Fresh and Dandy : How to Redecorate a Box-Room

Blue Bell Gray Wall Paper

Redecorating once is a joy but I have mixed feeling about redecorating the same room twice. When we took on our Victorian ex-brothel-com-new-home as a project, I started enthusiastically. First, I tackled the spare room. I delicately stencilled feathers on the wall, to make the room cosy for our visitors.

Spare Room before
But since life is not a bed of feathers, a combination of the room facing the wrong cardinal point, a monster tree growing in an uncaring neighbour's garden, freak weather and a battered gutter, a list of unpleasantnesses of which I'll spare you the details lead to that room becoming sordid with its neglected look and peeling plaster.

Years later, round 2. Now we have much more experience, we were more aware of what was required: A paint which you could rely on is a must. A top trade quality paint for domestic use. Slapping on any brand would not do. Little Greene Intelligent Eggshell is water based eco-friendly paint with good reviews so I decided to give it a go. It contains some clever water resistant acrylic.

Little Greene Paint

The first thing we noticed was the lack of smell which is a plus when you have friends arriving within a few days. The application was easy (or so he tells me) and since it promises to be water-resistant it may be that it will also prove resistant to the leaky gutter freak incidents. Hopefully, peeling plaster will be a thing of the past.

Now for colours: I picked White Lead. How many times have I heard, "a white is a white and all whites look the same". I beg to differ. Little Greene has worked closely with English Heritage for 7 years to produce (via combined research) a range of historic colours authentic to key design eras up until the 1970s.

The range makes for an interesting choice.

As a whole, a white only room can be a little sparce. One face of the room got the Blue Bell Gray treatment. I love this designer's hand painted wall paper, the result is amazing. Take a look at the reclaimed and reloved spare-room

Blue Bell Gray Wall paper
Tips and Tricks to Decorate a Small Room

  1. Wow with White White will maximise and reflect the light
  2. Stick to a limited palette Before the room had two colours blue 
  3. Don't be afraid to use bold designs They will detract from the room size
  4. Keep storage to the minimum
  5. Look into furniture for boats We found small size double sofa/bed in a shop which specializes in furniture for barges. It arrived flat-pack so it went through the door easily where all other double sofa-beds couldn't get in.
Blue Bell Gray Wall paper

Disclaimer: All words and opinions are my own. I received paint samples to create this post.

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