Decorating Large Rooms

Walls: Setting Plaster No.231; Door and Ceiling: Wimborne White No.239 

Although often coveted, big rooms present their own challenges. They can appear cavernous, cold and uninviting, so it is essential to use exactly the right amount of colour on the walls. Don’t default to using a strong tone in a big room just because you think its size means that it can “take it” – sometimes light colours are far more appropriate. 

Using Light Colours

If you have a big room that is full of light, then it really is best to keep it that way – cherish the light you have. A dark colour on the walls will counterbalance the light, resulting in a nondescript, boring space, while patterns and strong colours can be overwhelming in very large doses.

Neutrals such as Cornforth White and Skimming Stone are light enough to feel airy, but sufficiently rich to have the depth and soul that a large space requires. Peignoir, with its underlying pink and unique pigmentation, is a great favourite in large, light rooms, where it will soften the walls and prevent the space from feeling clinical.

Strong White seems to be the colour of choice in many large kitchens because it provides the perfect contemporary backdrop for busy family life, as well as sitting happily with the industrial materials popular in today’s kitchens. 

1. 

   Cornforth White

   No. 228

   No. 228
2. 

   Strong White

   No. 2001

   No. 2001
3. 

   Skylight

   No. 205

   No. 205

Using Dark Colours

Painting the walls in a warm, rich colour will create an instant cosiness, which can sometimes be lacking in big rooms. A strong colour will help to absorb light and move the focus away from the room’s size. Use colours that provide a sense of intimacy – that are soothing like Green Smoke, restful like Oval Room Blue or rich and chic like Hague Blue or Preference Red. They all have the unique Farrow & Ball look characterized by their underlying black undertone, which prevents them from looking too bright and garish when used over large surfaces.

However, clean colours, such as St Giles Blue and Charlotte’s Locks, tend to be a little overwhelming in large rooms. If you have the unusual conundrum of needing to make your room look smaller, then a strongly contrasting trim colour, whether lighter or darker than the walls, will help to define the space so that it doesn’t feel endless. 

Using Wallpaper

Wallpaper can enhance any big space because the pattern will distract you from noticing the surface area of the walls. Proportion is key here. Smaller patterns, such as tantalizing Ocelot, create an intimate feel in any size of room, while the elegant 18th-century damask St Antoine has the ability to make even the most cavernous room feel loved.

It is particularly effective when used above a dado rail and partnered with the same enveloping shade of background colour on the walls below. To truly celebrate the size of your room, Helleborus, with one of the largest motifs in our collection, is perfect. The organic pattern hints at growth and rejuvenation, transforming big rooms into warm and wonderful retreats.

Changing the Shape of a Space

• Feature walls often cause havoc by playing with the proportions of a room – use them with care. 
• A bold wallpaper pattern will work in a bedroom if it is on the wall behind the bed and paired with the background colour on the other walls. This will ground the room and add interest. 
• Painting a strong colour on the longest walls in a room will make them appear to squeeze together. 
• A dark wall at either end (or both ends) of a long, thin corridor or room will have the effect of bringing it closer, making the space seem more square in shape. 
• Painting the trim in a colour that contrasts strongly with the walls creates a focal point, which is useful for defining and containing a space. 
• If you want to make a space feel bigger, be restrained with the number of colours you use.