In the short term, though, we’ll just have to live with mismatched flooring. The rest of the ground floor of the house has rather yellowy oak boards which we inherited from the previous owners, so the eventual plan is to sand them down and re-colour them to match the living room. I also love the matte finish, which is very hardwearing but has none of the shininess normally associated with lacquer. As soon as I took a peek at its ‘Oak Sky’ ultra-matte lacquered boards I know they were the right choice – light but not overly so, with a balance of ashen and warmer tones and a beautiful grain. I was keen on the idea of pale Nordic oak and ordered all sorts of samples, but none seemed quite right – until a package arrived from Swedish brand Kährs, that is. Sadly the original Victorian boards had been removed before we bought the house, so we had to look for alternatives. This room used to sport a tatty old carpet, and I couldn’t wait to replace it with wooden flooring. The other major change was the flooring – perhaps the trickiest decision of all. The coving, cornicing, window frame and fireplace have all stayed white, as have the built-in alcove cupboards, and I love the contrast between the soft wall colour and the crisp architectural details.
I was amazed by the way a slightly different shade totally transformed the room – it instantly felt lighter and much more inviting. After trying out lots of different tester pots, I finally settled on ‘Cornforth White’ by Farrow & Ball – the perfect neutral grey, with no overly warm or cool undertones.
The walls were already grey, but the shade we’d picked in a hurry when we first moved into the house always ended up looking blue in this north-facing room. I also wanted to introduce a few subtle blush and camel tones to add a bit of warmth, and make the most of the period features that made us fall in love with the house in the first place. You can see the ‘before’ photos and my inspiration for the room here, but essentially the aim was to create a minimalist yet soft scheme using grey, white and black – a clutter-free, calming space where we can unwind at the end of the day. After a delay caused by missing support beams under the floor (the joys of old houses!), the makeover of our living room is finally complete, and I’m so excited to be able to share the finished look with you!
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