Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club was the last place I thought I’d find my new Farrow & Ball paint colour crush. However, after previewing the film ahead of its launch, I guarantee that this lesser-known Farrow & Ball paint colour is going to take off in a big way.
The new film drops on Netflix on 28th August with a stellar cast including Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley. It’s based on the books by Richard Osman, and follows a group of OAPs solving crimes at their retirement home, Cooper’s Chase. However, this is not just any old retirement home.
Set at Englefield House in Berkshire, it is jaw-droppingly beautiful, and all of the characters’ apartments are filled with surprisingly stylish design details. This was all intentional, James Merifield, the film’s production designer, told me when I spoke to him. ‘We wanted this place to feel aspirational.’
However, there is one set in particular that even James admits he’d love to live in, and that is the apartment of the main character, Elizabeth, played by Helen Mirren.
Elizabeth is the unofficial leader of the crime-solving crew, and it’s her living room that features the blue paint shade I spotted instantly in the trailer for the new film. When I spoke to James, he revealed that the colour was based on Farrow & Ball’s ‘Inchyra Blue’.
You’ll likely have heard of the famous ‘Hague Blue’, but ‘Inchyra Blue’ is one of Farrow & Ball’s lesser-known colours, which makes it all the more appealing. It is a pungent blue with a dark grey undertone inspired by the Scottish skies. It’s an unusual and sophisticated take on the navy colour trend.
‘It had to feel very elegant, very regal, very sophisticated, but also well-travelled,’ says James of the look he was going for in the character’s apartment. ‘It by no means should ever feel fuddy or fusty.’ The rich blue is a key part of achieving this modern, but timeless aesthetic.
Colour drenching the walls, bookcases and fireplace in this shade, and coordinating the sofa is a smart design trick that works both on screen and in a real home to make a room look effortlessly stylish and expensive.
‘Darker colours can imbue a magical quality in your living room, especially in the evening,’ says Patrick O’Donnell, Brand Ambassador at Farrow & Ball. ‘Maximising a cosy quality, they can cocoon you in their richness. Something such as the complex blue/green notes of Inchyra Blue in Dead Flat would look super elegant in a living room paired with woodwork in a shade such as Old White in Estate Eggshell. Add a note of spice with a sofa in burnt orange wool or velvet.’
In the film, this blue paint colour is the perfect backdrop that ties together the antique wooden furniture and terracotta reds in Elizabeth’s apartment. Eagle-eyed fans will even spot a few other design-favourite brands adorning her flat, including candlesticks which look very similar to Nkuku and lighting from Pooky.
Get the look
nkuku
Thoko Reclaimed Round Candlestick
Similar versions of these candle holders can be seen perched on the mantlepiece.
Pooky
Single chukka wall fitting
Throughout the film you will spot Pooky lamps dotted all over Elizabeth’s living room, kitchen and bedroom.
Farrow & Ball
Inchyra Blue
This slate blue is the perfect alternative to a traditional navy blue for a sophisticated living room.
Inchyra Blue might be the film’s surprise breakout star, but the whole film is packed with other beautiful interiors, from the jigsaw room interpreted as a stunning orangery to the Laura Ashley-inspired apartment of Celia Imrie’s character Joyce.
Let us know which character’s room you’re most looking forward to seeing in the new film in the comments below.
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