In my last house I was asked the colour of the sitting room walls so many times on Instagram that eventually, as soon as I typed the letter D on my phone, the word Downpipe would appear on its screen. These days there’s less engagement over there, but nonetheless, I thought you might find it useful if I brought all the materials, finishes and surfaces together in one place, so you can see how I decorated the whole house.
It’s quite a tight palette, as downstairs the rooms are either open-plan or have no doors, so I wanted to keep a sense of flow between the spaces. Upstairs there are three bedrooms and a family bathroom – and again, the colours all work together because the doors are usually open. Doing this also minimised waste as, for example, it meant I was able to choose a colour for the main bedroom ceiling and use the leftover on the bathroom ceiling. Likewise, the leftover pink from the kitchen cabinets has been used on the external windows.
The house is a mid-terrace with the front windows facing south-west and the back north-east. The kitchen is quite dark as there is a pantry extension on the back, but the front of the house is light.
It’s really important to note the effect of the natural light on your colour choices. In the age of the smartphone it’s easy to know which way your rooms face, so you can save time (and money on tester pots) by taking that into account from the start.
In short: south- and west-facing will have a warm yellow light – it’s not called the Golden Hour for nothing – which will warm up cool colours and cast an orangey glow on warm shades. A soft, peachy pink, for example, may end up salmon by the end of the afternoon. So if that isn’t what you are looking for, you need to find another shade of pink that has more blue or grey in it. Those who were familiar with the Mad About The House blog will remember Threadneedle by Mylands, which has a violet undertone and works brilliantly in sunny rooms.
North- and east-facing rooms will have a steady light all day but it will have a blue cast to it. This is also the most flattering light, by the way. Trinny Woodall (of Trinny London make-up) told me she tries only to live in houses with east-facing bathrooms. If that doesn’t work, but you have an early Zoom meeting, then moving the laptop to an east-facing window will act as a natural flattery filter.
Back to the paint. Light from the north means that a cool grey or blue may become cold in these rooms, so find a version with a red or yellow base. Another example is the classic Elephant’s Breath by Farrow & Ball; in a north-facing room it’s a very delicate and pretty shade of grey. On the other side of the compass it can appear quite a browny-beige.
I once visited a client who wanted some colour advice. Her south-facing bedroom was a breathtaking delicate shade of blue – Borrowed Light by Farrow & Ball. The spare room behind (north-facing) felt cold and unwelcoming. The colour? Borrowed Light by Farrow & Ball.
So below you will find not just the paints I have used but the directions of the rooms as well.
SITTING ROOM – south-west facing, very light
Walls Powder ii by Paint and Paper Library
Ceiling Powder iv by Paint and Paper Library
Floor Hatters boards by Broadleaf Timber
Curtains Conker by Secret Linen Store – and a note on these: They are ready-made with a wide tube at the top that’s designed to slide on to a pole. I felt that would make them too hard to open and close fully – particularly as the sofa sits directly in front, making them harder to reach. So I turned them upside down and sewed a length of ruffle tape along what was now the top edge. I then added hooks and fixed them to curtain rings.
Curtain poles Beeswax from Jim Lawrence
THE LIBRARY – faces north-east at the back of the sitting room, pretty light
Originally this would have been two rooms but, as is the case in so many Victorian terraces, the adjoining wall has been taken down to make one long room, with windows at both ends. We added a simple set of folding doors that don’t reach all the way across, but do allow you to narrow the gap and partially screen the work area in the evening.
It’s probably worth pointing that the snap below (hastily taken, so please ignore the cardboard boxes) was taken at about 4pm in the evening (nearly Golden Hour sun) so the pink appears more intense on this unfiltered picture than it is really is.
The details are all the same except for the
Woodwork: Scarlet n Rust by Paint and Paper Library
A note on this. Colour cards illustrate an emulsion finish and colours can look slightly different in eggshell or gloss. I chose this colour because I thought it was more rust than red. In this eggshell finish it has more red in it, but I love it anyway. Just something to be aware of.
The sofa, which belonged to my Great-Grandmother, was reupholstered in Wave Velvet by Schumacher by Vintique Upholstery.
KITCHEN north-east facing, quite dark
From these pictures you can see the French doors and the door at the back of the pantry, as well as the internal window. The reality is that it’s great on a sunny day but in winter we tend to have the lights on most of the time. I kept to the same colours as the sitting room because it’s next door, and it has no door. Plus, it’s a small house – I wanted to keep a soft flow between the rooms downstairs so I kept the same colours but used them in different intensities.
