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Colour your home happy on lockdown

Following on from last week's journal entry sharing our tips on what you can be doing right now to prepare your property for sale after lockdown, this week we've asked some interiors experts for their tips on how we can be decorating to boost our mood, refresh our spaces in time for summer and the products to choose for a healthy home...

Herefordshire-based Edward Bulmer Natural Paint is the eponymous independent paint company from Architectural Historian and Interior Designer, Edward Bulmer - offering a range over 100 colours made from just 12 earth and mineral pigments.

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Paint Colour - French Blue, styled by Oka

'We believe in these strange and sad times and the now extended lockdown period it is most important to fill your home with things and colours that make you happy. Colours that make your heart sing and your artwork ping, shades that you love not trends that you follow. Many of us are now acutely aware of our personal footprints, what we consume and the effect it has on ourselves and the planet. We are choosing brands that are natural and organic, made with authenticity and honesty. Healthy living has never been more paramount, as is trust and transparency from the brands we buy from," explains Edward.

"It has also never been more important to consider the health of your home, especially given we are confined to our four walls more than we have ever before experienced. Indoor pollution is as dangerous and harmful to the human race and the planet as the more commonly thought of and feared exterior pollution.

"Using natural pigments gives colours that are softer, calmer and more comforting in my opinion. I mix colours using earth pigment in the way that chefs use seasoning. It makes the colours so much more interesting and they work harmoniously together, the flow from room to room in a house is seamless - this itself creates a sense of calm and healthy happiness.

"Choosing colour is a very personal matter, but getting the right tonality is what is key to making them work for family life as well as the building itself."

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Paint colour - Rose

During the lockdown period Edward and the team are giving free colour consultancy - simply email info@edwardbulmerpaint.co.uk with your colour queries, photos and video so they can help. They are sending samples and mixing and sending paint out too, albeit just a little slower than usual. There are also free Edward Bulmer Paint colour charts on the website.

For more colour inspiration follow @eb_naturalpaint on Instagram.

Interior Designer, Lauren Gilberthorpe is offering a remote colour consultation service for those of you wanting to refresh your home ready for the summer, too. Simply email the LGI team pics of your room and the team will be in touch for a phone consultation to discuss ideas to revamp your space, followed up by an emailed document with their suggested colours. The consultation costs £50 and the team will be making donations to their local food bank for every consultation booked on lockdown.

Lauren Gilberthorpe Interiors


“If you've been living in your house for a while, it's likely that you have got very used to how it looks and no longer see it with fresh eyes. Take photographs from different angles in each room to help you to see your space more objectively. You'll be surprised what you notice when you look at a photograph rather than from the same viewpoint on the chair you always sit on. You may notice that the room looks more cluttered, or that the view to the garden is blocked by a piece of furniture. We use this all the time - I've even just done it for my own home that I bought last year," suggests Lauren.

Lauren Gilberthorpe Interiors


One company that know a thing or two about decorating a space to spark joy is Original House, who were featured in House & Garden recently with their renovation of an old tailor's workshop in Woodmancote which they now run as an AirBNB. Original House specialises in sourcing unique and unusual interior objects, from vintage industrial furniture and lighting, to antique painted French furniture as well as some mid century pieces and the tailor's workshop is the perfect showcase for their treasured finds. If you are looking for statement pieces to update your home that have character and history, their online stock gallery is a fab place to start.

The Original House Gloucestershire

Finally, if you're not ready for a full redecoration, adding a new piece of art to your ways is a quick way of changing the look and feel of a room - Natalie Williams, owner of Medium Room sources vintage and antique art and has featured recently in Vogue and The Home Page, discussing the transformative powers of the art we hang in our homes.

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"I have always loved vintage and antique art this has led to days and hours spent scouring the country looking for pieces which I feel have something special about them. I believe art is so important in making a home," says Natalie. She has a range of works on her online gallery and sources artworks for private clients and interior designers too.

(Cover pic: Edward Bulmer - Paint Colour, Brimstone)⠀⠀⠀⠀