Fun with colour

The inside has been transformed on a tight budget in the last three years by its 60 year old owner. The main guide was for the house to be fun and happy while incorporating favourite older pieces and fabric collected by its owner and her family over some years.

As the owner could ill afford to replace the plasterboard or achieve a paint finish on the existing board, all of which had been previously wallpapered, she chose to replace the wallpaper with lightweight paintable Anaglypta wallpaper. Resene Wallpaper Collection - Anaglypta 2011 RD385 was used in the guest bedrooms, bathroom, toilet, laundry and hallway. Resene Wallpaper Collection - Anaglypta 2011 RD336 was used in the lounge, dining room and kitchen, and Resene Wallpaper Collection - Anaglypta 2011 RD179 was used for an extra special touch in the master bedroom.

Unable to structurally alter or replace a typical-for-the-period dowdy brown brick living room fireplace, the owner decided to bring it to life with Resene Gold Dust. This, and stunning kauri/rust/amber and gold striped fabric, provided the anchor for the remaining choices with Resene Melting Moment on the walls and Resene Bokara Grey for detail, co-ordinated with a striped wallpaper at either end of the room.

The suite of furniture was originally a rather drab dark cream.  This was re-covered. Finally, after much soul searching and colour testing, the two, originally grey wall-units, were re-sprayed in Resene Harvest Gold. The effect is a little bit of Marrakesh in Napier.

The owner wanted the toilet, laundry and bathroom to be happy, vibrant, feel good places and to co-ordinate a French linen fabric that her Mother had purchased some years ago in Paris and 12 pretty English tiles that were a snip on Trade Me for $1.  The solution. A bathroom in Resene Lipstick, silver and gold, a toilet in Resene Victoria (after all it is the Throne) with 60th birthday hearts from special friends and family and a laundry in Resene Eastern Blue with colourful dog hooks purchased several years ago from Ikea in the UK. The entrance to these three rooms is off a small vestibule. Standing in that space is simply a delight and a feast of colour.

Resene Melting Moment with mirrors was used in the rather narrow hallway to connect the dining room and lounge to the bedroom area.

Purple carpet in the hallway and bedrooms, purchased from a building recycler for $400, provided the base colour for the bedrooms painted in Resene Half Fog and dressed accordingly. The master bedroom is in shades of grey, mauve, peach and pink. The main guest room features a split queen bed which gives the flexibility of accommodating two grand children or couples who stay in Hawke’s Bay for the many events.

Woodwork throughout is in Resene Zinc White and Resene Double Pearl Lusta was used to spray paint the drab, previously brown, laminated internal doors.