Oct 4

Oct 4 Catherine Ashton's Dark and Moody Abigail Ahern Inspired Home

Tonight, I feature the fabulous flat of Catherine Ashton. This is a dark and moody delight and has long been a firm favourite of mine on Instagram. Her bold use of dark paint, colourful rugs, quirky finds and art is all pulled together so naturally.

You can follow Catherine here. and I will leave Catherine to tell you all about her inspiration in her own words.

Go enjoy the tour!

We bought my flat 13 years ago in a beautiful area of north London. It’s very green and I am lucky to have a gorgeous view out of every window. As I am originally from the countryside in the north of England it was important to live in a green area full of nature which is quite rare in a city. It's not my full-time home and seeing that I wasn't into interiors back then I wasn't bothered about how it was decorated.

I work in fashion and art was my favourite subject at school so I have always had a creative side. It all started 2 years ago when I literally bought a blanket box on the internet painted in farrow and ball paint. As I was googling what paint colour to have I started seeing beautiful interior pictures. I became quite obsessed but It really all changed when I came across interior designer Abigail Ahern with her dark inky, cosy and super cool way of decorating. I was in awe and loved it immediately. It took me a while to grow my confidence but now I have gone completely dark in every room. I had never decorated before so started watching hours of you tube videos on how to paint and taught myself which could be frustrating at times as I am a perfectionist. I then started posting a few pics on Instagram and found a community of like-minded dark interior instagrammers which with their support helps you gain confidence. I absolutely love taking photos so Instagram was perfect for me.

Kitchen

The kitchen I went from everything white to everything off black. Again, as soon as I went dark everything I had in there just looked way more cool and sophisticated. I recently painted the kitchen cupboards pitch black and changed all the tile grout from white to black. It's amazing how a small change can make a big difference. I even managed to get one of my gallery walls in here too, I just can't help myself. But made it more "kitcheny" adding chopping boards and utensils amongst some art. The stendig calendar adds some fun. At the moment, I am in the process of choosing a ceiling light. Lighting is very important in creating the right atmosphere in dark spaces.

Hallway

This was the first room I experimented going dark. At first, I left the ceiling and woodwork white but now I paint everything the same colour, it blurs the boundaries and really does make the ceiling disappear and makes rooms appear bigger. This was the second gallery wall I did. I love collecting art and love doing salon style hanging from floor to ceiling. Hallways can get neglected but there the first place you see when you come home so should reflect the rest of your home and I love how it puts a smile on my face as soon as I walk through the front door.

Living room

I absolutely love faux plants, faux cause I am not there all the time and I would just kill them. You can buy faux plants these days that look so real and they are perfect for cosying up a room. I have them in everywhere. I have 2 gallery walls in the living room. As its salon style, you don't have to buy expensive pieces. I love scouring antique fairs and also buying affordable prints online. I am not one for thinking too much about where to hang things. If it's wrong I just fill in the hole and re hang it which isn't advisable but I am pretty good at filling in holes.

Bedroom

This was the most recent room I painted. I got rid of the cream carpet and had fitted black laminate floor. Painted everything farrow and ball off black which has become my favourite paint colour. I even painted the white bed and wardrobe too. I have always wanted a large tree somewhere as I love trees and in my bedroom seemed the perfect place. I bought a faux ficus tree which sits perfectly floor to ceiling in the corner. The thing I like most about this room is the antique Italian chandelier I found at an antique fair. And against the black paint it looks much grander. Since, I have put a chandelier in every room. I am also a lover of vintage Moroccan rag rugs, again the colours really pop against the black. I love the textures and aged look.

Bedroom Window seat

I love my bedroom cause of this corner. I used to have a desk there but since I didn't need a computer anymore I decided a window seat would be perfect. And with the dark paint it makes nature outside really pop.