The smart upgrade

From the Resene decorating blog

Are you renovating for you or your buyers?

When you’re planning a home makeover project, no matter how big or small, it’s really important to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve.

For many people, that includes being clear about whether they are making over their home to suit their own lifestyle and taste or whether they are improving things to make their home more appealing and valuable to potential buyers. You may not be selling right now – but you might have a clear plan to be selling the house in the future.

It can be a delicate balancing act creating a comfortable home that works well for yourself and your family, while not affecting your resale down the line.

The good news is, the two design outcomes don’t have to be mutually exclusive. It just requires some planning, so you spend your budget in the right places.

The variables

Where you put your design focus will to a large extent depend on how long you expect to be in your current home for.

If it’s your first home, you might be expecting to outgrow or upgrade your house within a year or two, or you might have deliberately bought a do-up with the goal of selling on for a profit. In these cases, your design focus should be more skewed to your potential buyers.

If you’ve bought a home you intend to live in for many years, your makeover is obviously going to be much more focused on what you like and how you and your family live in it. It's OK – even important – to have aspects of a renovation that are important to you, simply to turn the house you have into the home you love.

With those things in mind, it’s also worth noting that spending wisely on bathroom and kitchen improvements will almost always resonate with buyers.

While there aren’t too many renovations that will lower the value of your property, it’s a good idea to get good advice from a local real estate agent before undertaking projects that reduce the number of bedrooms or bathrooms you have. A real estate agent who is a specialist in your local area should be able to tell you what buyers will look for in a home like yours; it may well be similar to what you want to achieve in the property for yourself – so it is always worth asking.

And remember, if you're considering selling, it's not just about doing a cost-effective renovation; it should also add something to your property, whether that is space, amenity or value.

Good foundations

Whether you’re designing for yourself or for others, a backdrop in Resene whites and neutrals can be your best friend. It allows you to create a versatile, adaptable canvas from which to build your own look, or spark the imagination of potential buyers.

Rather than a minimalist white-on-white approach to neutrals, Resene Colour Consultant Jackie Nicholls suggests exploring some of Resene’s more complex mid-tone neutrals.

White-on-white can, in some spaces, look a bit chilly and uninviting. You want colours that are a blank canvas but also feel inviting and spark some imagination in people.

Within the Resene Whites and Neutrals range there are many quite mutable off-whites and creamy tones that look quite different in different light conditions or when placed next to other colours, appearing warmer or cooler, she says.

Some good examples are Resene Half Tea, Resene Spanish White, Resene Fossil and Resene Merino which are very versatile; just one of the reasons they regularly feature among Resene’s best-selling colours.

With that neutral base, you can build up the personalisation of your space to suit your taste, adding accent notes in your favourite colours and layering with throws, cushions and plants.

Try a dramatic contrast with a single chair or shelf painted in a bold shade like Resene Moroccan Spice or Resene Cab Sav, against walls in Resene Half Tea, or layer in richer neutrals like Resene Lemon Grass or Resene Eternity for earthier contrast.

One place to play with brighter whites, like classic Resene Black White and Resene Alabaster, is in a kitchen where, with a good mix of natural and artificial light, they make the space feel functional, sophisticated and modern. Pair them with contrasting softer dark colours like Resene Bokara Grey or Resene Foundry for a clean, uncluttered and timeless look.

Other shades that can work well in bright white areas like kitchens are notes of a deep green like Resene Midnight Moss, surrounded by pot plants for fresh herbs. Red is another popular colour in kitchens, so try contrast accents of wine shades like Resene Red Berry or Resene Vanquish.

This approach to working with a neutral base is also a useful tip for renters, allowing renters to personalise their homes without needing to change the landlord’s walls, Jackie says. Look for anything like picture frames, plant pots, blank art canvases, vases and pieces you can upcycle from second-hand shops to paint, stain or even wallpaper to add your own flair to your spaces.

A light touch of colour

If a key part of your renovation is giving your walls a refresh, you can work with subtle pastel and muted colours that will often give you a widely appealing, adaptable neutral look, with a little extra colour.

By choosing muted or soft shades, you get the benefit of colour, without it overpowering the room. Some subtle to shades to try are grey-blues like Resene Nebula or Resene Half Spindle, soft pastel greens like Resene Paris White or Resene Coconut Cream, delicate peach tones like Resene Cashmere or Resene Dust Storm or pale yellows like Resene Egg Sour or Resene Splash.

Tips for outdoors

One of the key things to do for your outdoor space to catch the eye of potential buyers is to make it look both intentional and adaptable. That means creating at least one space that feels sheltered and well-used for sitting or dining, ideally connected to your interior for that all important indoor-outdoor flow.

The bonus is that this improves the function of your outdoor areas for you and your family as well.

Take a similar approach to your indoor living area by using a combination of neutrals in wood stains like Resene Colorwood Natural or Resene Colorwood Driftwood and popular outdoor paint shades like Resene Merino and Resene White Pointer. Personalise that neutral base with vibrant planting and add some fun punches of colour on outdoor furniture and planters with bright bold sunshine shades like Resene Meteor, Resene Mai Tai and Resene Hero. These shades work particularly well with dark fences painted in Resene Element or stained in Resene Waterborne Woodsman Pitched Black.

Remember you will never be able to choose colours that are universally liked by every potential buyer for your home, so choose the accent colours you love, and use them in a way that will catch the eye and inspire ideas in anyone viewing them.

Paint or stain is a good way to do this too, as it’s relatively simple and cost-effective for a new owner to re-do to suit their own taste.

Colours mentioned in this article

Products mentioned in this article

February 25, 2025

If you need help finding the right colours to bring out the best in your home, come in and visit your local Resene ColorShop, Ask a Resene Colour Expert free online or book a Resene Colour Consultation free instore or virtually or a paid home visit in selected areas.

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