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The exterior of the barn-style addition to Danielle’s family home is in a beautiful soft palette, designed to sit in harmony with nature. Danielle chose the palette to reflect the colours of the Turkish travertine flooring in the entrance of her home. Exterior walls painted in Resene Ash with window trims in Resene Double Masala, frames in Resene Triple Friar Greystone and roof in Resene Ironsand.
Walls painted in Resene Ash with window trims in Resene Double Masala, frames in Resene Triple Friar Greystone and roof in Resene Ironsand.
The exterior walls of the cottage are painted in Resene Double Rice Cake with shutters in Resene Double Ash.
The rich shade of the barn doors pairs beautifully with the Resene Rice Cake walls and ceiling and double strength Resene Mangrove cabinetry. If your timber doors are looking a little washed out, you can rejuvenate their colour with Resene Colorwood wood stain, or add Resene Colour Enhance to Resene Aquaclear.
Soft white neutrals of Resene Rice Cake create a peaceful haven in Danielle’s lounge, with natural linens complementing the soft white tones.
Danielle with daughters Isabella and Allegra in their beautiful country kitchen. Double strength Resene Mangrove is painted on the cabinets and joinery, with an Arabescato marble splashback and kitchen island from SC.E The island’s base and legs are also in double strength Resene Mangrove. Ceiling and trims are in Resene Rice Cake.
The rich shade of double strength Resene Mangrove painted on the cabinets and joinery works beautifully with the Arabescato marble splashback and kitchen island from SCE. The ceiling in Resene Rice Cake lightens the space.
A rural masterpiece
This interior designer with a love of animals and a master’s in art curated a beautiful palette of Resene whites and neutrals to turn a rambling rural property into a sophisticated home.
Almost a decade ago, with a young family and a dream of living in the country, interior designer Danielle Francis drove up the beautiful tree-lined driveway of her soon-to-be home in Auckland’s Karaka.
At nearly nine hectares, the scale of the enchanting property – with its rolling pastures and park-like feel – was huge. Danielle knew that to realise her long-held vision of a beautiful home surrounded by children, horses and dogs, she would need to balance caring for her family with project-managing a large-scale renovation and re-build.
The exterior of the barn-style addition to Danielle’s family home is in a beautiful soft palette, designed to sit in harmony with nature. Danielle chose the palette to reflect the colours of the Turkish travertine flooring in the entrance of her home. Exterior walls painted in Resene Ash with window trims in Resene Double Masala, frames in Resene Triple Friar Greystone and roof in Resene Ironsand.
As an interior designer, Danielle creates homes that are not just about beautiful aesthetics. She believes spaces must tell a story that reflects clients’ lives and, importantly, meets their practical needs. The same ethos was at the heart of the designs for her own home.
When she took on the project in Karaka, she knew it would be a labour of love. The grounds captivated her, and she wanted a home to reflect their beauty and sit cohesively in the landscape. The first step was overhauling the rundown cottage, the property’s original living quarters.
Walls painted in Resene Ash with window trims in Resene Double Masala, frames in Resene Triple Friar Greystone and roof in Resene Ironsand.
The exterior walls of the cottage are painted in Resene Double Rice Cake with shutters in Resene Double Ash.
“The property had this quite lovely little cottage, but it was not substantive enough to suit the needs of our growing family. I wanted to create an extension that looked like it had always been there. I worked with local architect Bruce McKenzie to design a barn to house a master wing, walk-in wardrobes, study, laundry and internal garaging. We needed to create a new entrance and a new driveway. I was drawn to those classic American barns in Virginia, and we used several features to recreate that aesthetic.”
Starting from the ground up, Danielle chose a Turkish travertine floor for the new extension and entrance. The flooring has a wonderful grey and deep licoricey marbly grain, offering three shades to help her create the palette for the exterior paint colours. She selected beautiful, muted tones of Resene Ash for the barn’s exterior walls, with window trims in Resene Double Masala and Resene Triple Friar Greystone and the roof in Resene Ironsand. The cottage exterior is painted in Resene Double Rice Cake with shutters in Resene Double Ash.
