3D design: A beginner’s guide to using texture

From the Resene decorating blog

When you walk into some rooms, have you noticed, they seem to feel warm, inviting and interesting, even though they may be very simple in design and feature only one or two different colours?

Often, that comes down to texture. Sometimes that means different textiles and anything that offers a tactile experience in the room, whether it’s a woven wall hanging, an anaglypta wallpaper like Resene Wallpaper Collection RD101 or a soft velvet throw.

It can also mean visual texture. Which means how different patterns, shapes, materials and furniture placement visually break up a space to give it depth and interest.

Simple MDF panels add texture

Simple MDF panels add a huge amount of visual interest to a large section of wall in this neutral monochrome room.

The walls and panels are painted in Resene Bison Hide, with floor painted in Resene Quarter Bison Hide. Sideboard, small table and bobble vase in Resene Triple Bison Hide, large table in Resene Double Thorndon Cream, lightshade and wave dish in Resene Quarter Bison Hide and tall vase in Resene Half Thorndon Cream. Sofa from Danske Møbler, rug from Nood, throw and boucle cushions from Republic Home. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Melanie Jenkins.

A pink bedroom with ribbed panelling

Ribbed panelling adds plenty of visual texture to this vibrant bedroom, because of its tactile nature but also in the way the light plays across it.

The ribbed panelling and side wall are painted in Resene Dust Storm, floor in Resene Half Black White, bench seat and side table in Resene Sunglo, vase in Resene Half Black White, ball ornament in Resene Sakura and books painted in Resene Sakura and Resene Half Black White. Duvet cover and pillowcases from Foxtrot Home, waffle blanket from Farmers, fringed throw from Adairs, waffle cushion from Spotlight, other cushions from Adairs. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Melanie Jenkins.

Resene Colour Expert Amy Watkins explains: “Texture in interior design has a multipurpose meaning. It can relate to your wall textures meaning, are you painting or using wallpaper? If you’re working with wallpaper does it have a smooth finish or a linen, woven finish? If finishing with paint, is it a two-tone look or does it have a gritted texture using something like Resene Sandtex?

“On top of that you have the different textiles in your space and what type of material or pattern is used, such as curtains and blinds, rugs or carpets, cushions, wall hangings and art and even functional items like towels. Even plants and flowers add texture to a space.”

Thinking about how you will use texture in your interior design plan is important, Amy says, because it is what helps make a home feel lived in and personal. “It is often what adds an extra dimension to a space. It's what can remove the clinical feeling from an all-white room, for example.”

How much, or how little, texture to add will, like most design elements, come down to your personal taste and the finished look you are going for, Amy adds. For example, a maximalist look will probably include more different textures than those found in a strictly minimalist look. That said, a touch of texture can often be most important in minimalism, to help spaces feel warmer and accessible.

Woven textures break up this white-on-white living room

Woven textures and natural fibres break up this white-on-white living room to create a comfortable yet sophisticated space.

Wall painted in Resene Half Sisal with floor finished in Resene Colorwood Bask to add soft colour to the timber grain. Rattan shelf in Resene Double Sisal, lightshade and shell vase in Resene Quarter Sisal, plant pot and basket in Resene Quarter Pavlova and coral in Resene Half Alabaster. Tall vase from Kmart, striped and shell cushions from Adairs. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Melanie Jenkins.

Adding multiple different textures to a living room

Multiple different textures create a multi-dimensional sitting room, but a simple colour palette keeps things cohesive and calm.

The wall is painted in Resene Half Putty with floor in Resene Double Pearl Lusta. Coffee table and tealight holder in Resene Teak, sideboard in Resene Pearl Lusta, handled bowl in Resene Travis, vase in Resene Half Putty, coral in Resene Pearl Lusta and books in Resene Half Putty and Resene Teak. Throw and tobacco linen cushion from Adairs, palm cushion and rug from Mocka. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Bryce Carleton.

“When you look at a minimalist style, it can sometimes lose the “homey” feeling and veer towards the impersonal. By adding texture, you will add in the feeling of comfort that is more welcoming.”

To find balance, Amy suggests choosing one texture as a hero. “One texture needs to be more dominant than the others. Let that feature texture inspire the other patterns you use in the rest of the space.”

A good rule of thumb is, if you think you’ve finished your interior but it feels as though something is missing, try adding a layer texture to see if it then feels more complete. It could be something as simple as a wool throw or a plant in a textured pot that just helps to visually break up the space.

top tip Texture needn’t always mean rough, natural or raised surfaces. A mix of shiny, smooth or reflective surfaces such as different sheen levels of Resene paint, glass, ceramic tile or even leather, also add texture by offering a contrast to other surfaces.

