We have created 5 easy steps to styling a cosy bedroom this winter featuring some of our favourite eco friendly products.

Let your walls breathe

A damp and cold bedroom doesn’t exactly scream cosy. Normally caused by trapped moisture, we find that the cold wet weather tends to increase the problems of dampness in people’s homes. Opting for breathable paint – like our Claypaint helps to prevent issues with dampness by allowing moisture to pass through without impacting the fabric of the building.

Not only does Claypaint let your walls breathe, it’s eco friendly, vegan friendly and virtually VOC free allowing you to give your bedroom a guilt-free cosy makeover! For the ultimate cosy feel, opt for colours with warm undertones such as our beiges Straw and Donkey Ride, Greens Sunday Stroll and Grassy or if you are feeling particularly brave, a rich hue such as our beautiful burgundy, Lady Bug.

Get funky with wood furniture

Our friends over at Funky Chunky Furniture have the perfect selection of sustainably sourced real wood furniture. Created in 2013 with sustainability and ethics at the forefront of their minds, the team at Funky Chunky Furniture responsibly source their raw materials and offset their carbon emissions, helping towards a sustainable planet.

Using wood furniture in your bedroom will immediately add warmth and offer a cosy, grown-up space for you to relax. The Gosforth Bed Frame from Funky Chunky Furniture features curved edges creating a softness that invites and feels like a warm hug every time you climb into bed.

Emily at Funky Chunky Furniture agrees, ‘Your bedroom needs to be somewhere you can go to relax and unwind, even more so during these colder winter months. Our Gosforth Bed Frame – with its modern and minimalist design, is perfect for creating a calm and inviting space. It’s handmade from sustainably sourced wood and has plenty of charm and character to add even more cosiness to your bedroom. Style it by piling up plenty of cushions for that extra bit of comfort and drape soft throws at the end for extra warmth on those really chilly nights.’

Cosy up with fine cotton

With over 100 years of history behind them, The Fine Bedding Company are officially experts in creating a better night’s sleep with their large selection of bed linens, pillows and duvets. Compassionate about their manufacturing processes including the recycling of 90% of their wastewater and ethically and sustainably sourcing supplies such as cotton, The Fine Bedding Company are doing their bit towards a greener planet.

Spoilt for choice, The Eden Green Matelassé 100% cotton duvet is just one of our favourite bed linens that The Fine Bedding Company offer. “The soft emerald green instils a calming energy to any bedroom – helping you feel cosy and relaxed” – Fine Bedding Expert.

Basket room for natural materials

With sustainability at the heart of the business, founders Camilla Sutton and Holly McMullen came together in 2014 to create the ethical brand The Basket Room. Working closely with artisan weavers across East Africa, each basket and rug can be fully traced back to the original maker. Using natural and sustainable materials and endeavouring to create as little impact on the environment as possible, it’s easy to see why we love this brand!

Natural woven materials are key for making a space feel relaxed. They can be used either as a styling backdrop or be the standalone hero in your interior. We just love The Basket Room’s DUFU: Oval Natural Woven Milulu Mat, it’s the perfect addition to styling a cosy bedroom as Katie Weller, Marketing Coordinator at The Basket Room agrees ‘Adding a natural fibre rug brings warmth and texture to your bedroom – they are great for lifting an empty space and are warmer to step out of bed onto if you have hard wooden floors.’

Ticking Tock its curtains o’clock

With over 150 years of experience producing high-quality fabrics at a family weaving mill in Lancashire, nothing gets us ticking quite like the fabrics from Ian Mankin. Better still, their fabrics are highly sustainable, woven using only natural, organic, and recycled fibres and they use no chemicals through their manufacturing processes.

Adding striped fabrics to a bedroom can be a great way to add a touch of detail without it being too overwhelming, and what better way to do this than with Ian Mankin’s brand-new Ticking Fabric Collection. Rachael at Ian Mankin shares her styling tips: ‘All Ian Mankin tickings are colour-woven in 100% cotton and feature a dense herringbone weave, providing a soft, cocooning texture with extreme durability, perfect for creating the cosiest of bedrooms. With a classic design style guaranteed to endure ever-changing trends, they will welcome a great night’s sleep for years and years to come. To keep super snuggly throughout the cold winter months, consider layering cushions, bedspreads and throws in warm, rustic-toned tickings.’

