Daring Patterns and Dark Woods

Inspired by a promotional shot of Fired Earth’s Madeira tiles I decided to make some changes to my downstairs loo.

Happy with the Farrow & Ball Manor House Grey emulsion, and the dado height white ceramic tiles, I chose to update the artwork and to get creative with the dark wood cabinet that has long since been home to the spare loo rolls.

I chose eight of the Mediterranean inspired tiles, each in a soft blue or green, with highlights of pale pink and chocolate brown. They were to be a new top for the old cabinet thereby giving it the look and feel of a washstand.

I laid the tiles out and arranged them in a suitable pattern prior to having them cut to size. I also sealed them to protect their porous surfaces.

In the meantime I revisited some of the framed prints that had been relegated to the loft. One of my favourites, “To Pastures New”, is an image of a young girl herding a flock of geese. Sadly, the frame and the mount, for which I had paid a fortune at the time, no longer looked very appealing.

With this in mind I took it to a local framer to have it brought up to date. I had in mind a wooden frame that could be hand painted. With a little help and advice I chose the frame and asked for it to be finished in Neptune’s Walnut emulsion.

I was delighted with the end result as the colours complimented the tiles perfectly.

The next task was to reinstate the dark wood mirrors and to review my stock of prints to fill the last remaining corner.

I was delighted when I found some images of Winnie the Pooh as they seemed to gel perfectly with the young girl and her geese. Again, I chose new frames to bring them bang up to date.

Creating this nostalgic feel to the cloakroom reminded me of an image I had seen recently in a Country Living magazine.

In a simple cottage kitchen a fabric curtain had been used in place of a cupboard door.

Without hesitation I decided to make a similar “skirtain” for the cabinet thus concealing its contents. I ummed and ahhed about my choice of fabric as I did not want it to detract from the patterned tiles.

I finally chose a soft grey linen for the main curtains and edged these with some remnants of a contrasting fabric. A piece of stretchy wire was used to hang them inside the shelf unit.

The end result is a charming room inspired with childhood memories and thoughts of warm mediterranean sunshine.

Ideal as we head into the autumn…