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Simple hand-painted brushstroke trails in Resene Half Athens Grey against a background of Resene Half New Denim Blue, create an eye-catching feature mural that is echoed on the cabinet doors. Side wall in Resene Blackjack, floor stained in Resene Colorwood Whitewash, skirting in Resene Half Athens Grey, table in Resene High Tide and sideboard in Resene Cobalt with loop design on doors in Resene Blackjack. The vases are painted in Resene Half New Denim Blue, Resene Half Athens Grey, Resene High Tide and Resene Blackjack. Project by Kate Alexander, image by Bryce Carleton.
Subtle freeform lines add depth and visual interest to a pared back colour palette of layered neutrals. The painted squiggle lines match the lower wall in Resene Concrete. The upper wall is painted in Resene Half Concrete while the floor is Resene Quarter Concrete. The table is also painted in Resene Concrete. The round candleholder and the tabletop are Resene Triple Concrete with table legs in Resene Element to match the dark candleholders. The DIY artwork is Resene Half Sauvignon, Resene Triple Concrete and Resene Element. Project by Melle van Sambeek, image by Bryce Carleton.
Freehand brushstrokes in soft tones overlap to create texture and luxury. The wall is painted in Resene Bleach White with brushstroke texture in Resene FX Paint Effects medium mixed with Resene Cashmere, floor in Resene Dover White, skirting board in Resene Bleach White, headboard in Resene Caffeine, DIY stacked box table in Resene Tom Tom, large vase with handles in Resene Karry, seashell vase in Resene Cashmere and skinny fluted vase in Resene Dover White. Project by Kate Alexander, image by Bryce Carleton.
A combination of aches and straight lines give this room some Art Deco-influenced flair in a modern colour palette. The pale wall colour is Resene Soothe, while the arch and lines are in Resene Sebedee. The circle is Resene Merlot, and the vertical stripe on the far right is Resene Coral Tree. The blue curve is on the left Resene Streetwise, as is the large floor vase. The floor is Resene Sea Fog. The smaller plant pot is Resene Merlot, the large bottle on the floor is Resene Alabaster and the tiny tabletop vase is Resene Jaguar. The desk is Resene Kilimanjaro with a chair in Resene Silver Chalice. Project by Annick Larkin, image by Bryce Carleton
This simple, stencilled mandala design painted in Resene Thor against walls in Resene Wan White gives this room the fresh, uplifting finish of a day spa. The floor is Resene Colorwood Mid Greywash and the light fitting is Resene Quarter Wan White. Project by Annick Larkin, image by Bryce Carleton.
Smart use of shadow and gold highlights turn simple geometric shapes into a textured masterpiece. Resene Wallpaper Collection M348-04 is the star of this room teamed with a simple stained floor and a minimalist approach to furniture and colour. Finish timber flooring in Resene Colorwood Natural wood stain for a barely there timber look and team with painted trims in hues like Resene Half Tea and Resene White Pointer.
Home design ideas to help you brush up on your artistic side
While we’re all fond of blocks of bold colour, or swathes of sophisticated neutrals in our interiors, sometimes they might just need a little bit of extra artistic flair.
Adding unexpected swirls of pattern or colour, or even simple stripes and curves can be a really interesting way to personalise your spaces so they make you smile every time you enter the room. Painting can also be a mindful activity so the act of painting itself can be pleasurable.
If you’re confident in your vision for more artistic expression in your interiors, but less confident in your artistic ability, there are a lot of fun, easy-to-execute ways to add personal flourishes that won’t test your skills.
Freehand abstract
If you’re after an abstract look, there are no rules for how you choose to execute your design.
Going abstract means placing less emphasis on a strong subject and instead drawing attention to the colour you use, and the shape and form you create. Your paint can be splattered, applied in solid blocks or left to dribble down, while shapes and lines are simplified.
Often, these ideas are created through freehand brushwork for ultimate graphic intensity – which can make it both a fun and meditative project to carry out.
Opting for an imperfect finish, with a weathered look, visible brushstrokes or the odd bare patch helps emphasise the organic, hand-painted nature of your design.
Top tip: Experiment on a large stretch of plain newsprint to find a design you love that you can recreate on your walls with confidence. If you do find once you get the design on the wall it isn’t quite what you had in mind, just let it dry and then start again.
