Well here she is, our spare room. The room I have procrastinated most about in our home. It's taken me nearly three years to finally make a decision on how I wanted this room to look. I've come to realise that unless I have a clear image in my mind of what I want from the start, I find it really hard to move forward with a room. A bit like writer's block but for interiors, and with not knowing what I wanted to do with the room, and with no great urgency to make a decision, it's sat looking a sorry sight all this time. Not exactly welcoming for our guests.

When Sanderson Paint, asked me if I'd like to collaborate and decorate a room in my house with one of their paint colours I literally jumped at the chance. Not only because they're such an iconic brand, that goes without saying, but because quite frankly, this was just the kick up the butt I needed to stop all the procrastinating and finally make a decision with our spare room. A room that had become a dumping ground rather than a lovely room for our guests to stay in.


But before I would choose a colour from the launch of their fifty new shades, I was invited down to London for a Colour Workshop with the wonderful, Sophie Robinson. I knew this was going to massively help with my lack of direction for our spare room, which I'd in fact made recently worse by painting it a colour I thought I'd love but in reality just felt was too much for the space. A wrong colour choice always knocks your confidence when decorating a room, so the workshop couldn't have been better timed. I arrived at the workshop with not a clue about what look or colour I wanted now for our spare room after my recent colour disaster, inspiration was indeed needed.

BEFORE

 It was all just a little bit too pink for my liking.
The workshop started with why we're attracted to the colours and interior styles that we already have in our homes. By better understanding our own style it makes it much easier when it comes to interior choices going forward, and Sophie couldn't have been more right. Sophie broke down our interior styles into seasons:

Spring - bright, welcoming, creative, modern, sociable, kitsch.

Summer - antique, calm, perfected, elegant, traditional.

Autumn - authentic, earthy, eclectic, nature, nostalgic, rich.

Winter - opulent, bold, intense, vibrant, decadence.

We were then asked to choose the words we thought best described our homes. Although our homes probably have aspects of all four seasons, we tend to fall more into one or two of the seasons. I discovered I'm a mix of both Spring and Autumn and now with that knowledge in mind we went on to create our mood boards for our chosen room.

Talking of mood boards, I think the last time I did a mood board I was in my twenties. With modern technology and the phenomenon that is Pinterest, the humble mood board seems to have be pushed aside. I cannot tell you had helpful I found it and it pretty much shaped the end result of the room. Without over thinking I cut out images and colours I loved from a variety of home, fashion, travel magazines, and fabric swatches. Very quickly I realised a pattern. I love clean and fresh, but with earthy textures. I also realised where I went wrong with my last colour choice too, I much prefer it as an accent colour in the room rather than a block colour on the walls.


Armed with my mood board and paint samples back in Edinburgh I was excited to get started. Now I finally had an idea of how I wanted the room to look it made choosing a colour so much easier. After trying a few samples I made my final colour choice, Owlswick, in Active Emulsion. Described as a grown up grey with a creamy base, I thought this would be the perfect backdrop for the look and vibe I wanted for the room, and I'm happy to say this time I was right! I absolutely adore the colour, it's grey but without being cold, which is exactly what I was after. The quality of the paint spoke for itself as it glided on covering the previous colour with no problem at all. 


Once the walls were painted it was now on to the fun part of styling the room, and with my accent colours chosen, pink and green, the room started to finally come together. As with all the rooms in our home I never feel they're fully finished, as I prefer to add to the rooms over time when I find the right pieces, but for now I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. I'm so pleased this Christmas our guests finally have a welcoming room to stay in.

If you're struggling with any interiors choices just now, have a look at the categories and see which ones you fall into. Also, you have to check out all of Sanderson Paint's stunning new colours, you can find them HERE, and I thoroughly recommend creating a moodboard for interior inspiration, as you can see I stayed very close to mine.


Other details:

Prints, Desenio   /  Bamboo Stools, Rocket St George  /  Glass Vase, Next  /  Sheepskin rug, Ikea  /  Bedding, Next  / Cashmere Blanket, The White Company  /  Small Cushions, Sainsbury's Home  /  Floor Lamp, Ikea /  Decorative Ladder, Ikea  /


* This post is in proud collaboration with Sanderson Paint. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

1 comment

  1. Claire!!! It’s absolutely gorgeous!! Really really love how the end result is totally reflected in your mood board from the event! Love the colour choice and your styling is just beautiful as ever! Xx

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