Walls and Ceiling: Powder i by Paint and Paper Library, in intelligent matt
Base Units Powder iii Paint and Paper Library, in intelligent matt
Wall Shelves Scarlet n Rust by Paint and Paper Library
Flooring Marlborough Terracotta from Ca Pietra
Worktop Aged copper worktops from Halman Thompson
Wall tiles Avebury Parchment from Ca Pietra (with chocolate grout)
Oven Copper finish from Bertazzoni
Light fittings Dyke & Dean
Cupboard handles, sockets and switches Bronze from Corston Architectural Detail
THE SHOWER ROOM north-east facing extension
This forms half of the extension which was added to the back of the house before we moved in, and provides a downstairs shower room and utility. We rebranded it as a pantry and decided to keep the shower as a second bathroom – and a downstairs loo is alway useful. In reality, no-one really uses the shower, but it’s the perfect size for the drying rack so it means I can hide the laundry in there and even pull the curtain across if we have guests and I haven’t bothered putting it away. Basically it’s a cupboard with a tap in it!
Walls and ceiling Parlour Palm by Graphenstone, made to order
Wall tiles Pottery Porcelain Khaki Smoke and Natural Cotton from Ca Pietra
Floor tiles Marlborough Terracotta from Ca Pietra
Basin Burlington Edwardian, but given another go round I’d have this
STAIRS the hall is light as sun floods through the south-west facing front door. The upstairs landing is dark.
Walls Eiderdown by Graphenstone, available on request
Woodwork Brogue by Graphenstone, available on request
Carpet Quirky Bloom, my own design for Alternative Flooring (6 colours)
Floorboards as before, Hatters boards by Broadleaf Timber
BEDROOM 1 north east facing light but cold
Wallpaper Anaglypta Dado Baroque panels painted in Flowerpot by Graphenstone, available on request.
Walls and Ceiling Linwood by Graphenstone
Radiators Castrads
Flooring Una Charred Oak by Recork
Curtain La Redoute
BATHROOM north-facing, light, as there are two windows, but awkwardly shaped
This was a hard room to decorate. Originally it would have been just a loo, and the rest of the room was probably part of the bedroom behind. Eventually the space was combined, so there are two windows – but it has a long, sloping wall between them. We didn’t want the loo to be the first thing you see as you walk past, so we put the basin in its place and moved the WC to the far corner. We removed the bath altogether and built the wall you see below, with a shower on the other side.
I didn’t want a glass box shower enclosure as I find them hard to clean and we needed a solid wall for a radiator and some storage (given the aforementioned sloping wall). It’s a tight space but it works.
Wallpaper Marigold in Bullrush by William Morris
Ceiling Leather ii by Paint and Paper Library (leftover from bedroom)
Woodwork Copper Beech by Paint and Paper Library
Flooring Black Terracotta by ClayBrook Studio
Wall tiles Fellini Crema Gloss by Claybrook Studio (with chocolate grout)
Loo and basin Burlingon Arcade
Bathroom lights Claremont by Corston
BEDROOM 2 north-east facing, dark
Currently used as the office by The Mad Husband who shares it with a lot of boxes and an exercise bike. One day the boxes will move to Italy and there will be space for a sofa bed.
Walls Middle Buff by Little Greene Paint Company
Ceiling and woodwork Masquerade Light (would have gone mid if it wasn’t the husband’s room)
Flooring Sisal Bubbleweave Desert by Alternative Flooring
Rug Quirky Zebo by Alternative Flooring
Blind Tori Murphy (brought from previous house) in Rose Chestnut
BEDROOM 3 south-west facing, with two large windows, very light
We replicated the false wall/wardrobe from our previous house in this room. It’s still the best way I have found of creating a large amount of storage and keeping the sleeping area calm and tidy. This time I added two rails to double up on hanging space and some shelves at either side with baskets to act as drawers for underwear, gym kit and pyjamas.
Walls Sarkozi in Taupe by Mind the Gap
Ceiling Leather ii by Paint and Paper Library
Woodwork Temple by Paint and Paper Library
Flooring Sisal Bubbleweave Desert by Alternative Flooring
Curtains Curtains 2 Go Ivory velvet
Curtain poles Beeswax from Jim Lawrence
Light fitting Opaline Beehive Pendant from Trainspotters
Sockets, switches and door handles Bronze from Corston
And that brings us to the end. There is a loft bedroom that belongs to my younger son that needs doing but given the difficulty in finding builders, the cozzy-livs ( as the elder one calls it) and the fact that he lives in a student house down the road that is still waiting to be done. The fixed point is that it will also have cork flooring as it’s a great sound-proofer as well as being eco. We already have it in boxes upstairs and it’s this Una Dark Amber from Recork. Hopefully we will do this room in the summer and I will keep you posted on his choices.