Lots of people have asked me which paint colours we have used in our new room and as there are quite a few, I thought that I would do a post about them.
It's fair to say that other than one colour that we knew we wanted to use, I totally and utterly made it up as I went along. In theory I was meant to have chosen the paint colours way in advance but I just couldn't envisage how the room would look, what the light and space would be like and so on.
All that I had managed to do when everything was exposed to the elements, was to paint lots of different shades of greys, blues and stone colours together on a pillar which very shortly afterwards was knocked down. However I did like how they looked...so maybe that sowed the seeds of total and utter randomness! Once one colour was on the wall I decided on the next until we had gone around the whole room. I'm not sure that anyone was convinced about my method but I think that it turned out OK and at least I made a whole load of new friends in Homebase.
We're still waiting for one skylight and hopefully we won't have a plywood covering forever but.....Anyway, I really liked the Hemsley paint range which, my friend's husband, who is a guru on all things paint related, especially the Farrow & Ball colours, told me was a Homebase own range (so basically a Farrow & Ball copy!) The reason that I like the range is because each colour comes in four different shades from light to dark, which I found really helpful.
The dark blue colour is called Yenston Tide and I used it twice - once on the large "TV" wall and once on an archway. The only thing that I did do with my random colours was to make sure that each colour faced the same direction (as per the dark blue). The lighter colour above is Whiston Shade, also from the Hemsley range.
This lighter grey/blue is called Bone China Blue and is from Little Greene Paint Co. This colour is used a lot in Watergate Bay hotel and it was a colour that both Mr SG and I really liked when we visited a couple of months ago, so it was always going to feature somewhere. I bought a sample pot from our local John Lewis and then ordered the paint direct from Little Greene and it was delivered a couple of days later.
This is a closer shot of the Bone China Blue and Yenston Tide closer together. Whether they go or not I have no idea but I think that the aim it to "tone" rather than "go". (Whilst on the issue of toning, I did a legs work out yesterday and now I can barely walk. My bum is so sore but at least the youngest now knows what glutes are as I had to explain why I was wincing when walking up the hill to school today.)
The above shows another wall with Bone China Blue on it. It is in a slightly darker part of the build, so it takes on a different shade. The (possibly slightly wonky) picture was painted by the youngest at school last year and I loved the colours in it so much that I had it mounted and framed for my birthday - much to the irritation of the older two whose artwork never featured on our walls (largely because it was rubbish). Sorry older children - you may have many talents but art isn't one of them. I blame myself.
This wall is painted in another shade from the Hemsley range, this time Whiston Shadow. I looked at the Farrow & Ball greys but couldn't find one that I liked. I know, I must be the only person on earth who couldn't find a Farrow & Ball grey that they liked!
The choice of paint colour in the utility room has caused some debate. One of the builders has said how much he hates it and my husband messaged me when I was away to ask if the decorator had put the wrong colour paint on the wall. But I'll save that for another day...
