Between the frenzy of London Design Festival and the debut of our painted tiles collection, the past few months have been a riot of colour and pattern. It’s been absolutely brilliant, if not exhausting, and now seems the perfect time to take it down a notch, to relax and unwind. In the words of Seinfeld’s Frank Costanza, “Serenity now!”

 

Devoid of colour, all too often white rooms feel sterile and cold. It’s no wonder then that we took pause at the sight of these two chalky white spaces. Designers David Mann and Scott Maddux respectively have mastered the trick of the decorating trade: all shades of white are not created equal. From snowcap to camel, the secret to creating a calm white room is to layer tones and textures. Far from being stark, these spaces beckon you to breathe deep and exhale. Plus we adore that David Mann installed a fabric shower curtain with a curved rail (there are so many glass doors these days).

On a personal note, whenever paint comes up friends tease me about the time I had to choose a shade for my living room. I painted 20 hues of white on poster board and tacked them all around the room. I’d stare endlessly, moving them about from here to there and assessing how the light affected the colour at different times of day (a lesson I learnt from Paint & Paper Library’s David Oliver). It took ages to decide but once the room was complete, jokes that “they all look the same” were replaced with satisfying nods of approval. 

Photograph © Simon Upton, Ricardo Labougle