Colour Study: Dulux White

It's always a slippery little monkey deciding 

which white to choose to go with a particular wall colour, 

don't you find? 

Some prefer using off-whites.

Some prefer using a version Pure Brilliant White.

Not me.

No, siree.

My choice is to use Dulux White.

Well, I say 'my choice', what I mean is my mum's!! 

Yes, this is a fantastic tip that has been passed down from mother to daughter 

(as all the best tips are...!)...

and now I can pass it on to you.

I've used it in every room we've decorated to create the connection between spaces that I find makes a home feel so much more of a harmonious whole.

You sometimes have to rummage about a bit on shop shelves 

to avoid the glare of Pure Brilliant White 

and unearth a can of plain old Dulux White 

but the results are well worth it.

It's useful to consider what your chosen 'white' colour will fade to, 

as, unless you like to repaint every year, that faded version will be 

the colour you'll be living with the majority of the time

...and *not* the brand new sparkliness of a fresh coat of gloss.

Pure Brilliant White tends to age to grey.

{a bit too Modern...}

Off-white can age to become rather darker than I personally like.

{a bit too Country}

But Dulux White ages to a lovely, gentle white....

Modern Country Style at it's best:

 contrast and warmth}

Voila...

..and here it is looking rather brighter and newer, 

now that it's been repainted as part of 

our Gorgeous Girls' Bedroom Makeover...

(the two wall colours are Farrow and Ball Hay 

and Farrrow and Ball Middleton Pink...

if you'd like to see more images of these colours 

then just click on the links)

Now, if there's anything a girl needs to feel right at home in her bedroom then it has to be a gorgeous bed, right?

Guess what's coming up?

All images: Mine

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Yummy Desert In A Jiffy...

Today, my scrumptiousses, I'm going to share with you one of my favourite ever puddings. Yes, I'm having a one-post break from the Girls' Bedroom extravaganza to join in with lovely Jane from Adventures In Dinner, who has organised this fab 

30 Minute Fixes series:

So here is my desert in a jiffy.

It's yummy. It's easy. It's quick.

{Could life get any better?}

All you need is:

Greek Yogurt

Summer Fruits

Muesli

A glass

This is how you make it:

Dollop a small amount of Greek yogurt into the bottom of your glass.

Add a layer of fruit.

And another layer of yogurt.

Then a sprinkling of muesli.

And you're done.

Now let the scoffing begin...

Of course, you can use a taller glass than I have, 

in which case, simply add more layers.

This is DELICIOUS - and perfect for hot summer nights, like tonight. 

In fact, I'm just going to sit in the garden and eat mine right now...

Care to join me?

{NB: I'm afraid plenty of Greek Yogurt loveliness 

was harmed in the making of this pudding...!}

Now it's your turn... 

what is your perfect 

Desert In A Jiffy?

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Case Study: Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink

After deciding that we were plumping for a pink colour scheme in our girls' bedroom makeover, I began the time-consuming but full-of-pleasure process of narrowing down the perfect pink.

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink

And you thought choosing off-white was hard? 

My off-white trials and tribulations have got nothing on picking out pink paint, which seem to fall into two categories: 

too lilac 

or too orange. 

Aaargh. So annoying. 

Until I found this:

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink

Farrow and Ball's Middleton Pink.

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink

LOVELY. 

It has just enough warmth to look gentle and girlie 

and just enough coolness to look classic and elegant.
The perfect Modern Country Pink...

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink bedroom

I'm a massive fan of Farrow and Ball's paints. 

Yes, they are more expensive than other paints but I find the quality of colour completely worth the extra pennies. Plus, even the more expensive paints are still relatively cheap in terms of their transformative effects.

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink bedroom

In full sun, Farrow and Ball's Middleton Pink looks almost white and yet, in the mornings and evenings, it takes on a beautifully warm hue. 
Mellow and gentle and restful.

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink

And now, 

*drum roll*

here are the very first sneak-peak photos of how 

Farrow and Ball's Middleton Pink 

looks in our girls' bedroom:

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink

Gorgeous, huh?

See how the colour builds up intensity in the shadows?

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink in our girls' bedroom!

It's able to look ethereally pale:

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink

But still manages to hold it's own against the white ceiling:

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink

As dusk draws in, Middleton Pink takes on a cooler tone, but is still definitely pink:

Farrow and Ball Middleton Pink walls

When choosing Farrow and Ball paints for children's rooms, it's well worth choosing their Modern Emulsion. The Estate Emulsion does give a chalkier, matter finish but I've found that it doesn't stand up as well to the extreme wear and tear that children's rooms receive. 

{Well, our children's rooms, at least!!}

With Modern Emulsion, the finish is still very matte but is wipeable. I save the Estate Emulsion for areas with lower traffic {and fewer sticky fingers!}.

If you liked this post, have you seen my other favourite paint Case Studies?

Farrow and Ball New White
Farrow and Ball Old White
Farrow and Ball White Tie
Farrow and Ball Blue Gray

Farrow and Ball Down Pipe

Farrow and Ball Elephant's Breath

Farrow and Ball Pigeon

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White
Farrow and Ball Green Blue

Dulux Heritage Stone Green

Farrow and Ball Lamp Room Gray

Farrow and Ball French Gray (interiors)

Farrow and Ball French Gray (exteriors)
Farrow and Ball Mouse's Back

Earthborn Gregory's Den

Farrow and Ball Light Blue

Farrow and Ball Powder Blue

Farrow and Ball Hay

You're in for a treat!

Next up, I'm sharing my all-time favourite white for woodwork.

Images via: Farrow and Ball, unknown, Yvestown, Peter Scott Interior Desgn, 

Razmataz, American Girl In Chelsea, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine

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Girls' Bedrooms: Pink Perfection

Tell me.

Did you know it was coming?

We had a whole load of brightly coloured girls' bedrooms (here).

Then I shared lots more girls' bedrooms with neutral colour schemes (here). 

Both those posts (full of glorious images though they were) left me yearning for more.

I want both.

The cool, calm restfulness of neutrals 

but the personality of colour.

This is my solution:

Pink......

....but not, not, not any old pink.

Nooooo.....

I want it to look:

Gorgeous. Girlie. Graceful.

Hang on a second.

With the vast array of pinks out there, 

who could do all the donkey-work for you 

and narrow down to the perfect pink?

Me????

You cheeky monkey.

;-)

But seeing as it's you...

.....go on then....

Have a wonderfully restful weekend 

and I'll see you on Monday 

with my favourite ever pink...

and the beginnings of our room reveal!!

Wooooh!

Images: Mesa De Juegos, Ana Coredeiro, Ana Cordeiro, unknown

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Girls' Bedrooms: Colour Schemes: Neutrals

Don't the colour schemes in these girls' bedrooms

look completely serene and gorgeous?

Neutral havens of calm and gentleness.

I love them....

but only on the pages of a magazine.

{Shock, horror...}

Yes, looking at these beautiful images made me decide that I definitely 

prefer children's rooms to have a little bit more personality.

Not as much as last week's BRIGHTS post.

{after all, they're not called BEDrooms for nothing}

but I think I need a little bit more...

...more something...

But what could that be?

Find out this Friday....

when I'll be sharing my ideal colour scheme 

for a gorgeous girls' bedroom.

And, in the meantime, did you see this over on Modern Country Style's Facebook, when we were chatting over How Thin Is Too Thin? after my post on Kate Middleton's gorgeous teal dress.

Images via Decorpad, unknown, unknown, unknown, unknown

(If you know where these are from then please let me know so I can credit them properly.)

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