Hardwood Architrave

Solid hardwood architrave to frame doors and windows, in twenty profiles matched to the skirting range. Primed or unprimed, in widths from 70mm.

Machined in American tulipwood — a paint-grade hardwood that holds a clean edge where a frame meets the wall.

Made to order Moisture-resistant MDF Made in Britain

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Matches our skirtingCoordinated profile families

Moisture-resistant MDFWon't warp, twist or crack

Made in BritainMachined in our Epsom workshop since 2003

UK delivery in 5–7 working daysOr free collection from Epsom

Hardwood Architrave Overview

Why solid wood architrave?

Solid wood architrave frames a door or window and covers the joint between the lining and the plaster, which is never as tidy as anyone would like. In hardwood it survives being knocked by furniture on the way through a doorway, and the mitres at the head stay closed rather than opening as a softwood section dries out.

Hardwood or softwood architrave?

Most wooden architrave sold off the shelf is pine, which dents at ankle height and needs its knots sealed before paint. Hardwood holds the profile and the paint line. For a painted finish at a lower price, the same profiles run in MDF architrave.

Matching architrave to skirting

The usual rule is that door architrave sits narrower than the skirting it meets — 70mm against a 145mm board reads well, 95mm and up suits a tall period skirting. Every width here has its partner in the hardwood skirting boards, with dado rails and panel moulding to carry the same line round the walls.

Victorian, Georgian and Edwardian profiles

If you are working to a particular era, start with Victorian architrave for heavier ornament, Georgian architrave for restraint and proportion, or Edwardian architrave for the lighter lines that followed. Each spans both solid hardwood and MDF.

Overview

The common questions, answered — so you order the right profile first time.

It can, but it is not the timber for it. Tulipwood is a paint-grade hardwood — it takes stain unevenly and the green and grey streaks show through. For a stained or clear finish, wait for the oak rather than fight the tulipwood.

Period profiles: Victorian, Georgian and Edwardian.

Architrave normally sits narrower than the skirting it meets: 70mm against a 145mm board reads well, and 95mm or more suits a tall period skirting. Check what the wall between the lining and the corner will actually take before going wide.

Every width here has its partner in the hardwood skirting boards.

A standard internal door takes about 5.2 metres to architrave one side, or 10.4 metres for both — two legs of roughly 2.1m and a head of about 1m each side, plus waste for the mitres. Buying a spare length is cheaper than a second delivery when a mitre goes wrong.

Mark a consistent margin — usually 6mm — back from the inside edge of the lining on both legs and the head, so the architrave sits proud of the door stop. Cut the head first with 45 degree mitres, fix it, then cut each leg long and trim to fit. Pin into the lining and the stud, and pilot the holes in hardwood.

Architrave is the moulding that frames a door or window, covering the joint between the lining and the plaster — a joint that is never as tidy as anyone would like. It is decorative and practical at once: a wider architrave hides more movement and reads as more substantial, a narrower one keeps a modern opening light.