Curve appeal – creating a curvaceous home

Curves are a phenomenon that have garnered great appeal in interior design and with good reason.

A deep green curved archway

The luscious deep green of Resene Scrub beautifully defines the curved archway and walls in this room, delineating the front space from the room behind in a simple and elegant way.

The dining area behind, painted in Resene Beryl Green from the Karen Walker Paints range, along with the table and chair in Resene Fawn Green and Resene Evolution, make this space work cohesively with the front room by using similar shades and tones from the same palette. The uniting floor colour of Resene Quarter Taupe Grey completes this nature inspired home.

Using shape within our homes is much the same as using colour to impact how we feel. Soft shapely curves create a calm relaxing ambience, and they can be added in many ways from wall colours to furniture choices.

Working colour into an archway is a great way to introduce personality into your home in a subtle way. If your hallway has an existing archway, this is a prime opportunity to create focus and personality in the entrance to your home. Go bold and bright or soft and subtle – let your creative mind run free and announce your style.

When choosing the colours to enhance this space think about the surrounding areas and the impact you want to achieve. If you love a bold pop, this is a great space to announce that, just be mindful that your archway colour works in with your wall, ceiling and skirting choices.

Choose a combination of bold tones from the same palette to create a unique perspective, don’t feel tied to just using one colour in your archway. Try Resene Burgundy as the central colour and then move out to Resene Adrenalin for a burst of orange, then soften the edge to work back into your wall colour with Resene Barely There. These colours would work with a warm based white wall like Resene Half Spanish White.

Not all homes come with a hall archway of course, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on this trend. Painting arches on walls is a great way to create an expressive feature and delineate a space. In a bedroom you can easily create a headboard by simply painting a stylish curve to frame the bed, select calming and complementary tones that enhance the space and draw the eye to the bed, working in with your choice of linens.

Living in a studio or loft space, painted curves can help define spaces for different uses. Create a bold and wide painted wall arch to assign a cosy work from home alcove or allow your arch to work across the corner of the room to draw the eye to this area, outlining a reading nook or dressing space, whatever your needs you can create them with curves.

If you’re in the fortunate position to be designing from scratch, keep in mind the natural attraction of curves. Mother Nature has made sure curves feature in many aspects of our landscape. You’ve only to think of rolling sand dunes to recall their sensual curves of rich gold, or waves reaching their crescendo in arcs of deep blue feathered with icy white tips.

Historically, curved architecture has been featured in many of the finest buildings and structures around the world. Architect Zaha Hadid was famous for her futuristic and at times curvaceous structures, both fluid and blunt, the fluidity of her work is what truly brings her structures to life.

While being beautiful and functional, curves in our homes offer another unexpected benefit to our health. Curves have been proven to improve our mood and sense of well-being. When we enter a room that features curves in some form, we naturally feel better, beautiful curves and shapes whether inbuilt or painted on, energise rooms and make us feel good. We’re also more likely to think a room that has curvilinear features is more beautiful than that of a rectilinear room. Essentially, we humans love curves.

A bold mural with curved shapes

Having no obvious archways in your home doesn’t mean you’re limited when it comes to creating curves.

This bold mural is designed with a palette using the soothing Resene Aoraki with Resene Baring Head, Resene Wayfarer, Resene Comfortably Numb and Resene Carpe Noctem. Resene Aoraki is a soft, creamy white that provides a neutral base for the design, while colours like Resene Wayfarer and Resene Carpe Noctem offer deep contrast, drama and sophistication. Choosing curvaceous furniture further enhances the impact of the mural.

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Resene colour consultant Brenda Ngatai suggests selecting colours that are softer, muted or with grey undertones like Resene Quarter Robin Egg Blue, a gentle green/blue tone with warmth when wanting to define curves in your space in a subtle way. However, if you want to splash out Brenda suggest being cautious with brighter reds. “Reds are tricky! They can be too overpowering, a small amount can go a long way. Two options that are muted and burnt, yet rich and deep, are Resene Sanguine Brown and Resene Scoria” These reds will give you the oomph of colour you’re after without taking over the whole room.

Painted archways on walls

Painted archways on walls have been showing up in the finest interior design circles for the past few years.

These wonderful colour bursts in sunset hues are a bright and welcome addition to this room. Mustard, orange and pink tones create a warm and vibrant mix, while soft neutral furnishing completes the room. Wall in Resene Rice Cake with central circle painted in Resene FX Magnetic Magic with a topcoat of Resene Thunderbird. Additional mural colours are Resene Arriba, Resene Yogi, Resene Contented, Resene Transition and Resene Valentine. Desk in Resene Rewilding, chair and planter in Resene Solitaire, small planter in Resene Thunderbird and floor in Resene Colorwood Breathe Easy. Project by Annick Larkin, image by Bryce Carleton.

Once you have decided on how to feature curves in your home, the next step is to enhance them with colour. If you’re lucky enough to have curves in-built you can add to the beauty of these by painting them to boost the shades and highlights. Use deep colours like Resene Barista to deepen the shadows and a lighter tone of the same palette like Resene Pearl Blush to pop out the highlights. Alternatively create an ombré effect within your archway, this will give a unique linear effect to the hallway, this also works wonders when painting an archway directly onto a wall.

When it comes to preparing your walls and choosing the right finish for the job, Resene colour expert Brenda Ngatai advises setting yourself up for success. “Prep by filling any pin holes with filler and leave to dry, sand back and clean the area before applying Resene Quick Dry undercoat to all walls being painted. Once your undercoat has dried, apply two topcoats of Resene Zylone Sheen or Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen, this will allow your chosen colours to be the hero of your design”.

If you have wooden curved walls, it’s often best to allow the grain to feature as this is nature’s way of highlighting the curves. Protect your wood with a natural look clear finish like Resene Aquaclear Natural. This soft matt finish will treat and protect your wood, while allowing the grain to naturally reflect its curves.

When you’re looking at how to bring curves into your home, cosy curvaceous furniture is a great addition. Current trends offer gorgeous armchairs and sofas, rounded to suit your every mood. Even material trends are leaning towards curves, with the looped Bouclé fabric being a firm favourite among top designers. Choosing soft rolling armchairs and sofas will work beautifully alongside your painted walls or archways, carrying the theme through and making your space feel stylish and cohesive.

Whatever your curvaceous preference, history and science have proven to be strong supporters when it comes to curves. Creating and enhancing curves in our homes and in our lives offers more than just a stylistic benefit, it can take your well-being to the next level.

Take some time to look through where and how you might be able to add some beauty in your home with the benefit of curves. Whether you go all out and create an entirely curved home, or you gently dip your toe in the water and paint your archway in a gorgeous Resene colour, curves are a wonderful way to bring beauty and delight into our homes and our lives.