There is a palette of possibilities when tackling small room designs, whether you’re in a cosy apartment, a quaint cottage, or even just decorating a small downstairs loo or an attic bedroom. The key to turning these limited spaces into functional and stylish havens involves a thoughtful approach to design and colour. Leveraging natural light, employing techniques like colour drenching to impart a sense of expansiveness – the array of options is vast when it comes to enhancing the aesthetic appeal of your petite and enclosed rooms. Natural Light Natural light is a small space’s best asset. Berdoulat has created the most stylish yet functional space using our darker hues ‘London brown’ and ‘Tingry’ despite it being a small room, and has cleverly brought natural light flooding into this partitioned pantry. 'London Brown' and 'Tingry' Pantry, designed by Berdoulat and photography by Paul Whitbread Tingry London Brown Cinnamon Azurite Painted Panels Defining the walls and panels not only produces a visual colour block effect that separates different areas within a confined space but also allows you to maximise every square foot without compromising your personal flair. This can be accomplished by employing contrasting colour combinations like ‘Rose’ and ‘Invisible Green’, which, despite residing on opposite sides of the colour wheel, achieve tonal harmony through the use of natural pigments in our paints. Alternatively, you can choose a more neutral and timeless appearance with our ‘Cinnamon’, available in lighter shades of 60%, 40%, and 20% for a subdued colour palette. 'Cinnamon' in 60% Hallway, designed by Mimi Montagul and photography by Paul Whitbread 'Rose' and 'Invisible Green' Bathroom, photography by Paul Whitbread Cinnamon Spanish White Invisible Green Rose Maximise Shelving Bespoke built-ins, personalised storage nooks, and furniture tailored to your exact needs can utilise every inch of space. Incorporating shelves into the walls prevents the loss of valuable square footage. By painting the shelves in a contrasting hue to the walls creates depth and adds the illusion of a larger room such as the contrasting colour palette of ‘Pea Green’ and ‘Cinnamon’. 'Jonquil' and 'Brick' Office Space, designed by @charlotteboundy and photography by @james_mcdonald_photography 'Ethereal Blue' Reading Room, designed by @kateguinnessdesign and photography by @simonbrownphotography 'Pea Green' and 'Cinnamon' Dining Room, designed by @pineappleinteriorsldn Jonquil Brick Ethereal Blue Pea Green Built in Functional Furniture Small spaces demand creativity when it comes to furniture choices. To complement your paint choices, invest in built in functional furniture that is made to the shape of the room, such as a cabin bed. Light hues, such as ‘French Blue’ or ‘Cuisse de Nymphe Emue’ contribute to creating an airy and spacious space. 'French Blue' Bed and Furniture, designed by Matilda Goad and built by Blockhouse Build 'French Blue' Bed and Furniture, designed by Matilda Goad and built by Blockhouse Build French Blue Aerial Tint Cuisse de Nymphe Emue Trumpington Gallery Wall Creating a gallery wall has the magical ability to amplify the perception of space in a small area while providing a platform to display your cherished artwork, infusing instant character into every nook and cranny of your home. Our soft ‘Cinnamon’ and dusky ‘Nicaragua’ serve as perfect backdrops, offering the perfect canvas to showcase your artwork and treasures. 'Cinnamon' Sitting Room, designed by Katie Glaister and photography by Mark Fox 'Nicaragua' Sitting Room, designed by Luke Edward Hall and Duncan Campbell and photography by Elliot Shepherd Cinnamon Jonquil Nicaragua Mummy Colour Drenching Colour drenching maximises the warmth and coziness of small and enclosed rooms, and can even make them appear larger. This eliminates visual interruptions and make the space feel larger. Our founder, Edward Bulmer, transformed his small attic room into a sunlit haven, painting it from floor to ceiling with our rich brown-yellow hue ‘Persian’. 'Persian' Bedroom, designed by Edward Bulmer and photography by Paul Whitbread Persian Lute Mummy Wainscoat Bolder Colours Elevating the presence of small rooms can be achieved through the statement decision of choosing bold colours, exemplified by hues like ‘Tyrian’ or ‘Invisible Green,’ both of which would impart depth and dimension to the space. The dynamic interaction of bold colours with light, whether it be natural or artificial, enhances the interplay of light and shadow, adding depth and interest to the confines of a smaller room. Beyond their aesthetic impact, bold colors serve as a means to make a deliberate design statement in restricted spaces. This deliberate colour choice presents an opportunity for individuals to articulate their personal style and preferences, transforming a diminutive room into a captivating manifestation of individual taste. 