Farrow and Ball Hardwick White For The Ultimate Modern Country Kitchen!

When I was putting together my Farrow and Ball Hardwick White Colour Case Study, what jumped out at me was just how popular Hardwick White is as a colour for painted Modern Country kitchens....

Gorgeous slate worktops complement the Farrow and Ball Hardwick White units

The same Modern Country kitchen from the other side!

Farrow and Ball Hardwick white on the base units, Shaded White above and Stony Ground on the walls

So I've picked out the very best of the bunch to inspire you.

Aren't they stunning?! Doesn't it make you want to get your paintbrush out right this very minute?!

Hardwick White has been used on the walls AND units for total gorgeousness!

I can't imagine a colour that better ticks the Modern Country Kitchen boxes. Farrow and Ball Hardwick White is not too green, not too blue, not too grey and not too brown...but has just enough of a hint of each of these to give the most delicious warmth, country elegance and contemporary style to any painted kitchen.

A Farrow and Ball Pigeon island looks great with the more muted Hardwick White

Aren't they beautiful?

These kitchens encompass a range of styles: rustic, contemporary, French farmhouse, classic....but the gorgeous Farrow and Ball Hardwick White ensures they all feel thoroughly and utterly

Modern Country kitchens!

Images via: lesley bidwell, fernio furniture, cheshire furniture,, elle39, dg clifton

, flickr, alexander james, signature, signature, enigma design pigeon, heide hendricks, dm, 

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Colour Study: Farrow and Ball Hardwick White (part 2!)

We all know that some paints are like no others and the colour we're looking at in detail today, Farrow & Ball Hardwick White (5) is certainly one of them. With that accolade though comes the flip-side which can cause uncertainty: the colour shifts enormously...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White flooded with light but in an enclosed space

in different lights...

in different spaces...

and at different times of the day....

This is one of the reasons that I love certain colours so much. Farrow and Ball Hardwick White is the colour we've used in our family room and I LOVE it! 

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in our family room!

The quality of the paint ingredients means that these paints are the unicorns of the paint world. Magical and special...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White on an overcast day

but it makes it super-hard to ever pin one down!!

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White on a sunny afternoon

It's almost impossible to explain in only one post the enormous variety of direction this lovely paint can be taken in...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in full sun

...but a girl can try!!

In fact, this is the second Colour Study post I've made on Farrow and Ball Hardwick White. You can find the first one here. I've been able to use it a fair bit more since that post so I wanted to share my increased understanding of how it looks in various situations.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in our family room!

As always, you need to consider which way your room faces. In those rooms receiving warming sunlight (in the Northern hemisphere, this is rooms that face South, South-East or South-West...), Farrow & Ball Hardwick White will be perceived as a gorgeous grey-green.

Farrow and Ball Slipper Satin on the walls with Farrow and Ball Hardwick White on the chimney breast

BUT, be warned: this doesn't mean that this will be true all day. 

It just means it's true WHEN the sun is pouring in. 

Our family room faces South-West so it gets sunshine in the summer from about noon until teatime. 

Our family room with Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

However, the amount of time that, in the UK, the room is very sunny is, sadly, quite small!!

{Though I am writing this in what feels like blistering heat today!}

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in our family room in sunshine!

Here is as close as possible to the same shot but this was taken on an overcast morning when any direct light is still around the front of the house... ....

An overcast morning

However, it also applies to the type of artificial light you want to use. If like me, you have a mixture of overhead light and lamps dotted around the room then you're going to experience the way Hardwick White slips and slides all over the place colour-wise!

Under the standard light bulbs, which cast a very yellow light, Hardwick White swings right round to its khaki-brown side...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in yellowish artificial light

Basically, the warmer the light, the more the yellower tones in Farrow & Ball's Hardwick White will show, potentially making it seem much more of a taupe-y, almost deep khaki shade.

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White under white artificial light

Conversely, if your space is North-facing and receives next to no sunshine then you'll be living with the most beautiful relaxed grey with gentle blue-green undertones. 

Cool daylight on Farrow and Ball Hardwick White, walls in Cornforth White

Another factor to consider when using Farrow & Ball Hardwick White is that this is a reasonably dark colour, particularly in smaller rooms where the shade has a chance to build in intensity.

The brighter your room, the lighter it will appear, which leads me nicely to the name: Hardwick White! Yes, there are a couple of situations I've seen where I can see why this might at a push be considered a white ( just look at the Farrow and Ball painted front doors below) but otherwise, please don't let the name confuse you! This is most definitely a mid-to-dark shade.

