Versailles

Soft delicate lightly yellowed dusky green that is sophisticated and gentle yet it works well with modern pieces too. This is a colour which picks up other colours well and changes character accordingly.

With pinks, creams and whites it looks back to the French court of Versailles but with turquoise blues, duck egg blues and chocolate browns it is a sassy modern colour.

A French side table painted in Versailles against a wall painted in Graphite

Paloma

This is a beautiful, sophisticated, warm grey taupe with a great deal of depth, made by mixing two complementary colours, purple and yellow with white.

	A vintage 1950s table painted in Paloma with the edges painted in French Linen and a little dab of Pure White on the drawer knob
Photo displays work designed & created by Annie Sloan

Old Violet

Like deep Parma violets or blue lavender it is a wonderful 18th century colour used for colouring the inside of furniture- like the lining of a jacket – or for using with as the base with Paris Grey on top and distressed. It is of course wonderful used as just on its own as here on this old desk.

	An old desk from an Oxford college has been painted using Old Violet mixed in places with a little Burgundian Red so the finished colour is not flat and even. The edges of the drawers are Old White and the interior is painted in Emperor’s Silk. This photograph by Christopher Drake is from ‘Creating the French Look’
Photo displays work designed & created by Annie Sloan

ADD OLD WHITE-to make ‘Schinkel’
Add 2 parts of Old White to 1 part of Old Violet and you get a greyed taupe I have called after a great 18th century German architect called SCHINKEL

ADD MORE OLD WHITE – to make ‘Colombe’
‘
Add 8 parts of Old White to 1 part of Old Violet for a soft grey like the underbelly of a dove, so I called it in French, COLOMBE

Emperor’s Silk

Emperor’s Silk
This a bright pure red like the red silk lining of a jacket; because of the way it looks we love it used as a interior of a cupboard or drawer. It is named after the red of China

Emperor’s Silk painted with texture, with first clear then dark wax applied in parts. Inside the drawer, Aubusson Blue

ADD WHITE- to make ‘Frangipani’
Add equal parts of Old White and Emperor’s Silk to make a bright strong exotic flowery pink with a zing, so I’ve called it FRANGIPANI

ADD MORE WHITE- to make ‘Malacca’
Add 3 parts of Emperor’s Silk to 1 part of Old White to make a pink I call MALACCA because it reminds me of pinks from Indonesia

Adding Old White in 1 part, 2 parts, 3 parts and 4 parts to lighten and bring out the true hue of the colour

Graphite over Emperor’s Silk allowing the red to glow through is a way to give paintwork an exotic eastern look

Graphite

Graphite is a soft black made with purplish blues and brown and is not completely black. When waxed it becomes a beautiful black like dark slate.

ADD MORE WHITE- to make ‘Uffizi’
Add 3 parts of Old White to 1 part of Graphite to make a warm sophisticated grey I’ve called UFFIZI after the Florentine art gallery

ADD OLD WHITE- to make ‘ Gentleman’
Add equal parts of Graphite and Old White to make a really elegant charcoal grey that remind me of a Saville Row suit so I’ve called it GENTLEMAN

Duck Egg Blue

A greenish soft blue reminiscent of Rococo French and Swedish interiors. It looks wonderful and fresh with Old White. We also love it distressed when it is used over Chateau Grey.

ADD OLD WHITE-to make’Rococo’
Add 4 parts of Old White to 1 part of Duck Egg to make ROCOCO a colour seen in the best old English country houses

ADD MORE OLD WHITE-to make ‘Gustav’
Add 8 parts of Old White and 1 part of Duck Egg Blue to pale blue green perfect for the Swedish painted look so I call it GUSTAV

The stunning colour on this Old French bed has been achieved using Louis Blue as a base with Duck Egg Blue over it and then distressed so the base colour can be seen

Duck Egg Blue and Chateau Grey Combination

Chateau Grey applied with texture is the base coat for a finishing coat of Duck Egg Blue waxed and distressed

Louis Blue

A pretty pastel Madame de Pompadour blue works particularly well
when waxed with a dark brown.

ADD OLD WHITE- to make ‘Pompadour’
Add 3 parts of Old White to 1 part of Louis Blue to make a graceful grey blue that makes me
think of the beautiful and refined favourite of Louis XV so I called it POMPADOUR

ADD MORE OLD WHITE- to make ‘Sophia’
Add 8 parts of Old White to 1 part of Louis Blue makes a very soft grey Swedish blue that I
have called SOPHIA after King Gustav’s daughter.

Provence

Blue green shutters in the South of France are the inspiration for this colour. Set against walls of any of the whites. Provence needs light and bright fabrics with a Mediterranean and seaside feel. Other paint colours that work with Provence also need to have the same freshness and strength. Of course a cupboard painted Provence looks great against a wall of Old White.

ADD OLD WHITE to make ‘Cricket’
Add 8 parts of Old White to 1 part of Provençe turns this mediterranean colour into a soft English pale blue green suitable for day watching CRICKET

Provençe is based on all those beautiful shuuters and doors you see in the South of France. They are all a bit like this – sometimes a little more green ( add Antibes) or sometimes a little more blue ( add Duck Egg) or paler ( add Old White ) or a little more muted ( add Country Grey)

Provence with 1,2,3 and 4 parts of Old White added

Scandinavian Pink

Scandinavian Pink
One of the traditional colours found in much Swedish furniture we use it underneath and as a colour for interiors of cupboards and drawers.
Find it used in combination in the Traditional Swedish Palette

ADD OLD WHITE – to make ‘Hydrangea’
Add 2 parts of Old White to 1 part of Scandinavian Pink for the beautiful colour of dried HYDRANGEA, a dusky chalky faded colour

Scandinavian Pink and Old Ochre Combination

A pretty combination is Sandinavian Pink as a base wirh Old Ochre on top . Along the moulding of this sample there is some Old White which lifts the whole effect.

Scandinavian Pink works well with these colours and fabrics

Cream

Pastoralle – Deep Red Single Width Linen Toile

Versailles

Old white and Scandinavian Pink Combination

Old White used over Scandinavian Pink is a good way to achieve an interesting French look

Cream

A soft pale warm creamy yellow the colour of clotted cream. We suggest you use it under Paris Grey or of course on its own perhaps with Old White on edgings and details.

Cream with 1, 2, 3 and 4 parts Old White

This combination is the epitome of French painted furniture – the Cream is the base colour and the Paris Grey the top coat.