Special Producers of skirting boards

THE SKIRTING BOARD HAS MATURED

HOW DO I HELP MY CLIENTS TO FIND THE RIGHT SKIRTING BOARDS FOR THEIR FLOOR?

Jeroen Janssen (Exclusive Decor – NL)

‘Skirting boards have become another persuasive sales argument.’

The range of skirting boards continues to expand widely. These once often forgotten accessories are undeniably making great strides and are emphatically demanding their own place in the house. Together with sales manager Jeroen Janssen from the Dutch skirting board specialist Exclusive Decor, we looked for some answers to a number of questions.

First of all, our interviewee tells us about his company: ‘We target mainly parquet businesses, tile traders, and home designers. They are companies with a store/showroom which fit floors for their clients. We’re not only a supplier; we can also supply end users on behalf of our clients and even do the fitting. That means we do a job for floor fitters which they often prefer not to do them-selves.’

When he considers the material, Jeroen notices how much ground skirting boards have won in recent years. They’ve gone from something which hardly anyone noticed to a fully fledged interior element.

Skirting boards provide the finishing touch

‘In the past, skirting boards were nothing more than a quick solution, but you notice more and more that they are getting more and more attractive and that they really do provide the finishing touch. What stands out is how we’re supplying Increasingly higher and longer models (up to 4.88 metres). That fits in with the trend towards a much more minimalist finish where fewer seams are on show at the same time.’

‘We respond to market demand by supplying a product in three qualities: the same fitted skirting board without lacquer, the prelacquered skirting board with one coat of lacquer (so that the painter only has to apply the top coat), and fully lacquered skirting boards with two coats of lacquer which can be fitted immediately. We do all this in any colour as required, with no limits, thanks to our own fully computerised lacquering lines and, where necessary, we spray by hand for special work.’

Emergence of white skirting boards

Our interviewee points out particularly that skirting boards have become another persuasive sales argument in a sales interview. He also notes the advance of white skirting boards.

‘At present, skirting boards are included in every advisory discussion in a sales interview. In addition, we also note how fashionable white skirting boards are in present interiors. Black skirting boards are also fashionable, but to a much more modest extent. To help our clients assess the modern picture, we supply presentation boards in the store so that people can see what the combination of floor and skirting board looks like.’

‘Our message to professionals couldn’t be clearer: Don’t forget how easily you can sell skirting boards in the total package, certainly when it comes to somewhat more luxurious and higher class examples. This extra turnover makes a nice bonus and, moreover, you create eye catchers. It’s also important to take care of your clients’ concerns, certainly by supplying fully lacquered skirting boards. You provide them with a product which they don’t think of very often and, moreover, it’s finished in high quality and delivered so rigidly that people couldn’t do that for themselves.’

Waterproof MDF

We mentioned that white skirting boards have become the standard. Technically, it seems that the use of waterproof MDF is the key to success.

‘Waterproof MDF with a hard press stands for high quality and can cope with damp much better. The applied coats of lacquer give a more rigid end result on this material and that finally determines the look and quality of your skirting boards. At the ‘lower end’ of the market they tend to use a totally different quality of MDF, which you can’t really call waterproof. We’re not in that market; our skirting boards are always better in quality.’

‘About 80% of our skirting boards are now designed in MDF. The rest of what we offer consists of hardwood skirting boards oak skirting boards, PVC, aluminium, and stainless steel so that our assortment is complete. One other interesting detail is that we see a clear difference in the market between Belgium and the Netherlands when it comes to aluminium and stainless steel. In Belgium they’ve clearly accepted it much more.’

Finally, Jeroen Janssen reveals a few details about the future of Exclusive Decor. It seems that they’re going to continue to extend their delivery service with both their own lorries and their own delivery vans for deliveries in both the Netherlands and Belgium. This is coupled to an internal quest for increasing refinement of production and products. All this is geared to one aim, namely thinking along with clients so that they can do the same with their own clients.

Web site: www.exclusivedecor.nl

As you can also read in the testimony, skirting boards were a hidden element of the interior for a long time. They were purely functional things which didn’t require much attention. However, things have changed drastically over the last decade. Skirting boards have regained our attention and established their place as a fully fledged interior element.

What we can say is that skirting boards more or less form the basis of an interior. For instance, they have some particularly important practical functions, such as protecting walls from damage, neatly finishing the transition between floor and wall, and, if necessary, concealing wires. Aesthetically, they mean the rise or fall of the look of a home. At present, skirting boards are openly in line with trends. Yet what are the present trends and how do you choose the right interior element? Below we give a summary so that, in turn, you can help your clients make the right choice amidst the ever more gigantic range of skirting boards.

Choosing the right height

Before we go into more detail, we want to make it clear how varied the sorts and sizes of skirting boards are for all the possible looks, from old fashioned rural to the rigid modern. An example of the modern look? Recommend a smooth skirting board which radiates serenity and luxury.

