Edward Bulmer was honoured to be approached by Winchester College Heritage to create a set of bespoke paint colours for the rooms that Jane Austen lived in for the final months of her life. By carefully scraping back layers of paint, the original Georgian decorating scheme was uncovered and Edward specially mixed new colours to match those original finishes. These colours were used in the rooms Jane Austen and her sister, Cassandra, rented, and they help to invoke how they might have looked during their short time there in 1817. The repainted quarters. Edward tells of his time in College Street. ‘It is rare to feel the presence of a past life in an old house – they have hosted so many after all. I am someone who can anthropomorphise the skill required to fashion a piece of furniture or weave a carpet, I am also someone with a long-held devotion to the works of Jane Austen. Nevertheless, I was unprepared for how viscerally I felt her presence standing in the room in which she spent much of the last two months of her life. It was a genteel but simple room in a Georgian house in College Street, Winchester. Walls had since been changed and a staircase moved, but the character of the building not lost. The door to Jane’s room had a cylindrical brass knob which would have been recently fitted when her feeble hand turned it. Her presence was palpable – the simplicity of the interior was so in tune with what we know of her outlook and circumstances that it somehow deepened the sense of it.’ Jane's White Jane's White On creating the white, Edward says ‘Jane’s White required only a modicum of pigment to render it ‘the neat little drawing-room’ that Jane deemed it in a letter.’ Cassandra's Slate, with scraped back area remaining Cassandra's Slate, looking through to Jane's White ‘Cassandra’s room and the room occasionally used by her brother were given a little more richness by the use of cobalt blue and red and yellow ochre pigments. Not expensive tints, but in reasonable quantities to give warm mid-colours, creating Brownlow North’s Red, Cassandra’s Slate and Mrs David’s Pink. ‘ The colours are named after people alive at the time. Brownlow North was the Bishop of Winchester in 1817 and the diocese owned 8 College Street and Mrs David was the landlady of the property. Brownlow North's Red looking through to Mrs David's Pink in the bedroom. Edward felt that ‘the fragmentary presence of these colours under subsequent layers, like the scant records of the Austen’s brief tenure, allowed a remarkably telling restoration, bolstered I believe by that strong sense of a remarkable soul that though failed in the end by a weak body, produced work of enduring popularity and prescience.’ 8 College Street is open to the public for a short while to the public in advance of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth on 16th December this year. Unfortunately all tickets have already been snapped up, but this important space remains as a monument to such an important figure in British literary history. All photography credits: Camilla Winter Moore
In Celebration of Cuisse de Nymphe Emue Cuisse de Nymphe Emue is our bestselling dusky pink. A colour created by Edward Bulmer after visiting Petworth House and seeing a similar hue in the family rooms, he knew that it was a colour that would be popular and he was right! We believe its popularity is due to its warm tones and versatility. Explore the joy of this perfect pink.
Discover the new ‘Forever Favourites Collection’ Create a scheme from one room to your whole house with soft colours that work together effortlessly ensuring tonal flow and harmony. Our 12 best loved shades together in one pack. Discover the power of natural paint today.
From Dawn to Dusk: how to paint the east facing room When decorating your home, it is important to understand the light in each room. This can make a huge difference to the final look, especially when choosing your paint colours. It is key to note that the light in an east facing room is soft, fresh, and changes throughout the day.
Edward Reinvents his Smallest Room into a Space Full of Colour and Wonder When Inigo suggested coming to the Herefordshire home of our founder Edward Bulmer we thought we had to come up with something unique and never seen before for them! Edward’s home has been through many transformations, nowhere is this clearer today – perhaps surprisingly – than in the current ground-floor WC.
Originally Hand-Painted Biophilic Botanical Wallcoverings At Edward Bulmer Natural Paint we love to support and collaborate with small brands who, like us, have a deep respect and passion for nature and our planet. Beautiful by George create 100% plastic-free mural wallcoverings which are both eco-friendly and beautiful: the sustainable ‘Spring Tonic’ collection embodies our philosophy of having a light touch on the earth.
The Power of Natural Pigments: Issue 2 Last month, to celebrate ‘Paint of the Decade’ and as part of our campaign to bring transparency to the paint market and to tell you how our paint is made we launched our pigment of the month.
