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Your budget-friendly main bedroom makeover

From the Resene decorating blog

Try some of the following ideas from stylists and the experts at Resene for fun ways to add beauty to your bedroom without feeling the pinch in your purse.

A light blue master bedroom with a dark blue headboard

In this bedroom, the dark blue area that forms the headboard in Resene Biscay has been painted with Resene SmartTouch, turning it into a light switch. The rest of the wall and side table are in Resene Frozen, the floor is in Resene Solitude and the tray from Kmart is in Resene Alabaster. Lamp from Città, candle and throw from Adairs, duvet cover, pillowcases and cushions from EziBuy, mugs from Kmart. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Bryce Carleton.

The amount of time we’ve spent at home recently has drawn attention to the areas that leave room for improvement. If your sleep space is a bit blah, even minor alterations will make a difference and help you sleep easier. Try some of the following ideas from stylists and the experts at Resene for fun ways to add beauty to your bedroom without feeling the pinch in your purse.

Pick a paint

For the biggest impact for the smallest outlay, give your bedroom a fresh coat of Resene paint – even DIY novices can pull it off, and typically finish a room in a weekend. The experts at your local Resene ColorShop can tell you what tools you need to do a great job and help you with colour selection. Whatever colour you choose, take home testpots or A4 drawdown paint swatches to trial the colour in your bedroom so you can see what it will look like in situ, in all kinds of light and at different times of day.

If you want to create an on-trend, pared-back Scandi canvas to which you can add timber and neutral-coloured accents, bisque white Resene Double Alabaster, shadowy Resene Half Black White or white-with-a-hint-of-grey Resene Sea Fog are excellent options for your walls. Warmer neutrals to try include beige Resene Bison Hide, Resene Quarter Joss and Resene Drought. Create a tranquil retreat that brings the outside in with the soft green tones of Resene Spring Rain, Resene Envy or Resene Spanish Green. For a feminine energy, choose dusty pastels like graceful cherry pink Resene Gelato, atmospheric Resene Lola and grey-blue Resene Frozen. If you’re not afraid of the dark, give your bedroom a more masculine slant with steel-blue Resene Hammerhead or serious Resene Regent Grey – you can then lighten the mood with contrasting crisp white bed linen and dreamy diaphanous curtains.

A tonal bedroom full of cosy neutrals

Enhance the mood of your bedroom by painting the floor

Bedroom: In a tonal bedroom full of cosy neutrals, a darker floor stained in Resene Colorwood Mid Greywash helps to anchor the space. The main wall is in Resene Eighth Stonehenge, the shelf and skirting board are in Resene Ebony Clay, the pendant light, mirror and tote bag are in Resene Corvette, the headboard is in Resene Double Stonehenge and the vases are in (from tallest to shortest) Resene Double Stonehenge, Resene Rakaia and Resene Cinnamon. Ink Moon artwork by George Sand Studio from Endemic World, mirror, duvet cover, pillowcases, quilted bedspread, rug and tote and bag from H&M, cushions, throw and slippers from Collect Living. Project by Kate Alexander, image by Bryce Carleton.  Desk: You can alter the mood of your bedroom just by repainting your floor or updating the finish of your furniture. To go with the wall in Resene Half Washed Green, we painted our floor in in Resene Powder Blue, the chair in Resene Albescent White, the picture frame in Resene Blanched Pink and the table in Resene Karen Walker Paints Chalk tinted to Resene Grain Brown. For a pre-loved look, the frame and table are finished in Karen Walker Vintage Wax, while the chair is finished in Karen Walker Soft Wax. The tall vase is in Resene Shadowy Blue. Artwork by Jenni Stringleman from Endemic World, vase and candles from Città, statue and other vases from Freedom, bag and sunglasses are from Karen Walker. Project by Leigh Stockton, image by Bryce Carleton.

Boost your bed

While we’re on the subject of bedding, interior designer Annick Larkin says, “Your bed is often the focal point of a bedroom, so cover yours in beautiful bedlinen layered with decorative cushions and a textural throw for a indulgent and colourful statement.” You might like to choose patterned or jewel-toned fabrics to contrast with your pale walls or get your zzzs in a tonal space featuring bedding and soft furnishings in fabrics in the same colour family as your walls.

