Relics of Witney is based in the heart of the Cotswolds, where, unsurprisingly, many of our customers live in homes built using beautiful Cotswold stone, like this make-believe house featured in The Holiday.
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| Try Little Greene's Lead Colour for a similar paint effect |
Today, we want to help you think about the best paint colours to highlight the gorgeously complicated hues of Cotswold stone. Although our advice is always tailored to the specific needs of each customer, there are, broadly-speaking, three roads to go down; the first is to choose a paint colour that will harmonise with the stone, gently blending the door, windows and building to create a cohesive whole. We often recommend muted earthy colours to create this look, such as Earthborn's Cricket...
or Dulux Heritage Stone Green
Try Little Greene's Woodbine for the gentle cream pictured below. It's worth bearing in mind that you may need to pick out a much darker version of the colour you imagine to counteract the bleaching effect of the sun.
Alternatively, draw the eye of passers-by with a contrasting shade that will still enhance the stone but stands on its own two feet colour-wise. Paint and Paper Library's Eucalyptus will give a similar effect to the next image.
A more contemporary take on this look is created by the use of dark colours that give a smart urban feel (think of Abigail Ahern with her door in Farrow and Ball Downpipe).
The third choice is to err towards the classic.
Sanderson's Fine Black is a perfect choice if you'd like to create a classic-looking frontage...
...or try Sanderson's Graphite for a softer effect.
Once you know which route you'd like to take, we always advise customers to take a good look at the front of their homes and ask themselves which colours predominate the stone. This question isn't as easy as it sounds. Without looking, they may say that it's 'grey' or 'yellow' but let's take a close look at this small sample of Cotswold stone:
Surprisingly, there are sections that are blue, dark brown, pink and muted orange, as well as the creamy-beige of the pointing. Identifying the specific tones in your stone, and then echoing those tones in your chosen paint colour will help to bring the whole building to life.
From the prevailing tones that you've identified, we can offer very specific advice, from our extensive knowledge of paint colour. For instance, if your stone tends towards the orange end of the spectrum then pick a red front door that also holds orange undertones. Try using Farrow and Ball's Radicchio.
Below is an example of how using the same red with Cotswold stone at the blue-ish end of the spectrum just doesn't grab your attention in the same way.
However, the blue door on the right (take a look at Farrow and Ball's Hague Blue) works beautifully as it picks up on the blue-ish tones of the Cotswold stone.
We hope this summarised look at some of the best front door colours to harmonise with Cotswold Stone has given you lots of inspiration. If you have related questions then do get in touch, either in person or via our website, to take advantage of our vast knowledge and and equally impressive enthusiasm!