Moody Hues
A few Before & After shots…
It’s been a massive couple of weeks deciding to paint the apartment which involved packing up half the house, moving over the parents place whilst the painters moved in & getting on site at 7am each morning to check on their progress. The decision to ‘go dark’ had been stewing around in my head for a while before we made the leap to get it all done in record time. And so began the search for the perfect colour. And that’s the thing, when it comes to really dark colours, that we don’t work with anywhere near as much as light colours, all the ‘rules’ really do apply. Colour is so strongly affected by light, & specifically the light in your pad, you must, I repeat must paint a big section on your wall & live with it for a few days. This is not for the faint hearted. Being as confident as I normally am with these things I trusted the multiple brush outs I’d done myself & went with the first colour I thought was right. Well it looked really different on the wall. So much so I had a few nervous moments during the week, hoping I could trust myself it would all turn out alright. It was a big risk but without big risk there is no pay off. The colour changes dramatically throughout the day, goes from moody, to brooding, to contemplative. It has taken a few days to adjust but I absolutely love it. I really do. So here’s a few things to look out for;
1. Go for murky colours with a neutral lean towards grey, trust me they will appear much stronger in colour tone than you think
2. Paint a big section or do multiple brush-outs & sit with it to digest how you will feel with the colour
3. Dark coloured walls need strong pops of colour in accessories & lights otherwise it’s drab & lifeless, so you’ll need to add a few new highlights
4. You’ll need to adjust your lighting, I’ve had to add more lamps
5. Use an experienced painter who is confident with the dark colour as this kind of job needs to be in sure hands. I used Hue Painting & Decorating
In the end I went with a Taubmans colour called Sheffield Grey & Frigate in the baby’s room. We used E -Colour zero VOC paint without all the nasties in it, which we had delivered to our door. It was a little more expensive for a 10L can but covers so well you need less than from the standard paint brands. So much so I have paint left over. Anyone? The painters really loved working with it said it went on like a dream. There was a little paint smell but not that much, we moved back in the next day after it was finished & slept happily. So happy with our moody hue. Are you in a daring mood…?
How Dark Is Dark?
Recently I’ve been getting into Abigail Ahern a UK interior designer who has more than a penchant for colour. I love her irreverent use of all things quirky, she mixes scale, texture & colour in a way that is always interesting & I think somehow liberating. She’s not afraid to literally spray paint a room in one colour! & happily throws together anything in an effortlessly artful way. To use her term she constantly bangs on about using dark inky hues on interior walls & using strong pops of colour in furniture, objects & art. Just quietly I’m seduced by the idea & have been coveting the concept of going dark in my apartment. But how dark? And what shade or hue? Colour to me should be uplifting, never a downer, so this kind of thing is a real commitment & you’ve got to get it right. I want my heart to skip a beat when I walk in. I’ve always been a big fan & still am of dark colours for exteriors, i have been known to call black an environmental colour when thinking about it for a house. But in the interior? I’m thinking petrol blues & dark gasoline grey but not sure yet. I’ll be happily experimenting on myself during May so stay tuned for the results. Above images are from Abigail’s blog. So fab don’t you agree?