A master bedroom painted in chocolate browns and greys

This swoon-worthy bedroom is dunked in chocolate browns and greys. The wall is in Resene Monkey, the floor is in Resene Space Shuttle, the bedside table and DIY artwork are in Resene Kilamanjaro, the lamp base is in Resene Americano, the plant pot is in Resene Felix and the vases are in Resene Kabul, Resene Americano and Resene Monkey. Duvet cover, pillowcases, rug and some of the cushions from Città, brass plant pot, throw and remaining cushions from H&M Home. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Bryce Carleton.

Floor it

Now it’s time to get cracking on your flooring. “Even if your bedroom has wall-to-wall carpet, layer on an accent rug for extra texture and colour,” says interior stylist Megan Harrison-Turner. Painted floors are a popular look right now. Go for a block colour or consider Resene Colorwood Whitewash or Resene Colorwood Greywash for an effect that lets the woodgrain shine through.

Let there be lighting

A texture-rich green master bedroom

The plants in this texture-rich green room do double duty, adding to the cohesive colour scheme and improving the air; just don’t forget to return the favour by giving them an occasional drink of water. The wall is in Resene Stone Age, the ledge is in Resene Wilderness, the floor is in Resene Green White, and the side tables are in Resene Alabaster with a marble effect created using Resene FX Paint Effects Medium coloured with Resene Rolling Stone. The vase is in Resene Toffee, the lidded dish is in Resene Hampton, the small plant pot is in Resene Teak and the large plant pot is in Resene Celeste. Bedding and cushions are from Città. Project by Laura Lynn Johnston, image by Wendy Fenwick.

Lighting can completely transform a room and whether overhead in the form of a luxurious pendant or in floor-standing or desk-lamp form, it’s an investment you’ll be glad you made every night of the week. If you already have bedside lamps or perhaps a large rice paper shade in your sleep space, you could always revamp their shades and bases to suit your new colour scheme by painting them with your favourite Resene hue or using painter’s tape to create stripes or other graphic patterns. Light switch covers are ripe for this treatment too.

Suitable for new builds and retrofitting into existing homes, energy-efficient Resene SmartTouch is an ingenious conductive coating based on touch-screen technology that turns your wall into one big light switch – no more fumbling in the dark. The touch commands let you switch lights on and off separately or in groups. “You only need to coat a small area – up to 2m² however a qualified electrician will have to complete the installation,” say Resene paint expert Jay Sharples. Coat the wall, have a professional install the electronic controller, then paint over the top with Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen in your chosen colour or cover with a chic Resene wallpaper.

Get a handle on your hardware

Bedroom drawers that are a real snooze can be made new-ish again by repainting them and changing out the knobs or handles. For a beautiful black, think Resene All Black or Resene Blackjack; for a luxe metallic effect, use Resene FX Metallic – there’s a huge range of colours to choose from, and you can update your photo frames and mirrors this way while you’re at it.

Vote green

“A potted plant or two adds life, colour and texture to your bedroom, plus it helps purify the air,” says Annick. “Use smaller plants such as peace lilies or trailing string of pearls on your bedside tables, and larger plants such as a monstera or a tall fiddle-leaf fig to fill empty corners.”

Inexpensive terracotta pots are easy to turn into colour-coordinated additions to your bedroom with Resene testpots. Step one is to apply a coat of Resene Aquapel & Terracotta Sealer inside and out. Once dry, apply two coats of your chosen colour.

Along with other industrial materials and finishes such as concrete, rust is an appealing new trend and achievable with Resene FX Faux Rust Effect. Once applied, it looks for all the world like rust, and for true authenticity will continue to age like it, too. Designed for non-contact surfaces, it’s not suitable for your bedroom walls, but you could use it to bring a weathered finish to your plant pots.

A calm bedroom painted in character neutrals

When you want to create a calm bedroom but pure white feels too severe, a character neutral like Resene Tea is just the thing. This wall in Resene Tea is right at home with the bedside table and lampshade in Resene Bison Hide, lamp base and bowl in Resene Black, vase and large artwork frame in Resene Tapa and floor in Resene Blanc. Duvet cover, pillowcases and cushions from Adairs, throw and rug from Città, chair from Freedom, artworks from Etsy/WArtDesign, frames from Kmart. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Bryce Carleton.

Resene Colorwood Mid Greywash

August 31, 2020

For more ideas and inspiration from other DIYers, see the Resene decorating inspiration gallery online and view the huge colour and wallpaper library at your local Resene ColorShop.

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