White Walls

Remember that blue wall we were going to paint over? Well we painted over it. Two coats of pure brilliant white.

It wasn't that I hated the blue wall, more that I'd been looking at that colour and those little pictures for the last six years and needed a change. And what a difference it makes!

There is so much more light in the room. I changed the lampshades on the bedside table lamps and I love this blue shade against the white wall. It was bought from a company called Mibo about seven years ago. They used to do the most fantastic range of mid-century influenced lamps, wallpaper and cushions but they don't make them anymore, as I discovered when I tried to order another for the other side.

The shelf above the bed is in fact a picture ledge from Ikea. I love the way I can change the prints and pictures depending on my mood and the seasons. Currently, we have a reproduction travel print of Whitby, which used to hang above the fireplace in the living room, a little framed postcard from the National Portrait Gallery (Contemplation by Adele Wagstaff), and a small tile image of the Virgin Mary, bought for a couple of euros from a little shop in Sorrento, Italy on a work trip years ago. No theme, just images I like and colours I am drawn towards. The garland is from littlenestbox on Etsy. I love the colour and geometric shapes against the white, and the juxtaposition of modern neons and older images.

And the best thing about that big, white blank canvas behind the bed? I can do Ways With Bedding! From left to right I give you "pinks", "bright colours" and "blues" or "all white" as we have above. I've had all this bedding and these throws and blankets for a while, nothing is new, but now it all sort of feels new.

So, for the cost of a tin of paint and a picture ledge I feel like I have a whole new bedroom.

The only thing I have found is that, with a white wall, you need to have the right sort of lighting. The nasty energy saving light bulb in the overhead light makes the white look horribly clinical and blue-ish. But thankfully the bedside lamps, and the one of my dressing table, have a nice soft, warm sort of light bulb and so when we spend any length of time in this room (which is basically when we are reading in bed at night) these are the lights we use. And it's very nice.