Choosing a narrowboat interior colour scheme
With a name like "Sea Glass", deciding the colour of the interior was easy. Perhaps finding the right colours and fabrics might take a bit longer . . . . .?
Actually, no. A large Laura Ashley Store was the first place we looked for fabric. They had a huge sale and incredibly we spotted exactly the right fabric within five minutes at 40% off the original price.
The larger B&Qs have an extensive Valspar Paint Range with hundreds of different paint swatches, so a great starting point to collect a handful of different colours and take them down to the boat to see how they worked
It's surprising how paint looked completely different in different environments. Here is the colour chosen for above the gunnels right through the boat
The flooring was equally easy to choose. Having originally wavered between a Karndean or an engineered oak floor, we decided on natural wood as being a more sustainable choice.
We were despatched by James the boatbuilder to Brooks Brothers Nottingham to pick a "mid price range floor" - by that he meant around £30 per square metre. They too had a sale on and the extremely helpful sales person directed us to the right type of flooring for a narrowboat - oiled engineered oak, apparently. He also showed us their end of line range, originally prices around £70 per square metre, reduced to half price. An anxious few minutes whilst they ascertained whether there was enough left to floor a narrowboat. Yes. Phew.
Whilst a slightly lighter colour was our original thoughts, we discovered that the floor we'd chosen almost exactly, by chance, matches the under-gunnel oak on ply!
Next came tiles - both decorative and functional. A trip to Topps Tiles and another hour browsing and getting great advice from their sales people. Needed to ensure that the tiles behind the woodstove were fire resistant.
We were despatched by James the boatbuilder to Brooks Brothers Nottingham to pick a "mid price range floor" - by that he meant around £30 per square metre. They too had a sale on and the extremely helpful sales person directed us to the right type of flooring for a narrowboat - oiled engineered oak, apparently. He also showed us their end of line range, originally prices around £70 per square metre, reduced to half price. An anxious few minutes whilst they ascertained whether there was enough left to floor a narrowboat. Yes. Phew.
Whilst a slightly lighter colour was our original thoughts, we discovered that the floor we'd chosen almost exactly, by chance, matches the under-gunnel oak on ply!
Next came tiles - both decorative and functional. A trip to Topps Tiles and another hour browsing and getting great advice from their sales people. Needed to ensure that the tiles behind the woodstove were fire resistant.
Just to add here, before visiting the store, we also sent off to Topps Tiles for some samples - they have an excellent and speedy service - highly recommended
The tiles chosen for the bathroom are off-white and slightly undulating. A pic will be posted once the bathroom has been tiled
So there are, for now, the key interior design colours for the inside of the boat. Still got to decide the colour of the leather upholstery - but that will be a future blog
Comments
Post a Comment