A Hollywood debut at Fox Hollow

Using Dulux Moda for a showstopping room makeover.

Disclaimer: This blogpost is written in partnership with Dulux.

What do you try to achieve when you are doing a room makeover? Do you have a picture in your mind but find it hard to translate to reality? I have often felt the same. I have at times ended up with ‘fine’ instead of ‘wow’. But I wanted more from my latest makeover, the bedroom, and I knew who could help.

I met with Holly Bryan, Dulux Colour hero, for a consultation about my room makeover. Here are a couple of tips as to what to do when you are heading for your consultation:

• Bring photos of the space, and a video or two on your phone.
• Make sure to also have photos of the key pieces of furniture or art that you are incorporating.
• Bring your room measurements, so you can get help with calculating quantities.
• Give yourself plenty of time, your consultant will want to know all about your vision for the space, to guide you towards an amazing outcome.

I asked Holly who her style icon is, and her answer was Joan Collins. As Holly says, she is ‘unapologetically glamorous’.  Do you want to know who mine is? Bette Davis. That has so much to do with her demeanor, her attitude. I feel that Bette woke up every day and took on the world. I wanted to create an opulent space that channelled some of that bravado.

I knew I wanted the Subtle Glamour palette, I just saw that as the best fit for what I had planned.  Holly endured it as I waved my arms about trying to describe what it was I was hoping to achieve. But she was intuitive, she knew exactly what I was trying to convey. Between the two of us the plan took shape. I headed out of the shop with my testers and the scheme Holly had put together for me and straight away started putting our plans in to action.

No matter how enthusiastic and excited you are, makeovers can be a little stressful unless you thoroughly organise yourself. I wrote recently about my survival tips and now felt like a good time to practice my own advice. But the first thing you can do with minimum effort (and because you can’t wait a moment longer to see it) is grab a piece of A4 paper per tester, paint it, and once it is dry, pop it up in your room. Move it around it all kinds of light, to be sure that’s the right colour for you.

I had set aside a few days to complete the makeover from start to finish. I cleared my diary. The fridge was stocked with quick to make dinners. Anything that could be moved out of the room was.  Masking tape was applied by the metre. The dust sheets came out to cover ALL the surfaces (I’m messy). And the painting began.

So to the fun bit; my choices from the collection. I want to channel that old school glamour, so Lipsync is the perfect choice. It’s quite a masculine pink, with greyish undertones.  I decided to bring that about two thirds of the way up the wall. To contrast that I chose Daydream for the upper part of the walls and the ceiling, it’s a fresh and buoyant colour, and looks bright in any light.

Almendra, from the same collection, was too gorgeous not to feature somewhere, so I painted the plaster frame of the full-length mirror with it.

I had explained to Holly that I wanted elements of Hollywood Regency brought to the space, with green and gold accents. But as usual I am looking for a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget.  She came up with the idea to use a lightweight mirror surround as a ceiling rose, cheap as chips and utterly fabulous.

The wardrobes were a bit busy and messy looking, but the colour was perfect. I removed the ribs from the frosted glass and then applied an opulent wallpaper on the inside, sticking it on with strong double sided tape. Gold tassels on the handles completed the look.

The bedroom door, architrave and skirting are painted in Soft Mocha by Dulux.  The knobs on the tallboy and lockers went from black to gold to brighten up the wood a bit.

The final layer in any room makeover should be your own personality.  You should shine through. So yes, I added ceramic parrots to the wall. They are probably more Malibu Barbie than Bette Davis. But it’s also entirely Fox Hollow.

It was my first time going to a colour consultation. I had always been nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get my vision across, or that I wouldn’t articulate what my style is. But the consultants are more than capable of drawing that image out of your mind, and formulating it in to something tangible. It’s still your vision, but it’s just like its been brought to life on the big screen.

Watch Hollywood Glamour here

Disclaimer: This blogpost is in partnership with Dulux.