I finally checked out the restored 1890s farmhouse at the state fairgrounds

The original trim and built-ins are incredible, but I noticed they used a lot of face-nailed picture rail instead of a proper dado. Anyone know why they'd do that back then?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_park8d ago

Picture rail was the standard way to hang art in nice houses back then. A dado would have been a more built-in, permanent trim. The rail let them easily change out paintings or photos without putting new holes in the wall. It was a practical choice, not a shortcut.

iris5747d ago

But we're really debating trim like it's a moral issue.

julia_miller242d ago

Hold up, that take feels way too clean. Picture rail was absolutely a shortcut in a lot of those old farmhouses. A real dado with a proper cap and base is solid woodwork, it's built into the house. That rail is just a thin strip tacked on the surface. They used it because it was cheaper and faster for a builder to install, not because the farmer's wife was swapping out gallery walls every season. It was the budget option back then, same as it is now.