Marvellously Moody

I've been going back and forth in my head for almost a year now about painting our fireplace wall a moody charcoal grey. I banished the notion from my mind for months, partially because I was apprehensive of going so dark in a rented flat, but mostly because...well..I'm lazy. The thought of removing the 2 million glass bottles and wooden panels of the mantle and wall, then taping off and applying 2 coats of paint just didn't really appeal. Instead, I would sit on the sofa with a cocktail, imagining what it could look like.

But then I kept seeing images like this...

Photo | Lonny

And this

And these

Photos | Apartment Therapy

Finally, about 2 months ago I bit the bullet and went to Leyland to buy the paint. I had pulled my finger out! I was going to DO THIS! Except... Leyland had other ideas. They were closed. And I didn't go back, because...well..I'm lazy.

Oddly enough, it was the image below that ultimately lit a fire up my bottom.

Photo | Design*Sponge

As soon as I saw it, my brain said, *dresser=wood panels; carpet=fireplace surround; cardigan=mantle* (I'm constantly having these equations in my head, it's a gift). This was it! This photo WAS my fireplace wall! And I never looked back.

Here she is before -

And now -

They could be twins no?

There's a common misconception that dark walls will make a room feel smaller, however in this case the charcoal delineates the space, rather than closing it in. It also works because although our lounge is quite small, the high ceiling makes the space feel more generous than it actually is (unfortunately said ceiling currently has a leak - the period flat gods giveth, the period flat gods taketh away).

One more time for the road -

Feels like just yesterday that it looked like THIS.