guest room - green inspiration

As I've been putting together the design for our guest room, which you can read more in detail about in this post here, I thought I would show some of my inspiration behind the colour I've selected.

If you've been reading for a while, you've probably noticed that I tend to gravitate heavily to white. In fact, this is the third home in which everything in it has eventually been painted the same shade of white. I have never painted a room a bold colour. Bold and colourful aren't even two words that would be used to describe me or my design aesthetic. So why this seemingly uncharacteristic choice of colour?

Green really, of all the colours, save maybe blue, is one of the most natural colours. It's also a colour that evokes peacefulness and a sense of calm, two feelings that work well for a guest room when I think of how I want my guests to feel in it. I want it to be a retreat and a soothing space to unwind. This particular shade of sage green also feels very traditional and timeless, and that marries well with the rest of our home. And yet, a guest room, in my opinion, is one of the more special rooms in a home. To me, it's a room that's sort of closed off to the rest of the house and reserved for special occasions - when guests come to stay. It's the room with it's own set of linens and monogrammed towels. It's the wedding china and pearl earrings in room form.

Because it's a very natural green, it works so well with other natural shades - classic blues and warm, golden yellows, both of which I also love. And the three of them together? A dream combination.

 

Before I had settled on this colour, or even green in particular, I was looking through collections of images I loved, and started noticing a lot of these similar shades of green pop up, over and over. Sagey, blue-greens like that on this door, or the greens at Daylesford Farm. I just love that it's a colour that is just that, a colour, but it's also so neutral and natural feeling. And I think that's why I chose it.

This is the colour that I've settled on -

Calke Green by Farrow and Ball

(However, F & B Breakfast Room Green and Green Smoke were contenders.)

Luckily you can order sample pots from Farrow and Ball by mail and I can't wait to try this on our walls. Thankfully I'm covering already dark walls.

The image that completely sealed the deal for me? This beautiful entrance. This green with the shake exterior is just perfection.

Sources

Images 1-4, 7-9 from Farrow and Ball

Image 5 - Norton Cottage

Image 6 - from Daylesford Farm

Image 10 - via @susaneblakey