From BlackWhite magazine - issue 05, whites + neutrals
Look no further than these popular Resene whites and neutrals to create a solid base for your next project.
Year after year, the most popular Resene paint and wood stain colours are neutral hues – so we know just how much people love using understated, flexible and easy-to-live-with tones. But since there is no real ‘one size fits all’ neutral, it’s smart to keep abreast of Resene’s latest neutral colour releases and see how others are blending them with tried-and-true favourites. You might just find a new-to-you hue with the perfect combination of character, complexity and calmness to lay the groundwork for building out your colour scheme on a current or upcoming project.
We put our team to work with seven different paint colours from the latest Resene The Range fashion fandeck and two different wood finishes to show off some of our favourite new releases and demonstrate how much flexibility, diversity and interest an all-neutral colour scheme can offer when you work with a broad enough palette.
Using high contrast paint and wood stain colours is a direct route to increased interest. To add variation to this look, opt for softer and more complex versions of these neutrals.
Enjoy the extra warmth that comes from finishing tongue-and-groove timber walls in Resene Colorwood Breathe Easy from the We Speak Beach palette. The ever-so-slight touch of colour has more complexity than your typical true whitewash white, and because the wash doesn’t completely cover or distort the wood grain, the timber’s inherent beauty is still the hero.
Right wall painted in Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen tinted to Resene Kinship, timber paneling finished in Resene Colorwood Breathe Easy and floor in Resene Walk-on tinted to Resene Stepping Stone. Lamp and chair from Matisse, table from Ligne Roset, handbag from Faradays.
Neutrals in general have been entering a ‘warming cycle’. Every couple of decades, the most popular options flip from cool to warm and back again in an attempt to keep our project designs looking new and fresh. If you or your client are not quite ready to take the plunge with a creamy, beige or brown colour scheme, start slow by incorporating hues like Resene Foundation, Resene Courtyard, Resene Stepping Stone and Resene Kia Kaha on furnishings and accessories against cooler neutral backdrops such as Resene Sea Fog or Resene Kinship.
Arched wall painted in Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen tinted to Resene Kinship, left wall and back wall in Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen tinted to Resene Sea Fog, floor finished in Resene Colorwood Breathe Easy and vases in Resene Foundation (left) and Resene Boris (right). Chair from Matisse.
The greige undertones in Resene Kinship can take on different characteristics under different lighting conditions and paired with different colour combinations. Sometimes, it can look milky with a creamy edge. Other times, it can feel cool and dusted and even take on a tinge of violet without feeling overtly purple.
Resene Boris has a sooty edge that keeps it from feeling too black or heavy. While true blacks can look chic and classic in a gloss finish, the greyed-off nature of Resene Boris makes it a great candidate for use in flat and low sheen paint finishes and textured surfaces where you want a contemporary matte look.
And although we love the look of Resene Charred Black and Resene Pitch Black, we think Resene Tiri is an underrated wood stain option that should be more widely embraced. In interior projects where a blacker timber stain may be too strong, this deep grey hue offers a certain level of restraint that lends a uniquely understated appeal.
Being too minimalistic with your paint specifications can run the risk that your project comes out cold, flat or less than memorable. But by using a range of dark, medium and light Resene neutrals in a mixture of warm and cool colour temperatures layered with different textures, you’ll be spoilt for options for creating different moods while carrying the same palette across a number of adjacent spaces. To add more visual texture, don’t be afraid to try layering multiple paint colours and mixing them with Resene FX Paint Effects Medium. Or, use Resene Sandtex to add a covetable sandstone-like tactile texture to surfaces or decorative objects.
Background in Resene Kinship, lidded dish in Resene Foundation and vases in (clockwise from top left) Resene Stepping Stone, Resene Sea Fog, Resene Kia Kaha and Resene Boris.
Background in Resene Foundation with Resene FX Paint Effects Medium mixed with Resene Courtyard applied on top, A4 drawdown paint swatches in (from top left to bottom right) Resene Boris, Resene Kia Kaha, Resene Courtyard, Resene Foundation, Resene Stepping Stone and Resene Kinship, square pot in Resene Courtyard, curved vase in Resene Kia Kaha and bud vases in Resene Sea Fog (top) and Resene Boris (bottom). Projects by Amber Armitage, mood boards by Melle van Sambeek, images by Bryce Carleton and Wendy Fenwick.
Background in Resene Kia Kaha, tray in Resene Stepping Stone, bowl in Resene Courtyard, ribbed vase in Resene Foundation and tiny pots in Resene Boris (left) and Resene Sea Fog (right).
Work of art: Resene has a huge range of neutral wallpaper offerings, including repeating patterns both large and small, murals, textures and paintable options.
Resene has a huge range of neutral wallpaper offerings, including repeating patterns both large and small, murals, textures and paintable options. In an art-filled space, the mosaic-esque look of Resene Wallpaper Collection AGA602 – a design that’s full of complex neutral tones – blends beautifully with our neutral paint and wood stain colour picks. Try it with adjacent walls in Resene Kinship, flooring in Resene Colorwood Breathe Easy and accessories in Resene Sea Fog, Resene Stepping Stone and Resene Boris.
Projects: Amber Armitage
Mood boards: Melle van Sambeek
Images: Bryce Carleton and Wendy Fenwick
This is a magazine created for the industry, by the industry and with the industry – and a publication like this is only possible because of New Zealand and Australia's remarkably talented and loyal Resene specifiers and users.
If you have a project finished in Resene paints, wood stains or coatings, whether it is strikingly colourful, beautifully tonal, a haven of natural stained and clear finishes, wonderfully unique or anything in between, we'd love to see it and have the opportunity to showcase it. Submit your projects online or email editor@blackwhitemag.com. You're welcome to share as many projects as you would like, whenever it suits. We look forward to seeing what you've been busy creating.
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