Chaste in the home of @mamasparrowblog

Tell us about the process of finding the correct neutral for your open plan kitchen space.

“Of all the rooms in the house, the kitchen was the most complicated room to choose paint for. The front window sees the full strength of the morning sun, and the back door sees all the evening light. We had to find a colour that complemented both those changes in light. To complicate things further, it’s also quite a dark room. So, where I may have loved a lot of the darker off whites, they just weren’t bright enough in the space.

“In the end we chose Chaste. It’s a wonderfully subtle colour that, depending on the light, shows colour changes in its undertones. As I looked more closely, I saw different colours within it, which I knew would then complement the reds and blues that we already had in our kitchen.”

 How did you achieve such a personal scheme?

“I think when it comes to creating a homely space, I try not to get too precious about matching, and make sure that there are always personal items around the room. It’s very much a room that has evolved as we’ve got to know the space.

“It is most definitely the heart of the home, so it has to be practical as well as pretty. It has calendars, comfy sofas for tired children, an armchair favoured by both the dog and my husband, and most importantly, a big table that everyone can sit round. The space is very central to our lives, so it probably has the most of our personality injected into it. As far as possible, we’ve tried to use natural and complimentary colours that soothe and comfort, but don’t vie for attention.”

What is your advice for finding the right shade of white for your scheme? 

“I’d say don’t rush it. Take the time to see how different types of light affect your samples. We tried about six samples in total. We painted sample swatches in nearly every corner so that we could decide which looked the best in all the different areas. The thing to remember is that white is not perfectly white. There are undertones to consider – warm undertones or cold undertones. Will it look clinical or too close to 90s magnolia?”

What decorating plans do you have coming up? Will you be using Paint & Paper Library?

“Next on the agenda is the hallway and woodwork. Once again, we have the problem with lighting, so the walls will have to be fairly neutral. The problem is that we just can’t live without colour. The plan is to mimic what we did in the kitchen, and just paint the woodwork in a brighter colour. We’ve been so impressed by Paint & Paper Library that we will definitely be using this paint again.”