Huntsmore: Focusing on Period Properties
Eamonn Agha, Director and founder of Huntsmore, a Kensington-based design and project management practice specialising in period properties explores selecting Little Greene shades for their projects.
When designing an interior scheme, how does colour come into play?
Colour is hugely important on every scheme we work on. Every project and property has its own idiosyncrasies, so it is important for us as a design house to consider these when planning and designing a project. Factors such as natural light, ceiling heights, floor finishes and joinery design all play their part when specifying a colour palette. Getting the balance of colours right as well also presents its challenges - for example, if looking at a scheme and light tones are used throughout, it can sometimes feel too clinical - similarly, if dark hues are consistently used it can also feel quite overwhelming. Striking a balance and knowing when to deploy certain colour palettes is key.
Why do you use Little Greene in your projects?
There is a superb range in Little Greene colours that can be used - these range from whites and off whites to some of the much darker greens, greys and blues. The durability of the paints is also very important for us - all of our projects are homes to be lived in and we need the performance of the paint to reflect that. Using a durable paint that doesn't lose it's lustre, and the different paint finishes for different applications (e.g for high traffic areas), are an important consideration for us when designing and is something that we know Little Greene consistently delivers. We are also a big fan of the wide range of wallpaper choices and try to specify wallpapers into our schemes to add a pop of colour and sense of fun.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering renovating/redecorating their period property?
The best advice we could give would be to spend time considering how paint will interact in each room. Paint A3 size swatches and try them at different points in the room and at different times of the day to see how the paint reacts with the light and natural shadow. Also, take an opportunity to review the 'Period' paint ranges offered by Little Greene. These are paints that are grouped by historic period, where specific colours have been selected depending on the age and style of the property.
What are some of your most-loved Little Greene shades?
In terms of lighter tones, particularly woodwork around skirting boards or architraves, we use Shallows 223 a great deal. For walls we love the calming Inox 224. For darker colours, particularly when designing and colour joinery pieces or snug rooms, we love Basalt 221 and Pompeian Ash 293 - we completed two separate period property renovation projects in Notting Hill where these darker colours were specified for the kitchen cabinetry which worked really well.
