Mix colours for a playful look

From the Resene/Your Home and Garden Colour Home Awards Competition - Nov 2011 finalist

Claire and Ross Giblin of Porirua, Wellington, transformed a dated kitchen into a sunny multi-coloured delight within their 1960s home.

The couple added a playful yet subtle element to their kitchen decor by using colour here and there. To accentuate the new pine plywood cabinetry they chose Resene Flashback, Resene Alibi, and Resene Moonbeam, while the wood grain was showcased on most of the doors, protected with a coat of Resene Colorwood Rock Salt stain and Resene Aquaclear varnish.

Pale Resene Solitaire features on the window frames and other trims. The family gained a well-used breakfast nook by moving the laundry to another part of the house. An original 1960s Formica table with chrome legs perfectly picks up the yellow of the Resene Moonbeam.

As a fun finishing touch, an original laundry drawer was painted in Resene Alibi, then transformed into a frame for artwork created by the Giblin family.

Pine kitchen
Recycle unwanted items when renovating and find a creative use for them as the Giblin family did with this drawer, painted in Resene Alibi. Top: (From left) Ross, Brooke, 8, Claire and Merryn Giblin, 11, in their new dining nook.

Go natural

The beauty of timber can bring the outdoors in and create a lovely warm feeling in a room. To keep the timber looking good it needs to be well protected.

Use Resene Aquaclear on wooden walls and cabinetry or opt for Resene Qristal ClearFloor on timber flooring. Both are non-yellowing and have a very low odour compared with traditional solvent-borne polyurethanes.

For a Scandanavian-inspired whitewash finish, choose new Resene Colorwood Whitewash or enhance the timber with one of the colours from the Resene Colorwood collection.

Complement wood tones with warm yellows or branch out into rich reds such as Resene Pohutukawa.