We Did Neutrals The Modern Way

After moving into a house painted wall-to-wall yellow, the Martins were desperate for a calmer look, but without going down the magnolia route…

Choose darker hues

‘I know they’re not to everyone’s taste, but they really work for me,’ says Anna. ‘I love the way dark tones disappear into the background and make other colours – especially white – jump out. I’ve used a grey-white around the windows in the living room, though, as I didn’t want to highlight the bright white uPVC window frames.’

BUY THE KEY PIECES

Walls painted in Off-Black modern emulsion, £45 for 2.5L, Farrow & Ball.Afaw rug, £269, La Redoute

Anna and Jason Martin were thrilled when they came across an affordable house in an area that they’d thought was beyond their budget. The trade-off was that the property needed a top-down renovation, but the couple only saw that as an advantage. ‘It’s a cliché, but it really was all about the potential,’ says Anna. ‘We were after a home we could grow into and raise a family in. There was scope here to knock through and create the open-plan kitchen-diner I’d always imagined having.

‘The house needed quite a lot of work and almost everything, from the kitchen units to the front gate, was some shade of yellow,’ recalls Anna. The couple have gradually transformed the tatty interior, pulling up old carpets and stripping away hardboard sheets to reveal original wood floors, doors and panelling. ‘Uncovering period features was a bonus!’ she says.