Warm, Layered, Liveable: Alice Gaskell's Living Room in 'Out of Office'
In a south-west facing living room with limited natural light, Alice Gaskell chose COAT's Out of Office to bring warmth, cohesion and quiet depth to a space designed for relaxing, entertaining, and living well.
"When I'm choosing a paint colour for a room, I'm never purely focusing on something that simply functions," explains Alice. "Colour plays such an important role in how a room makes you feel - and in this space, I wanted warmth, ease, and a mood of real contentment."
Out of Office was applied across all the woodwork - bookcases, skirting, and cornices - where its softly chalky, warm neutral quality creates a considered backdrop for books, ceramics and collected objects without ever competing for attention. Rather than defaulting to white on the walls, Alice carried a complementary shade, Weekender, across the room. Together, the two colours allow everything else to breathe. Nothing competes. The room reads as layered and cohesive, settled, but interesting.
"Upon first sight, Out of Office reads as a gentle, chalky neutral," says Alice, "but the more time I've spent with it, I've realised it's far more nuanced than that. There's a warmth running through it, a softness that keeps it from ever feeling flat - which makes it ideal for joinery, and for spaces that don't catch much natural light."
What makes Out of Office particularly well-suited to a living space is how it moves through the day. In the morning it feels fresher, lifting the space without over-brightening. As the light cools through the afternoon, the colour deepens slightly, its underlying warmth becoming more present. In the evening, under side lights and candles, it softens beautifully - a flattering backdrop to rich fabrics, pattern, and bolder artwork.
By pairing Out of Office with Weekender, Alice has created a room that holds together quietly and confidently - layered, timeless, and the kind of backdrop you'd be hard-pressed to tire of.
Want to recreate this palette? Order Peel & Stick samples of Out of Office and Weekender and see how they live in your space.
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