Home Made in Bridgeman

Things that feel like a warm hug: fresh bed linen, moody colours, a book case, and antiques.

We’ve incorporated all that we love into this space: delicious sheets and quilts sheltered in newly transformed linen cupboards, the deepest of charcoal navy blue paint (“Squid Ink” by Porters), and a rich timber bookcase filled with old photographs, antique books and miscellaneous trinkets.

Walking into this space is like being enveloped in slowness.

Transforming the Linen Cupboards

The linen cupboards were my second home project after completing the bathroom cabinets.

These cabinets were also laminate and required the same primer and a colour-mixed laminate paint. I primed prior to panelling, as the paint serves as a better base for glue to set.

Steps:

• Sand and clean with sugar soap
• Paint with White Knight Tile & Laminate Primer
• Use masking tape to design measure the dimensions for panelling
• Buy 240cm Porta timber panels, which can be cut in half on site at Bunnings
• Use a mitre box & handsaw to cut panels to required dimensions
• Use Selley’s “Liquid Nails” glue to set panels in place. A blob every 30cm is all you need to apply to the panel
• Use gap-filler immediately to support the placement
• A wet cloth is important to wipe excess glue & putty (I was not good at this step as this was my first time panelling so learnt some things the hard way)
• White Knight Tile & Laminate Paint – I chose Satin finish again and mixed with “Rune Stone” colour which was a good match for Squid Ink

Painting & Panelling the Walls

After completing the storage and linen cupboards, I’d learnt the do’s and don’ts of panelling:

• Do use a pencil to mark straight lines for placement
• Do always have a wet cloth nearby to wipe excess material
• Don’t let residue glue or putty fall to the carpet – it stains if wet.

This was my first time painting, and naturally I was a little terrified.

I used porters primer to paint over the new panels, which acted also as a further sealant.

The first coat of Squid Ink looked awful. The colour itself was fabulous – but being new to painting, I didn’t expect that a first coat was supposed to look that bad. Newbies – let this be a lesson to you. Don’t panic.

I sighed the biggest sigh of relief when I painted the second coat. Squid Ink was the perfect colour choice, and Porter’s ‘Eggshell’ finish is something special. I can’t recommend this paint highly enough.

My favourite part of finishing this space was seeing the timber bookcase set against the dark paint. The colour combination is so elegant.

Finishing touches also included cupboard handles from Temple & Webster and the battery wall sconce from Amazon. In time we will hang some small paintings within the top wall panels.

~ Isabel