I was a die hard F&B fan - painted numerous houses solely in F&B for the finish etc. HOWEVER due to budget constraints, a current offer at Homebase on Dulux paint (inc. mix) , and the fact i'm painting an entire 3 storey house i experimented with colour matching F&B colours - specifically Cornforth White, Purebeck Stone, Ammonite and Pink Ground. Opting for the Endurance Matt and Flat Matt finishes by Dulux i was pleasantly surprised by the results. The colour match was pretty much spot on - i would caveat that the Dulux colour match won't produce matching finishes for all colours. For example Dulux couldn't match a flat eggshell in the Cornforth White so we bought Estate Eggshell from F&B and it goes perfectly well with the walls in the matched Dulux Endurance Matt. In the master bedroom we choose to use F&B Cornforth White and Pink Ground and estate emulsion and I felt it was a thinner paint than the Dulux! The added benefit of the Dulux colour match is that they can provide a number of different more durable finishes. If you want colour inspiration have a look at Paint & paper Library too.

Hello Simon, One thing that I think would also benefit.. is to split up the wall of red sofa.. I would move the corner piece next to the side table and move it out into that portion of the room.. turn it 90 degrees to the left and then move the two sofa pieces along to their right a fraction.. This will help to balance the room... I do agree that something above the sofa too would benefit.. Mirror or large canvas.. It may be nice to paint the chimney breast.. The shelf to the right of the fireplace looks not quite straight.. Perhaps consider moving this to the wall slightly to the left above the sofas. If they were situated with interesting configurations or perhaps box shelves that you can create a feature with.. Paint them to match the wall so it appears to blend but offers some texture.. The books could sit inside and it would offer a contrast to the low sideboard along the other wall.. : ))

Hi, I was thinking you could go for a colour called Great White from Farrow and Ball which is white but in the different lights throughout the day it has a really soft warm colour to it.You could check it on the Farrow and Ball website. Another thought would be to go in the opposite direction and go for a darker colour. It might sound that it will make the room darker and smaller but you would be surprised that it can have the opposite effect depending on your lighting. There is a paint colour from a company called Little Green.The colour is called Juniper Ash. I will attach a photo sample of it. It is a really beautiful colour. Then with either of these colours the flooring could be a natural fibre say Sisal or similar in a soft grey. There are lots of companies out there that are very reasonable as they used to be super expensive.But prices have really come down. Grey would also work well on the walls but err on the darker rather than too light and you could then get a few grey cushions with different patterns on them. For a more modern feel mixed with blues and maybe some white to tie into the fireplace. Another possibility is a dark moss soft green. You could put a throw of some sort over one side of the sofa back which would soften the terracotta block of colour. Indoor plants have come back into fashion and also have health benefit. The green of the leaves would also complement the colour of the sofa. Good luck with it all. Contact me if you need anymore help.

Hi! I travel to Langkawi, Malaysia, often, and I see a great many houses painted in 'Sahara sand', and other colours. Personally, since your house is large and beautiful, I would choose to paint the rendered parts in brilliant white. Glass balconies would possibly be safer, particularly for children, so long as you can be sure that the glass used conforms to world-wide safety standards. But the steel balconies look nice against fresh, white paint. Indoors, I would paint the woodwork white, and consider painting any dark furniture as well. Choose light-toned, neutral colours for the walls: you could even use white with a 'hint' of colour. Keep your use of strong colours to accessories such as bed covers, towels, cushions and so on. Think about house-plants, and flowers too. That way, changing a room's colour is quick, easy and cheap. In Thailand, you are lucky you can buy lovely fabrics and colourful accessories for very little money. When you are thinking about colour, consider where your guests will come from. Europeans, on the whole, associate bright, clear blues and turquoise as 'beach holiday' colours, while forest green hues are jungle-like. Conversely, guests from mainland China think red is lucky, while honeymoon couples from India like purple tones. Also, guests like to feel they look their best on holiday, so remember some wall colours are not kind to skintone. Yellow and green tones in the painted walls can have an unfortunate effect when you look in the mirror! Pink or warm beige work better. I would fit ceiling fans in every room, and louvred shutters to filter the light in the bedrooms. Anyway, you have a lovely project! Can I come and stay when it is done?