Dropping By: a decorative masterclass with colour expert Patrick O'Donnell

Patrick O’Donnell is nervous in front of the camera. Which is mad, because – as his followers will know – he talks to camera all the time. Patrick started making videos for Farrow & Ball during lockdown and hasn’t stopped: “Even when it’s just me talking to myself in my study, I get nervous,” he admits.

Inigo has turned up at his home – armed with shortbread biscuits and a small camera crew – to find out how Patrick has turned the so-so suburban home he grew up in, into a series of layered, lived in rooms you want to spend hours in – preferably in his warm company.

Paddy, as he’s known to his friends and followers, lives in the Worcestershire village of Wythall with his partner Paul Bailie (the talent behind This Man’s Work), and his mother. Paddy and Paul moved from an apartment in an Irish castle back to Worcestershire to look after Paddy’s mother, who is out enjoying a coffee morning when we pile in. When they moved back, the interiors – which had formed the backdrop to Paddy’s childhood – were frozen in time. What to do?

Stripping back the 80s décor might lift them a little, but – as Paddy admits – this is an ordinary 1930s home of no architectural merit: there were no hidden features waiting to be revealed. Plus, there was Paddy’s mum to consider. This is, after all, her home and the couple wished to remain sensitive to that. After months of pondering the possibilities, Paddy had “an epiphany.” He would take a few rooms and – with thrift, creativity and a soupcon of mischief – he would make them his own.

Colour is what Paddy is best known for and, here at Inigo HQ, we could listen for hours to the way in which he brings the Farrow & Ball Colour Card to life with delicious descriptors. It follows that colour is where we begin. Before long, the early morning nerves have subsided and Paddy is in full flow, explaining how he has transformed a corner of their 80s kitchen into a cosy nook with the help of his vast collection of cookery books and a thorough dunking of ‘Biscuit’ – a rich neutral from the archive.

From here, we are led into the dining room which remains “a homage to 80s design” – albeit Paddy’s take on the decade. A subtle green leopard print wallpaper (Colefax & Fowler’s ‘Livingstone’, now discontinued) he has held on to “for about 30 years” provides the backdrop to his collection of “tat” – majolica plates, candelabras, a rococo mirror from Ireland and a pair of Ikea trays he has painted and mounted with intaglios. Any dinner party here would surely be as riotous as the walls.

Upstairs, we are given a glimpse of Paul’s “atelier”, where he hand-stitches exquisite textiles in the bay window of the guest bedroom with a black lab and the gentle buzz of Radio 4 for company. We find out how a few metres of blue linen and an idea nabbed from Gavin Houghton have perked up the window dressing, creating a sort of swagged stage for Paul’s meticulous craft.

Both Paddy and Paul are voracious readers and their books bring colour and texture to each room. Loathe to lose any display space, Paddy shows us how to affix paintings to your shelves, breaking up the run of spines and permitting you to stash your “cheesy titles – your Jackie Collins” behind the paintings.

Paddy’s own bedroom is a lesson in scale. A double height piece of period brown furniture breaks up the border of the room and sparks the idea for a cheeky trompe l’oeil on the back of the bedroom door. What better way to use up all those tester pots of paint?

Next up, is Paddy’s study, which he has recently redecorated. Gone are his much-loved ‘Minster Green’ walls – replaced with a small print wallpaper in ‘Renaissance Leaves’ with matching woodwork in ‘Stone Blue’. It’s a timeless scheme, redolent (in the best possible way) of a great aunt’s guest bedroom. A stately oil painting faces the desk – purchased at auction because it reminded Paddy of Paul.

This is also where Paddy keeps his “drawer of chaos” which we are permitted to delve into. Here are the components for his physical moodboards, which he encourages all interior enthusiasts to keep. Samples, trims, colour boards – the key ingredients and starting point for any scheme.

To the bathroom, where the small matter of steam has not deterred Paddy from continuing his signature layered look, papering the walls in an archive stripe, and completing the picture with a set of blinds printed with small monkeys making mischief.

As you’ll see, Paddy knows his stuff, but he doesn’t take it too seriously. The lesson is don’t be nervous, be generous with your biscuits – and always make space for the “meaningful crap” in your life.

Further reading

Farrow & Ball
Farrow & Ball on Instagram
Patrick O’Donnell on Instagram
Listen to the Farrow & Ball podcast, The Chromologist, here.