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White kitchen painted with blue feature wall

Above:

The bright and cheerful kitchen is painted in Resene Black White, with an accented wall in Resene Kitsch and ceiling and trims in Resene Ceiling Paint White.

Kitchen with white walls and blue feature wall

Above:

The bright and cheerful kitchen is painted in Resene Black White, with an accented wall in Resene Kitsch and ceiling and trims in Resene Ceiling Paint White.

Above:

The master bedroom is adorned in the opaline, serene green of Resene Sea Nymph. The ceiling and trims are painted in Resene Ceiling Paint White.

Bedroom featuring white walls and ceiling and a soft blue feature wall

Above:

The second bedroom got a gentle splash of colour in the soft sea blue of Resene Charlotte. The ceiling and trims are painted in Resene Ceiling Paint White and surrounding walls in Resene Black White.

Bathroom featuring white tiles and sky blue walls

Above:

In the bathroom, gentle sea and sky blueResene Morning Glory graces the walls and ceiling, pairing well with the accented black fittings and white trimspainted in Resene Ceiling Paint White.

White laundry with a light blue door and back wall

Above:

The laundry got a playful touch of Resene Hippie Blue on the door and back wall, energising a practical space. The walls are painted inResene Black White and ceiling and trims are in Resene Ceiling Paint White.

Above:

This home studio is crisp and practical with walls painted in Resene Black White and the ceiling and trims painted in Resene Ceiling Paint White.

Black and white cats posing in soft blue bedrooms

Above:

Ian and Natasha’s best buddiesmake themselves at home in their newly painted home. Hermione (left) poses in front of a Resene Charlotte wall and Pimlico relaxes in the master bedroompainted in Resene Sea Nymph.

Seven years and one beautiful home

“I can’t tell you how nice it is to live in a finished home – that we’re about to sell!” It’s the kind of line that captures the bittersweet end of a long, hands-on renovation. For Christchurch couple Ian and Natasha, that journey has been seven years in the making. Their 1930s villa, lovingly refreshed with clever updates and Resene greens and blues, now feels like the home they set out to create... just in time to pass it on.

When they first moved in, the house was, as the pair described, “tidy but tired”. “Both of us work full-time so renovating has been a slow process,” says Ian. “To our credit, we’ve done everything ourselves, except replace the windows and the major plumbing and electrical work.”

The bright and cheerful kitchen is painted in Resene Black White, with an accented wall in Resene Kitsch and ceiling and trims in Resene Ceiling Paint White.

While Ian took a foundation plastering course back in the UK and Natasha learned tiling, a lot of their renovation skills were picked up along the way. Chipping away at the rooms one at a time, with Natasha’s eye for colour and design leading the charge and Ian’s craftsmanship, they began to bring it all together.

“I’m really taken with the colour of the sky in New Zealand, it’s so blue, and the amazing multi-coloured rivers,” says Natasha. That natural inspiration flows right through the home’s thoughtful paint palette, which is full of calm greens like Resene Sea Nymph and cool blues like Resene Morning Glory, Resene Hippie Blue and Resene Charlotte.

The master bedroom is adorned in the opaline, serene green of Resene Sea Nymph. The ceiling and trims are painted in Resene Ceiling Paint White.

The master bedroom, adorned in Resene Sea Nymph, is a clear favourite. “We decided all the walls including the wardrobe would be this colour,” says Natasha. “We liked the idea of the wardrobe blending into the background.” Ian built the wardrobe from scratch, transforming what was once “painfully little usable space” into a serene and functional sanctuary.

Their second bedroom, which lacked natural light, was lifted with Resene Charlotte, a softer, brighter tone chosen specifically to lighten things up.

Their love of Resene’s soft blues flows into the bathroom and third bedroom, where Resene Morning Glory offers what Natasha describes as a “crisp, fresh quality that paired well with the white tiles and the black tapware.”

In the laundry, Resene Hippie Blue brings a burst of energy to a practical corner of the house. “I originally bought this colour for the sitting room, but it didn’t go with the rug we have,” Natasha says. “I feel like it really adds vibrancy to an otherwise functional space.”

In the bathroom, gentle sea and sky blueResene Morning Glory graces the walls and ceiling, pairing well with the accented black fittings and white trimspainted in Resene Ceiling Paint White.

For the kitchen, it was all about impact. Resene Kitsch, a bold blue-toned green takes centre stage in front of the white walls. “I wanted a really strong accent colour to brighten a neutral room,” says Natasha. And Ian agrees: “So happy with the colour and look of the kitchen. Resene Kitsch really works well with our worktop and shelves and nicely complements the Bill Hammond art on the wall.”

The overall aesthetic is what Natasha calls “modern-traditional”. The couple’s mix of vintage furniture and contemporary colour makes the home feel balanced and full of character. “We wanted it to look clean and colourful,” she says.

Natasha and Ian’s ‘renovation philosophy’ offers some great tips. They don’t necessarily agree on this, but perhaps that makes it part of the fun:

“Do all the big stuff as soon as you get in. Don’t put it off,” says Ian. “And buy a paint-sprayer sooner rather than later, before any new floor coverings are put down.”

Natasha takes a different view, saying “If you can, stay in the house a while before you renovate. Get a feel for the space and how it can be improved.”

… “My wife is also right,” says Ian.

This home studio is crisp and practical with walls painted in Resene Black White and the ceiling and trims painted in Resene Ceiling Paint White.

From learning how to tile and plaster, to building wardrobes and choosing Resene colours that reflect New Zealand’s natural beauty, Ian and Natasha have done it all with their own two hands. They’re especially proud of how much they’ve learned along the way, saying “the exciting thing is taking all this renovation knowledge into our new property.”

“It’s been a slow but rewarding process,” says Ian. “Resene Kitsch is definitely my favourite colour. Being a Pisces, that deep green suits me to a tee.”

For Natasha, it’s Resene Sea Nymph, which she notes “changes dependent on the light and time of day.”

Now, with the house ready to go and their fur buddies Pimlico and Hermione still ruling the roost, they’re packing up, proud, accomplished and already dreaming of what they’ll paint next.

If you or a friend are looking for a new place to call home, see the listing of this lovingly renovated Christchurch beauty here.

Images by Veronica Wedlake

Top tip: Trying to decide what colours to use? You can find a huge range of colour tools online with Resene. With services from colour chart and testpot ordering to a Resene colour swatch library, decorating inspiration gallery, palette generator, project guides and lots of great hints and tips on selecting colour, you’ll find everything you need to design your next colour scheme. Visit the team at your local Resene ColorShop and they can help with everything from colour and wallpaper inspiration to prep, painting and wallpapering tips.

Want to see what Ian and Natasha’s home looked like before the renos? See below!