Call Western Building Consultants Today

1930’s Industrial Living Room Decor In Farrow & Ball Plummet/Dimpse

8th October 2019

1930s House Series

Here at Western Building Consultants we love 1930s homes they often have amazing space standards, lovely architectural features, tall ceilings and a wealth of opportunities to remodel and extended. Making them ideal family homes to grow with you.

The 1930s gave rise to popular architectural technology detailing techniques like the cavity wall and as general rule houses of this era have seen better resistance to damp ingress and timber decay associated with the lack of damp proof courses and poor detailing associated with older properties.

In this article we look at some of the key elements of decor in this 1930s living room which has an industrial aesthetic and what goes into getting the “look”.

1930's Living room, industrial, farrow & Ball

1930’s industrial living room decor, farrow & ball Plummet & Dimpse

Stay Faithful

One of the prominent features of this room is the chimney breast, whilst the industrial look has boomed in recent years the chance to paste fake looking brick pattern or timber cladding wall papers has also become all too easy. Authentic cladding or materials will always make for a better design scheme and give authenticity In this room the chimney has been stripped of its old gypsum and black rock substrate plaster and returned to the clay brick finish. As the fireplace was never meant to be exposed some of the pointing and brickwork is slightly rough and fits the desired aesthetic. The bricks have been white washed with emulsion and then gently wire brushed back in some areas to expose the orange brick  below and give a false patina.

Flooring

This room utilities a dark wide plank section laminate from the well know DIY shed DIY.com, perfect for that industrial look, better still would have been to use existing floorboards however the existing floor hand long been replaced with chipboard. Engineered timber flooring had been considered but cost is always a factor. When you can achieve a great look with a thick laminate for £10-20 a SQM what’s not to like. Laminates tend to be less suited to wet or highly trafficked areas, where tiles or vinyl flooring have become popular.

Laminate has fallen out of favour with some who opt for the more expensive and versatile vinyl products like Karndean or similar. Whilst they undeniably offer more flexibility, longevity they do rely on a sound substrate, are more expensive and difficult to fit for the amateur.

In our opinion laminate offers a good visual effect (if you find a good one) and is great where your underlying floor is timber.

The colours

The timber work is finished in plummet farrow and ball eggshell. Who describe it as an architectural light lead colour perfect for industrial looks. The walls are finished in a farrow and ball dimpse, a lighter and more subtle architectural grey that also works well with F&Bs signature dark grey down pipe. Above the reinstated picture rail the ceiling and wall is painted in a matt all white, typical of the era. The reinstatement of the picture rail is a real triumph for this room and is a practical edition for displaying ones favourite artwork.

The old writing bureau is finished in a distressed green from a pot of left over external eggshell and is a popular chartwell green type colour.

Flexible living

The living room and open plan kitchen diner is separated by the installation of internal glass doors, this helps bring light into the north facing living room and provide separation when required. The space can be opened up for parties or family gathering (even the extended Christmas dining table can borrow a little of the living space when needed. The doors are finished with simple horizontal glazing bars that aren’t too fussy and don’t reduce too much light.

The finishing touches

The chair is finished in a cow hide style animal print with design styling from scandi and mid century influences, the brass feet make for a quality finish. An antique singer sewing machine sits atop the writing desk with an accent weave heart. Lighting is provided by a multi drop ceiling fitting with industrial steel cages and a feature star floor lamp. The rug is a cow hide purchased from great value brand homesense. Copper handles and ceramic handles from M&S home.

What our customers say