Essential Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom – June 2015

Maybe it’s the seasonal greening of the hedgerows or the fact that the great British garden party season is now upon us (cue minty Pimm’s and jugs of tinkling elderflower cordial), but my love for the colour green has gathered pace of late. I actually now feel the mood is following me around too. From this gorgeous timber lacquered cabinet by Pinch (shown top left), spied at Clerkenwell Design Week, to this ‘Vert de Mer’ paint from a new heritage collection at Edward Bulmer Pots of Paint (shown bottom left), there may be no escaping my next move and bringing it into our décor… Having already taken the colour plunge and painted our new master bathroom a deep denim blue, we’re now veering towards a dark, swampy green for our bedroom, so it was personally enlightening to interview some of the market’s finest colour and paint experts for our In Living Colour bedrooms feature on page 106. I particularly loved the advice from the ‘Queen of Dark’ home interiors guru, blogger and author Abigail Ahern: ‘If you paint everything out in the same colour – walls, floor, ceilings, woodwork, windows, radiators, literally everything – it removes boundaries and instantly creates the illusion of more space.’ What a dreamy, cocoon-like ideal! Speaking of garden party season, who’s been dusting down their barbecues and getting ready for hosting outdoors? If you’re shopping for heating options this summer, see our feature on chimineas, fire pits and patio heaters in Turn up the Heat on page 78, and if you need music for your party turn to page 83 for the best in wireless speakers. Meanwhile, we’ve been contemplating the many options for kitchen materials and finishes that are out there right now. Concrete or marble? Wood or metallic? Dark or light, or even a mixture of it all? See Kitchen Trends on page 56 and get planning your new kitchen now…