Have you created a cosy bedroom using Earthborn paint? We would love to see! Be sure to tag us on social media and use #earthbornbyme

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Firstly, you could embrace the dark, cosy feel of the space and paint your room in a deep, cocooning shade. After all, no matter what paint colour you choose, the room is still going to face north! Warm, jewel-like shades are especially perfect for north facing rooms (check out this post for more ideas).

But sometimes we crave a bright, open feel, which is best achieved with a light paint colour and some clever tricks. If you’re keen to lighten your north facing room, then check out these simple suggestions:

1. 1. Don’t just opt for brilliant white

Sounds strange, but picking the brightest, whitest paint shade won’t necessarily help your north facing room feel any lighter or more inviting. That’s because the high level of titanium dioxide used to make white paint appear really bright can sometimes cast an almost blue-ish tone. In north facing rooms this blue tone can appear cold and stark, so it’s best to steer clear of pure brilliant white.

2. 2. Choose a paint colour with a warm undertone

Off white and neutral paint colours with a subtle yellow or red undertone will add warmth to a space. Colours like Sandy Castle or Marbles carry a warmth that makes them perfect for north facing rooms. Check out this blogpost for more of our favourite neutral paint colours for north facing rooms, or take a look at our online Colour Guide.

Sandy Castle is a warm cream paint colour that is ideal for north facing rooms

3. 3. Reflect the light

Mirrors are one of the simplest ways to make small rooms appear larger. So if you have a north facing space that feels dark and cave-like, use mirrors to lighten the room. For maximum effect, try situating mirrors adjacent to a light source such as a window or lamp.

4. 4. Think about your ceiling and trims

The ceiling and woodwork colour can play a large part in the ambience of your space. North facing rooms often benefit from a cohesive approach, especially if your walls are painted in a light shade. By painting the skirting boards and ceilings in the same colour, you can achieve a seamless, airy feel. If you have a low ceiling with dark beams, we have some simple ideas on how to lighten wood beams here.

5. 5. Opt for lightest shades by a window

Painting your interior window frame in a pale colour can help reflect light into the room, even if your walls are a different shade. It doesn’t need to be white, but a warm neutral colour will help to bounce the light around the room.

6. 6. Consider your furniture

Dark coloured furniture can contribute to the gloomy feeling of north facing rooms. Light woods and furniture painted in pale colours will help counter this – our Eco Chic is perfect if you fancy giving your dark furniture a lift! To help lighten your space further, choose furniture with tall legs (so you can still see the floor) as this will create the illusion of more space, which can in turn make the room feel lighter.

7. 7. Get your lighting right

Last but not least, having the right kind of lighting can make the world of difference to dark rooms. Some artificial light feels cold and stark in north facing light, but likewise choosing a bulb that is too yellow can make a room feel heavy. A soft natural light, and in particular daylight bulbs, will help maximise light in your north facing room. A variety of lamps will also help to create pools of ambient lighting.

Browse our full range of colours here, to help you choose the perfect shade for your home.

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Not only do damp walls look unsightly, rooms can feel cold and unwelcoming too. Damp can also lead to an unhealthy living environment, which can be especially harmful for children and elderly residents as well as anyone with health issues. Plus, damp walls and ceilings can cause all kinds of structural issues and problems with the very fabric of the building.

In this post, we look at 5 tell-tale signs there’s damp in your walls (and how to tackle it!)

Colours: Crocky Road

1. A musty smell

Rooms that suffer from damp usually have an unmistakable, musty smell caused by mould and mildew. This unpleasant odour can be a giveaway sign that there’s damp in your walls, even if you can’t always see it.

2. Bubbling or peeling paint

Older properties were usually built using traditional, moisture permeable materials that let the walls ‘breathe’. When non-breathable building materials are used (such as modern plaster or vinyl paints), any moisture in the walls becomes trapped, as it has nowhere to escape too. This causes paint to bubble or flake. In modern homes, bubbling or peeling paint caused by damp is especially common in steamy areas with poor ventilation such as kitchens or bathrooms.

3. Black spots or discolouration

Condensation is caused by the lack of balance between heating and ventilation. If your room has an uneven balance, condensation can occur, causing mould spores and black spots to grow on walls. Not just an eye-sore, if left to spread black mould growth can exacerbate certain health issues and contribute to an unhealthy home.

