Bold and beautiful colour awards announced

The winners of this year’s Resene Total Colour Award were announced at a gala evening last night, with some unexpectedly bold projects taking top honours.

From a full-on pink dining room, a bold character bathroom, a hidden bright blue exterior and a bespoke mural, many of the winners of this year’s awards used colour in very unexpected ways. Here’s a look at the residential winners from the awards, as well as the project that scooped the supreme prize.

A special Colourful Room category was awarded this year and was won by Charlotte Coote of Coote & Co, Australia, for a dining room painted entirely in hot pink Resene Glamour Puss. The dining room has a sense of modern meets Victorian. The rich colour and varying sheen levels creates a rich atmosphere. The judges commented: “With a standalone room you can dare to go bold. No holds barred, it is whimsical, fun, beautiful and brave. The walls feel like they are singing in the background.” 

The maestro (runner up) in this category went to Debra Delorenzo of One Ranfurly Ltd, for the bathroom of a character home. Inspiration for the hot pink, yellow and orange scheme, which used Resene Golden Glow (upper walls), Resene Pizza (cornice), Resene Sassy (ceiling) came from the room’s stained glass window. “This room has been carefully dressed in colour with multi-coloured paint hues changing the sense of space. The floor is anchored in colour and delightfully reflected in the colours overhead. Unexpected and uplifting,” said the judges. 

Both the Residential Interior category and the Residential Exterior award were won by Gerald Parsonson and Zac Vermuelen of Parsonson Architects for a Te Horo bach that used a variety of Resene colours both inside and out.

Subtle and softly retro, the weathered beachy tones of the exterior gently settle this home into its environment. Yet this home is more colourful than first meets the eye. Working within covenants, the colour use is inspiring, where many people would settle for neutrals, said the judges.

The colours used are Resene Canvas and Resene Half Delta on the fibre cement cladding with Resene Ecru White, Resene Tussock and Resene Boulevard on the battens.

Inside the bach, the combination of materials and colourways brings with it an instant fun holiday vibe with a sense of relaxation and escape. Said the judges: “This bach feels at home with nature on the inside, as it does on the outside. The perfect antidote to city life.”

The kitchen pictured features Resene Crisp Green, Resene Cararra, Resene Boulevard and Resene Half Delta.

Gerald Parsonson was also given the Lifetime Award for a history of using colour to great effect in his work. The citation for this award commented that “looking through the work of Gerald Parsonson, there is a rhythm of colours that runs through his projects – sometimes it is brighter and bolder, sometimes it meanders softly.  Each project has its own colour rhythm; no two are alike. Each palette is carefully curated for each owner, their lifestyle and the way they want to use their space. It’s a reminder for all of us that colour can reflect who we are and how we want to live our lives and that we should never be afraid to choose to live with the colours we love.”

Residential Interior maestro (runner up) award went to Sonia van der Haar of Lymesmith, Australia, for a house that used bold colour as well as featuring an abstract mural that bought many of the colours together.

The kitchen wall is painted in Resene Countdown while the mural features Resene

Unwind, Resene Mustang, Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta, Resene Triple Tea and Resene Prussian Blue, as well as a custom pink and green.

The judges commented that the home was “adventurous and fun, deliberately playing with colour to celebrate the owners’ individuality. Dual colour palettes are interwoven and respond to artwork, furniture and each other in unexpected ways. Colour rules were made to be broken. This home wholeheartedly embraces a fearless love of colour.”

The Residential Exterior maestro (runner up) award went to Annabel Cropper of Nott Architects, for a totally unexpected use of bright Resene Picton blue for part of the exterior of a house which is mostly painted in Resene Scoria.

The rural leanings of the streetscape acts as the gatekeeper to the colour within so that the bold blue is only enjoyed by those who make it past the front door. “Adventurous, bold, fun and completely unexpected. This is a totally unconventional and courageous colour combination to come home to, perfect for a family that isn’t afraid to go bold,” said the judges.

Top award

The overall winner and the recipient of the Nightingale Award as well as the Education – Primary award is RTA Studio for Freeman’s Bay School in Auckland.

