Paint colours and finishes

I asked in my last post and over on Instagram what would be useful to know more about when it comes to renovating a house. Thank you so much to those of you who got in touch – I’ve got a good list of topics to cover. I’m going to start with something that I get so many questions about so hopefully this will serve as a good reference point that I can direct people to when they have questions about the paint colours and finishes that I have used in our house.

First off I just want to explain the finishes that I chose for the paint throughout the house. Our contractor organised the decoration throughout the house so I selected Farrow & Ball for the woodwork because I love the colours but for the two rooms I have since re-painted (as I changed my mind about colours) I selected Farrow & Ball because I find the paints so, so easy to use. I love that they are water based, so no nasty smells and chemicals, and I find it so easy to apply – you will never find me using an oil-based gloss paint because of the drips, the clean up process and the drying time. I selected the Estate Eggshell finish for the woodwork in each room as it is a lovely semi-matt finish, whilst still feeling silky and easy to wipe clean. I selected the Modern Eggshell, which has a higher sheen than the estate eggshell, for the hallway woodwork as I knew it would see more traffic and suffer more scuffing and knocks. The higher sheen makes it even easier to wipe clean and it feels nicer under hand on the banisters. I feel like it repels dirt more than the estate eggshell. Throughout the house the walls are painted in matt emulsion (mostly brilliant white as that’s all we could afford) as I’m not a fan of using any type of sheen on walls.

Here is a list of the colours and the paint finishes that I have used and you can read more about why I chose the colours we used here:

Living room

Wood work (skirting, architraves, doors, fire surround, window sills) – Light Blue, Farrow & Ball Estate Eggshell

Walls – Brilliant white, Johnstone’s trade paint Matt Emulsion

Fire surround and skirting in Light Blue – Walls in Brilliant White

Door, architrave and skirting in Light Blue – Walls in Brilliant White

Kitchen

Kitchen units – Railings, Farrow & Ball Modern Eggshell

Door – Light Blue, Farrow & Ball Estate Eggshell

Walls – Brilliant white, Johnstone’s trade paint Matt Emulsion

Kitchen units in Railings (photograph by Katharine Peachey)

Kitchen door in Light Blue – Walls Brilliant White

Hallway

Wood work (skirting, dado rail, architraves, doors, banisters, under stairs cupboard) – Inchyra Blue, Farrow & Ball Modern Eggshell (this particular paint was gifted to us by Farrow & Ball)

Walls (below dado rail) – Inchyra Blue, Farrow & Ball Modern Eggshell

Walls (above dado rail) – Brilliant white, Johnstone’s trade paint Matt Emulsion