They're often sold together — but they serve completely different purposes.
What Is a Skirting Board?
A skirting board runs along the base of a wall where it meets the floor. Its job is to cover the gap between the plaster and the floorboards, protect the bottom of the wall from scuffs and kicks, and add a finished, architectural detail to the room.
What Is an Architrave?
An architrave frames a door or window opening. It covers the gap between the door lining (or window frame) and the plaster, and gives the opening a neat, finished edge. The vertical sections are called legs; the horizontal section at the top is called the head.
How They Work Together
In a well-finished room, skirting and architrave are always from the same profile family. The two pieces meet at the bottom corner of the door frame — the architrave leg sits on top of a small plinth block, or the skirting is cut to butt up cleanly against the architrave leg.
For a balanced look, the width of your architrave leg should be roughly half to two-thirds the height of your skirting. For example, 145mm skirting pairs well with a 57mm or 70mm architrave.
Matching Profiles
At Univers Skirting & Architrave, our skirting and architrave profiles are designed to be used together. Whether you choose Ogee, Torus, or Square Edge, using the same profile on both elements creates a coherent, professional interior that reads as designed rather than assembled.
Browse our full range of matching skirting and architrave sets.