4. Cold walls

You might not be able to see the damp in your walls, especially if it’s covered by wallpaper, but one tell-tale sign is if areas of the wall feels unusually cold to touch. Walls usually feel colder by windows, doorways and chimneys, but these areas are also usually the first to show damp.

5. A high damp reading

If you’re still in doubt as to whether your property has damp in the walls and ceilings, one sure way to know for certain is to test the walls using a damp meter. You could call in a professional, or you can now easily buy damp meters online.

Colours: Up Up Away & Peach Baby 

So once you’ve checked the signs, what should you do if there’s damp in your home? There are a number of simple solutions you can do yourself before getting help from the experts:

• Ensure you have good ventilation

This is vital prevent condensation. Open windows and use extractor fans in bathrooms and kitchens or anywhere that becomes steamy such as laundry rooms.

• Use the right materials for the age of your home

Older properties were designed to breathe! So materials like lime plaster and breathable Claypaint should be used instead of non-breathable coverings that trap moisture. We’ve written more on that in this blogpost.

• Insulate your home

Pipes, floorboards and loft spaces benefit from good insulation. You can get breathable insulation too, which won’t cause condensation.

• Maintain your property

Checking and maintaining both the outside and inside of your home is vital for prevention and treatment of damp walls. For example, blown bricks and crumbling mortar can cause water ingress as can cracked render, broken guttering or leaking pipes, so should be checked regularly.

Ready to take action? Order a free colour card today to choose the ideal shade of breathable Claypaint for your home.

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Our new Claypaint swatches are the perfect addition to your interior design mood board!

Why should I create a mood board when decorating?

Creating a mood board is an amazing way to get inspired and start planning your next project. From colour schemes to patterns and textures. Mood boards can be helpful to create a clear idea of what your space can look like before you start shopping around.

Begin your mood board by finding images of spaces that you can see yourself living in and that inspire you. Pinterest is an amazing resource for creating mood boards and for getting interior design inspiration, check out our Pinterest page for even more interior design and decorating inspiration for all different types of spaces.

Collect images of furniture, décor, and accessories that you like as well as paint and fabric swatches. Once you’ve brought all these together, it’s time to start making your mood board.

Step 1: Choose a core colour

The first step to creating the perfect mood board to help you choose how to decorate your home is through choosing a core colour.

Usually when you choose to decorate your home, you will have a colour in mind which can then be narrowed down to specific paint shades.

Our new Claypaint colour swatches are an amazing way to see what your walls can look like before committing to painting your walls.

Step 2: Find your dream home images

Adding images of what your dream home would look like into your mood board often keeps you on track of your vision.

It is easy to become overwhelmed with décor ideas, so choosing one or two images that you can imagine being your own home and adding them to your mood board is the best way to go.

Step 3: Layer

When creating a mood board layering is your best friend. It allows you to see which fabrics work the best with which colours etc.

Don’t be afraid to pair things together that you don’t think go, because that’s the whole point of a mood board. Experimenting!

Always keep your dream home images at the forefront of your board, just so you can reference as you go along.

Step 4: Finishing touches

All you have left to do now is add any finishing touches, including any accent colours, fabrics, or furniture pieces to your board.

And that is it. It was that easy! You now have a complete plan of exactly what your home will look like, and even feel like.

If you’ve created an interior design mood board using our Claypaint colour swatches make sure to post them on Instagram and use the hashtag #EarthbornByMe

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We’ve picked out our favourite berry paint shades and paired them with other colours from our range so you can create an autumnal oasis in your home.

Raspberry Red with Lady Bug

Pair our gorgeous raspberry shade ‘Lady Bug‘ with a light, gentle tone like ‘Peach Baby‘ to create a cosy, autumnal ambiance within your home. Accessorise with dark furnishings to make the deep red in Lady Bug stand out.

Our richly toned burgundy is highly versatile. Lady Bug would impress in all property styles, from contemporary kitchens to stately drawing rooms.

Beautiful Blueberry with Trumpet

There is no shade better matched to a Blueberry than Trumpet! Pair Trumpet with ‘Cricket‘, the softest green, to make the purple tones in Trumpet pop. Depending on what is paired with Trumpet, the undertones of purple can create a completely different atmosphere in the room.

Pairing Trumpet with a green shade like Cricket creates a youthful, fun feeling. Whereas painting an entire room in Trumpet and accessorising with pops of colour can create a more gothic look.

