Wallpapering a victoriana room question

[swisstony]

Hi,

I am wallpapering (patterned paper) just the chimney-breast in a large (soon to be) Victorian room. There is a picture rail about 10 feet up the wall then a further 2 foot above the picture rail to the ceiling. The rest of the walls in the room are to be painted one colour both above and below the rail.

The question I have is does anybody know wether I should paper the small section above the picture rail or leave that and paint it the same colour as the rest of the room? I know it could be considered a matter of taste but wondered if anybody knew what would have originally been done in such a room in Victorian times?

Many thanks,

David

[nightjar]

In all the Victorian houses I have known, the bit above the picture rail was treated as part of the ceiling and painted to match that. However, I don't go back as far as the reign of that Queen, so it may have been a later convention.

Colin Bignell

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The 'normal' way is to have the part above the picture rail the same colour as the ceiling - even when you have a different colour cornice. But at the end of the day, whatever looks right to you is what matters.