When working with a medium as fluid as paint, why not allow yourself some extra creative freedom? That philosophy is put into practice here by the team of Hendricks Churchill—the proof is in this pantry in the couple’s renovated 1871 house, which is the subject of their new book, Our Way Home: Reimagining an American Farmhouse (Rizzoli).
The room’s inviting two-tone scheme wasn’t planned; at first, in fact, they had covered everything—walls, ceiling, and trim—with the paler shade of blue. But while interior designer Heide Hendricks liked the cool color, her husband, designer/builder Rafe Churchill, wanted to warm things up.
As a compromise, they opted to “spill” the darker blue of the kitchen cabinets slightly more than halfway up the walls. “It creates a whimsical waterline effect, as if the space had flooded and the water since receded,” says Hendricks.
Her advice: Take risks with paint, don’t be bound by too many rules, and think about the mood you’re going for. She adds: “If colors feel right together, they often are.”
