When a paint is named after the quaint west country dialect for the colour of twilight – it has to be the ‘one’. After vandalising our walls with nine different greys, Farrow & Ball Dimpse – was the one that captured my heart. A perfect grey as far as I am concerned – it is not too warm or too cold. A happy meeting place where moody evening cloud and morning mist overlap, just right for our living room makeover. I thought it was high time I shared a little of the progress we are slowly making on the living space. Here are a few before, during and a couple of sneak peeks of the almost after. I hope you’ll like what we’ve done with the place so far.
Coastal colour inspiration from our local seaside and the new Hasting pier that we love so much.
We have been working on the living room and kitchen for what seems like an eternity. Starting out strong in January and then slowing a little to fit around our freelance projects – but it is getting there. When I look back over the photos we have actually achieved quite a lot, mostly hidden work no one will ever see. We ripped up all the floor boards and insulated underneath with sheep’s wool and a breathable membrane. This will combat the clifftop chill that blasts up from under the house on breezy days. We removed all of the old kitchen except the oven, took down a wall, filled in a doorway and more.
We started out knocking a hole through from the kitchen to the living room, discovering a hidden (but thankfully unused) gas pipe along the way. Removed by a registered gas man – don’t fear! Then the plasterers came in and turned our world dusky pink and the place looked insane for a good couple of weeks as it dried out. Check out our new mobile kitchen on wheels in the back and the old radiator pipes sticking up out of the floor in the photo above (to be moved soon). As it turns out, they are also pretty handy markers for keeping the cats away from fresh paint work!
White out and brightening took a couple of days and lots of arm work. Three coats of store brand brilliant white eco emulsion for the ceilings and two on the walls.
Then we turned our white world grey. We opened the tin and Dean did look a little bemused as the paint looked very pale, but as soon as it hit the walls and covered up the white, we loved the colour. When it dried we were like – YES – we picked the best colour, wahoo!! We painted the walls three times as the new plaster although completely dry after six weeks, seemed to make our walls super thirsty. We also used F&B All White floor paint (left over from this project) on the tired skirting and door frames. It is a lovely white and has a low sheen, which has added a beautiful soft finish around the edges of the room. Great for floors and more it seems.
We are so pleased with the decorated room – now for the super fun part of putting everything back and hunting for a few bigger pieces of furniture. We need to find a perfectly rustic large cupboard to keep all our crockery in, plus a dining table and chairs. Our Charnwood log burner (possibly the most exciting and coveted purchase we have made since moving here) was fitted back in January and by some miracle, we managed to avoid getting any paint on it. When it arrived, the stove was on a small pallet, which with a bit of paint and wax we have decided, can be adapted into the perfect coffee table. For now, we have dragged that and our random collection of arm chairs in front of the fire, whilst we wait for the delivery of our sofa.
We bought our Sofa from Sofa Workshop in the end. After weeks of looking and two years without a couch, we chose a mid-century modern style in a charcoal wool mix that is made here in the UK (yay). I wear greys in varying shades 99% of the time so it always calls to me for interior decor too. It was called the Cameron if you are also looking? Above are a few more items we have hidden away to decorate and use in the finished room. Prints from Herald Black and Art, Coffee Logs from Bio Bean for the wood burner (these smell so good), Annie Sloan Dark Wax for finishing off our windowsills with an antique look. Plus a few pieces from our own store – a blanket to stay cosy under, a handwoven basket for keeping logs in and candles and incense for cosy evenings and awakening the senses in the mornings.
Once all the large pieces of furniture have been found and put in place, we can unbox our other favourite things that have been hidden up in the attic and it might start to feel like home again around here. Cooking facilities may also help, ha! Until then we will be cracking on with ripping up the kitchen floor and moving all the water pipes. Wish us luck! Hopefully I’ll be back with more progress and a sofa to sit on soon.