An area where many people go wrong is that they don’t choose the right height. Remember that the current trend is for increasingly higher skirting boards. These attract attention in the interior and give a classic look. Remember here that you shouldn’t exaggerate and that skirting boards are geared to the height of the ceiling and size of the room. The general rule of thumb is that the higher and bigger the room is, the higher the skirting board. And so, what it boils down to in the choice of a skirting board is that you have to consider the height of the walls so that the proportions stay in balance. Colour finishes

What also stands out in skirting boards nowadays is how many colour options there are. Yet there is a clear trend in one colour, namely white! White is timeless and rigid and contrasts with other colours in the interior. At the same time, remember there’s also a slight rise in demand for (glossy) black, which you can use to make a statement in a totally different way and provide an elegant look.

Other market developments

Obviously, there have been some other clear developments in recent years. In anticipation of finally being able to look at the product in real life at a trade fair, we highlight a few trends in skirting boards which have not yet been mentioned in this article. The first trend is that these days people are deliberately opting for skirting boards with the same decor as the floor. Those who make this choice opt for the creation of a serene look and opt, moreover, for a skirting board which makes the room look bigger. In that connection, you will discover that high skirting boards are particularly successful because they are timeless. For instance, they fit in perfectly with cast floors and they give the room a distinctly classic look. At the same time, classic skirting boards are back. This is the type of skirting board which does well, for instance, in renovations of houses from the 1930s. Think here of rooms with high ceilings and panel doors.

Finally, last but not least, a skirting board which has been doing very well for some time now is the skirting board with built-in LED lights. LED lights have long since ceased to be purely a functional element in a public area, but have conquered the whole interior. Skirting boards with these LED lights are often made of aluminium and synthetics. Their most important function is to give an interior a subtle highlight and a modern look.

Some extra specialists

Auer Metallprofile

In addition to a multitude of stair nosings, connecting profiles and special profiles, Auer Metallprofile also has various skirtings made of stainless steel and aluminum. From flat i-shape, via click-skirting, and then to edged and extruded L-shapes, to r-skirting boards to bump and push a variety of coverings, such as the 60 x 10 x 3,2 mm aluminum design skirting. This is suitable for bonding 2 to 3 mm floorings and adapts optimally in every room by the combination with the laid design floor. This skirting board is available in the anodized colors silver and stainless steel coloured as standard colours. Other anodized colours or with powder coating are available on request. Matching inside and outside corners can either be miter cut or manufactured as a 30x30 mm corner by us. To see all news visit us at our homepage www.Auer-Metallprofile.de or on Facebook and Instagram.

FN Neuhofer

With the increasing of LVT- and SPCfloors also skirtings have to be water protected. Currently we offer PVC based skirtings with a decor matching surface to the designated floors. There are also made researches on new materials, that do not include PVC, that are more sustainable, to be able to replace PVC as base material. Skirtings are being used more and more as a design element, either in designs or in skirting board forms, in order to give the room a special touch. In general there are no limits to the design given digital printing methods today. It is possible to set design accents or to match the skirtings perfectly to the floor. We expanded our product portfolio on the sector of white skirtings and are now able to offer them in all kinds of base materials and surfaces. MDF, pine, spruce, beech, obeche with surfaces white foiled in different thicknesses to white lacquered in different grades of quality. We are currently increasing our production capacity for these assortments.

La San Marco Profili

One of the primary aim of La San Marco Profili is offering its customers an all-round full service. In fact, what comes first is its constant attention to satisfy all customers’ requests thanks to a qualified staff and to the company spirit of innovation and product expansion idea. At proof of that, the company has just launched a new product catalogue full of different profiles, in MDF, solid wood, veneer, with attractive design and additional finishing and veneer surfaces that will satisfy the entire world markets. A definitely wide range of products that will capture customer’s attention and it surely will provide our clients all the necessary and more. We could say there are two main different trends nowadays regarding skirting boards choice. One is the minimal choice that refers to small, plain and almost basic skirting and the other one is the opposite that involves the choice of large and ornate skirting. Over these last years, in facts, trends in interior design are going back to more elaborate and higher skirting boards, which, in conjunction with other decorative mouldings help to give an extra design element to the room. In fact, today, many interior stylists are using the different style of skirting boards to add an artistic touch to the interior of a home. In this sense, the skirting is no longer considered as a simple detail, but it becomes a real design product. Our Old Style skirting line perfectly represents this idea. A wide range of higher skirting with particular shape that easily combine past styles with a modern design touch of nowadays architecture. These skirting, together with all the entire production, are always available in stock for prompt delivery thanks to the company’s huge well-organized stock. Furthermore, La San Marco, thanks to its flexibility, handles all special quantities or specific customized requests in a very short time. All products are manufactured in Italy.

Progress Profiles

Skirting boards can definitely bring a fashionable touch to any environment, since they can match or be in contrast with the style and the design of the space. For 36 years Progress Profiles has been producing a very wide range of skirting boards, offering the perfect solution to every request. Among the novelties, Proskirting LIST is characterized by a sharp edge and is available in silver or white color. Realized in aluminum in two heights - 40 mm and 80 mm -, it can be chosen in different finishes - anodized, polished, brushed, varnished -. Suitable for a minimalist environment, it furnishes private or public spaces. Thanks to its 10 mm width, it guarantees the perfect coverage of perimeters and protects walls from furniture rubbing; it can be fixed to the wall with adhesive or aluminum supports. Moreover, Promultiskirt Square and Promultiskirt Round are two new patented models equipped with pre-engravings on the back and front (not visible): they can be easily carved, choosing from different heights - 10, 8 or 6 cm.