A Bold Transformation With Colour Consultancy

All photography by Nick Hopper

Many of us become inspired to transform our homes by the beginning of a new life stage, and Jasmine Hemsley – author, wellbeing expert and founder of East by West – is no exception. Sparked into action by the imminent arrival of a new baby, Jasmine decided to enlist the help of Farrow & Ball Colour Curator Joa Studholme in reimagining her master bedroom.

“Our plan is for the baby to sleep in our room for the foreseeable future,” says Jasmine, “so rather than decorating a nursery, we decided to redecorate our bedroom for us all as a family.”

The natural place to start was with the wall colour, replacing the existing neutral tones with something altogether warmer and sunnier. “Yellow was my favourite colour as a young girl, with the addition of blue and green as I grew older,” says Jasmine. “Sunshine is the colour that makes me smile – blue as the sea, green as the trees…”

With Jasmine’s innate love for the colours of the great outdoors, what better place for Joa to start than with our Colour by Nature palette? Created in collaboration with the Natural History Museum, its 16 shades are drawn directly from nature, inspired by everything from precious gems to butterflies’ wings.

After trying India Yellow, an earthy ochre that Jasmine had originally had in mind for the bedroom, she and Joa agreed that it didn’t have the “sunshine factor” she was looking for. On seeing Colour by Nature colour Dutch Orange, however, Jasmine was instantly converted.

“The name threw me, as orange didn’t sound quite right,” she says. “But once we popped it up, it gave the rich warm yellow glow that I’d been envisioning.”

To hold its own next to the new Dutch Orange bedroom, the master en-suite was also treated to a lick of bold colour. While Jasmine had originally thought about using a terracotta or cinnamon tone, Joa suggested Scotch Blue, which would contrast beautifully against Dutch Orange as well as referencing the deep blue of the bedroom curtains, much to Jasmine’s delight.

We are so happy with how both the bathroom and bedroom have turned out,” she says, “especially given that we’ll be spending a huge amount of time in here over the next few months.” With this in mind, Joa suggested painting the bedroom and bathroom in Modern Emulsion, our washable and scuff-proof finish for walls and ceilings, which is also suitable for moisture-prone spaces like the en-suite thanks to its built-in protection against mould.

Perhaps even more crucially for a household with a baby on the way, Modern Emulsion makes a great choice for nurseries and kids’ rooms thanks to its child-safe and eco-friendly credentials. “With the baby in mind, it was important to us that Farrow & Ball’s paints are water-based and eco-friendly, and that the Modern range is certified child- and baby-safe in accordance with Toy Safety Standards,” says Jasmine.

And as for the overall colour consultancy experience? “Joa made us think of combinations of tones that we wouldn’t have dreamt of ourselves,” she continues. “As we walked through our house you could see her taking everything in, from the way that the light falls, to our own personal style and needs, to the period of the property. She was brilliant.”

About Jasmine Hemsley

Jasmine Hemsley is a three-time best-selling author, founder of Hemsley + Hemsley and East by West, a TV presenter with a show broadcast in over 25 countries, chef, food and health writer, restaurateur, and nutrition and wellness expert.

To learn about Jasmine, visit www.jasminehemsley.com or you can find her on Instagram at @JasmineHemsley.