Inspiration

What’s one of the most inspiring things you can do? Change your colours. As many of you know, we recently did a bit of a revamp in the shop, which at the back is now a glorious Indian Yellow thanks to Farrow & Ball. In front, a lovely smoky ‘Charleston Gray’ makes a perfect foil to the new collection of Bridie Hall at Home, which we officially launched on Wednesday – here are a couple of snaps:

(don’t you love Bridie’s Geometric solids in the window?  They are not yet on the website but contact Robin in the shop on 020 7430 2526 for more details).

But possibly even more exciting… a sneak preview of the new decorating studio, which we are getting ready. Here is Martin installing the most amazing wallpaper I think I know; David Skinner’s Malahide, a trompe-l’oeil Gothick paper based on an original at Malahide Castle near Dublin. You can find David’s website with his many superb papers here.  Order your rolls now! I have more coming for the hall in Dorset. I was emailing with him yesterday and said that the Gothick tracery strips were about to be papered over the lined background. ‘Make sure the decorator has a valium at the end of the day’ was the reply. You can understand why. Insane… but insanely beautiful too. A glimpse also of the Richmond Lantern by Robert Kime, looking splendidly at home.

More news of the decoration studio may follow in due course. But as if this wasn’t enough, I drove down to Dorset very early this morning with some trepidation. I’ve been up North and in London for a couple of weekends. So while I was away I had asked Kevin my builder to do a bit of a repainting job in the kitchen. More Farrow and Ball, this time ‘Wet Sand’, a dark yellowey orange from their archive range… and one of my favourite colours.

It was a little while ago – while I was staying down in Dorset over Christmas – that I thought it might be time for a change in the kitchen. Followers of this blog will know that I’m always in favour of a new coat of paint at unexpected moments; there’s nothing quite like it to shake things up. I sought inspiration in what someone living in the Old Parsonage might have done in, say, about 1972. Nothing too tasteful. Here is the result. I was pretty unsure how it would work – but I love it. Curiously—really curious—the room feels quite a lot bigger than it did before, yet simultaneously cosier. I’m sitting at the kitchen table writing this little blog and drinking a cup of tea, and I have to admit I’m quite happy! Darts night tonight in the village. Have a good weekend.