Morning, I have to talk quietly as the whole house is sleeping, and for once not even aware I am and up and about, even Mung’s which is incredibly unusual. Snug as a bug in a bed is he, and looking very adorable. Feels a bit like Christmas morning when you get up early to put the bird in the oven, and tiptoe around prepping for the day, wrapping presents not wanting to wake a soul.
A very big thank you to all of those who attended the master classes this past weekend it was a fabulous few days, I meet some great people, so thank you again guys for making it all so enjoyable.
Yesterday it rained all day, I know this is an odd thing to say but I kind of loved it, the light was so low and so soft, I lit zillions of candles, turned on every light, made a big fire, slow roasted some pork, baked an apple crumble, and snuggled into Nigel Slater’s new book Kitchen Diaries 2. I am in love with Nigel, his food, the way he writes, his garden love love love him. In his intro he talks about cooking every dish as if its your last, giving it as much attention as you possibly can which made me think the very same goes for decorating. I get asked alot about whether my kind of style hinders houses when they are put on the market to sell, since I guess its not a conventional beige haze of blandness that many people buy into. I don’t know is my answer I don’t intend to sell this house, but even if I were to sell in a year or so it wouldn’t stop me from decorating it now, in real time exactly the way I want to. I couldn’t live in a house that was blandly decorated just because in a year or three of 20 I might sell it. I decorate for now, for today this morning, this evening, who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. So my advice, decorate for now, live in a home that you love now that you want to come home to, that you think about when you are out and about in town because its pulling at your heart strings, wanting you to return. Forget 2 year plans; 5 year plans and live in a space that makes you happy.
Like this home from the September issue from Vogue Living, I’ve yet to see the issue but just looking at this spread you can tell that whoever lives here loves their home. Its a home you want to come back to, filled with stuff that tantalises – its so easy to create spaces that raise the pulse all you need to do is decorate from the heart for now, today, this week, this month and forget next year, or the year after that. Real time decorating I’m gonna call it! Have a lovely Monday, busy one for me, catching up with a load of stuff I didn’t get round to on the weekend.
As one of those lucky people who walked through your door this weekend, I just wanted to say how fantastic the day was!! You’re words were inspiring and I went straight home, began moving things around and planning what to paint first!!
A highly recommended day- thank you!!
Thank you so much very kind of you to say, and very excited to here about moving things around and the painting xx
Echoing Kate, amazing class on the weekend – I’ve been an avid follower of your blog for years (having read every entry and every comment to make sure I’ve picked up as many pointers as possible) and still took away stacks of ideas and new sources, highly recommended!
i just have two quick questions – I’ve decided the first thing I need to do is paint my wardrobe doors that teal paint you recommended, but my wardrobe doors are new build built in wardrobes (ie they have a semi gloss finish). I’m not sure what they’re made of, so should I put on a layer of paintable wallpaper first (also worried about potential issues with selling the flat)? And would you recommend I buy the flat emulsion, flat acrylic or oil eggshell for wardrobe doors? Thanks!
Thanks Dom very kind of you to say. The teal will look amazing can’t wait to here how it turns out. Two ideas you could either rough up your wardrobes sand them down and paint over with an oil eggshell rather hard wearing (you could try it out on the inside first) you will get a better finish as opposed to papering. You can of course paper but if you did that I would go for a flat acryllic it won’t be as shiny and it will take the attention away from the paper. Don’t worry about the resale that colour is to die for
I really loved Nigel Slater’s kitchen in his last series as well. Want to rip out my old fashioned units and shove in chunky shelves and a huge cupboard!
Me too
Hi!
Well, this was timely. We painted our trim out in Down Pipe, but our walls were just painted (by us) in a very light grey. Well, it looked horrid, and the trim is Victorian so for some reason the effect, since I didn’t know Down Pipe has a really blue/green undertone, is very, like, 70s? I hate it! I kept thinking about how it would look at resale for some reason like “what were these people thinking!”. Luckily we only did the entryway…sigh, no idea how to remedy.
Hate to say that it was bound to look horrid, trim really should never be accented in a different hue far more sophisticated to paint it out the same colours as your walls so it goes away. When you accent something you draw attention to it, so its great for a fireplace or feature walls something that demands attention but not good for tirm. Paint it out the same colour as your walls and you will love it
Yes maam, that’s exactly what I thought of doing next. We have a toddler so it’s quite busy and my hubs just *LOVES* the constant changes! Lesson learned. At least my kitchen looks FAB in a blue/black hue, I trusted and kept going dark throughout. Trim=different speciman!
Oh I think you need to print out this post and hand it out to the masses! I’ve had people raise their eyebrows when they saw my deep grey dining room or (gasp!) my nearly black bedroom walls, “Wow, it looks great, I’d never be that brave, WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU SELL?!” As if that should make any difference to how I live in my house now. I think people think you should live in a home that looks “staged” – too many of those programmes 10 years ago when everyone was making money selling homes telling you to de-personalise. Well, unless you are looking to sell, how bout using it for what it’s intended for instead of a money-making device – A dwelling? Anyway, I’m rambling but just couldn’t agree with you more! xxx
Couldn’t agree more x
Hi Abigail, just catching up with last 2 weeks posts. This one struck a chord as have spent last 2 months transforming my magnolia architect designed house to the dark side. We’re talking triple height ceilings in zophany fossil, downpipe kitchen to hide grey ultra modern units and down pipe family bathroom. I even did a feature wall in Oxford Blue following the photo of a beautiful fern against a gorgeous blue wall posted on your blog. Knight Frank were blown away by the transformation of the property which they’d known in it’s magnolia days. So, does painting your house dark affect it’s saleability? Absolutely! It creates a home that photographs beautifully and stands out from the crowd. I’ve even been offered a job with a couple of local interior design retailers. Thanks Abigail.
Amazing news so great to here thanks for letting me know