“The build had to be very practical, and I chose materials that could handle a plethora of muddy feet and children. My children come in soaked through after riding and washing horses or playing outside in the fields.”
The rich shade of the barn doors pairs beautifully with the Resene Rice Cake walls and ceiling and double strength Resene Mangrove cabinetry. If your timber doors are looking a little washed out, you can rejuvenate their colour with Resene Colorwood wood stain, or add Resene Colour Enhance to Resene Aquaclear.
When choosing paints for the home’s interior, Danielle embraced more of the beautiful colours in Resene’s Whites & Neutrals range, building her palette from a base of Resene Half Ash on the main bedroom’s walls, with trims and ceiling in Resene Rice Cake. She favoured Resene’s SpaceCote Low Sheen finish because it allowed the relaxed tones to reflect beautifully while being easy to clean.
Soft neutrals were also chosen for the lounge and bedrooms, with Danielle building on the same palette to complement her furniture and paintings. Her use of crisp linens and natural fabrics in pared-backs colours allows the family’s stunning artwork and sculptures to shine.
Soft white neutrals of Resene Rice Cake create a peaceful haven in Danielle’s lounge, with natural linens complementing the soft white tones.
Wooden battens and walls painted in Resene Ash add elegance even to this practical space.
The large country kitchen is timeless and elegant. Danielle chose rich double strength Resene Mangrove on the cabinets and joinery, teamed with an Arabescato marble splashback and kitchen island from SCE with a base and legs in double strength Resene Mangrove. The crisp white ceiling is painted in the practical finish of Resene SpaceCote in Resene Rice Cake for easy wiping.
Danielle with daughters Isabella and Allegra in their beautiful country kitchen. Double strength Resene Mangrove is painted on the cabinets and joinery, with an Arabescato marble splashback and kitchen island from SC.E The island’s base and legs are also in double strength Resene Mangrove. Ceiling and trims are in Resene Rice Cake.
The rich shade of double strength Resene Mangrove painted on the cabinets and joinery works beautifully with the Arabescato marble splashback and kitchen island from SCE. The ceiling in Resene Rice Cake lightens the space.
The stunning home – taking two and half years to complete, thanks to the pandemic – is now a wonderful retreat from the hustle and bustle of Danielle’s busy design business. Founded in 2019, Danielle Francis Ltd has attracted a group of clients its owner loves working with.
But interior design isn’t her only talent. She has a background in art, studying contemporary art in Australia, followed by a master’s degree. She landed jobs with auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s and did a stint at London’s Serpentine Gallery. “It was a real education in art and style. It exposed me to the very sophisticated world of interiors, and I met some incredible collectors and designers – in London, especially.”
She loves extending her clients’ ideas and challenging their perceptions to create a cohesive aesthetic direction that properly reflects them. “Once we have agreed on an overall palette and the tone of the interior, I begin to work with specific colours on-site and begin collecting interior pieces and curating or renovating existing furnishings. Ultimately, I am looking to merge their lifestyle and history into a deeply personal expression of themselves.”
Danielle is embracing the shift from minimalist monochromatic exteriors to more subtle earthly shades as her business grows. “These days, interiors are getting more nuanced. We’re seeing braver use of richly coloured stone and textural wallcoverings. So many of us work in sterile corporate environments. It’s wonderful when your home can offer a rich and warm contrast to relax in.”
Though Danielle now enjoys working with her clients to create their personal stories, she loved working on her own family home, with unlimited time allowing the process to evolve more intuitively. “It keeps changing, and it’s my place to experiment and develop my visual vernacular. The house is continually changing with us.”
Published: 10 Jan 2024
Do you have a home full of wonderful Resene paint and colour? Send us some snaps by emailing [email protected].
Resene Double Masala
Resene Double Masala
Resene Double Rice Cake
Resene Double Rice Cake
the look
If you're stuck on what
colour to use or need colour
advice, try out the Resene
Ask a Colour Expert service.
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Resene Double Masala
Resene Double Masala
Resene Double Rice Cake
Resene Double Rice Cake
the look
If you're stuck on what
colour to use or need colour
advice, try out the Resene
Ask a Colour Expert service.