Simple hand-painted brushstroke trails in Resene Half Athens Grey against a background of Resene Half New Denim Blue, create an eye-catching feature mural that is echoed on the cabinet doors. Side wall in Resene Blackjack, floor stained in Resene Colorwood Whitewash, skirting in Resene Half Athens Grey, table in Resene High Tide and sideboard in Resene Cobalt with loop design on doors in Resene Blackjack. The vases are painted in Resene Half New Denim Blue, Resene Half Athens Grey, Resene High Tide and Resene Blackjack. Chairs from Cintesi. Project by Kate Alexander, image by Bryce Carleton.
Quirky minimalism
At first thought, it might seem as though there’s no room for artistic flair and flourishes in a minimalist environment. In fact, done right, they are exactly the touches that really emphasise your pared back design choices and bring them to life.
Try tonal layers to keep the aesthetic simple and let individual pieces of decor really shine and use curved, organic shapes to soften any harsh edges of a minimalist white interior. Try loosely intersecting vertical squiggles in shades like Resene Double Tea against a Resene Half Tea wall. The random, intersecting lines of your hand-drawn squiggles will create movement adding height and a sense of space.
For something more dramatic, add an organic shape as a headboard behind a bed, or to spotlight a showcase piece of furniture within your minimalist space. In a Resene Alabaster room, add a luxe piece of furniture like a velvet armchair in warm aqua against a small painted freeform backdrop in Resene Deep Teal.
Subtle freeform lines add depth and visual interest to a pared back colour palette of layered neutrals. The painted squiggle lines match the lower wall in Resene Concrete. The upper wall is painted in Resene Half Concrete while the floor is Resene Quarter Concrete. The table is also painted in Resene Concrete. The round candleholder and the tabletop are Resene Triple Concrete with table legs in Resene Element to match the dark candleholders. The DIY artwork is Resene Half Sauvignon, Resene Triple Concrete and Resene Element. Chair from David Shore, vase from H&M Home and other item's stylist's own. Project by Melle van Sambeek, image by Bryce Carleton.
Brushstroke textures
Feathered brushstrokes are really popular at the moment, particularly in rooms where you want to create a sense of softness and luxury, like bedrooms.
They can be achieved by adding bold strokes of paint in one shade over your background wall colour. Using Resene FX Paint Effects medium helps give your strokes that textured, slightly worn effect that will resemble luxury hand-painted wallpaper.
Experiment on a spare piece of GIB® plasterboard, paper or wood, using Resene testpots in different colour combinations to see what you like best and to practise your overlapping brushstrokes.
Try a sharp contrast with brushstrokes of dark Resene Nero against walls in the acidic green gold of Resene ASAP.
Go softer with walls in pink Resene Pale Rose with brushstrokes in dusky Resene Cosmic or go subtle and neutral with walls in Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta and brushstrokes in Resene Spanish White.
Try different types of brushstrokes to get the desired effect. Go random and sweeping, or try more considered shapes and patterns.
Freehand brushstrokes in soft tones overlap to create texture and luxury. The wall is painted in Resene Bleach White with brushstroke texture in Resene FX Paint Effects medium mixed with Resene Cashmere, floor in Resene Dover White, skirting board in Resene Bleach White, headboard in Resene Caffeine, DIY stacked box table in Resene Tom Tom, large vase with handles in Resene Karry, seashell vase in Resene Cashmere and skinny fluted vase in Resene Dover White. Rug from The Ivy House, bedlinens, quilt and throw from H&M Home. Project by Kate Alexander, image by Bryce Carleton.
Combination curves
Archways and curves are a very on-trend way to add some visual interest and flair to a room, and they’re surprisingly easy to create, using nothing more complicated than a piece of string, a pencil and a drawing pin.
To create an archway, mark where you want the high point of the curve to be on the wall. Then attach your pencil to one end of the string and pin the string at the point that measures the radius of your desired curve. Using the string like a compass draw your curve.
Once that’s done measure two straight lines down from the widest point of your curve and mask them with painter’s tape.
Top tip: Use a brush to cut in the edges of your arch, then fill in the space using a roller.
Use the same technique with the pencil and string to create full or semi-circle designs wherever you want them. Large circles can make for an interesting headboard, or use behind other key pieces of furniture. In your bathroom try a circular backdrop in a stormy ocean shade like Resene Wishing Well behind a bath and against off-white walls in Resene Parchment.
