From Stage to Stately: Mylands Introduces Colour to the Country House Diaries' Georgian Hall

In the heart of the Cumbrian countryside, musical theatre star Ben Forster and developer Paul Longman of @thecountryhousediaries enlisted Mylands to infuse their 19th-century home with rich, characterful colour. The Georgian property had fallen into disrepair, empty for over ten years, before the couple bought and began renovating it in 2021.

Over the 18-month refurbishment they strove to keep all the house's original features, restoring them with traditional techniques where they were missing. The beautiful architecture is accentuated by Mylands' broad palette of richly pigmented colours, offset by vintage and contemporary pieces for a thoroughly modern country house.

Best known for a musical theatre career spanning more than 20 years, with roles including Jesus in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar, the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera and Buddy in Elf the Musical, Ben also has a passion for property and design, having successfully developed various properties before The Country House Diaries. Paul, meanwhile, has worked in property full-time since leaving finance in 2012, having previously developed property and designed freelance for friends and family. Their combined passion for property, heritage and design is evident throughout this skilful, passionate restoration. Ben's theatre background first introduced him to Mylands: on set one day, he recalls a painter describing Mylands, long the go-to paint for theatre, film and TV sets, as the best on the market, a statement that stuck with him and made Mylands the couple's top choice for the project.

The pair created a home true to the building's rich history, nodding to each era of its heritage in every room. Throughout is an eclectic mix of antiques and classically shaped furniture with a contemporary twist, upholstered in bold, textural fabrics that give each room distinct character, the schemes brought together harmoniously by the backdrop of Mylands' rich hues, which also accentuate the original architecture. Inspired by Mylands' collections, each shade was carefully chosen to create an energetic palette emphasising the property's personality, infusing it with a confident, welcoming atmosphere. From calmer neutrals like Egyptian Grey™ No.154 and Honest John™ No.58 to the warm mustard Haymarket™ No.47, the classic dark green Messel™ No.39 and the nuanced blue-grey Long Acre™ No.102, each colour brings the unexpected through every door.

The hallway welcomes you with embossed Lincrusta wallpaper, a wallcovering invented by Frederick Walton, painted in Mylands' calm, stone-white Honest John™ No.58 and accented with a contrasting dark olive-green Messel™ No.39 on the doors and woodwork. In the Olive and Barr kitchen, the cabinetry and a 4m prep-table island with a Carrara marble worktop wear the deep, classic Messel™ No.39 used in the hallway, while the walls and ceiling feature the off-white Holbein Chamber™ No.7, its hint of pink bringing a subtle glow.

The games room is enveloped floor to ceiling in the rich, dark blue Bond Street™ No.219, wrapping the space in a mesmerising almost-black, while the living room in the calming neutral Egyptian Grey™ No.154 forms a mellow backdrop for the vibrant yellow L-shaped sofa.

The drawing room underwent some of the home's biggest structural changes, as dry rot meant the loft could be seen from the ground floor, forcing Paul and Ben to remove some intact features and replace them with plaster cornicing and other bespoke details without compromising the room's original charm. Once complete, Long Acre™ No.102 colour-drenched the room for a restful, deep grey-blue backdrop with opulent gold FTT-001™ on the ceiling rose.

The home's six bedrooms are each uniquely designed with bold furnishings and colour; one wears London Plane™ No.200, a light olive green forming a restful backdrop, while the principal bedroom, painted floor to ceiling in Egerton Place™ No.297, feels opulent and luxurious. In contrast, a dramatic bedroom in dark green-blue Burlington Arcade™ No.216 is paired with rich umber and orange, with the deep red Arts Club™ No.281 on the bathtub.

The building's history also inspired the six en-suite bathrooms; one pays homage to the 1970s with retro tiles, while the principal en-suite features classic Minton Hollins handmade tiling, replicas of those in the Roker Lighthouse in Ben's hometown of Sunderland and throughout the London Underground. The neutral mushroom Egerton Place™ No.297 gives one bathroom a deep, earthy backdrop, the same shade on the principal bedroom walls contrasting subtly with the Egyptian Grey™ No.154 woodwork, while another is a pink dream with light-pink Kensington Rose™ No.22 walls and Threadneedle™ No.262 woodwork complementing the soft pink tiling.

Paul Longman said of the project: "We spent three years going through the buying process. Restoring a country estate like this had long been a fantasy of ours, so finally refurbishing it really was a dream come true. The house has an incredible history; it was built by a wealthy local family who made their fortune in the cloth and drapery trade in India, and it was really important to us that our restoration embraced the property's past and held on to its amazing energy."

Ben Forster added: "I grew up in Sunderland and often spent weekends and holidays in a village near this house. I'd ask to be lifted over the wall so I could peer in the windows and stare at it in wonderment. I left Sunderland at 16 to begin my career on stage, so it's a real dream come true to have bought this house and bring it back to life. Colour was always going to be key to each room, since paint really has the power to transform a space, but working with Mylands meant we thought about the backdrops more than ever. The Mylands collections draw on the brand's own rich history of paint and colour, which complemented our desire to honour the property's heritage, and it's been a top brand in theatre for so long that I'd always been aware of it through my work on stage. Mylands was our first choice from the beginning, and it was an honour to work with them."