Yes, to cornicing and a picture rail. I've also put up a ceiling rose. I was planning to paint the ceiling, ceiling rose and down to the picture rail white - and do the same in all the bedrooms and public rooms. You've got me thinking now about matching the ceiling colour to the wall colour... ;-)

Hi, I'm currently going through the same issue, Trying to find the right combo of paints to paint the hallway. I am looking to panel the part beneath the dado to prevent the ever so frustrating scuffing which occurs at sharp corners and am unsure on the colour combo. I was considering grey and white too but I'm scared that it may make the space feel too cold and dull especially as the only light will be through the door which won't be much. What colour combo's would you recommend to make the space feel luxurious and modern, yet not too clinical and cold?? I'd like the paint to be dulux preferably. what is the quality of Valspar paint like, I've seen it at DIY stores but don't know if it reaches standard of dulux? any reviews?? thanks

The last time I needed to do the "swatches on a wall" thing it was in a room that had been painted a bright daffodil yellow. I had my doubts anything less than three coats would work, but nonetheless, this is what I did: first, we mapped out a section on the largest blank wall and painted it with a no-bleed primer, so as to have as neutral a background as possible. Then - as we had narrowed our selection down to three shades - we painted each shade in a column as long as we could fit in the space, with the white primer sectioned between each column. After a few days, we both agreed that one color worked better than the other two - and that's when we ordered the paint. It was the most successful change-a-color project we ever did. It's somewhat fiddly, and getting the three small sample cans plus the primer wasn't cheap (but not terribly expensive, either), but I feel we were well repaid by not painting the entire room only to find the color we ended up with didn't work. I've never been able to visualize color from the small samples or cards you get at the paint store, and I wouldn't be able to envision a whole wall, let alone a room, from a 12"x12" square. The larger samples we painted, though, did the trick for me. p.s. And painting over our test swatches was no problem. We knew we'd have to use two coats on the walls to get rid of the yellow so no tinge remained, and using two coats covered our sample columns as well as the primer beneath - you cannot tell we ever tried the samples before we painted. ;-)

Be brave, and go dark! Often people are scared to as they think it makes a room smaller but actually it can have the opposite effect. Blurring the finishing lines of the room can give the illusion of more space, and if the space isn't particularly bright anyway, embrace it! Feature lighting - LED strips under the vanity, or wall lights - can really come into their own in moodier spaces too - don't underestimate the power of lighting :) For the backsplash, bring in a mosaic, or perhaps to continue the natural look, check out a few textured tiles like below - they have less grout to maintain but still offer a nice contrast: If you need a hand or any assistance with supply of products, advice, or design, check us out if you're local to Surrey or South West London :) - Adam