Why you should be painting your window frames (and design ideas to inspire)
When admiring the work of some of the best interior designers, there is one consistent element you may notice: as much thought is given to the details as is given to the larger elements. Among these details, a painted window frame is an interior designer’s best trick for making a space feel considered, exciting and unique.
Its benefits are manifold: the window frame is a clever place to add a pop of colour without it overwhelming the room. A gloss paint in this well-illuminated zone can help to bounce light around, and – whether dark and impactful or light and airy, it turns the window into a literal frame for landscape on the other side of it. Not to mention, this small detail can help to completely pull a scheme together: use it to pick up on a colour in a patterned fabric and watch as the fabric quickly becomes integrated into the bones of the room. According to Venetia Rudebeck, one half of Studio Vero, the interior design studio behind the wonderful aubergine woodwork pictured below, ‘painted frames can transform the entire look of a room! They create a focal point and allow you to highlight architectural features’.
If it's contrast you’re after, take a leaf out of interior designer Lonika Chande’s book, who opted for an arresting ruby-red on the window frames of the sitting room pictured above. ‘I like the way this gloss-red stands out against the original wall colour’, she says. ‘There is a depth to a rich colour like this, it’s very grounded, but at the same time elevates the space, much like a smattering of lipstick boosts a more casual outfit!’
The benefits of a painted window frame are not just aesthetic, it can actually help to protect your woodwork too. ‘Historic joinery has survived so well because it was painted with linseed oil paints’, says Edward Bulmer, purveyor of luxury, natural paints. ‘This paint cross-links with the fibres of the wood and literally repels moisture through a process known as wicking. Nowadays water-based film forming paint can be used to a similar effect’.
For all the most inspirational painted frames, we've rounded up the best examples from the House & Garden archive below.
Chris Horwood1/17Production designer Anna Rhodes worked with OEB Architects to help transform the back of her 18th-century workers' cottage in Greenwich. They added double dutch stable doors and a huge working sash window painted in Farrow & Ball's ‘Truron’.
Simon Brown2/17This Notting Hill house by Studio Vero is full of painted woodwork, starting from the moment you walk in the door. Farrow & Ball’s ‘Brinjal’, a rich aubergine, is used for all the woodwork in the hall and right up the stairs, while the walls, in ‘Jonquil’, Edward Bulmer’s tender pink, loses any hint of the boudoir when teamed with this strong colour.
Paul Massey3/17In one of Nicola Harding's projects, Farrow & Ball’s ‘Stone Blue’ was used on the ceiling of this basement room and carried down to create a false cornice above the ‘Tanner’s Brown’ walls. The same blue was used on the woodwork, providing a contrast with the red ‘Basset Sofa’ from Howe and the green antique Swedish rug.
Milo Brown4/17The woodwork in this sitting room by Lonika Chande is original to the house and painted in a gloss ‘Murrey Red’ by Papers & Paints.
Sarah Griggs5/17For this couple with a young child, it was a priority to live in a house that lent itself to family life as much as to entertaining. With the help of Tiffany Duggan, the small terrace in Chelsea is now a space that thrills as well as functions. The walls of the sitting room are painted in Little Greene's ‘Apple Smiles II’, and woodwork is in ‘Aquamarine Mid’.
Owen Gale6/17When choosing the colours for the living room in her four-bedroom Victorian house, Sandra Barrio von Hurter wanted it to be a grown-up space. She landed of ‘Lichen’ by Farrow & Ball on the walls, with ‘Hunters Dunn’ in a gloss finish from Paint & Paper Library for the woodwork. A layer of pink tones in the furniture and her and her husband’s collection of books and some of their art complete the scheme. Cafe curtains on the bottom half of the windows let light in but ensure privacy from the street outside.
Simon Brown7/17With its ‘Poppy Sprig’ paper by GP&J Baker and blue bespoke paint colour ‘25-18D’ from Papers & Paints, this guest bedroom of a Studio Vero house was designed to be suitable for children later on. The headboard by Trove by Studio Duggan is covered in Hector fabric from Vanderhurd.
Christopher Horwood8/17Despite its compact space, this south London flat on a pioneering 19th-century estate is both pretty and practical thanks to the imaginative decoration of Carlos Garcia. A chimneypiece in Fenwick & Tilbrook's ‘Caspian’ matches the window frames painted in the same colour. A Pooky lamp complements Carlos's ‘Hibiscus’ saffron wallpaper and fabric in the main bedroom.
Chris Horwood9/17The main bedroom of this 18th-century workers' cottage in historic Greenwich, charmingly restored by the interior and production designer, Anna Rhodes, is a serene and warm space. Soane's ‘Seaweed Lace’ Roman blinds frame the windows. The walls are painted in Farrow & Ball's ‘Dropcloth’ and ‘French Grey’.
Mark Anthony Fox10/17The bespoke four poster bed in this Anna Haines vicarage is by Titchmarsh & Goodwin. Woodwork in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Lichen’ frames a custom version of Tess Newall’s ‘Herbarium’ wallpaper.
Tom Griffiths11/17Melinda Stevens' bedroom in her west London house is a dramatic space with glossy turquoise panelling and a riot of patterns on the bed. “The drawings that line it are by Edward Le Bas, my husband’s great uncle, who was part of the Bloomsbury crew. They are his costume designs for a production of The Duchess of Malfi, given to me by my mother-in-law."
Lucas Allen12/17Formerly a therapist's office, this reading nook on the first floor of Joanne Burgess' house in Henley feels cosy and warm. The walls are painted in ‘Ball Green’, with woodwork in a glossy ‘Bancha’, both by Farrow & Ball. An archive Josef Frank fabric has been used to upholster the cushions on the armchair. Joanne bought it 20 years ago and the cushions have since ‘lived in three different chairs and in five homes’.
Lucas Allen13/17Joanne’s son's room is a striking bright blue: Farrow & Ball's ‘Stone Blue’. The window frame, meanwhile, is painted in a ‘India Yellow’, also from Farrow & Ball.
Mark Roper14/17An unmodernised house in Sussex, dating back in parts to the 15th century, has been given a fresh, vibrant look by interior designer Phoebe Hollond, with playful elements creating a distinctive yet comfortable family home.
In the children's bathroom, the blind in a Pierre Frey check and woodwork in Farrow & Ball's ‘Yellow Ground’ create a sunny feel.
Paul Massey15/17The entrance to the loo of this Sussex rectory designed by Emma Milne Watson is clad in brass. It makes for a glamorous and contemporary feature. The bright yellow woodwork surrounding the window feels like a bright fun addition, and picks up on the gold of the door.
Owen Gale16/17Interior designer Angelica Squire's Victorian terraced house in London is a youthful, exuberant space that combines smart artworks and fabrics with clever vintage finds and joyful colours. The walls in the kitchen are painted in Farrow & Ball's 'Setting Plaster', and the cabinets in 'Preference Red'. The blinds are in Guy Goodfellow's 'Pomegranate Print' fabric, while cafe blinds on the bottom half of the windows allow for privacy while still letting in the light.
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James McDonald17/17This extraordinary nine-storey townhouse in Notting Hill is the work of designer Bryan O'Sullivan and his studio, who saw it as a place to experiment with colour and work with a host of artisan makers. The experimentation is most notable in this room, which Bryan transformed into a library with the help of blue high gloss lacquer walls and an orange ceiling. These were lacquered by the specialist painter Matthew Bray and make this room a wonderfully enveloping space.
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