#PAINTING IT RED FULL#

Which might strike longtime listeners with the force of wet asparagus (what with predictably Heaton-esque lines like 'Don't feel ever sorry for the dicks' or the kind of over-produced jangle this side of Orange Juice and Tears for Fears mud-wrestling for five hours, it's arguable the template has run its course), but - nevertheless - it can strike others of a band mastering their own roots. The band's staples of lyrical chicanery and mid-'80s inbred folk-pop are still lurking about apologizing to no one. Still, the band had always managed to sound unflinchingly upbeat amidst bleak situations in the past, and Painting It Red comes off, in some ways, grinning more like an unsuspecting teenager than ever before. But I couldn't care less.The Beautiful South once again run aground with diminishing sales, bungled CD pressings, and - probably the most troubling - the reported departure of longtime vocalist Jacqueline Abbott. And there are a few family members who I know don't really like it. When we were in the messy stages of the renovation, many of the contractors baulked at the thought of painting it red. Though be warned, there are many who will turn their nose up at a 'red living room'.

#PAINTING IT RED FULL#

It's warm, full of character and beautifully rich. Make sure you match the correct undercoat - I used the one for reds. The undercoat is a different story and was infinitely harder to apply, but it was worth it. Yes there's a slight sheen to it that you don't get with the ultra matt Estate but the pros far outweigh this. You still get a richly pigmented colour and it goes on like a dream. I don't have to worry about marks or fingerprints. So, I plumped for the Modern finish and I've used that in every room. There is no doubt the Estate finish is beautiful and unique - I've seen it in other houses - but I could not have walls that you couldn't touch or wipe. I read review after review while trying to chose between the infamous Estate Emulsion and the newer Modern Emulsion. This was also important as I wanted to use All White on all the trims throughout the downstairs as well as the same flooring, as each room is a different colour and I wanted some coherency. This was the perfect choice as it goes with anything having no undertones: pure white but not stark and bluish like you get with some whites. On the trims I used All White in Modern Eggshell. I used Joa's White on the ceiling (painting the ceiling something other than stark white is my new favourite thing!) and it pairs brilliantly. It has an earthy brown undertone and is very warm.

We got exactly that! It's not garish like some reds can be. We wanted to create a warm, cosy room that we could relax in during the evenings in front of our newly-installed log burner. There's a bit of drama in it but I find it also quite calming. Rather than trying to fight that, we decided to steer into the skid. The living room is north facing and gets very little natural light. Picture Gallery Red was one of the first colours we decided on. We wanted the decor to suit the age of the house and we chose colours simply because we loved them. We knew we'd be in this house a lot longer so we promised ourselves we would decorate it exactly how we wanted it - not worrying about reselling. Decorating that house was never particularly inspiring as it was always done with a view to selling it in the near future - it was never going to be a forever home - so it was kept perpetually neutral.

Our previous house was a new build - a haze of magnolia and neutrals. The resultant waves of colour throughout this house you could also call an overcorrection. We wanted it to be vibrant and full of character.

Creates a cosy impact When we bought our current house, knowing it required full modernisation throughout, we decided from the off that we didn't want it to look like another archetypal renovation property: grey, bland and unimaginative.

Painting it red