Paint it black — Lynne Lambourne

When I was asked to design a Garden at this year’s Ideal home show with the theme ‘Grow your own’ and was told in the brief to incorporate a bar I knew exactly the kind of look I wanted to go for. I talked last summer about the trend for going to the ‘darkside’ with our garden spaces and how much I loved the contrast of black sheds and fences in the garden because I think it makes the plants set against them look amazing. The greens really pop, they contrast well with the darkness and if anywhere can handle a dark mass of colour it’s a sunny garden. It clearly is a look you all love to as I seem to have been asked so many times what paint I used so I thought I would pop this little blog together for you.

Within the design of my garden one of the key focal points was going to be a black bar shed and we also designed a raised bed bench made from sustainable wood that we wanted to paint black too. Its sounds silly but getting the right shade of black was key to my design but it also had to be outdoor paint that would withstand the elements. Ronseal has a great range of paints and stains for outdoor use and their Garden Paint in Blackbird was the one I chose. It’s versatile and can be used to paint wood, brick, terracotta and metal. Available in 24 colours, the paint both looks good and will waterproof and protect your wood too, infact it is rainproof in just one hour after painting and the paint lasts up to 5 years.

The coverage was great, it only took two coats of the paint to cover the new wood raised bed which means that transforming something does not cost a fortune just the price of a few cans of paint and a bit of time. Set aside a sunny day and get going, this time of year is the perfect time to tackle jobs like this and give your garden a new lease of life.

I also wanted to upcyle an old chest of drawers to use as a clever planter, my garden was all about showcasing that you can grow your own vegetables and fruits on just about anything and the fact that this paint makes things weather proof opened up so many possibilities of things I could upcycle to use. I even found an old table from a local hair dressing salon that had a broken top and popped an old drawer on to the legs to make a raised bed and painted that with the blackbird Garden Paint too.

My advice this year for styling a great outdoor area is to be bold and reach for a can of the blackbird garden paint. I used lots of plants with a lime green feel to add a real contrast euphorbia, and hellibores are great for this and both are very easy to grow.

Lovely green of hellibores.

I hope this inspires you all to be brave and adventurous and reach for the black paint, it’s a classy timeless look that adds a touch of sophistication to your outdoor area. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for a summer like last year so we can enjoy a few Gin and Tonics in the wonderful spaces we all create.

Happy Painting everyone. Lynne x