At Three Birds Renovations’ House 18, ‘Maison Soleil’, familiar architectural mouldings have been used in new ways, bringing a modern touch to French country style.
In the media room at Maison Soleil, a chair rail moulding runs vertically up the wall. In two children’s bedrooms, fluted wall battens have also been used in unexpected ways, adding texture and a playful decorative detail. Both are simple, yet unexpected uses of Intrim Group’s products.
Planning these details started long before the transformation of the dark, outdated Sydney home. Three Birds Renovations shared a vision board with Intrim, showing a French country direction with oversized skirting and architraves, and ideas for wall detailing.
Having worked with Intrim Group for many years, Three Birds Renovations were familiar with the different skirting and architrave options available. Often exploring a different style for every home, they’ve used many different types of products over the years.
“They’ve used decorative skirting. They’ve used our Shadowline flush finish skirting. They really like the breadth of our range and the different styles that it suits because it gives them that freedom to really go anywhere they want with an interior style, knowing that we’ll have something to match it,” says Erica Williams, Marketing Lead at Intrim Group.
For Maison Soleil, Intrim’s CR190, SK945B, SK498, WB35 and WB09 profiles were selected, some used in traditional ways while others were integrated by the design team in innovative ways.
SK945B has been used throughout the home for all skirting and architraves, establishing a distinctive French style. An oversized profile with soft curves, it best suits Hamptons, French and Country Farmhouse interiors. Repeated throughout the home, it creates continuity between the different spaces. Its detailing also echoes curves seen throughout the interior, from the outline of the garage door to the entry stairs and the opening between the outdoor dining area and pool.
Repeating the use of curves, fluted WB35 decorative wall battens have been added as a playful detail in two of the children’s bedrooms. Often placed vertically, Three Birds have instead used it horizontally in one. In the other, a simple batten (WB09) has been placed above and below WB35 to add another layer.
In the media room, Intrim’s products have also been used in new ways. CR190, normally used as a chair rail in more modern spaces, has been integrated into the design vertically. Paired with the WB09 wall batten and the same skirting and architraves as the rest of the home, everything feels cohesive, despite the different ways of using the profile.
Achieving the look took some refinement, though. “The thickness of the chair rail meant that it would jut out over the top of the skirting board, so we suggested they use another skirting profile (SK498) and invert it so the end of the batten met the upside-down thicker width of the skirting profile so it didn’t jut out over the edge,” says Erica. A small adjustment that makes the room feel resolved.
“The Three Birds always use our products in different ways, which is great to see. They do things that we don’t traditionally think of. They’re very good at coming up with innovative ways to use our mouldings, and it really sparks inspiration for people.”
Maison Soleil is a beautiful example of how skirting, architraves and mouldings can influence a home’s style and bring individual character to different rooms. For homeowners and designers inspired by the Three Birds’ approach, Intrim Group has brought together the mouldings used throughout the home in its French Country sample box so the same style can be easily recreated.
“It’s hard to convey an interior style when you have plain walls and builder-spec, standard mouldings,” says Erica. “It feels like something is missing or incomplete.”
