PAINTED LOVE

Decorative paint doyenne Annie Sloan takes us through her Normandy home which, as you’d expect, is a rainbow of colours

Decorative paint star Annie Sloan’s lovely old Normandy home

You may recognise Annie Sloan’s name from the side of a paint tin of her eponymously named paint. As a fine artist-turned-decorative artist she wanted to create deliberately undetectable restorations and headturning murals in houses but was frustrated she couldn’t find paints that met her exacting standards. She came up with her own paints, then partnered with a Belgian factory to produce the paint she’d been making at home. The result is her famous Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Decorative painting hasn’t been the same since. Although Annie lives in Oxford, England, she happily packs her paint brushes for some decorative painting at her Normandy holiday home.

Can you talk us through your home in Normandy?

The house in Normandy is a patchwork of old buildings. Originally a long-house (which is a traditional type of French farm wherein the farmer and his family would live in the same home as all their animals – very cost-effective in terms of heating and so on), it’s comprised of one big long room at the front, which is our living room, kitchen and dining area. Behind that we have my studio and workshop, while upstairs are the bedrooms and bathrooms.

Who stays there with you? I visit with my husband David. We usually go four or five times a year, but because of the pandemic, it’s been over a year since we last visited. I miss the place terribly. We take a motley crew with us. I’ve had journalists come to stay to write pieces on the property, old university friends and, of course, my sons Felix, Hugo, Henry and their families.

How much work have you done on your home?

Not as much work as it needs, is the short answer. Getting anything done in the French countryside, particularly when you’re not there for long stretches of time to oversee the process, can be a very lengthy process. Culturally, the French have a laissez-faire attitude to meetings and arrangements and in my experience that only becomes more pronounced the further from Paris you are. You might have organised for an electrician to visit, but if the apples are in season and his friends need an extra hand with the harvest, not to mention the cider-making process, you don’t stand much chance of seeing your electrician ever again. We had our builder, Dino, come from Oxford once to do some rudimentary wall-knocking down and so on, and my aforementioned husband discovered a passion, if not a talent, for plumbing. We have some very esoteric piping as a result of his effort but it very much adds to the charm of the property, in my view. I’d love to spend a few

“One prefers not to start making plans since one will only be disappointed when one has to abandon them.”

ANNIE SLOAN

“Most of the surprises have been pleasant ones – uncovered murals, treasure troves under the floorboards.”

ANNIE SLOAN

weeks there and get some proper bathrooms installed, but of course that’s all up in the air at the moment. One prefers not to start making plans since one will only be disappointed when one has to abandon them.

Did you have an challenges you didn’t foresee? Any monumental interiors fails?

We’ve been very lucky – I’m a hands-on type of person with a lot of experience in renovation. Truly, nothing shocks me and with the dilapidated state of the long-house fully evident when we made the purchase, most of the surprises have been pleasant ones – uncovered murals, treasure troves under the floorboards, dated engravings and so on.

What’s your favourite part of the house?

The upstairs bedroom. The wall was made in the traditional style – hay and guano with mud packed between beams, and I painted it in Chalk Paint in Old White. The texture is so stunningly sublime that we put a bath in the bedroom so I could bathe in it and admire the beauty of the wall. It’s an extremely relaxing space and a brilliant example of working with what you have being the key to the best renovation projects.

Did you paint the house yourself or get the painters in?

I painted the house myself. I adore painting and would never let anybody else have all that fun. Walls, in particular, are so therapeutic.

Can you take us through the colours in the pink living, the room with the painted mural over the fireplace, the colourful staircase and the green bed please?

I’ve always had pink living rooms, I just think it’s a lovely flattering, calm, warm colour and it makes perfect sense in a room where we spend so much time socialising. The mural over the fireplace existed already but was very faded so I had a joyful afternoon picking that out with my own paints. The staircase was painted over a rainy weekend when I was writing one of my books – I think it was Creating The French Look. I needed a break from recommending techniques and writing step-bysteps so I had some therapeutic, self-indulgent, bright colour playtime. The green bed is painted in Chalk Paint in Antibes Green, one of my favourite colours, then I overlaid Dark Chalk Paint Wax to get that gorgeous, rich aged look. Gold Gilding Leaf was a no-brainer; the second I saw the details on the headboard I knew I needed to turn to metallics to give it the glamour it deserved.

Could you tell us a few of your paint tricks?

You can find all of my paint tricks online and in my books. I live to share paint tricks. Sign up to my newsletter, which includes a pretty constant stream of inspiration, ideas and how-tos.

What do you love about paint, and specifically Chalk Paint?

Paint is the quickest and cheapest way to utterly transform a space. You can save a piece of furniture from the

“Chalk Paint is the best because yonuddon’t have to waste time prepping; you simply pop open a can and start painting. It dries quickly too.”

ANNIE SLOAN

A BLANK STAIR An “ugly, modern” staircase painted in a mixture of thick and thin irregular stripes on the risers has become the focal point of the room.

nd FRONT ENTRANCE Annie found the front door, which was already painted green, at a salvage shop. “One day the paint will start falling off, but I love the way it looks now,” she says. COUNTRY RETREAT Before Covid-19, the rustic home in France was the perfect place for family to gather, including the couple’s sons and grandchildren.

Meet & greet Annie Sloan (artist, colour expert and business owner) and David Manuel (business owner).

DANCING ON THE CEILING Annie used two paint colours, Louis Blue on the ceiling and Duck Egg Blue on the beams, to help camouflage the mix of old and new wood.

MAKE A STATEMENT The chest of drawers, decorated with wording from the first line of James Joyce’s Ulysses, was originally bought to house paint and brushes.

STUDIO Annie’s work area is where she spends most of her time tinkering on projects. “Every piece of vintage furniture has such an interesting story,” she says. “From the history of the piece to the process of restoring and upcycling it to its former glory.” BY DESIGN Annie’s holiday home is a virtual showcase of paint effects and patinated furniture.

MAKE AN ENTRANCE The front door takes you straight into the sitting room “a lovely open-plan room with rafters and an open fireplace,” says Annie.