Mad about the House by Kate Watson-Smyth

Author:Kate Watson-Smyth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pavilion Books

The sitting room, the lounge, the drawing room or the reception. Whatever you choose to call it, this space should really be universally known by its other name: the living room. Sometimes we come in here just to sit, to play games or relax with a cup of tea. We might want to collapse in front of the telly after work or chat with friends over coffee or wine. It’s a room that needs to suit myriad activities but it’s also the one room of the house that needs to be completely comfortable to do nothing at all. To live, to breathe, or just simply to be.

This is a room you probably spend a lot of time in, so it’s not the first place to start your experiments in. If you don’t have a dining room in which to practise being daring, try the downstairs loo or the hall. Once you’re comfortable mixing colours and adding patterns, bring your confidence to this room.

That’s not to say it has to be boring, but you need to consider colours that work for you in every mood; not just when you’re tired, but when you want to have a party too. This means you need to include something that makes your spirits soar, something that cheers you up after a rough day. This can be anything from a pattern on a rug that you never tire of seeing, to a cushion in a gorgeous colour or a vintage piece that brings back happy memories – and potentially all of those things.

Once again, you need to consider who uses the room when it comes to deciding on a colour scheme. Paint reacts differently in different lights, so before you choose a shade, make sure you’ve looked at it during the day and again at night when the lamps are lit. Then it’s back to the honesty box. Do you come in here in the day? Or is it mainly the evening? Is it mostly used as a television room or is it a place to sit and talk? If you’re fantasising about it being a place to sit and talk, but it’s actually for Netflix and popcorn, then admit it.

I tend to go to my sitting room mostly at about 9pm, so it mainly needs to look good under electric light. It’s painted dark grey – Down Pipe by Farrow & Ball – because that’s a deep, rich colour that works during the day but really comes alive at night. If you spend a lot of the daylight hours in your sitting room, you might want to choose something paler. That’s not to say that you can’t use opulent navy with gold accents, but you may find that you instinctively stay out of it during the day because it feels more like an evening space.

Try mixing it up a little so that it works for all scenarios. If you want the dark opulent colours but need to be in there in the day, consider

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