Paint is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to transform a room but most of us do little more than pick the colour we like and slap it on the walls. What if we were a little more imaginative? What if we thought a little bit more about different ways of using that paint to create really great effects in our homes?
Some of you may remember I did a project with Wickes last year about how to use tiles in different ways and the company came back to me earlier this year and asked me to think about paint effects.
I decided to look at five different ways with paint that are great transformers and for which the key ingredient – apart from the paint – is a roll of masking or frog tape. This allows you to mark out the areas you want to paint and won’t chip the wall when you take it off.
Have a look at these ideas and see if they inspire you to be more productive with your paint.
1 PAINT THE CEILING
Well it is the fifth wall after all. If you have high ceilings you can paint them to add definition to the room. If you have low ceilings try painting the walls and the ceiling in the same colour. This will blur the edges and make the ceiling recede, creating the impression that the room is actually bigger than it is.
I am considering doing this in my bedroom. A dark colour will be like sleeping under the night sky. In addition to this, remember how dark colours make the artwork and books pop on walls and shelves? Well it will have the same effect with a pendant light, so if you’ve spent money on a fabulous shade then paint the ceiling dark and show it off even more.
Finally, consider painting it gloss. This will bounce the light around and create a really luxe effect.
2 PAINT THE FLOORBOARDS
I love the feel of wooden floorboards underfoot and definitely prefer it to carpet, but sometimes those natural boards have a tendency to go a little bit, well, orange, which is all a bit 1970s ski chalet and not at all what we are aiming for.
In my house (pictured above – see my new black kitchen cupboards) all the floors have been painted white. Now, before you start shouting that it’s not practical consider this. In my last house I had slate floors and a mud coloured stair runner (we called it chocolate but it was basically mud). It didn’t show the dirt. Now, I don’t know about you but if it don’t look dirty, I ain’t gonna clean it. Reader, that house was filthy.
Now that there are white boards, I see the dirt. I see Enid’s muddy paw prints and I mop. Takes five minutes. My house is clean. But, if white doesn’t float your boat what about dark? That trend is coming through now, probably as a reaction to all the bright white Scandinavian rooms of recent years, and it looks great. It’s the same trick as the dark ceiling – makes everything look fabulous (dahling).
Or, go mad with a stencil or the masking tape and paint your own pattern on the floor. That way you don’t need a rug. And you can change it for a different pattern when you get bored.
3 PAINT THE DOOR FRAME
Now this is a simple idea that is really effective. Just paint a line of colour down the edge of the door that you will only see when the door is open. We did this using the leftover paint from the mural, which also matches the fireplace.
In the sitting room we have used Wickes Urban Nights. It’s just a tiny little detail that can make all the difference and shows that you have really thought about your home and how you want it to look. It’s also quick to do and doesn’t take much paint. Actually the bit that takes the time is applying the masking tape. Take care with that and the rest is easy.
4 HALF-PAINTED WALLS
Half-painted walls are a really contemporary way to bring more colour into a room. Somehow painting either side of a dado rail in different colours looks rather old fashioned, but if you don’t have that rail and just divide the wall it looks really contemporary and fresh.
Try painting to just over the halfway mark. This can be a practical solution in a child’s room as it will cover up finger prints and scuff marks. If you paint up to two thirds dark and then go white the rest of the way and over the ceiling you will make the ceiling seem much higher too.
5 CREATE A GRAPHIC MURAL
This was done in The Mad House using Wickes paints by graphic designer Charlie Patterson. He came up with some really cool ideas for the wall using various shades of grey from the Wickes paint collection with that splash of pink. Now that I’ve got used to it I think I might adapt it a little. I fancy adding some pink stripes to the grey triangle on the right. Or perhaps a large pink circle over the top like a sun. All you need is masking tape and paint and it’s easy. If you want some inspiration check out Charlie’s Instagram.
So what do you think? Time to be a little more adventurous with the paints? For more inspiration check out my Pinterest board
Hi Kate, what colour did you paint your kitchen doors and floor- love the colours.
