From Habitat plus - decorating and colour trends 2020
The minimalist movement has encouraged many of us to live a more clutter-free and thoughtful life.
On-trend palette anchored with whites with subtle coloured undertones
With this, shades associated with minimalism – such as creams, beiges and whites – are popular choices for anchoring interior colour palettes.
Creamier shades of white and, in particular, those that feature more colourful undertones have become desirable for their inherent simplicity that can also be manipulated with different types of lighting. Resene Half Tea – a timeless neutral that shifts dramatically richer and deeper as the sun sets – is a reigning favourite for this reason. Try it with a grey-beige like Resene Napa, deep purply browns like Resene Rebel or a steely blue like Resene Bismark.
Resene Cararra is another great option if you’d like a neutral white that still carries plenty of warmth. Try it with a golden beige like Resene Crowdpleaser, a muddy brown like Resene Route 66 and a deep gravel like Resene Porter. Or, look to a classic like Resene Half Spanish White and pair it with Resene Eighth Stonewashed.
The vignette on this hall table beautifully demonstrates an on-trend palette anchored with whites that have subtle coloured undertones. The wall is painted Resene Merino, the artwork is in Resene Half Truffle with Resene Double Ash and Resene Tapa details, the table is in Resene Double Bison Hide, the wooden box and the bowl are in Resene Quarter Bison Hide and the vase is in Resene Canterbury Clay.
This tonal dining room is warm and fresh with classic overtones. It’s a fantastic example of how carefully layering multiple graduating neutral tones can really bring a room to life. The trick is to make sure your layers all have a similar, warm base tone so they build on each other rather than fight for attention. Texture elements add further depth to the space, which has been accomplished with the rug, dried foliage and relief wall hanging. The timber floor is finished in Resene Colorwood Whitewash to complement the natural look and feel of the rest of the space.
Spaces like this dining room and these lounges are exactly the type of schemes where warm and creamy on-trend whites really come into their own. Whites with a subtle yellow-toned base like the perennially popular Resene Half Spanish White and its other variants give a softer and more inviting finish to a room, blurring edges, and complementing other bolder shades rather than throwing up sharp contrasts. This shade in particular, which was used on the walls of this dining nook, does a great job of enhancing bold colours like deep greens and wine reds, but it also works incredibly well with graduated layers of other neutrals. Or, try it with sun-baked shades of red and orange for a light and summery feel.
Resene Rice Cake is another great option for an on-trend warm white. It’s a sharp and clean yellowed white that works deliciously with strong colours. Try it with a hot pink like Resene Smitten, a vibrant yellow like Resene Hive and a leathery tan like Resene Tablelands.
Check out the Resene Whites & Neutrals collection, available in palettes or as a fandeck, to find a whole range of neutrals from whites and off-whites through to black and near-blacks.
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