Using 16 different Resene colours, the judges commented that “embracing the site, the design, the community and its colour palette, this project demonstrates a commanding mastery of colour. Strong like a meeting house, the colour is both anchoring and welcoming and used with such care.  Appealing to young and old, the palette brings this school into the central heart of the community.”

Other winners

Winner of non-residential categories were:

Commercial Exterior winner was Bella Szczepanski for the Hotel Ravesis in Bondi Beach, Sydney. The runner up was Alan Cowe of the Design Team for The Club Grandstand, Riccarton Park in Christchurch.

Commercial Interior Office winner was Louise Evans of Lemon Creative for Cahoots in Invercargill. The runner up was David Plaistowe of Stack Interiors for AA Insurance, Auckland.

Commercial Interior Public winner was Sue Dorrington of Human Dynamo Workshop for the Moore Wilson’s Porirua Bottle Warehouse. The runner up was Annabel Berry of Design Federation for the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony.

Education - Early Childhood went to Emma Morris, Katrina Keshaw and Xuan McArthur Nguyen of Emma Morris Architecture for the Little Wings Early Childhood Education Centre in Ellerslie, Auckland.

Education – Tertiary went to Emma Alcock of McKenzie Higham Architects for Wellington Girls’ College.

Installation was awarded to Cynthia Yuan, Kevin Ding Kun, Kim Huynh and Norman Wei for Jonah / Brick Bay Folly 2018.

Landscape was won by Sophie Jacques of Isthmus Group for the Kea Enclosure at Wellington Zoo. The runner up was Dave Little of Auckland Council for the Sandringham Reserve Community Led Design, in partnership with Katy Wallace and SPiCE.  

Neutrals was won by Charlotte Minty and Amelia Minty of Charlotte Minty Interior Design for Herd Street Office, Wellington.

Rising star was won by Elise Cautley of Victoria University. The runner up was Qun Zhang of the University of Melbourne.

View all the Resene Total Colour Award winners online at www.resene.com/awardwinners.

Published: 30 Aug 2018

Do you have a home full of wonderful Resene paint and colour? Send us some snaps by emailing [email protected].

resene colour awards, pink dining room, paint, painting, home design, interior design

A special Colourful Room category was won by Charlotte Coote of Coote & Co, Australia, for a dining room painted entirely in hot pink Resene Glamour Puss.

bathroom, paint, painting, home design, interior design, bathroom designs, resene sassy

The Colour Maestro in the Colourful Room category was Debra Delorenzo of One Ranfurly Ltd, for this character bathroom where the colours of Resene Golden Glow (upper walls), Resene Pizza (cornice), Resene Sassy (ceiling) were inspired by the stained glass window.

bach, paint, painting, home design, interior design, holiday home, resene cararra

The Residential Interior winner was Gerald Parsonson and Zac Vermuelen of Parsonson Architects for a Te Horo bach that used Resene Crisp Green, Resene Cararra, Resene Boulevard and Resene Half Delta for this kitchen. 

bach, paint, painting, home design, interior design, holiday home, resene ecru white, exterior

The Residential Exterior award was also won by Parsonson Architects for the Te Horo bach. A subtle tonal scheme features Resene Canvas and Resene Half Delta on the fibre cement cladding with Resene Ecru White, Resene Tussock and Resene Boulevard on the battens.

resene colour awards, living room, paint, painting, home design, interior design, australian design

The Residential Interior Colour Maestro was Sonia van der Haar of Lymesmith, Australia, for a house that used bold colour including a kitchen wall is painted in Resene Countdown.

resene colour awards, exterior, paint, painting, home design, interior design

The Residential Exterior Colour Maestro was Annabel Cropper of Nott Architects, for an unexpected use of bright Resene Picton Blue for part of the exterior of a house which was otherwise painted in Resene Scoria.

resene colour awards, exterior, paint, painting, home design, interior design

The overall winner and the recipient of the Nightingale Award as well as the Education – Primary award is RTA Studio for Freeman’s Bay School in Auckland, which used a variety of Resene colours.

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Resene Crisp Green

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Resene Picton Blue

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Resene Golden Glow

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Resene Glamour Puss

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