Recipes For Success

Joa Studholme tells Emma J. Page how she used a distinctive palette of colours to give a fresh look to a Georgian house

- Emma J. Page

IT’S not often that a successful decorating scheme is compared to a delicious dish, but according to Joa studhome, colour curator at Farrow & Ball, both cooking and decorating require a similar alchemy. ‘It’s a matter of creativity rather than science,’ she says. ‘If we can shake off the shackles of what’s “wrong” or “right” and instead think about visual unity, seasoned with a few gentle contrasts, the results are much more interesting.’

More than two decades spent working in the interiors industry has taught her that colour confidence comes from appraising the details. ‘I’ve lost count of the number of times that people have asked my opinion about painting a room in a certain colour. ‘I always respond by asking “which part of the room?”. After all, a room comprises a lot more than walls; it’s about considering the ceiling, the skirting, the mouldings, the window frames.

‘In cooking terms, fish may be the crucial element of a fish pie, but it’s the other ingredients—the butter, potatoes and mustard, for example—that pull the dish together.’ this eye for tonal nuance is key to the schemes that Joa has worked on over the years, ranging from grand country houses to contemporary lofts in the city. she doesn’t consider her treatment of any of them as radical and particularly dislikes the idea of adding any faddish colours to Farrow & Ball’s existing palette.