Renovate: Floors, Walls and Ceilings, Oh My!

Its been a busy old week at Love Frankie’s new residence of 34 High Street, Totnes in Devon. We said a fond farewell to the lime green double layers of slat hell and welcomed the discovery of the beautiful tongue and groove paneling hiding beneath.

Ceilings have been re-plastered, panelling has been sanded and the electrician has wired up more light fixings than I think he even cares to remember. Finally things were about to get interesting…..

Itching to get the paintbrush out, we began by slapping some whiter than white paint on the ceilings and panelling. Although being a devout fan of the dark side, it amazing what a bit of white paint can do, immediately the space opened up, it was fresher, brighter and I could really start visualising the Love Frankie dream.

It didn’t take me long however to desire the dark side; the black to my white, the yin to my yang, the fire to my loins.  It was time to take this store over to the darkside. And there is only one true friend that can get me there. Of course, it’s Farrow and Ball my beauties and yes, its time for a bit of Downpipe.

Rich, bold, dark and sultry what more could a gal ask for? Downpipe from Farrow and Ball was the only real choice here right? Contrasting so perfectly with the white on the opposing wall, it is the grey of all greys, standing proudly in all its inky grey godliness.

So with the devilishly dark paint to one side and the angelic white on the other, what was I going to do about the flooring? I’d been toying with the idea of sanding the floorboards, varnishing them up good and proper and leaving them in their natural wooden beauty. I also loved the idea of raw concrete flooring, preferably the more distressed the better. Then there was the brief thought about painted white floorboards, AND THEN! Then I saw this image, and well, lets face it – it would be rude not to right?

And so I did…

Over and out for this instalment, I’m just off to lay down on my new floor of dreams, where I can dream about wallpaper for the front the shop. Plus I’ll give you all the full low down on where I got this awesome flooring from.

Love Frankie
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