I CO-FOUNDED A PAINT BRAND. HERE’S WHY I PAINTED MY HOME ALMOST ENTIRELY WHITE
As the co-founder and chief executive of Lick, a paint brand that offers some 100 colours spanning bright reds, yellows, blues, greens and pinks, Lucas London and his wife, Rachel London, the brand’s chief marketing officer, might have been expected to delve deep into the colour wheel when working on their own home. But at their four-bedroom house in Wandsworth, south-west London, the vision is more 50 shades of white than anything else.
“We live very busy lives, so we wanted to create a home that felt simple and calm,” says Lucas. “That was our starting point.” With a two-year-old son and a new baby imminent, the family decamped from nearby Clapham – where neighbours’ weekend parties didn’t quite fit the young-family mood – to a quiet road better suited to their need for peace. “We fell in love with the garden, which gave us a piece of countryside,” he says.
Another plus was that there was little to do in the way of structural work: side, rear and loft extensions had all been completed by the previous owner. “It just required a new interior look and feel, which appealed to us as we didn’t have the time or money to take on a big project.”
It took six months to transform the “neutral but quite dated” interior into the bright, warm and welcoming family home it is today. “We wanted somewhere we could relax, that was stylish and good for entertaining, but also somewhere our kids feel like they can make a mess – where there’s a space for them,” says Lucas. “It had to play a number of different roles in our lives while still feeling cohesive and pulled together.”
Drawing upon the natural palette and simplicity of Scandinavian interior design, the couple brought a palette of neutral white paint colours to life with the help of natural textures such as wood, marble, bouclé and velvet, and the odd carefully chosen pop of colour. The result is an enveloping space that feels cosy and inviting.
Finding the right whites
Depending on where you fall on the minimalist-maximalist scale, the prospect of a home almost solely swathed in shades of white and off-white will either please or alarm you. Whatever your colour inclination, most would agree that finding the right white – or neutral, for that matter – is harder than it looks. “It’s much easier to choose from colour,” agrees Lucas, “but I love how you can use different shades of white, then accent them with materials, fixtures and fittings and cushions.”
With a love of white born from his childhood home, and the fact that he heads up a company that offers seven different white paints in its range, he innately understands the versatility of the shade. “Our whole house isn’t just painted in white; I’d say that every room is painted in a very different neutral, each with a different purpose,” he says. “You can achieve lots of different things with different types of whites and creams.”
The line between a comforting white and a stark, sterile shade lies in the undertones. “We avoided any pure, brilliant whites,” he notes.
Since their house is east-facing, they painted the rooms at the front – the living room and the main bedroom – in a white with a pink undertone. “We spend most of our time there in the evenings when the sun is setting on the other side of the house, which makes it feel cosy and warm,” Lucas says.
Conversely, they painted the kitchen at the back in a white with a grey undertone, which feels light and crisp during the day and is warmed up later on by the evening sun.
“We looked at each room, considered its purpose, assessed what kind of light it was getting and then chose the shade,” he says. “And then there was obviously some trial and error.” For example, in the hallway, the pair originally opted for a light pink for entryway impact, but quickly decided that it was too dark. Now it’s painted in White 01, the brightest white the brand has on offer.
The living areas
With its tall ceilings, handsome coving and large windows, the living room could easily have felt cold and uninviting – but it’s quite the opposite. Colour-drenched in the pinkish Lick White 06, it feels luxurious yet homely: a peaceful space to unwind after a long day. Here, as in every other room, the walls, woodwork, ceiling and window frames are painted in the same colour and flat matte finish, “because it makes the room feel bigger”, says Lucas. “Then we used eggshell on the doors and bannisters, as we liked the subtle contrast of sheen against the matte finish.”
Grounded by a jute rug, the room is punctuated by an array of textures, including velvet lounge chairs from Six The Residence and a cream bouclé sofa by Loaf. Red scatter cushions and a blue abstract painting by Alexei Berwitz bring accents of colour.
The same paint has been used in the adjoining playroom, so how does he feel about combining white walls with young, pen-wielding hands? “I wish I was the kind of person who didn’t mind, but when you spend a lot of time and effort doing a place up it’s hard to be that relaxed,” he laughs. Fortunately, the paint they used has a scrubbable finish, so marks and dirt can be washed off.
The kitchen
In the light-filled kitchen, the pair turned to White 01, the same shade they used in the hallway. Its cool, refreshing tone is expertly balanced by the natural materials used in the room: Scandi-style warm wood cabinetry by Sola, pale oak herringbone floors from Floor Street, and purple-veined “Calacatta Viola” marble.
“The marble and wood bring so much texture and colour, so the idea was to let the walls do less and allow these key focal points to do all the talking,” explains Lucas. “The large glass windows help to bring the outside in.”
The furniture here includes a Marlot Baus oval cement dining table and Marcel Breuer-inspired cantilever chairs from Six The Residence.
The main bedroom and bathroom
Creamy vanilla walls, again in Lick’s White 06, and cabinetry painted in Beige 10 make for a serene and considered bedroom. With the aim of achieving a hotel vibe, the couple knocked through the wall and doorway into the original en suite to create one larger, more generous space. Thoughtfully deployed pockets of colour bring the room to life, among them a Loaf headboard in brown leather and khaki velvet, candy-striped bedside lamps from Pooky, and a pale oak dressing table with a velvet stool, also from Loaf.
The palette flows seamlessly into the bathroom, where the white free-standing tub is paired with a reeded wood vanity unit by Lusso and limestone tiles from Mandarin Stone.
Children’s bathroom
The children’s bathroom is a fine example of how to harness colour while keeping walls neutral. “We wanted it to be fun, so we incorporated blue and cream checkerboard tiles, a terracotta sink and terrazzo flooring,” says Lucas. The walls are painted in White 02, allowing the tiling, sink and accessories to inject a playful, youthful energy into the space.
How to decorate well with white
Decide how you want the room to feel
When choosing a white, start by working out what kind of light the room receives and how you plan to use it, Lucas recommends. “Ask yourself whether you want it to feel calm and cosy, fresh and vibrant, or something else entirely. Then consider what materials and textures will be going into the room. Once you’ve answered those questions, you can identify which white best fits the brief.”
Test whites in different lights
“Not all whites are the same – there is enormous variation in undertone,” says Lucas, “so make sure you’ve tried and tested before you commit.” He recommends using peel-off samples such as Lick’s, or painting a piece of card in your chosen shade and sticking it on the wall, so that you can move it to different parts of the room as the light changes through the day.
Bring colour in elsewhere
White walls needn’t mean a colourless room. Painting the woodwork (for example skirting boards, window frames or cupboards) in a different shade will add contrast, as will stronger colours in furniture, accessories and artworks.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
Painting is one of the most accessible and impactful ways to transform a space, but it’s also one of the easiest to change if the colour isn’t quite right, says London. So don’t agonise too much over decisions.
Recommended
How to make your home feel bigger, without an extension
2026-05-15T16:16:04Z