Hi Linda, the kitchen doors are Railings by Farrow and Ball and the floors, walls and skirtings are wimborne white by the same company.
I adore the painted door frames. Such a clever idea. It really does make all the difference. I’ll be ambling around our home armed with a paint brush, tomorrow.
Great ideas Kate… I love the idea of painting the ceiling in a glossy finish makes it quite luxurious. Maybe I can get away with pink… I mean I’m sure the OH won’t notice 😉
Some great ideas here Kate! I would never have thought of a gloss ceiling but you’re right, it could gives a room a luxe/glamorous feel. And the door edges!! I love that so much… never would have occurred to me, so thanks for the inspiration. I also really like the graphic design on your wall, it just shows what you can do with paint. A quick question about your wooden floorboards – what sort of paint would you recommend for floors? Thanks xx
Thanks Antonia! My floors are done in Farrow & Ball floorpaint. Floorpaints changed a few years ago and were no longer allowed to be oil based – because of the VOCs (solvents) they give off. So now they are water-based. The advantage of this is that white paints don’t turn yellow over time which the oil-based paints did. The disadvantage is that they aren’t as tough. Water-based dries more quickly so you can do more coats in less time – which is important for floors. So, as ever swings and roundabouts – wooden floors that might chip but won’t make you sick. Having said that Ronseal do a very tough one – if you want basic colours – but I have no idea what’s in it – paint companies don’t have to list their ingredients. And that was probably way too much information!
That’s such a great wall. Would Charlie like to come paint my wall?? 😉
He totally would! He gave me loads of cool ideas. Let me know if you want his details. XK
Wow! I bet you have fun creating this! Great choice of Colours Kate, I think the uber modern design fits seamlessly with the rest of the room, and that little hit of pink creates a nice balance. Bravo 🙂
Hi Kate, could I ask where you got your bulkhead-style downlighters? I really want to replace our boring standard ones..
Hi Steph, they’re called Chamonix downlighters and you can get them in lots of places – round about £16 each. Put that into google and you can choose where you would like to buy them from.
Painted ceilings always get my vote (why leave them untouched?) but I really like the idea of painting the door frame so you get a splash of colour as you open the door – very nice!
I really should play around more, we have amazing Victorian walls and ceilings we could be having more fun with. Love the cheeky door frames too – made me smile!
Great ideas here- I’m toying with half painted walls for our bedroom at the moment actually
Excellenté! I totally agree, paint is the cheapest way of making a big impact in a room. Do you reckon the edge of the door trick would work on doors that are bare natural wood? I’ve been wanting to do this for ages, but think it might look a bit funky (in a bad way) if it’s against some knotty old pine….?
I think it would work in black or other dark neutrals but I’m not sure about the neons or bright colours because I think they don’t work against the knotty pine… if you were really clever (which you are) you could do diagonal stripes – black and knotty pine – that would look like you were incorporating the natural wood as a deliberate statement and not just painting the edge of the door. Would look really cool that. In fact I quite fancy it on my doors…… Get thee to the masking tape shop!
Love it. I shall have a go! Cheers KWS. (Better check with OH first mind – although he probably wouldn’t notice). And you must know that I have shares in frog tape, bloody rolls of the stuff. It’s smashing.
Some great ideas and schemes. Just a note though on using gloss or even semi gloss on ceilings and walls. I had a ceiling replastered and painted it using standard white vinyl silk emulsion but the way the light reflected/bounced off it showed up every flaw, bump and niggle in the plastering. (Looking back I never used that plasterer again) Matt paint absorbs the light so allows you to hide/cover a less than perfect plaster job, always matt for me from now on.
It’s true, gloss will show up every uneven lump and bump but it does also look fabulous when it’s done well.
Hi Kate,
Where did you buy your new kitchen cupboards – love them.
Cheers
Barbara
hi Barbara, they are Ikea carcasses, which had the original doors until about a month ago. These are MDF fronts painted and with leather handles from Superfront.