Creating the perfect canvas in our new house

We will use three colours from Farrow and Ball throughout the house and sand and oil the original floorboards to add warmth to the downstairs living space. We will carpet the upstairs using a natural jute carpet and use jute rugs downstairs for continuity. Painted woodwork will highlight the original 1930s doors, banisters and architraves throughout the house. Images from Blomma London.

Taking on this house is a long term project to create a lovely home over time – we definitely can’t afford to make it perfect from the start. In this first round of works our main focus is to make it liveable for a start and then to create a blank canvas on which we can build and add to in the future – fresh walls, floors and a layout that will work for us is the aim. Any ‘luxuries’, as I like to call them, such as the wood burning stove that I was talking about in my last post, a new front door to replace the UPVC one and cabinetry work for example has got to wait. Therefore, all I am really thinking about this point is creating a canvas that will last and that we won’t get bored of.

The big thing for me about the house is creating a sense of space as it is very small. I have never, ever been into big, bold colours and I am definitely not into the current trend for dark interiors even though I can appreciate it in other peoples homes. For me, it is really important to have as much light and space as possible as this is what makes me feel calm and centred. A white uncluttered space is my priority dotted with interesting furniture and textiles.

However, to make the space feel as big as possible, whilst also adding a cosy feel, I want to add some colour to create a sense of cohesion so each room flows to another, almost as if each room is an extension of the one before it. For some, this is the absolute opposite of their design philosophy; they want each room to be completely different in colour, tone and style. But for this house I don’t think that would work. Therefore, I plan for the woodwork throughout the house (skirting, architraves, doors) to be painted in Farrow and Ball’s Light Blue, which is a colour I absolutely love and have used before here. The walls will be All White to give me the all important light I want and the woodwork and below the dado rail in the hallway will be the gorgeous Inchyra Blue. Although this is a dark colour the fact that above the dado rail and the ceilings will be All White will keep it bright. Also, I really love the idea of going from a dark colour in the hallway and opening up onto lighter colours in the living space. This is similar to the effect I would like to achieve in our hallway:

I also really love the paint effect in this house that uses the same colour throughout on all the woodwork (wishful thinking that our house was this size!):

Image from Living Etc by Paul Massey – do click through and take a look at the whole house.

I don’t plan to recreate the room below but I really like the soft, relaxed vibe of this room and that’s the feeling I would like to recreate throughout the new house. I want it to be bright, light, comfy, cosy and welcoming with a mixture of textiles and interesting furniture and objects.

Another project that I have found really inspiring is a 1930s house designed by Doris Lee. I particularly like the bathrooms and hallway.

I haven’t really planned the furniture around the house too much yet as I would quite like to move in and let that happen a bit more organically but I hope I will have achieved a lovely canvas by that point.

Katy x

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6 Comments

  1. 12th June 2018 / 9:39 am

    Can’t wait to see it all! Loving all the demolishing too! xxx

  2. Hannah Davies
    12th June 2018 / 10:28 am

    Can’t wait to see how it all develops. We are currently in the middle of purchasing a 1960s house, that needs a lot of work aswell. Looking forward to following your journey. Hannah x

  3. Zoe
    12th June 2018 / 1:01 pm

    Oh, this is is going to look so beautiful. I love the colours you have chosen – I’ve been looking for a dark blue/grey for our dining room so I’ll order a sample of the Inchyra Blue. Have you tested it yet? Does it look as nice in reality? X

  4. Sue D
    12th June 2018 / 2:18 pm

    I really like the idea of going from a dark coloured hallway into light coloured living space…makes so much sense but I’d never thought of it before! Really enjoying following along with you on the project. I know you’ll make it just perfect for you and your family 🙂

  5. Mary
    2nd July 2018 / 9:50 am

    Beautiful colours – do you think the Light Blue would be good for a front door as I’ve been looking for that type of colour for ages! Would appreciate any help you can give as I find picking colours a nightmare to be perfectly honest!! Thank you x

  6. 28th July 2018 / 3:02 pm

    Hi Katy, Thanks so much for featuring our Stamford Brook Project! I hope all is going well with the renovation process 🙂

    xx

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