Interiors influencer Lorna Pringle shares her tips and tricks
Lorna Pringle is the creator of home interiors brand ‘For the Love of Greige’. Born and based in Co Kildare, she documents her passion for interiors on Instagram, sharing advice on transforming your home. Here, she shares how she turned a walk-in wardrobe into a beautiful nursery for her son Harry using Fleetwood Paints.
Hi Lorna! Harry’s nursery is stunning. Tell us what this room looked like before?
Thank you! When we moved into the house, this room was actually set up as a walk-in wardrobe. It was a very hard decision pulling out all the carpentry as they were great quality, but we eased the sting by selling them online so they went to a new home and not to waste.
What was your overall vision for the transformation?
As we knew we were having a boy, I had a vision for the colour scheme of the room before Harry arrived. I knew I wanted animals featured in some way, as well as natural tones and materials. I also wanted to incorporate panelling on the wall behind the cot. Originally, I was going to go with a more traditional beaded panelling with wallpaper but this evolved once I found the beautiful handmade animal heads. These really brought the whole scheme together for me in terms of colour as well as the final panelling design you see today.
Tell us about the Fleetwood shades you opted for?
I definitely had a colour in my head, and this was around the time the Vogue collection was launched in Fleetwood Paints. I had the new colour card at home and when I saw the Hamptons colour scale, they were exactly the tones I was after. I went and picked up three colours from the scale; Hamptons, Hamptons Deep and Hamptons Dark, and painted samples on lining paper to try out in the room.
I always recommend to clients to do this as you can move the sample around the room to see it in various light. Paint shades can look one way on a paint chart, another when painting a sample in your room and different again when paired with other colours. As this is the backdrop for your whole room design, it’s an important step to get right.
I had the cot, unassembled, so I was also able to take the spindles out and lean them up against the samples to get a better idea of which shade worked best. That lead me to the final decision of Hamptons Dark which you see today on the feature panelled wall. Once this was decided, the next task was to choose a complimentary colour for the other three walls. We settled on Meribel, a lovely soft grey also from the Vogue Collection.
How does the room make you feel now it’s complete?
Harry’s room is probably my favourite room in the house and the most commented on by visitors to our home. The paint shades in the Vogue Collection have a lovely depth of colour. The dusky shade of Hamptons Deep has such a calming effect and the room feels very cosy despite having used blue and grey tones.
Have you used Fleetwood Paints anywhere else in the house?
I have used Fleetwood colours both on the interior and exterior of my home and have always been delighted with the colours and quality. I painted our front door Monet Dark and our spare bedroom is First Edition. I really like that their website has recommended colours to go with a particular paint shade which is so helpful when choosing a complete room scheme.
We have to ask about the wall panelling; it’s gorgeous. Have you any advice for anyone looking to create this?
I created a Highlight on my Instagram page showing a step-by-step how we created the panelled wall. This includes a formula for working out the spacing of your grid. Once this was calculated, we took the cut-list to a local woodworker to cut the MDF pieces for us. The best tip I would have for this would be to have ‘spacers’ cut too. (There is a visual of these included on the Instagram Highlight) This means you just have to hold the spacer against the wall and attach the next piece of MDF directly on top of it – no need to be pulling out measuring tapes and spirit levels throughout the build.
The little details also really bring the room together. Can you share where you sourced the various décor?
The cot, changing table and wardrobe are from Mamas and Papas. The animal heads are from Heartfelt Creations on Etsy. The curtains were made by Material World in Naas. The rocking chair is from Tony Kealys. The shelving and bookshelves are from Ikea. The decorative items in the room are from a number of small Irish businesses such as Josh & Jenna Kids, Kidstore and Lucy & Me.
To find your nearest Fleetwood Prestige stockist, visit fleetwood.ie. Fleetwood Prestige is exclusive to the Vogue, Ventura and Pantone Colour Collections, and any colour can be mixed into Fleetwood Prestige.
