither modern nor tidy but we have very large cornices on 2.7 ceiling and small skirts.

Lorraine, I hope the build continues to improve. Keep looking for that light at the end of that, very long and expensive, tunnel.

And sorry, I did not answer your original posted question. I agree with kates comments. the original posted photo of skirting would not suit your home. The second choices you have posted are much better. But maybe even less as per siriusky example.

The middle photo of skirting would be my choice for your home.

The two step cornice is Art Deco, I have used it in the past and wouldn't recommend it for your modern house. If you look at houses of similar design to yours they use simple small Skirts

Thanks heaps all. I am happy that you are recommending small skirts because (a) they are much less expensive and (b) I don't like the high skirtings. They seem to dominate, whereas I feel skirting boards are a necessary evil that should fade into the background and be as inconspicous as possible. I know many folk see them as a feature and go for huge, ornate skirts, but I don't like them.

I have looked again at cornice and I am now thinking rather than 2 step, something like the Presto or a simple square step would go nicely with the middle skirting above. There is a shadow set design that is only 20 down the wall and 65 along the ceiling that I think might work. Or polystyrene options 35 x 90 or 40 x 60 that run almost flat along the ceiling. Polystyrene cornice is very light weight so much cheaper to install and we have found it excellent.

Once again, I like cornice to be simple and unobtrusive. I would always choose square set if it's practical.

Presto looks great. Always wonder if shadow set was designed by a spider

Definitely plain skirt to suit the style of your house. We have this very simple skirting with a thin top edge - not too much to clean. Paint Rex same colour as the wall so tends to ‘disappear’ - perhaps a good option if no skirts were your first preference?

For the ceilings, I think going with a square set (without cornice) is a great idea. It adds a sleek and contemporary touch to the space. However, if a cornice is required, a narrow 2-step one could work well too, as it maintains a more subtle and minimalistic look. Now, let's talk skirting profiles. While your hubby prefers a curvy colonial profile, I can see why you're unsure about it fitting with the style of your home. Stepped or shadow line profiles might be a better fit for the modern-rustic vibe you're going for. They offer clean lines and a more streamlined appearance. If you're looking for some inspiration and options, I came across this website https://mdfskirtingworld.co.uk/skirting-boards/ that offers a wide range of skirting boards. You can browse through their selection and see if any profiles catch your eye. They might help you visualize how different styles could work in your space.

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