'Tyrian' Sitting Room, designed by @kandhdesignltd and photography by Simon Brown 'Invisible Green' Sitting Room, designed by Sarah Vanrenen and photography by Simon Brown and David Paramiter Tyrian Malahide Invisible Green Naples Yellow Stripes for Height Incorporating stripes into your room visually elevates the space and draws the eye upwards, creating the impression of higher ceilings and, in turn, a more expansive area. Our array of colours provides the opportunity to transform your walls effectively. Choose two contrasting hues, such as ‘Aquatic’ and ‘Duck Egg,’ or ‘Kitty’ and ‘Lute,’ to achieve a distinctive and fun stripe effect. 'Kitty' and 'Lute' Drawing Room, at Lorfords Antiques 'Aquatic' and 'Duck Egg' Stripes, designed by Sarah Corbett-Winder and photography by Alicia Waite Kitty Lute Aquatic Duck Egg Lighter Hues, Lighter Space Choosing light, pale and airy hues such as soft greens, pinks, yellows, and neutral tones, creates the perception of spaciousness by effectively reflecting light. Our diverse range of soft colours can instantly open up a room and make it feel more expansive. 'Lilac Pink' Hallway, designed by Alison Coleridge 'Warm Stone' Kitchen, designed by Emma Diaz Jonquil Lilac Pink Warm Stone Paris Grey Storage Make the most out of small hallways and boot rooms by creating clever hidden storage that utilises every inch of space. 'Olympian Green' Boot Room, designed by Emma Diaz Olympian Green Granite Green Fawn Cuisse de Nymphe Emue Our founder Edward Bulmer has created colours which convey unrivalled depth and light, whilst protecting the planets’ finite resources by using plant-based, natural earth and mineral ingredients. Using our beautiful natural paints means your walls will not give off any harmful toxins and you can go to sleep the same day as painting with its odourless finish. For more room inspiration like this head over to our gallery, blog and social media pages. If you would like more help on choosing and using colours in your small spaces, take a look at our colour consultancy – whether time poor or spending too much on sample pots, we can do all the hard work for you.
B Corp Month – We ask fellow founders about their journey, from first steps to the future March is the month dedicated to B CORP and this year the #thiswayforward. A focus on continuance and hard work after gaining your B Corp status. We have chatted 3 fellow brands striving to be better, whilst putting people and planet before profit. Celebrating what it means to be part of the community over the next month we will be sharing what it means to us, the highs, the lows and how it feels to be alongside other brands who are also taking the step to be better.
7 reasons to invest in Edward Bulmer Natural Paint When you decide to invest in natural paint, you are making more than a colour choice, a paint choice, a fashion choice or even a lifestyle choice – you too are choosing to make a difference. Read more to discover why you should invest in Edward Bulmer Natural Paint!
Put a spring in your step with Edward Bulmer Natural Paint There’s nothing better than the feeling of Spring. Brighter evenings, warmer days, flowers blooming, and there’s plenty of Spring inspired colours at Edward Bulmer Natural Paint to help you brighten your interiors. One of the easiest ways to refresh your home for the season is by incorporating fresh and vibrant Spring colour palettes. In this blog, we will explore five spring paint colours that will bring a sense of warmth, brightness, and renewal to your living space.
Colour Inspiration from Nature As we move into one of our favourite seasons, it seemed timely to share some wise words from editor extraordinaire, Kerryn Harper-Cuss. Kerryn loves to use our natural plant based paints in her own home and like us when she is choosing colours for s scheme she turns unequivocally to nature.
‘The Westridge Collection’, an autumnal interview with designer, colour consultant and stylist, Emma Diaz Emma Diaz speaks to us exclusively on her new range of beautifully designed, hand crafted furniture. All materials are sourced and gathered from near her Cotswold cottage and we can’t wait to find out more about the collection, where her creativity comes from and all about her colour consultancy service for Edward Bulmer Natural Paint.
How to Paint your Woodwork using our Water-Based Eggshell We give you our tried and tested method for how to paint your woodwork. This tutorial includes EVERYTHING you need to know about what equipment you will need, how to prepare your space, how to paint your wall like a pro!
Guy Goodfellow: Matching Paint with Fine Fabrics Whilst our paints may provide the canvas, sometimes ‘loud’ and sometimes ‘quiet’, we love to then see a room ‘sing’ adorned in beautiful fabrics with incredible design. We see designers and homeowners alike dressing their rooms with the wonderful timeless fabrics from the Guy Goodfellow Collection
6 Colourful Laundry Rooms We Love To a space where functionality meets flair, and where the often-overlooked utility and laundry rooms can be functional, organised, and colourful, all at once.