Category: Paint and Colour

Bathrooms, Paint and Colour

Small But Perfectly Formed

miacharlesdesign

The powder room, to posh people. The downstairs loo to me.

It was a boring little magnolia room when I moved in.

img_4260-e1530410246145.jpg

The builders had put a small splash back of tiles behind the sink that were the same as the ones in the kitchen. This bothered me, I didn’t want matching tiles in the kitchen and loo.

With plenty of other jobs to be getting on with, this room wasn’t a priority. I’m not sure why it ended up being one of the first I tackled. Maybe because it’s the smallest? It would be the quickest to get finished.

I wanted to do something really bold in here and I was pinning pretty powder rooms like crazy.  Bold wallpaper and pretty tiles.

Although this is my absolute favourite.

img_4479

Sadly, changing the floor and a marble sink just aren’t in the budget.

These were a few favs…

img_4487.jpg

I like the gallery wall in the small space, so many interesting things to look at.

img_4485.jpgimg_4486.jpgimg_4484.jpg

The bold wallpaper is a winner for me.  I seem to be drawn to the darker ones, perhaps that’s why I painted dark at first.

img_4482img_4483.jpg

I really like the pop of red here from the mirror.  Really brings the wallpaper alive.

In the end I just went for a quick temporary fix, just to cheer it up until I decide on what to do permanently.  Is it ever permanent?

I think I just desperately wanted to get rid of those tiles.

I ended up painting it a very dark grey.  A Valspar colour which I don’t recall the name of now.  It had a slight hint of purple.

I hated it! My friend said it looked like a night club toilet. She was right! Hit the nail right on the head. Time to change it back!

I knocked the tiles off the wall, they came off really easily. Then just sanded it down and replaced the silicone around the sink.

I just painted it all white for now, no doubt some very exciting wallpaper will go up in here in the future.

Making progress here.

I got this very cute toilet roll holder and towel ring from dunelm. A nice cheeky addition.

img_4431

I also picked up the orange towels to match with my beloved vintage rug. I want to be buried with that rug.

img_4473

with the ceiling, I decided to keep it dark. I did this in my old apartment and it was a nice change from the usual white ceilings. There was no window in in here either and it just added a little interest to the room.

There was also a bulk head light situation in here, swiftly removed and replaced 🙂 I’ll share the lighting all over the house in a separate post as I changed them all. I added this cute, little ceiling rose I found on eBay.

I already had this cute little vintage wooden shelf unit and it was just the right size for in here. Handy for spare hand towels and room spray etc.

The mirror was a Homesense find and gives the room that touch of glam.  It’s nice to have that warm gold glow I think.

This is the only room with no window, sadly no real plants in here. I found a couple of realistic enough, plastic ones instead. This one from NEXT . The other is an old IKEA one I already had lying around which I pulled out of it’s plastic pot and put it in to this TKMaxx find.  I love the strange shape.  The hanger is made from nylon rope. This came from eBay.  I like the pop of green it brings.

img_4470

I have a small vintage stool in here that I keep a few magazines on. It’s just the right size to sit by the door.

The art is a mix of my paintings and a print from Desenio .  I’m no artist but I like to paint and draw and wouldn’t expect anyone else to put my pictures up on their walls but it’s fine in my house.

Desenio have an amazing selection of prints and frames and don’t charge the earth. Affordable art!

This cute little elephant hook is from M&S a few years ago.  The door already had a hole in it from an old hook so I just replaced it with this one.  I have a real soft spot for elephants, you’ll see them pop up all over the house.

I don’t think I’ve ever liked a waste bin so much, which is a strange sentence to type….. another Homesense find.  It’s such a nice grey/blue colour and I love those little copper accents.  Kind of like an updated, more polished version of Dusty Bin, think that might be giving my age away there.

img_4480.jpg

This is enough to placate me for now. Until the rest of the house is done anyway.  Then i’ll most likely start all over again.

What do you think? At least an improvement? How bold would you go?….

Advertisement
Paint and Colour

Doors To Die For

miacharlesdesign

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I do like white walls, so fresh and clean and the perfect blank canvas.

When you have as much stuff as I do, it becomes a little to much to look at with a strong colour on the walls too.

For quite a while I’ve been wanting to paint some interior doors something a little different.

The hardest part was deciding on a colour that would complement each room. I didn’t want to paint numerous colour doors and needed a colour that would create an impact, but still be neutral enough to go with everything.

I thought about this for quite a while, I thought I had my mind made up on coral pink but I knew that I would tire of that in time.

So tempting though…. and that wallpaper!

My mind turned to green, yes, nothing like coral pink 🙂

I settled on a Farrow and Ball colour.  Yeabridge Green.   The perfect tone, not too dark, saturated and definitely creates an impact.

img_4140

I asked the help of a local tradesman. Chris from a4dabuild. By this stage I was so tired of painting (remember all that magnolia).  I wasn’t relishing the thought of painting nine doors, front and back.

Chris stepped in and painted the fronts of the doors that face out into the hall and landing.

With the doors this gorgeous, rich and saturated colour I wasn’t feeling the chrome door handles.

I started my search for new ones.

I thought about brass, always love a bit of brass.  However I thought a matte black handle would really make an impression here.

I soon discovered they’re pretty pricey.  Until I stumbled across this website.  The Door Handle Company.

The handles came quickly and I was very impressed, sleek and easy to fit.

I removed the old handles and painted the other side of the doors before I fitted the new ones.

I used the recommended farrow and ball mid tone undercoat  which Chris picked up for me.

It’s quite chalky and not a bad colour on its own! Obviously very patchy as it’s just one coat.

My love affair with brass and gold is far from over, you’ll see it all over the house, in every room.  I am loving the way a pop of black looks now though too.  So much so I decided I needed a black staircase.

When I moved in it looked like this.

Fine, but pretty safe and boring.

I went back to my farrow and ball colour chart and scoured Pinterest.

I was in love ….

Railings by farrow and ball was meant to be. Not a flat black and almost looks a very dark grey/blue, it has a depth to it and really stands out against the white walls and green doors. 

2.5 litres of the Yeabridge Green was only just short of 9 doors. I didn’t manage to finish the back of one door. But, 2 coats on both sides of 8 doors, that’s really 32 doors! One side that is. I think that’s pretty good. It’s the first time I’ve used Farrow and Ball and I’m so impressed.  A little goes a long way and it goes on so nicely, even someone like me who’s not a professional painter and decorator can use it and not have shocking brush marks.

would you paint yours doors a bolder hue?