Just as quickly as I decided to paint our living room wall black, I opted to give it an update and repaint it in Aquamarine Light from Little Greene. As it so often is with me, it was a pretty spur-of-the-moment decision. The January days were feeling so long and dark, and the house, with its build-up of clutter and mess, wasn’t helping matters. I needed a total refresh, and in a bid to bring in as much light as possible I decided the black had to go, at least for now. I still love that shade of black and plan to reinstate it in the autumn, but spring just felt like the right time to go lighter and brighter.
There was also a totally gorgeous Scandinavian house in the April issue of Ideal Home that I fell head over heels in love with, that showcased the most beautiful blend of soft mints, aquamarines and teals (with bright, clean white of course). You know when you just can’t get something out of your head? And so that house became the starting point for a Scandi-inspired home update which is still ongoing.
I started with a base coat of white to cover the black, and then got three testers – various shades of Little Greene’s Aquamarine – Aquamarine, Aquamarine Mid and Aquamarine Light. These are halfway between mint and a very delicate, soft sage that works nicely with the aqua colour of our kitchen wall tiles and also with the lush greens of all my houseplants. I’m going to use the colour in various shades throughout the house, on walls or as accents, to create a sense of flow between the rooms.
We picked the lightest, Aquamarine Light, although in retrospect I wonder if we should have gone for the next shade down so the colour was a little stronger. In a prime example of #bloggerfail, I appear to have picked a colour that is particularly hard to capture in photographs! Which obviously isn’t ideal when you want to photograph it to share on your blog. It isn’t actually as pale in real life as it appears here, but I guess you’ll just have to take my word for that.
It has managed to do exactly what I wanted it to to do – it feels fresh and bright, but also incredibly calming. I’ve been carefully curating my accessories, packing some away and rediscovering things I’d forgotten I had. There are lots of gaps – it’s definitely very much a work in progress right now. There’s a huge expanse of wall behind the leather sofa that needs filling, but with tight budgets and very little free time, I’ve accepted that it’s a go-slow project despite my sprint start with the paintbrush. For now, I’m happy pottering, tweaking and planning. A visit to Ikea is a must (just waiting for payday), and I have a wish list of products that I can work through when finances allow.
Oh, and I may have loved the colour so much I painted the bedroom wall too. Aquamarine is taking over…
Oh I absolutely love it! I can’t believe how different the room looks? I’ve been thinking about an aquamarine colour in our kitchen and I think this might have convinced me to go for it. It looks so fresh for spring!
Go for it! It really does feel so fresh and would be perfect in a kitchen. x
I know you’ve just got rid of the black but I need your advice….I’ve painted my loo Dulux matt black but it marks so badly I’m going to have to redo it. Every finger mark shows up and with 6 year old twins it’s a complete nightmare! Did your black wall mark? I don’t want to waste time and money repainting in another black paint if the same thing is going to happen again.
That sounds like a total nightmare! I didn’t notice our black wall marking particularly badly, but I have to say that it was in a much lower traffic area than a loo. There was a sofa and cabinet against that wall, so my twins didn’t really put their fingers all over it. I have a big problem with our white stairs wall – so many dirty fingerprints – but I’ve just given in to regular repainting!