The Fairest of Whites in Historic Bath

It can be difficult to find the perfect white for your walls and how to find ‘the one’ is one of the most frequent questions we are asked. We have an extensive and beautiful range of neutral shades to choose from: rose tinted, yellow based to those with grey and green undertones. When you get your white right, you can transform a space with walls that glow bringing all the other elements in the room seamlessly together. Edward believes that the best off whites are tinted with earth pigments: yellow ochre, red ochre, raw umber and a little black – these will have warmth and a bit of hue, ranging from yellow to red through green and grey. What works best is determined by ’uncoloured’ elements in the room like stone or wood and what weight of colour the room calls for. Some off whites look too bright against deep colours or old furnishings and others look too muddy for a modern and airy aesthetic.

Nathan Rollinson discovered our company and decided to use our natural paints in his elegant townhouse renovation in Bath along with some beautiful antiques and furnishings. The Bath-based travel and lifestyle tastemaker spends his days photographing and writing about some of the most beautiful, historic buildings we have in the country so it is no surprise that his own home should be nothing short of splendid! With his impeccable style and an eye for detail Nathan has transformed the room into a timeless space which looks both beautiful at the same time as being perfect for modern living.

Nathan has used our ‘Fair White’ in his sitting room and paired this simple backdrop with a rich blue sofa and other off-white fabrics and furniture. Originally from Cambridge and West Midlands, Nathan moved to London for twelve years where he discovered his passion for the city’s gems. He started by hanging out in beautiful hotels, restaurants and shops, snapping pictures of what he was eating and drinking for Instagram as a hobby- just like the rest of us. But this hobby became a reality when Nathan realised that his huge following, a result of his impeccable photography skills, had set him aside from other social media users. Deaf from birth, it seems that his extraordinary observational skills compensate for his lack of hearing. He has now moved to Bath where he is surrounded by beautiful architecture, shops, design and much much more!

We can’t get enough of his sophisticated home; the classic pairing of blue and white, which manages to be both airy and elegant all at once. Of course this palette has been around for some time, from the sun drenched houses across Greece to appearing on Chinese pottery way back in the ninth century and it still continues to be a popular choice for ceramic designs today. It’s no wonder the duo is so popular around the world: when blue, calm and soothing, and white, clean and simple, are put together, you get the ultimate serene, tranquil space.

For his gorgeous living room scheme Nathan found a dark mahogany chair which he brought from @the_saleroom and was in despair and need of TLC. He restored the chair with the help of @textilewallcompany who did the reupholstering and used our white paint for the wooden frame. And, a beautiful blue bespoke sofa from The Sofa and Chair Company. For the project Nathan collaborated with @gainsboroughweaving. The Gainsborough Silk Weaving Company is one of the oldest silk producers in England. Founded in Sudbury, Suffolk in 1903 by entrepreneur Reginald Warner, the company’s leather-bound ledgers from that era reveal that its customers included such important names as Morris & Co and the White Star Line shipping company – best-known for being the owner of the ill-fated RMS Titanic. Nathan picked a wonderful fabric which is called, ‘Saluté in French Grey. This fabric designed in 1903 and woven for the White Star Line in a bespoke green to grace the walls of the RMS Titanic, this fabulous baroque design is the centrepiece around which Gainsborough’s most sumptuous collection to date is built and we think it looks rather marvellous.

One of Edward’s favourite and commonly used whites is ‘Spanish White’. As far back as Ancient times various pigments were described as ‘Spanish’ because this is where they were mined, processed and traded from. I have adopted the name for this very pale warm white as it evokes what comes to mind for many of us – the whitewashed houses of the Mediterranean coast. Our natural process creates this bright white with the clarity and slight yellow ochre tone of natural chalk which responds to light in a way which synthetic paints cannot recreate. Spanish White is perfect for creating a paired back canvas in both period and modern properties or just for white ceilings or woodwork working well with practically all of our colours.

Another of Edward’s go-to off whites is our ‘Milk White’ which he says is “a good choice for an off white that has some weight and combines all the Earth pigments in balance and has a hint of black for some greyness”. Perhaps not the bluest white that milk can sometimes be, but this shade has a lovely warm ‘maternal’ feel so hence the name! This colour is perfect for a modern, fresh kitchen space or hidden hallway.

‘Whiting’ is also a very popular off white that we have seen in kitchens, hallways and bedrooms. Base preparation in the past was often done with a simple chalk and animal glue mix known as Whiting. This is the name we have adopted for this shade that reflects the slightly beige appearance of size. We still use chalk in our modern recipes however we are 100% vegan so we don’t use animal derived or tested products. It is a really useful off-white shade for lighter palette schemes and also compliments the deeper off‐whites really well.

If you would like help please do email us and best is always to try our sample pots and paint out the whites onto A4 and see how they respond to the light in the room throughout the day. For more advice do see our website or book your own colour consultancy.