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Using Colour and Light

Colour and Light

Colour is crucial. It makes us happy – when we get it right! Using colour and light is a big part if that

Thirty years of experience in putting colour schemes together teaches you that while you can combine them in striking contrast or subtle harmony, they only work when the tonality is right. All of our colours are from the same tonal family because we use the same range of pigments that have been used by artists and craftsmen for literally thousands of years. This makes them easy to combine with the other elements of your interior design schemes.

There are several tried and tested interior design styles to consider:

Coloured walls and white woodwork

This is the age old combination and it works well, one colour for the walls and a complementary white for the woodwork, cornice and ceiling. This style is steeped in history and might be considered traditional but it is smart, crisp and brings extra lightness into a scheme. At the same time the contrast makes the main colour look more intense. It is particularly useful if you have architectural details. If you look at our colours in our paint shop we give you the complementary white and the tonal range for each colour.

Our range is specifically designed so there are a number of complementary whites to go with each colour or indeed to work together.

One Colour Throughout

This is a more modern style, creating a sleek, contemporary look. Walls are painted in emulsion and the woodwork in the same colour in eggshell. The density of colour of the eggshell is always stronger, so although they are the same colour there is often a difference in depth to the discerning eye and this is a very attractive combination. It creates a monochromatic scheme which can help exaggerate the size of a room and gives a sense of calm. This focus on colour as a clean backdrop to furnishings and fabrics.

Complementary Shades

Our colours work in families and across colour groups. We have carefully created a range of each colour that can work together to create a uniform style which is calm and comfortable. It is very effective to use a number of shades of the same colour. Neutrals work extremely well together, picking out details which create layers and therefore more interest in the room.

Lighter Walls and Darker Woodwork

Combining light and dark together enhances both colours through the use of contrast. If you use dark colours on doors, woodwork or signature walls it brings a confident touch to a room. The darker colours exaggerate the serentity of the pale colours and their juxtaposition of the gentle white tones heightens the drama of our naturally pigmented colours.

How to Make a Room seem Bigger, Taller and Lighter

Generally lighter colours make a room look bigger, especially if there is a decent amount of natural light. Keeping the ceiling the lightest element will also help.

To make a room seem taller, especially one with irregular shaped ceilings we would recommend that you uses the same colour throughout, so the walls appear not to end. You can further exaggerate this with a pale colour picking out the woodwork, especially if there are beams, but do opt for a subtle variation of the wall colour.

If your room has no natural light then you do not necessarily have to paint it a light colour. To create an atmosphere in a cloakroom or downstairs snug try a deep colour to create an atmosphere rather than just trying to give the illusion of light.

Whites and neutrals with the depth created by natural pigments will help to magnify whatever light a room has. You don’t need to go too bright as our neutral palette, using gentle earth pigments, will help enhance any natural light and will bring a softness to the whites even when the sun is not shining. The use of contrasting colours can also create the impression of light. Use light painted features or furniture against a coloured backdrop to give interest, reflection and contrast.

Consider your house as a whole, how you move from one room to another, from neutral into colour and beyond. The joy of our range is that you would fill your house with all our colours and they would live in harmony with each other as they do in nature.

Light

When we use colour it responds to light to give the effect we see.

We need it to look great in strong light and low light – daylight and lamplight. The way paint is made is key to this. We use only natural pigments not chemical colourants and plant oils rather than acrylics, precisely because they give a surface that looks alive. This gives walls a soft but vibrant finish which is a delight to the eye and a great backdrop for your fabrics and furnishings.

