Out of all the rooms in our home this was one of the biggest jobs (it felt even bigger than dealing with the wall incident in the main bedroom). We’d always planned to tackle this room last, as hideous blue carpet aside, it was in a lot better shape than the rest of the house. We love our stove, which we use all through winter, so that was always going to stay, but we hated what had been done to the fireplace (see picture below). Having uncovered the chimney breast in our bedroom we knew that the chances were there was something lovely hiding behind all the cracked plaster.
It took a whole weekend but we chipped away at the plaster and uncovered some lovely brickwork, which we re-pointed to form our main feature. I’d already begun to form an idea for the colour scheme, I wanted something a little more contemporary so opted for a grey palette. I’ve stuck with Farrow & Ball. For the walls I used Purbeck Stone and Ammonite for the woodwork. My brother is a carpenter and he created the bespoke cupboard and shelving in the alcoves – using a piece of American walnut for the cupboard top and mantle piece, it’s a gorgeous piece of wood and against the grey Ammonite really stands out. I’m not a huge fan of symmetry (or straight lines) so on the right of the fireplace I wanted a free standing piece of furniture for the TV, we found this bargain on Ebay and with a little TLC and a lick of paint, it worked perfectly. I handmade the curtains and soft furnishings, using a Laura Ashley fabric for the curtains – Bacall which is a linen mix, I interlined them too to make the room extra cosy. Other finishing touches include the freestanding lamp which provides another level of lighting, and the upholstered Laura Ashley footstool which doubles up as a coffee table. It’s been a long project, but I think this is now one of our favourite rooms, now pass me a cup of tea…
Walnut Tree Home 
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