Whether you’re building new, moving or simply looking to redecorate your home to better suit your personality and lifestyle, we’ve rounded up some of the latest paint and decorating ideas to help inspire your next project. Adapt the ideas and colour combinations to suit your own quick weekend refresh, a new feature to indulge your favourite Resene colours or a total home makeover.
Natural healing
For most of human history, our connection to nature was a given as our daily lives were intimately tied to the cycles of the sun, the seasons and the natural world around us. It’s only in more recent times that we have started to earn a living, go shopping, enjoy endless entertainment and even socialise without ever leaving home. While convenient, this separation from nature may be taking a toll on our health.
Although no indoor environment can replace the experience of the natural world, research is showing that incorporating nature into the built environment – whether in the form of sunlight and fresh ventilation, decorating with plants and organic materials or painting your space in earth-inspired hues – can improve comfort, reduce stress and potentially contribute to improved health indicators. This principle is known as biophilic design.
As more of us have begun to understand the benefits of biophilic design, natural colours like Resene Bone, Resene Copyrite, Resene Castle Rock and Resene Stonewashed have become increasingly popular. But today, there is no earthy hue more desirable to decorate with than green. From olive and army like Resene Olive Green, Resene Waiouru and Resene Siam, deep forest greens like Resene Black Forest, Resene Jurassic and Resene Raptor to grey greens like Resene Paddock and Resene Finch, the choices for on-trend greens are as broad as the ways you can use them in your home.
Earthy greens really sing against wood tones and textures. Walls in Resene Wilderness.
Fortune favours the bold
Though plain, pared back, all-white spaces may have once been thought of as the epitome of contemporary design, it turns out living in an environment that’s too sterile and devoid of colour doesn’t do your mental wellbeing any favours. As a remedy to boring walls (and something fun to do to pass the time), spaces with bold and graphic painted elements surfaced as a significant trend during lockdowns.
But even as restrictions have loosened, decorators are continuing to uniquely express themselves through creative and customised decorating. Whether you’re dreaming of a statement wall in an eye-catching colour and design, want to build up a richly layered pattern-on-pattern look or feel like even just a little more character would go a long way, putting your personality on display has never been more in vogue.
Stripes are a simple but effective way to make a statement. Wall in Resene Alabaster with masked stripe in Resene Frozen and hand-painted stripe in Resene Quarter Frozen, floor in Resene Colorwood Whitewash, dresser in Resene Biscay with stripes in Resene Spindle, Resene Alabaster and Resene Kashmir Blue.
Turning back time
Colours, textures and materials that reflect a collective sense of nostalgia are a significant current design trend, and it’s understandable why. Given the amount of time most of us have spent inside lately, the popularity of pastoral looks – which embrace the essence of homeliness and a wistfulness for the ‘good old days’ – are an attempt to ground ourselves during uncertain times.
Decorating with natural tones, artisanal objects and tactile textures reflects our desire to protect and preserve what is becoming increasingly important to us: the environment we live in. Stonewashed linens, plaid and gingham patterns, dried florals, handmade pottery, solid timber furniture and vintage antiques are all part of the look, but today’s preference for minimalism puts them to use in more pared back ways. Sun-bleached pastels, mauves, greys, beiges, browns and terracotta tones are natural fits for pastoral looks, but their mismatched nature also lends an opportunity to use quirky colours to customise your space.
While an authentic vintage patina can be quite desirable on older items, there are also many Resene products that you can use to restore an item that’s looking a little too worse for wear or to lend a weathered vibe to a newer piece. Resene Colorwood Natural timber stain is a beautiful hue for bringing golden warmth to wooden furniture or flooring while Resene Colorwood Whitewash and Resene Colorwood Greywash can be used to create a weathered look. Chalk finishes and waxes such as Karen Walker Chalk Colour and Karen Walker Vintage Wax can be used to add colour with a velvety matte finish or be rubbed over a colour coat to impart a rustic one. And non-contact surfaces such as light fixtures or decorative accents in materials like plastic, timber, concrete and metal can be given the look of years of rust in mere hours with Resene FX Faux Rust Effect.
Walls in Resene Half Sour Dough (left) and Resene Half Scarpa Flow (right), floor in Resene Midnight Express.
Glamour and darks
Don’t be afraid of the dark. Used with some thought, dark colours can create spaces that are inviting, sumptuous and luxe without being overbearing or stuffy. The key is balance. Try bold, dark, colour-saturated shades like smoky Resene Nocturnal, charcoal Resene Invincible and sumptuous blue Resene Ocean Waves paired with contrasting metallics like Resene Silver Aluminium for extra opulence, or with milky neutrals like Resene Friar Greystone, Resene Stepping Stone or Resene Courtyard for freshness and light that ensures the space stays modern and elegant.
A swathe of dark wall, whether it’s in the stylish navy of Resene Coast, charcoal Resene Cod Grey or dark maroon Resene Rustic Red, is lent an extra note of sophistication when it includes texture. Try painting over Resene Anaglypta Wallpaper or, for a more natural texture use Resene Colorwood Pitch Black or Resene Colorwood Dark Ebony stain over plywood to showcase the grain. It has a similar effect to using luxury fabrics like velvet or suede. Emphasise the tactile finish with contrasting shinier surfaces and lighter highlight colours.
Stormy blues and charcoals create classy comfort that invites you to come and relax. Wall and floor painted in Resene Ocean Waves with painted headboard in Resene Night Magic.
See your local Resene ColorShop or Ask a Resene Colour Expert free anytime, www.resene.co.nz/colourexpert, for all the inspiration and advice you need for your decorating projects.
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