Swedish Falu Rödfärg Red Paint in SW France!

When Sweden comes to mind, what do you think of? Yes, I know what you are going to say - ABBA or IKEA, but I would like to introduce you to FALU RÖDFÄRG, Sweden's beautiful natural red paint!

In the Swedish countryside, many of the wooden houses are painted in this glorious intense red that seems to 'glow' in the evening sunshine. The pigment to make the paint is found in the copper mine of Falun, Sweden, giving it a unique composition which includes iron ochre, silicon dioxide, copper and zinc which help to preserve and protect wood and gives the distinctive natural color of Falu Rödfärg paint.

I had a few outdoor projects here at our house in SW France that I thought were ideal for this paint. It is a natural water based paint and best on rough, unplanned timber, but it does work on smoother wood too. I decided to do two coats, the first being diluted about 10% and use a wide flat brush to apply the paint.


Painting the Court Yard Doors Red!

Glowing Swedish Red in SW France

Well, our new court yard is coming on a treat - the enclosed dry stone wall is finished and Martin even made some wooden doors to make a completely private little hot spot. So, after all his hard work (yes, he did build the wall himself - stone by agonizing stone!),  it was time to think of a color to compliment the stone and plants that surround the doors and also protect the wood from the elements. I'd wanted to try the Falu Rödfärg Red paint for some time and I thought the doors would be a good place to start.

This is how it comes, or you can buy the pigment and mix your own.

First Coat - diluted 10%

Finished and I even painted the sun chair!

A little glimpse of Martin's Dry Stone Wall

I did the two coats over a couple of days, but with smaller projects you could easily finish in a day, as the paint is dry after one hour, so plenty of time to apply the second coat.

If you want more information on Falu Rödfärg Swedish Red Paint - here is the main website where you will find where to buy the paint in your country and lots of other interesting facts about this gorgeous glowing red paint!

Deluxe Red Hand Painted Photo Frames Ready for Etsy

Well, just spent the afternoon photographing the Red Frames Hand-Made-By-Me. Why? You did that a few weeks ago! Well, since then, I have done a complete set of a deluxe Red Range of the hand painted frames that I am going to post in our Etsy Shop. These frames are all covered on the backs and struts with our textured black paper so they look just as good on the back as they do from the front, include glass and a neat paper insert, giving the frames a smart deluxe feel that makes them an ideal  gift for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries  or just a treat for yourself!

Here are a few of the photos that I will be posting on Etsy tomorrow:

Pages From My Sketch Book

Thought you might like to see a few pages of my color doodles which I use to work out new color ways for my frames, but they could be used for all sorts of projects, from a new painting to restoring an old piece of furniture that you have found in the local 'brocante' (garage sale, car boot etc.)

Orange

Deep Purple

Obtaining a Pale Pink

Sea Green

Red

Red Roses Color Palette

I always find it interesting to look in detail at the colors in nature. I have started here with drawing only four colors from my photo of Red Roses on a Stone Wall - what a mistake! I will make another color palette with how many colors? We will see.....

The Colors I Used For My Red Frames

For true feelings of depth and quality in any form of art from painting a masterpiece to a picture frame, it is essential to create layers of color. You may not see them all in the finished work - BUT - they are there and it does make the difference to the feel and quality of the piece.

Red Frames Hand Made By Me!

Well this is RED WEEK on 'Details in the Decor' and I have just spent the afternoon preparing a whole bunch of photos that I took earlier this week of the Red Frames that I painted a couple of weeks ago. I just had to put a few up here to give you a sneak peak! More later...

Red Roses in Our Garden SW France

Continuing on my RED THEME this week,  I took the camera into the courtyard to show you the old rambling red rose climbing up the stone wall.

Again, a lovely mix of Pink and Red on the same plant - a natural combination as well as artistic!

As well as the climbing roses here, I wanted to show you a little bit of our stone wall. I tell you - we have LOT'S of stone here. I'll give you a tour soon and show you when the courtyard is finished - which will be soon.

Just one more - lovely Red Roses for spring time in South West France!

Seeing Red!

 

Source: etsy.com via Denise on Pinterest

I seem to have been soaked in red in the workshop over the last few days, as I'm in the process of creating a new range of colored frames for Tabula Decoro, Etsy and Artfire. I'll be giving you sneak previews here over the next few days, but in the meantime, I thought we could get in the RED MOOD by having a look at a few of my favorite picks that I have collected on my  
                                                  
PINTEREST RED GALLERY BOARD.

Source: etsy.com via Denise on Pinterest

TOFFEE APPLES! Oh Yum, Apart from the glorious color RED, they look so sticky and shiny, but above all, they remind me of being about 10 years old. It was always such a treat to have a toffee apple at the seaside or the local Fair.

Source: etsy.com via Denise on Pinterest

I'm a bit of a sucker for the combination of RED and PINK, so when I saw this watercolor on Etsy, I just had to add it to my collection.

If you would like more details of the goodies illustrated, just click on the 'source link' below each picture.

To see all my Pinterest boards, click on 'Denise link' below each image, or click here and follow me!

Marry in Red

Why do brides always seem to choose white or cream to get married in. There are so many beutiful colors out there - BE BOLD & CONFIDENT I say! Here are a few ideas on using the color RED.