Creating Soulful, Whole-Home Color Palettes with Francesca Wezel

Aug 18

Francesca Wezel on the Slow Style Home podcast

This episode with Francesca Wezel is for all you design enthusiasts. Francesca is a colorist who creates stunning, one-of-a-kind colors. She shares the inspiration behind her colorful palettes, including her Himalayas palette, which was inspired by a trip to India. We also talk about her Houghton Hall and Poison into Medicine collections, which both have incredible backstories. We discuss the health benefits of using lime wash, which is the oldest form of paint known to man. Francesca explains that she never uses the words "right" or "wrong" when it comes to paint colors and that a paint color should be unique to who you are. A home should reflect your life experiences, your dreams, and what makes you feel happy.

Watch this entire episode on YouTube HERE

KEY TAKEAWAYS

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Francesca Wezel, the founder of Francesca's Paints, one of the first eco-friendly paint companies in the UK. She's a new friend, one of those people you immediately connect with. Francesca is well known for creating one-of-a-kind colors and gorgeous, whole-home color palettes.

The Oldest Form of Paint

Most of us have no idea how paint is made. So, I asked Francesca to walk us through the process, using one of her first and most famous colors, "Piggies Piggy Pink". The color was inspired by Mexican architect Luis Barragán, who was known for his shocking pinks, oranges, purples, and yellows. Francesca made her version as a lime wash, which is the oldest form of paint known to man.

She explained that lime wash is a natural, traditional paint made with lime and water. Once the base is made, pigments are added, along with a little linseed oil to act as a binder. The beautiful thing about lime wash is that the effect is created by the paint itself, not the person applying it. It dries like velvet with a mottled, textured finish. The color from lime wash is completely different than any other paint because it is so velvety. The lime wash finish has a depth and movement that acrylic paints lack.

Mineral Pigments and Regional Colors

Francesca explained that the pigments she uses can be organic or inorganic. Inorganic pigments are mineral-based and were used in the first cave paintings. She gave the example of raw umber and burnt sienna. Raw umber is the raw pigment, while burnt sienna is the same pigment after it has been cooked in an oven. The word "terracotta" even means "cooked earth" in Italian. The city of Siena is painted with burnt sienna, and the whole city is a beautiful, rich brown color.

In Italy, you can only paint the exterior of houses with the pigments from that specific region. Francesca, who is from Milan, said the regional pigment there is yellow ochre. This practice honors the history and culture of the place and shows respect for the land and style of the homes.

Health and Environmental Benefits

We also discussed the health and environmental benefits of using lime wash. Francesca explained that historically, paints contained harmful ingredients like lead and arsenic. Her paints have always been ecological because lime wash has no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The volatile compounds are released as the paint dries and are at their most dangerous. Since her lime wash is just made from lime and water, it has no VOCs.

Another benefit is that paints like lime wash and her Eco Emulsion have no plastic, so they allow the wall to breathe. This is important because if a wall can’t breathe, it doesn't allow the passage of moisture, and the paint will start to bubble. Lime wash is also antibacterial and anti-mold, making it great for places with a lot of condensation, like bathrooms or cellars.

Color with a Story

Francesca creates color palettes with stories behind them. She shared the inspiration for her Himalayas palette, which came from a yoga course she did in India. The pink in the palette, "Rudranah Temple," was inspired by a temple she saw while there. Other colors in the palette, like "Monkey Tail" and "Starless Night," were inspired by the monkeys she saw and the night sky. Francesca explained that the colors in this palette are a celebration of the nature and tastes of India.

She also told me about the Poison into Medicine palette, a Buddhist term meaning that something positive can come from something negative. The collection was a collaboration with an artist named Dillwyn Smith, who used art to cope with personal traumas. They found themselves in front of the same painting at the National Gallery—The Nativity by Piero de la Francesca. This painting served as the inspiration for the palette, and all the colors have names related to it, like "Piero's Purple" and "Adoration Rose".

Slow Style and Slower Decor

I love how Francesca’s work embodies the slow style philosophy. When she does a color consultation, she first asks what the client wants to achieve and how they want to use colors, but she also tells them to respect the property itself and "read the property and see what the property tells you". She doesn’t believe in "design rules" like the designer who told her never to use orange. Instead, she believes that a home's paint color should be unique to the people who live in it.

We looked at some of the homes she's worked on, including one client who took seven years to paint his home. She loved this because he was truly practicing "slow decor", studying the light and the feel of the home before choosing the colors. His goal was to achieve the purest, most natural look possible. Francesca also described a project in Hollingbourne where the client only wanted to use lime wash. The resulting walls had a fantastic texture created by the paint itself, not the person applying it.

Francesca's passion for her craft is contagious, and her respect for both the history of paint and the individuality of her clients is inspiring. She’s not just selling paint; she’s helping people create a home that tells their unique story. By choosing colors that are deeply personal and meaningful, we can create spaces that are not only beautiful but also comforting and truly ours.

Until Next Time

-Zandra