All-round Autumnal with Nutkin

Autumnal warmth rings through with the reddish-brown tones of Nutkin, from the falling leaves to the berries on the trees. Bringing a feeling of muted warmth into your home is done beautifully with Nutkin.

This hue, created in collaboration with Country Homes and Interiors, is perfectly paired with Donkey Ride, decorate with pops of colour like mustard yellow to bring the room together.

We’d love to see your very berry projects, so don’t forget to tag us on social media #EarthbornByMe

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October is a month of transformation. The leaves become a deep golden brown, the nights draw in and there’s a chill in the air… To celebrate the new season, we’ve chosen to switch it up with the deep, dark shade of Hidey-Hole.

Hidey-Hole allows you to take your home on its own journey of transformation – seamlessly transitioning from the summer to the autumn, and on into winter. With its warm charcoal tones, it provides the perfect neutral backdrop for bold colours: watch vibrant autumnal tones, like orange and red, pop against Hidey-Hole’s grey.

We recommend pairing Hidey-Hole with Flower Pot or Trilby for a truly autumnal vibe.

Furthermore – Hidey-Hole will add real drama to your seasonal celebrations. Whether it be Halloween fright nights, Bonfire Night get-togethers or Christmas dinner parties, the elegance and versatility of this deep grey is second to none.

So, if you want to create your own cosy cocoon this autumn, Hidey-Hole is the perfect choice. It will envelop your home and add a welcome depth – carrying you through the colder half of the year with a comforting warmth.

Order a paint swatch of Hidey-Hole here and head to our Instagram or Pinterest channels for even more inspiration on how to switch it up!

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Paw Print is the perfect shade when opting for a modern neutral colour palette, those deliciously soothing hues that enhance the feeling of light in a room whilst at the same time adding warmth and relaxed sophistication.

One of our most beloved of these neutral paint colours is Paw Print, a pale mushroom tone that’s been a consistently best-selling paint colour ever since it first graced our colour card. It’s not hard to see why. This beautifully warming colour is light enough not to impose but with a gentle mushroomy-taupe hue that flatters any room.

A surprisingly complex shade. Paw Print carefully balances warm pinkish-red undertones with a natural, soft beige-brown. Resulting in a colour that is affected by light and shade. This subtly alters its colour quality depending on the time of day and direction of light.

For a truly calm and casual space, pair Paw Print with similar neutral and white tones: Muddy Boots, Donkey Ride and Marbles.

Why not test one of our brand-new paint swatches! Each swatch has been individually painted with real Earthborn Claypaint so you know exactly what you’re getting when you order. Place the swatches around the room to see how the light affects the colour at different times throughout the day.

Order a paint swatch of Paw Print here and head to our Instagram or Pinterest channels for even more inspiration on how to switch it up!

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Switch it up with Delilah, our fun loving (yet sophisticated) shade of 1950’s inspired pink!

Cheer up drab spaces with this joyful dose of colour. A warm sunshine shade, Delilah sits somewhere between coral and pink. Made from a careful balance of orange and purple undertones, this sublime pink paint colour simply oozes personality in all room types!

Delilah added a flash of colour to Soozi from The Patterned Palace’s colourful study (left) and as a backdrop to Jaide Poppy’s bookshelves (right)

Smaller spaces are the ideal way to dip your toes into bolder colour choices like Delilah. Try it in a small bathroom (like we have done!) for a glamorous ‘powder room’ vibe. In bedrooms and even kitchens, Delilah will create a warm, cheerful atmosphere.

This glamorous 1950’s inspired pink paint shade is perfect for bathrooms

In south facing rooms, the glowing apricot tones of Delilah will bathe your space in a delicious golden hue, whilst North facing rooms – with their slightly cooler light – will enhance the delicate pinky-purple undertones of this beautiful shade.

Emma Jane Palin opted for Delilah in her bathroom where it has a bright coral tone (left), whereas in At Home with Egg’s kitchen it appears a more earthy shade of pink (right)

Order a paint swatch of Delilah here and head to our Instagram or Pinterest channels for even more inspiration on how to switch it up!

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Our darkest midnight blue

Toy Soldier is a highly pigmented, opulent paint colour. It’s our deepest blue, made up from blue and black undertones to create a rich, dramatic shade.

