From cosy cottage to big victorian house - advice!

[carbonella]

We lived in a small early 18thC cottage. It had (mainly) white walls with the odd wall pale blue / grey / soft green, wood floors, wooley blankets, white cotton curtains, old painted or stripped country furniture, all cosy cottage.

Now... we've moved to a big mid-late victorian house, high ceilings. Some black marble period fireplaces, lovely big single glazed sash windows, but all the coving etc has gone. Mainly stripped wood floors. The house is great, but will be COLD, and my usual strategy of white paint (to make spaces feel fresh / bigger) just won't work here - I'm not sure I want them to feel bigger! I want the rooms to feel cosy and warm and loved, but I feel my style needs a bit more sophistication to work here.

I'm also worried my usual palette of whites, pale blues and greens will just make it feel colder. BUT - I hate red-based tones (red, terrocotta, brown) - they look angry and/or dirty to me. I'm toying with wallpaper - but I've never used it before...

Advice?

[carbonella]

Bump?

[Knittedfairies]

This might help:
www.edwardbulmerpaint.co.uk/how-choose-colour-your-period-home
According to that, your usual palette doesn’t seem too far off! Would sumptuous curtains, rugs and cushions add the warmth you’re looking for?

[carbonella]

Thank you for replying Knittedfairies :)

Hmm that helps a bit I suppose - I think maybe I should stick to blues and greens, but throw in a bit of yellow ochre and use deeper shapes - not the pale pastels fro our last house. I still feel a bit unconfident though [unconfident]

[carbonella]

that should be!

[faustina]

mad about the house has a big Victorian house and does lots on it in her blog

[carbonella]

Thanks for the tip. Today I finished the pantry - decided it was ok to stick with white here!

[harrietm87]

We've got a Victorian house and painted our living rm pale pink and reinstated the coving. It looks brilliant - warm but not dark.

[GerbitaFillsbottomMcSimmons]

Your house sounds fab. If you like the simplicity of white then don't be afraid to go for it. You can do different shades on the skirting and ceiling and coving to create interest and F&B have some great palettes to draw from. White means you kind of have to fill the walls though, so big mirrors and artwork and some nice accents of warm wood will stop if from feeling too stark. If you have black marble fireplaces that will also help ground the room. Here's a great example from Nate Berkus of how it can be done though not sure if it's your style!

[egdehsdrawkcab]

Watching with interest as about to make a similar move. I'm thinking I'll stick with a warm white - eg F&B Wimborne, or Crown's Milk White.

[Mrsramsayscat]

I think you have to go a shade or even up to three darker with creams and white than you would in a cottage. That's what we found previously (me moved in the opposite direction). Any east or north facing rooms will need warmer shades , including warmers greens etc if you wish .

Also, I'm sure you know, but curtains can make a huge difference to warmth. We both lined and interlinked ours, and it cut out a lot of the evening cold.