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Yellow walls in Resene Thumbs Up with a textured white tile splashback turns a typical kitchen colour palette inside out paired with dramatic cabinetry in Resene Possessed.
Stormy Resene Trojan on the dining room walls contrasts perfectly, not just with the wooden décor but also the vibrant, sunny Resene Thumbs Up in the connecting kitchen, framed by the trim and ceiling in Resene Quarter Bianca.
Ann was adamant she wanted colour to be a feature of the home but sought advice on using it well, including the choice of Resene Rock Spray on the front door which opens to the hallway in Resene Unwind.
Slate blue Resene Streetwise adds a cool contrast to the living room, while emphasising the connection to the outdoors.
Ann’s love of blues is represented in the soothing tones of Resene Unwind in the family bathroom.
This musical space is kept fresh and neutral with walls in Resene Triple Blanc and a crisp Resene Quarter Bianca window frame.
The property’s Resene Double Malta exterior makes it stand out from a traditional neutral colour palette while remaining classic and elegant.
Hello sunshine: A bold remodel of a Wellington deco-styled home
Here’s a challenge: Stop smiling as you walk up to Ann and Matt’s home. The exterior is painted in elegant Resene Double Malta, teamed with a front door in Resene Rock Spray, a fiery orange ensuring a bright and cheery entrance to this Ngaio deco-style home. “I wanted people to smile and go, ‘Oh!’” says Ann, sitting in a favourite spot in her Resene Streetwise living room. “I wanted to give visitors a clue they are about to enter a colourful world.”
Creating that colourful world was challenging, so Ann invited interior designer Katie Peck from Kurio to lend an eye. “I knew what colours I liked but didn’t know how to put them together. Katie set up a Pinterest page, and we started pinning colours. I was pinning a lot of navy and lighter blue tones, and golds and mustard. I do like yellow – it makes me happy.”
Ann’s colour choices for her and Matt’s former home were “a lot less daring”, with Resene Haystack a favoured neutral, but she wanted the colours in this one, which the couple bought over a decade ago, to be “a lot more adventurous”. Despite her love of paint, the home’s timber features were never going to see a paintbrush. “I love the look and warmth of the wood and how it glows against the colour.”
Katie readily accepted Ann’s invitation. “I love that she was so brave. People can find it hard to be different without solid direction from someone like a designer. It’s hard to be sure they’re making the right decisions. But if an interior designer says, ‘That’s great, let’s do it,’ they feel more confident.”
Client and designer had plenty of wall space upon which to enjoy their adventure as Ann and Matt – with Katie’s help as their interior designer – reconfigured most of the house. They opened the kitchen into the living room, installed sliding doors, closed off openings, shifted a hallway and added a walk-in wardrobe to Ann and Matt’s bedroom, along with a small but perfectly formed ensuite bathroom. The wall in the upstairs hallway was moved and is now curved, elegantly embracing the ensuite inside the curve.
Ann and Katie (with a veto vote from Matt, who had to be convinced about the yellow) have created a colourful family home that’s happy and playful, making inventive pairings within Resene’s vast colour palette. It caught the attention of the judges at the Resene Total Colour Awards, winning the Resene Total Colour Maestro – Residential Interior Award.
Ann is reluctant to pick a favourite colour – or room. As a mother of three (Sarah, 18, James, 15, and Olivia, 12), it’s possibly impossible to single out a most beloved. But – if you were to press her – maybe the kitchen, with its mustardy sunflower yellow walls in Resene Thumbs Up, contrasted against the cabinetry in Resene Possessed.
“I originally wanted yellow tiles as a splashback with white walls, but I couldn’t find any to suit. So, we flipped it to have yellow walls and white tiles, which are much easier to find,” says Ann.
In the dining room, which can be open to, or closed off from, the kitchen, the walls are painted in Resene Trojan, a few shades lighter than Resene Possessed. It is a technique Katie replicated in other parts of the home. For example, she used Resene Unwind upstairs in the children’s bathroom, complemented by Resene Paris White, a few steps – and a few shades – away in the adjoining hallway. “I like to use slightly different hues to talk back to each other throughout a home by using a colour in one room that links to another space in a way that might be less intense,” she says.
Likewise, the downstairs powder room is in Resene Biscay, a beautiful dark and stormy blue that links to Resene Blue Night and the complementary blue tiles in the couple’s ensuite bathroom. Both are deep navy blues that make the antique gold fixtures shine.
Katie says she’s never had a problem finding a colour to suit from the Resene range, and, as most of Ann’s preferences were in the blue palette, her job was made even easier. “Resene has a particularly great range of blues.”
One of Ann’s beloved blues surrounds her in her favourite place to relax on her living room couch, curled up and cosy but uplifted by Resene Streetwise, a warm and gentle teal that tones down the kitchen’s vibrant Resene Thumbs Up. She loves taking in those gorgeous colours or resting her eyes on Resene Paris White, a gentle marine green in the stairway. “I look at these colours around me, and I love them all. They reflect my personality, and they make me happy. They make this a warm and welcoming place to be.”
design Kate Peck, Kurio www.kurio.co.nz
images Helen Bankers
Katie’s tips for choosing bold colour: Find multiple options. Start with one colour, then get a minimum of three Resene drawdowns (A4 paint swatches) in other similar colours to try. Katie often uses up to six. You can view these swatches free at your local Resene ColorShop in their instore colour library or order online at www.resene.com/drawdowns. Or use Resene testpots, available at your local Resene ColorShop or buy online at shop.resene.com/testpots.
Stormy Resene Trojan on the dining room walls contrasts perfectly, not just with the wooden décor but also the vibrant, sunny Resene Thumbs Up in the connecting kitchen, framed by the trim and ceiling in Resene Quarter Bianca.
Ann was adamant she wanted colour to be a feature of the home but sought advice on using it well, including the choice of Resene Rock Spray on the front door which opens to the hallway in Resene Unwind.
Slate blue Resene Streetwise adds a cool contrast to the living room while emphasising the connection to the outdoors.
Yellow walls in Resene Thumbs Up with a textured white tile splashback turns a typical kitchen colour palette inside out paired with dramatic cabinetry in Resene Possessed.
Ann’s love of blues is represented in the soothing tones of Resene Unwind in the family bathroom.
This musical space is kept fresh and neutral with walls in Resene Triple Blanc and a crisp Resene Quarter Bianca window frame.
The property’s Resene Double Malta exterior makes it stand out from a traditional neutral colour palette while remaining classic and elegant.
Published: 19 Jul 2023
Do you have a home full of wonderful Resene paint and colour? Send us some snaps by emailing [email protected].
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the look
If you're stuck on what
colour to use or need colour
advice, try out the Resene
Ask a Colour Expert service.