Using Toy Soldier in your home

Dark paint colours, especially those with a warm blue, green or black undertone like Toy Soldier, are surprisingly easy to live with. Because it’s a highly adaptable shade, it can be used to create a dramatic, fun or intimate atmosphere in almost any room, depending on how you decide to use it.

If you don’t want to go dark in your whole room, why not use Toy Soldier as a feature wall in living or dining rooms? Adding interest and sophistication to a space, it’s perfect on a chimney breast.

Due to its depth of colour, Toy Soldier is a fantastic backdrop to art or photography – the dark blue background helps to make the most of your artwork and allows it to really sing! Just look at interior stylist and lecturer Katie Seller’s bedroom to see how Toy Soldier added a dramatic yet easy going touch.

Alternatively, Toy Soldier is one of our absolute favourite Earthborn shades for painting furniture. In neutral or light grey rooms, a piece of furniture painted with a pop of Toy Soldier will add fun and personality to your room! Click here to buy Eco Chic furniture paint in Toy Soldier.

Pairing colours with Toy Soldier

Toy Soldier is surprisingly versatile and can be used as part of a variety of colour schemes. It acts as an alternative to dark grey in a monochrome colour palette, and adds a bold touch to white and off white walls, as above.

However we think this deep midnight blue comes into its own when paired with other blues, jewel greens and rich earthy reds for a truly dramatic look! Try it with Delilah, Cricket or The Lido for a true ‘pop’!

Order a paint swatch of Toy Soldier here and head to our Instagram or Pinterest channels for even more inspiration on how to switch it up!

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Try a swatch

Think outside the box and try a swatch – a new way to sample our paints. Our brand new swatches painted with real Claypaint are perfect for seeing how our paint could look in your home. The large swatch can easily be moved around a room at different times throughout the day so you can see how light affects the colour. Once you have finished, the swatches can be popped in the recycling as they are fully biodegradable.

Don’t worry though, for those who love our Sample Pots you can rest assured they are here to stay!

Colour your woodwork

Door Frames painted with Eggshell No.17 in colour Hidey-Hole and door frame painted in Daisy Chain

As much as we love the look of fresh white woodwork – it’s always nice to see our customers break away from tradition and choose a statement colour for the door frames, skirting boards and trim. Keep walls neutral with shades like White Clay, Up Up Away or Flutterby and let your woodwork do the talking by using Eggshell No.17 in shades like Hidey-Hole, Hippo Hooray or Trilby.

Paint only part of your furniture

Upcycling is the perfect time to get creative and think outside the box. Why not make your next project truly unique by only painting part of your furniture, rather than the entire piece? By using bold colours like Nutkin in a striking way, it will immediately become the focal point of any space. Alternatively, why not give the inside of your drawers or cupboards a pop of colour in a bright hue like Daisy Chain – for an instant smile every time you open them.

Did you know Eco Chic is perfect for upcycling furniture? Available in all our 84 colours, you’re guaranteed to be spoilt for choice.

Opt for a breathable paint

Not all paints are made the same. Why not try a breathable paint? Our Claypaint is fully breathable meaning that water vapour can pass through it easily. This reduces the risk of any condensation, damp or mould problems arising from trapped moisture.

There are health benefits too! The special ingredient in our Claypaint (clay) emits negative ions.  Higher levels of negative ions in an ambient space are widely accepted as being beneficial to health and well being. This leads to less static electricity build up, reducing airborne dust and allergens and resulting in a healthier choice all round. It truly is beautifully different paint, be sure to read more about what makes our Claypaint different.

Forget the white ceiling

Gareth at Keeper’s Cottage painted his ceiling in Flower Pot.

Think outside the box and take that white lid off your room! Ceilings tend to be an afterthought – which normally ends up white because it’s what we’re used to. But see it as a fifth wall and the possibilities are endless.

By taking your chosen room colour and continuing it onto the ceiling, it will instantly elevate the space making it feel bigger as there is no contrast for your eye to be drawn to. Not feeling brave enough? Why not paint a colour block on your walls and continue this partly on to the ceiling to create a canopy effect? This will draw attention to a specific area and looks great over a bed or a dining table, making the space feel more intimate and cosy.

Read more tips on how to conquer the fifth wall on our blog.

Have you tried any of our think outside the box tips? Be sure to tag and follow us on Instagram using #earthbornbyme

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