My little downstairs loo was looking tired. The small en-suite shower room off my home office hadn’t been decorated for over five years, so it was time for a makeover. As this tiny toilet space was previously mostly painted a pure, brilliant white, I felt the room was a bit sterile and cold. The large sash window let in natural light throughout the day, so the room didn’t need to be painted in such a blinding neutral. Instead, I decided to colour-drench this room in a warm, earthy tone to embrace and absorb the sunlight rather than reflect it, while adding some character to the space.
I chose Little Greene’s Nether Red as the colour to paint every surface in this room. An interesting shade with red undertones, after two coats, the final colour was an interesting mix of purple, pink, brown and muddy red. I used Little Greene’s low-sheen Intelligent Eggshell finish (Little Greene recommends that this is most suitable for a bathroom space) on the walls, panellingceiling and woodwork.
What was great about colour-drenching is that it makes decorating so easy! There is no cutting in required where two paint edges meet, and one tin does it all. This room also has a lot of complicated areas (a giant box above the toilet hides pipes, and the walls aren’t completely straight). Colour-drenching helps to disguise these by blending everything in one hue.
I added some botanical and vintage artwork to embrace the earthy, feminine tones of Nether Red and placed a great-value cafe curtain on the lower window panes for privacy.
I’m really happy with how this room has turned out; it feels less stark than when it was painted white and a lot more cohesive when painted in one shade.
