Welcome – A freshly painted wall looks beautiful but what if you’re after something just a little different. Or you’d like to upcycle some furniture and a straight paint finish might look a little plain.
Paint effects allow you the freedom to capture a mood, create an ambience and transform the mundane into something special. Some techniques also have the practical benefit of disguising less-than-perfect surfaces. In fact, imperfections in the surface can add to the overall impact of the effect.
This booklet contains a taste of the paint effects techniques commonly used, from French wash to crackle, woodgrain to marbling. There are a wide variety of other paint effects techniques that you can use to achieve highly professional results.
When creating a paint effect, the key thing to remember is that there are no hard and fast rules about what you should do. Spend time getting the effect right by trialling different colours and application techniques until you are happy with the finished look. Then use your trial area as a reference board for the whole project. Wall sockets, skirting boards and door frames should be masked off so that the effect may be continued right to the edge.
Mix and match techniques, colours, textures and surfaces. The only limit is your imagination.
Happy decorating!
The Resene and habitat teams
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› Choose colour with confidence and creativity › View seasonal colour trends
Sit back, relax and enjoy all the articles from Habitat plus booklet – simply click on the story below of interest and read the full article or use the search function for a particular topic.
Get to know the Resene FX product range, plus tips to get started
There are a number of specialty Resene products to help you create useful and beautiful surfaces - metallics, washes, textures, crackle effects, shimmery sparkles, chalkboards, magnetic surfaces... more
Learn to use Resene FX Paint Effects medium
Colourwashing, limewash or French wash • texture on texture • watercolour wall • white and grey wash • ombre paint techniques... more
Creative ideas with stencilling, marbling, découpage and sponge printing
Stencils are a hugely flexible and diverse way of adding patterns to virtually anything. You can do entire walls, portions of furniture, pots, the edges of floors, frames or whatever takes your fancy... more
Two tone ideas and rolling effects
This simple two-tone wall is created by using a paint roller for a casual take on the traditional dado effect. No need for masking tape, just freehand your way across the wall... more
Turn walls, toy boxes and other surfaces into writable surfaces and magnetic noticeboards
As many homeowners have found out over the years, chalkboards are an extremely handy way to create a noticeboard, and are also a great way to give your home a changing canvas of artworks from whoever in the family is feeling creative at the time... more
Master the art of masking, creating geometric shapes and pleasing plaids
Masking tape is not only a decorator’s friend, but also a creative person’s helpmate. All of the effects on these pages were achieved using low-tack masking tape and paint... more
Colour-blocking techniques, geometric patterns and learn the art of perfect stripes
Simple and effective, colour-blocking can transform a wall, or piece of furniture like a bookcase. You can use sections of a wall, use your blocks of colour in a random way or apply a repeating pattern based on simple shapes such as triangles, rectangles or squares. Or you can create more dramatic walls using 3D geometric effects... more
Get a wriggle on with some curvaceous room designs
Curves are friendly, cuddly shapes so it’s no wonder that when the world seems a little upside down, we gravitate towards these organic forms. Start with a simple circle, then progress to something more free-form... more
Embrace your artistic side with murals and glow-in-the-dark walls
With the wide range of Resene paints and colours, and your imagination, it’s possible to create a truly unique effect on your walls, floor, ceiling, furniture or virtually anything else... more
Contributing stylists: Gem Adams, Amber Armitage, Nikki Astwood, Greer Clayton, Megan Harrison-Turner, Laura Lynn Johnston, Sarah Lods, Claudia Kozub, Janet Scard, Leigh Stockton, Melle Van Sambeek, LeeAnn Yare.
Contributing photographers: Bryce Carleton, Nicola Edmonds, Wendy Fenwick, Mark Heaslip, Melanie Jenkins, Renee Lawrence, Emma MacDonald, Larnie Nicolson, Frances Oliver, The Picture Garden, Joseph Zou.
Left: Back wall in Resene Egg Sour. Mural painted in Resene Paper Doll, Resene Coral Tree, Resene Avant Garde and Resene Nero. Floor in Resene Colorwood Dark Ebony. Pendant painted in Resene Avant Garde.
If you have an idea, project or story that you think would suit Habitat plus, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us an email with your details and include photos if submitting a project.
Habitat plus are not mailed directly. They are available free from Resene ColorShops and resellers while stocks last and available for viewing online.
› View all Habitat plus booklets › View all Habitat magazines
› Choose colour with confidence and creativity › View seasonal colour trends
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