Edward Bulmer has been an interior designer for over 30 years and he is renowned for his work restoring some of the nation’s finest buildings and family homes. He is celebrated for his historical knowledge and practicality and also the creativity of his designs which always combine colour and tonality.
Unable to find exactly the right colours Edward started mixing his own from natural pigments and plant-based ingredients and a brand was born. Now thanks to Edward Bulmer Natural Paint we can all embrace colour with conscience.
I caught up with ‘the colourman’ recently for a round of quick fire questions on happiness, historic houses and his colourful past.
Edward Bulmer Natural Paint.
Court of Noke, Herefordshire.
Where is home and what does home mean to you? Court of Noke, Herefordshire and it means family. It has been a great place to raise children, it’s big enough to entertain in and yet remote enough to have been affordable. It is an ongoing creative project restoring it and trying out our colours.
What appears to you most about historic houses and what are the main challenges of running a one? They have such embedded narrative and mellow beauty. When a building is 300 years old, there is always something that needs maintaining or repairing and of course trying to keep it warm while reducing its carbon emissions is a challenge.
The power of a portrait…and the right colour!
How would you approach selecting colour to go with artworks? Get the tonality right! Artists used a dozen pigments basically and that’s what we do to mix our colours, using lots of earth pigment to ground them, as artists did.
Do portraits appeal to you, if so why? Indeed, but only those that stand up as works of art as well.
Thomas, 2nd Baron Mansel of Margam with his Blackwood Half-Brothers and Sister - Alan Ramsey.
Do you have a favourite period in art? It would have to be the C16th - C17th. Amongst my favourite artist are Ramsay for portraits, Dughet for landscapes, Robert for ruins, De Heem for still lives, Vermeer for interiors and Turner for atmosphere… oh and Schiele for nudes!
What was your earliest memory of appreciating beautiful art and objects? Visiting National Trust houses as a child.
The Cotswold cottage of James Mackie.
Edward Bulmer Natural Paint - Colour Aquatic.
Do you use your own home as a canvas for experimenting with colour? We sure do! We regularly redecorate and photograph it. Testing colours as a good backdrop to pictures is a crucial part of this.
What is your current favourite shade from the collection and why? Aquatic as it seems to support a wide range of art.
The Colourful Past: Edward Bulmer and the English Country House. Images by Paul Whitbread.Foreword by The Duchess of Richmond.
Landlocked in the pandemic, what were your escapes and diversions? I wrote a book!
What makes your natural paint different from other paints on the market? They are not mostly made from fossil fuels! Modern paints are mainly acrylic or plastic - we use plant derivatives.
What’s next for Edward Bulmer Natural Paint? A major campaign to rid house paints of climate change inducing plastic.
‘Portrait Towers’ - Walls and ceiling in Jonquil.
How do you relax? Not making plans ahead.
Where are you happiest? At home, with family, by the river or in a historic house.
Nick Cox / Period Portraits October 2022.
The Colourful Past: Edward Bulmer and the English Country House is available now.