Use of a feature colour

[Sonyaclegg]

You might remember our kitchen fireplace. Well, the stonemason has done a really good job on a difficult repair on the right hand side. I will post a picture of the repair when I get up there this week.

I've been into F & B many times and now have umpteen sample pots, none of which are right. The fireplace is huge and demands to be noticed. The lovely manager at F & B suggested painting the fireplace wall Eating Room Red or Mouse's Back to make the fireplace pop out. I think she is right as pale colours do nothing for the fireplace. The ceiling would be Pointing and remaining walls Lime White. The kitchen units will be Wimborne White and the Island in Hardwick White.

Now I know you all have better things to do that consult your F&B colour chart but I need a sounding board. Mine live by my bed so I have lots of time to ponder. I'm nervous about a feature wall.

 

[agbagb]

Agbagb's Missus

Don't be afraid of feature walls and bold colour, what's the worse that can happen? (Other than wasting a lot of money and time painting over). Dining room red will add warmth to your room and showcase your fireplace. One word of warning though is choose your contrast wisely as red can make some "whites" look a little on the pink side. Maybe a little biased though, our dining room, in our Victorian home, is all dark red beneath the picture rail (which is painted gold!) with bog standard magnolia above, on the cornice and ceiling :lol: It works really well, even in this really dark room and we wouldn't change it for the world.

 

[Sonyaclegg]

Thanks Mrs A. I'm sure your room looks wonderful. Sometimes is best to embrace the darkness and use dark colours to get the best effect. Of course you are right in that the worst that can happen is to paint over it. I just have to get on with it and stop dithering!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Strong reds with bright whites not good. Magnolia + red - yes. Strong reds with sludge whites like Harwick, hmm. Maybe. I'm surprised at their recommendation as the proposed scheme on the website is Off White and Old White with Eating Room Red, which looks like a good blend. But there's only one way to find out!

Personally I don't think feature walls have any business being in an old house, but I'm old fashioned.

 

[plasticpigeon]

For what it's worth, I like strong red and white together!!I have a battle with my girlfriend about feature walls a lot. If I want some William Morris wallpaper then she says she could only cope with it on one wall. I hate feature walls so we don't get the wallpaper To me feature walls look a bit odd, I prefer a more uniform look. I haven't a clue what Jacobean decor was like, but I'm sure that drawing inspiration from decor of the same period as your house would be the best solution.

 

[DJH]

Hmm, we have white, off white,nearly white, white white, almost white, used to be white, all white etc and Calico :?

 

[Sonyaclegg]

Can you see the paint samples on the right hand side of the fireplace? They don't do anything for the fireplace so I understand why FB advised a stronger colour against the stone.

Yet more stone samples arrived today and I think I've cracked it with a tumbled limestone. I'm going to seal all the samples tonight and see what they look like when treated and hopefully be in a position to place and order.

 

[Nigel Watts]

I too have reservations about painting one wall a different colour from the others unless a thoroughly modern effect is sought. The top floor of our Victorian 4 storey London semi, where the servants and kids would have slept, is decorated in this way. It works well enough for the kids' bedrooms but I have rather tired of it in the tiny room where I am typing this and which serves both as my dressing room and study.

One way to stop whites looking too pink against reds is to go for a greenish shade of white. I used a very pale blue green for the ceiling of my wife's bathroom which is papered in an orangey pink and it works well.

 

[Sonyaclegg]

Nigel, I love the fact that your wife has her own bathroom.

I didn't entertain the idea of a feature wall until I went into FB as I've never done one in any house as I've never liked the idea. I think I will have to carry on looking for the best all round colour for the walls that also works with the stone of the fireplace.

 

[agbagb]

Agbagb's Missus

I have to agree with Joce on the feature wall thing, whole rooms is the way to go (in my eyes). For experimentation (is that a real word Penners?) try a feature wal and give yourself time to love it. I can only add that that fantastic chimney piece deserves lots of thought/wine /kit-kats and everyone on PPUK's input :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[LadyArowana]

My view is that feature walls are fine if you are the sort of person who likes to continually update their house by redecorating whole rooms in the manner of one of the TV makeover shows. Lots of stuff that gets whizzed up with a staple gun or hot glue, some medium priced scatter cushions and fabrics with a side order of stripped and or painted furniture. Then in a few years when it all starts to look a little dated it gets re-done in whatever the flavour of the month. I don't see any harm in that as long as people are only doing cosmetic stuff to a period place and not destroying anything historic. However a look that is very *now* will not be as long lasting as something classic and will go out of fashion a lot more quickly. Of course it will eventually come back in some form, but that does mean waiting a very long time. Mid century modern seems to be a quite trend and having been left for well over 20 years our apartment was edging back towards acceptable, however despite what some young Polish builders thought I decided against keeping hessian wallpaper and shag pile carpets...... still hoping to get a lovely pair of vintage design chairs though!

 

[JoceAndChris]

It's all so personal isn't it. But I think it's a great shame people get pushed around by modern fashions, and always encourage people to have a think about a period colour scheme.

In Sonya's case, Jacobean styling is really out of the question. Tapestries are appropriate, as is highly wrought and decorated tooled leather as at Gwydir. Panelling would also be lovely - but all those things are £££££. Kitchens as we use them are entirely modern. Still, I'd have a think about richer colours although I know she doesn't like them - yellow ochre/ straw coloured walls and units, or muddy terracotta coloured walls with bluey greeny grey units. Indeterminate colours, nothing too bright, no gloss paints. And lots of Delft tiles.