  • Advice on Natural Paint
    • FAQs
    • Choosing Paint Colours
      • Try Our Samples
      • How to choose which white?
      • Using Colour and Light
      • Colours for your Period Property
      • The Science of Colour
    • Choosing Eco Paint Finishes
      • Emulsion Paint
      • Emulsion for Lime Plaster
      • Eggshell for Interior Woodwork and Metal
      • Gloss for Interior Woodwork and Metal
      • Radiator Paint
      • Eggshell for Exterior Woodwork and Metal
      • Gloss for Exterior Woodwork and Metal
    • Practical Painting Advice
      • Painting Interior Walls and Ceilings
      • Painting Interior Woodwork and Metal
      • Painting Exterior Woodwork and Metal
    • Delivery Process
      • Delivery
      • Packaging
    • Technical Data Sheets
      • Natural Emulsion Technical Sheet
      • Water Based Eggshell Technical Sheet
      • Water Based Gloss Technical Sheet
      • Grip Coat Technical Sheet
      • Plaster Primer Technical Sheet
      • Water Based Eggshell Primer Technical Sheet
    • Safety Data Sheets
      • Natural Emulsion Safety Data Sheet
      • Water Based Eggshell Safety Data Sheet
      • Water Based Gloss Safety Data Sheet
      • Wall Filler Safety Data Sheet
      • Grip Coat Safety Data Sheet
      • Plaster Primer Safety Data Sheet

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Preparatory products

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Follow us @edwardbulmerpaint

Keeping it minimal and fresh in this dining space by @foresttohome featuring their Seasons Dining Table made from solid English oak. The wood is finished in natural oil, free from nasty VOC's, love to see brands making furniture out of natural materials and treating them with natural products. Paired perfectly with our colour 'Portland' ⁠on the walls, also natural and free from nasty VOC's and harmful chemicals 🌿🌍🌳⁠ ⁠ Happy Friday! ‘Lilac Pink’ looking warm and calming in @alisoncoldridge’s home, paired with beautiful flooring and flowers. Our paints are made using mineral and earth pigments so they change depending on the space, light and room - this versatility is what makes our paint different to any other on the market! #naturalpaint We are coveting every detail of this guest bedroom in Drumtennant, a newly built Georgian style house with interiors designed by @olpol_and_co and architecturally designed by @rupertcunningham from @benpentreathstudio. Painted in our ‘Pea Green’ on the walls, and our plaster pink ‘Jonquil’ on the ceiling and bathroom walls. Paired beautifully with curtain fabric by @gpjbaker and the chair upholstered in @theislemill… it’s magical, thank you @olpol_and_co 📸 @georgiarothmanproductions So lovely to see our ‘Turquoise’ ‘in full bloom’ at the Chelsea Flower Show with @comptonsmithinteriors and in such good company from fabrics, to furnishings and artwork. Take a look for yourself and head to stand EA440, the corner of Eastern Avenue and Eastern way. Thank you for using our plant-based paints for such a fitting event @comptonsmithinteriors and to such great effect. Take a look at our stories to see a few of our favourites paint colours paired with some beautiful blooms! 🌸🌿🎨 ‘Olympian Green’ bathroom at the home of @edward_bulmer who describes this colour as a ‘lime green without being a slime green’! Our colours are versatile and change in different spaces and lights because they are made from wonderful natural ingredients! Did you know that we are unique in making our paint with a plant-based binder, an alternative to a polymer derived binder used in most modern paints. These polymer binders contain micro beads and this particular ingredient is what contributes heavily to the 180,000 tones of micro plastics from paint ALONE that end up in our rivers and oceans every year! Switching to a natural paint is an easy way to avoid these devastating realities. Every day we strive to clean up the paint industry one tin at a time! 🌎🍃🎨💚 A stylish London bathroom suitably painted in our 'London Brown' ⁠in @my_london_home 🤎 We love how @my_london_home has painted the walls and panelling in the rich brown and paired this shade with slick black bath fittings and some minimalist homeware pieces. ⁠ ⁠ @edward_bulmer describes this as our 'dark chocolate'. We make this shade with just red oxide and black as all the old recipes would have it. We have given it a capital name for a serious metropolitan colour for those with the acquired taste. ⁠ ⁠ Discover the pure natural pigments in London Brown, with an extraordinary depth and response to light which synthetic paints cannot recreate. #naturalpaint

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01544 388 535

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Paint Advice

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Paint Quantity Calculator

To use this simple tool please add together the total wall lengths, so the parameter of the room which is the width measurement, then just one height measurement. This amount is based on coverage in 2 coats.

As a rough guide, 1 L of eggshell will cover 2-3 doors (both sides) and 1 L of eggshell will cover 20 metres of skirting board in min. 2 coats.

x requires (for 2 coats)

Please complete width and height

Please note we don't take doors, windows or alcoves into consideration.
The paint calculator is only suitable for calculating wall paint requirements.