Elm Bay sitting room

The brief

After we painted their weatherboards, the owner asked us back inside. There were four colours on the shortlist and no way to choose.

What we did

A colour visit first: sample boards in the room’s own light and test patches on two walls. Then a light sand, a stain-block where an old picture hook had marked the wall, and two coats of low sheen.

The finish

Two days. The sage shifts through the day, greener in the morning and greyer at night, which is exactly what they were after.