Tools to try

The simplest and most obvious way to add texture to your interiors is to think about using a variety of different materials in your space. While it means thinking about curtains and cushions, it also means thinking about incorporating different building materials.

A key one is wood. Making the most of wood grains and natural wood finishes is a look that constantly evolves but never really goes out of style.

Before choosing a wood stain or other sheer finishing product, think about the look you are ultimately trying to achieve and choose your stain shade accordingly. Consider the era your home was built in as a starting point for the wood stain colours you might want to try.

For a classic, stately home feel with more ornate wood finishes, use a darker shade like Resene Colorwood Mahogany, for a mid-century look use Resene Colorwood Meranti or for a more contemporary Scandi style on lighter wood like pine look to Resene Colorwood Natural.

Washes like Resene Colorwood Whitewash or Resene Colorwood Rising Tide, also have a relaxed finish that adds subtle colour but lets the wood texture still show through.

Wooden battens on walls or used as floor-to-ceiling room dividers are another way to create excellent texture in a room, and add elegance with their simplicity and streamlined finish.

Cost-effective wood materials such as ply, MDF, scotia and dowel can also be used to create wood panelled wainscotting or dado rails along large blank stretches of wall to make rooms feel more in proportion and visually interesting.

Try painting the lower panelled walls in a darker colour than the upper sections for a sense of added height or wallpaper the upper sections in the woven-look of Resene Wallpaper Collection ILA701 and pick out a similar green such as Resene Dell or darker Resene Palm Green to paint the wainscotting.

For a neutral version try lower walls in beige Resene Double Drought, with a dado rail in Resene Quarter Drought and upper walls in Resene White Linen.

Other materials that can add texture include concrete, which can be subtly coloured using Resene ConcreteWash or tiles in colours that either match or contrast with your main room colour.

top tip If you have old tiles, you can bring them into your new look with paint. In most cases all that is needed is to clean the tiles, apply one coat of Resene Waterborne Sureseal then topcoat. If possible, take a sample tile, or a photo, to the experts at your local Resene ColorShop for advice.

Another way to add visual and physical texture to your space is by using different levels of sheen in your painted surfaces. This can be particularly effective if you are working with a limited colour palette using layers of just one or two shades and is particularly good at breaking up an all-white look.

If you have a palette using Resene Thorndon Cream in all its strengths from eighth through to triple, put some thought into working with a mix of matte, satin, semi-gloss and gloss finishes. Adding a single moveable decor or furniture piece, such as a stool or side table in a classic contrast like almost black Resene Jaguar. Alternatively try a rich tone like wine red Resene Vanquish, perhaps painted over the raised anaglypta design of Resene Wallpaper Collection RD0137, as a feature backdrop behind a couch.

Resene also has an extensive paint effects range that help you create different finishes and textured looks with your chosen Resene topcoat colour.

Resene FX Paint Effects Medium is a tintable acrylic used to obtain a variety of broken paint finishes, such as ragging, sponging, colourwashing and limewashing. It is mixed with your chosen Resene colour then used over a basecoat, usually tinted to a different colour. Resene FX Paint Effects Medium is always used in conjunction with a basecoat tinted to a selected colour. Experiment on spare surface material when using Resene FX Paint Effects Medium so you get comfortable with how much to use and how to apply it to get your desired effect.

Resene FX Crackle effect will cause your topcoat colour to deliberately crack giving your surfaces a deliberately aged note of worn luxury.

Resene Sandtex Mediterranean Effect gives your finish the rough texture of a plastered Mediterranean villa.

Resene FX Faux Rust Effect can give almost any surface the texture and drama of rusted iron.

Resene FX Metallic paint adds the shimmer and reflection of a metallic surface and can be tinted to a range of shades from fresh green Resene Go Go Go, to the dramatic charcoal of Resene Blast Grey 1, as well as classic metallic shades such as Resene Gold, Resene Silver Aluminium and coppery Resene Bullion.

top tip Adding texture to your finished look doesn’t have to be a case of covering a whole wall. Simply adding a Resene Sandtex finish to pots and planters, a couple of sections of textured wallpaper inside picture frames or a sponge-look finish on a storage cabinet, may be all you need to break up large blocks of colour and add some visual balance.

Colours mentioned in this blog...

3D design: A beginner’s guide to using texture

Tools to try

Resene Paints Ltd – www.resene.com