See how dark Farrow and Ball Hardwick White is in that corner is behind the door...

And it's because of its darker hue that Farrow and Ball Hardwick White works really well as an accent shade...

Farrow and Ball Shaded White on walls, Farrow and Ball Hardwick White on woodwork

The windows are  painted in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White 

So how about using Hardwick White on your front door? Always bear in mind when choosing front door colours that paint looks several shades lighter in any exterior situation, and the more sun your front door receives, the paler the outcome you can expect...

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door looking almost white!!

All external paintwork is Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White front door in shade - much darker

All external paint is Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

The front door is Farrow and Ball Hardwick White in the shade

And again, Farrow and Ball Hardwick White will always appear paler when used to paint furniture...

Farrow and Ball Dove Tale walls with Farrow and Ball Hardwick White on the bureau

Farrow and Ball Dove Tale on walls with dresser in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

This is image does a fantastic job at creating lots of little mini-rooms so you can clearly see the effect of light and shadow on Hardwick White...

Whole room in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

Isn't the contrast between the darker corners and full glare of the front of the shelves amazing?

Farrow and Ball Hardwick White has to be one of the most changeable colours I've used...and that's why I love it!

Looking into our family room painted in Farrow and Ball Hardwick White

You might have noticed that there is a significant absence of kitchens in this post. That's because I've come across so many gorgeous kitchens that use Farrow & Ball's Hardwick White that I thought I'd give them a post all of their own! 

Images via: architectectural digest, Tom Raffield Lighting, Modern Country Style, Modern Country Style, Modern Country Style, Modern Country Style, Michael Sinclair, Modern Country Style, yorkshire life, Modern Country Style, Modern Country Style, Modern Country Style, Farrow and Ball, Farrow and Ball, Michael Sinclair, Modern Country Style, Kate Macey, brooke gianetti, Zena Hume-King, hollyhock cottage, adam walker, unknown, Angela Kedgeley, Angela Kedgeley,, Farrow and Ball, Angela Kedgeley, Salley Evans, little biba, little biba, handmaiden design, indulgy, lucy's forever home, Modern Country Style 

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Slate Hearth Vs Granite Hearth: What's The Best Hearth Material?

While I knew exactly the look of the fireplaces I wanted for our living room and family room, one puzzle that presented a quandary initially was the choice of hearth materials, which is best out of slate or granite...so may I present to you:

Slate Hearth vs Granite Hearth: The Courtcase!

Given that I've just been through this process, I though some of you might find it useful to hear my thoughts.... 

{Both materials do the job, and do it well, so it really is a matter of looking at the pros and cons of each and choosing your preference.}

Let me come right out and say it; this will not be entirely unbiased because:

I LOVE SLATE HEARTHS!!

{I chose slate for the hearth in both the living room and family room and ADORE them!}

Here are four areas YOU'LL need to consider in your quest for the best hearth material:

1. The Colour

Slate hearths are a gorgeously dulled, very deep graphite grey, as opposed to granite hearths which are black, black, black. If you look at these images of gorgeous slate hearths, you'll see what a difference the right colour can make. You want the colour of the hearth to look mellow, old and lovely, to blend into a cohesive whole with the fireplace, and, certainly in a period home, to look as though it's always been there.

2. The Finish

Slate can be finished in a crazily rustic fashion or it can be more smartly honed for pure Modern Country Style (if you are leaning towards a granite hearth then honed is the look I'd suggest too). Honed slate gives a beautiful semi-matte sheen that catches the light exquisitely, whereas I personally find that granite always looks a bit new and shiny, almost plasticky - and not in a good way.

3. The Durability

There's no two ways abut this, granite hearths have the edge here....though  slate is tough enough to have survived on many hearths for hundreds of years so it can certainly hold it's own. It's worth being honest about this though - your slate hearth will show sign of aging faster than a granite hearth.

4. The Source

I cannot emphasise this enough. Whatever you do, go to a fireplace company you can trust. It was our fireplace fitter that showed me how exquisitely the separate pieces of slate in our slate hearth have been pieced together (needed to allow for heat expansion). I honestly hadn't even noticed that there were any separate pieces! The light should have to be at exactly the right angle to notice the slightly visible seam lines (in fact, the fitter needed to use his torch to show me!). Plenty of fireplace 'experts' will just cobble it together and leave you with very visible seams.

Ladies and gentlemen, in the court case of the best hearth materials, granite vs slate, I find for...

SLATE HEARTHS!!

Images via unknown, Modern Country Style, Gallerie B, Apartment Therapy, For Interieur, Houzz, unknown, Modern Country Style 

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