To give a simple shaped square or oblong room extra dimension, try painting your circle over three angles on the ceiling, and two perpendicular walls. Use the same pencil and string technique, with your centre-point pinned in the corner where the three walls meet.
A combination of aches and straight lines give this room some Art Deco-influenced flair in a modern colour palette. The pale wall colour is Resene Soothe, while the arch and lines are in Resene Sebedee. The circle is Resene Merlot, and the vertical stripe on the far right is Resene Coral Tree. The blue curve is on the left Resene Streetwise, as is the large floor vase. The floor is Resene Sea Fog. The smaller plant pot is Resene Merlot, the large bottle on the floor is Resene Alabaster and the tiny tabletop vase is Resene Jaguar. The desk is Resene Kilimanjaro with a chair in Resene Silver Chalice. Project by Annick Larkin, image by Bryce Carleton.
Stencilled security
Stencils are a hugely flexible and diverse way of adding pattern and artistic flair to virtually anything. You can make your own stencils, using a large piece of firm card from an old box, or buy ready-made stencils online.
For smaller, repeated, and more intricate designs try using disposable paper doilies or fold a piece of paper into a small square and then cut out freehand designs - just like you used to do in kindergarten! When you open it up, you’ll have a ready-made stencil.
Attach your stencil to the wall using low-tack painter’s tape, being careful about where you place it, so it’s not blocking the paint application.
Try using a sponge to paint in the stencilled shape, rather than the brush to avoid applying too much paint at once, which could lead to drips and smudging.
Stencilling isn't just for walls either. Fake a tiled design by painting your floor, or other surface in one colour, then adding a repeat stencilled pattern over the top. Try a combination of blues such as Resene Wishing Well and Resene Time After Time for an exotic Middle Eastern feel, or try a crisp, symmetrical pattern in Resene Black against Resene Black White for a modern monochrome finish.
This simple, stencilled mandala design painted in Resene Thor against walls in Resene Wan White gives this room the fresh, uplifting finish of a day spa. The floor is Resene Colorwood Mid Greywash and the light fitting is Resene Quarter Wan White. Bouclé armchair and side table from The Cane Collective and cushion from Città. Project by Annick Larkin, image by Bryce Carleton.
Showstopper wallpapers
A daring and dramatic wallpaper design can be just the way to add maximum personality and artistic flair to a space, for minimum effort.
Choose your wallpaper design based on colour so you can experiment with complementary Resene paint colours in other parts of the room, or choose it based on a dramatic design and keep everything else in the space simple and more neutral.
If you want a formal room that harks back to a different era, try large patterns in dramatic colours. For a prettier, more cottagecore look try smaller, regularly spaced motifs. Vertical stripes emphasise height, while horizontal stripes will emphasise width. Multi-dimensional designs like plaids and checks are great for giving stretches of plain wall depth and interest.
For full maximalist artistic flair, look at mixing florals with stripes or other geometric designs - remember to co-ordinate the colour to keep the look cohesive.
Smart use of shadow and gold highlights turn simple geometric shapes into a textured masterpiece. Resene Wallpaper Collection M348-04 is the star of this room teamed with a simple stained floor and a minimalist approach to furniture and colour. Finish timber flooring in Resene Colorwood Natural wood stain for a barely there timber look and team with painted trims in hues like Resene Half Tea and Resene White Pointer.
Published: 15 Sep 2022
Do you have a home full of wonderful Resene paint and colour? Send us some snaps by emailing [email protected].
Resene Half Athens Grey
Resene Half Athens Grey
Resene Half New Denim Blue
Resene Half New Denim Blue
Resene Half Concrete
Resene Half Concrete
Resene Quarter Concrete
Resene Quarter Concrete
Resene Triple Concrete
Resene Triple Concrete
Resene Silver Chalice
Resene Silver Chalice
Resene Quarter Wan White
Resene Quarter Wan White
the look
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colour to use or need colour
advice, try out the Resene
Ask a Colour Expert service.
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Resene Half Athens Grey
Resene Half Athens Grey
Resene Half New Denim Blue
Resene Half New Denim Blue
Resene Half Concrete
Resene Half Concrete
Resene Quarter Concrete
Resene Quarter Concrete
Resene Triple Concrete
Resene Triple Concrete
Resene Silver Chalice
Resene Silver Chalice
Resene Quarter Wan White
Resene Quarter Wan White
the look
If you're stuck on what
colour to use or need colour
advice, try out the Resene
Ask a Colour Expert service.
