A sunny disposition

You’ll find it hard to frown in a room brimming with this joyful, sunny hue.

Yellow is traditionally quite a polarising colour, while Australians have embraced it with open arms (it is a national colour, after all), New Zealanders are a bit more apprehensive to incorporate this sunshine hue into their homes. This is a disservice, because with its incredibly positive disposition, yellow has the ability to inspire and inject energy into any space. It works well as an accent, but it’s more harmonious in a tonal colour scheme, as shown in this bedroom.

Tonal decorating is a great way to bring a historically energetic colour into a relaxing state of mind. The key with getting tonal or monochromatic decorating right is to keep all the colours in the scheme with the same undertones. To ensure the colours you choose have a similar undertone, use a pure colour swatch (true white). When held next to this, warm or cold undertones will become apparent.

It’s important in tonal decorating to use a variety of shades to prevent the space from looking too matchy-matchy and un-exciting. Even tonal colour schemes need contrast to keep things interesting. In this bedroom, the wall is painted in Resene Chenin and the floor in a lighter, buttery shade of Resene Mellow Yellow. Variety is introduced with darker mustards, such as Resene Stringer on the door and lighter citrusy lemons such as Resene Golden Sand on the top of the bedside table. In fact, the range of colours within this palette, is perfectly exemplified on the four-toned coat rack painted in the sunny, orange based hue Resene Golden Sand Resene Golden Sand, the ochre-toned cream of Resene Gin Fizz, the darker mustard of Resene Laser and the warm gold of Resene Stinger.

This rainbow of yellows is also echoed in the sculptural bedside table. You can re-create this look yourself, the base of the table has been created by stacking two pots painted in Resene Golden Sand (bottom) and Resene Gin Fizz (top) and securing them with construction glue. The top of the table has been painted in the sunshine yellow hue of Resene Mellow Yellow with an artistic stroke of Resene Stinger to finish it off.

For a contrasting colour that will, paradoxically, soften the overall look of a sunny yellow tonal room, use a bright white, such as Resene Vista White for fresh, crisp look, or a cream, like Resene Quarter Spanish White for an even softer option.

Alternatively, contrast can come in through the invigorating shade of lipstick pink, such as Resene Colour Me Pink. This look is fun and fruity, and slightly more intense than the yellow-white combination. When hot pink is used as the feature contrast colour, tone down the creams and whites otherwise they’ll end up competing with each other.

If you can’t find art that perfectly matches your tonal colours, the next best thing is to create your own. A simple, and very on-trend style is the brush-work look. It’s hard to go wrong (and if you do, just start again). To recreate the artwork in this room, look to Resene Smooth Cream, Resene Outpost, Resene Castlepoint, Resene Cafe Royale and Resene Double Tea. It’s a great project to get the kids involved in.

Top tip: Yellows intensify more inside than any other colour. If in doubt choose a lighter option so you can enjoy your yellow without it being overpowering or use stronger yellows on a feature area and team with lighter colours to balance it out.

Accessories: Chair from Nood, artwork from Etsy, duvet, pillowcases, honey linen cushion and throw from Adairs, mustard cushion, lemon cushion, fuchsia cushion and patterned cushion from Allium, bedspread (used as throw) from Citta, cream cushion from The Warehouse, yellow glass tumbler from Farmers, bag (on coat rack) from Ezibuy, pink scarf from Kmart, small square velvet cushion in lemon (on sofa) and yellow bobble vase (on cabinet) from H&M Home.

PROJECTS

How to make your own DIY dowel coat rack

1. Paint each dowel in a different Resene testpot colour of your choice. We used Resene Golden Sand, Resene Gin Fizz, Resene Laser and Resene Stinger. Depending on your colour, you may need a second coat. Be sure to allow your first coat to dry fully before applying your second coat. Leave to dry overnight.

2. Once the dowel is dry, group the dowel together so you have two pieces on top and two pieces underneath.

3. Make a mark on the wood about 30cm from the top. Take a piece of rope around 2 metres in length and wrap around the dowel about 8 times. Secure with a double knot and trim access rope.

4. Stand your dowel upright and then gently splay the dowel out to make a tee pee shape.

5. Place in the corner of a bedroom or hallway and hang up items.

How to make your own DIY round nesting tables

• Jig saw (to cut out circles of wood or if you don’t have a jigsaw go to the cutting shop and get wood cut to size)
• Resene Quick Dry primer
• Resene testpots in your choice of colours – we used on small table: Resene Laser (on bottom pot) and Resene Double Spanish White (on top pot), on targe table: Resene Gin Fizz (on bottom pot) and Resene Golden Sand (on top pot). Other colours used on the top of the tables include Resene Stinger, Resene Mellow Yellow, Resene Chenin, Resene Gin Fizz, Resene Laser, Resene Golden Sand and Resene Double Spanish White

1. Paint your pots in your chosen Resene testpot colours and leave them to dry. Depending on the colours you choose, you may need a second coat. Allow your first coat to dry completely before adding your second topcoat.

2. Draw a circle onto your MDF board using the pencil, drawing pin and string method. Then use a jig saw or similar tool to cut your circle out of the wood. Wipe all surfaces with a clean, dry cloth to remove any dust.

3. Prime your MDF in a coat of Resene Quick Dry primer and allow to dry completely before moving on.

4. Paint your base colour onto each of the tabletops, the side table base is painted in Resene Mellow Yellow and the coffee table in Resene Double Spanish White.

5. Once the base colour is dry, take a wide paint brush and paint an abstract circle pattern onto the tabletops. To achieve this look, paint in a circular motion using large brushstrokes going around the table.

6. Glue pot bottoms together with construction glue and leave overnight to set.

7. Glue tabletop on top of the stacked base and leave to dry overnight before use.

Project by Vanessa Nouwens. Images by Bryce Carleton. 2021