Green light

Grant yourself permission to bring in some fresh colour for your finest dining yet.

Forget what you heard – it’s easy being green when you have gorgeous hues like this to choose from and some savvy ideas for how to use them. With a similar vibe to the chic neo-mint trend that’s brought optimism to interiors, our feature wall in mid-toned Resene Norway creates a light-hearted ambience in this dining space, without demanding too much attention. A calming, quiet green, it’s striking yet soft enough to be subtle.

Rounding out the scene against a blank-canvas backdrop of bleached off-white Resene Eighth Fossil on the wall and Resene Quarter Fossil (a neutral with a touch of beige and green) on the floor, cabinets in the same green and clean yellow-white Resene Rice Cake join a table in slightly murkier green Resene Highland.

This colour palette has hints of nostalgia, which you can enhance by styling with semi-retro pieces like these mid-century-style rattan-backed chairs in a biscuity brown timber that looks good enough to eat, and the cake stand like the one we made from a secondhand platter and vase. To DIY, coat your platter and vase with Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer and leave to dry. Apply semi-gloss Environmental Choice-approved Resene Lustacryl tinted to your desired colour (our plate is in Resene Amulet and the vase is in Resene Norway), leave to dry, then add a second coat. When dry, turn the plate upside down and invert the vase in the middle, so the top of the vase touches the bottom of the plate. Use a pencil to trace around the top of the vase, squeeze construction glue onto this circle, then press the top of the vase into the glue. Once dry, turn the stand the right way up and you’re ready to serve high tea.

We’ve also accessorised with glassware, vases, plant pots and the like in complementary colours, with attention paid not only to how they look but also their functional value. Items that are pretty but don’t serve a purpose are all well and good, but investing in everyday pieces for your dining area that are both beautiful and useable will elevate your everyday routines while also enhancing your décor.

And so to our DIY hanging display – a nod to all things dining while also being visually daring. Recreate this playful wall in your space using old plates. Apply one coat of Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer to the front and back of each plate, then allow to dry before using Resene testpots to paint each plate with two coats of your desired colour. Leave as a low sheen finish or coat with Environmental Choice-approved Resene Aquaclear varnish if desired. Attach plate hangers to the back of the plates, then arrange at staggered intervals on your wall.

The final flourish in this green dining space is foliage. It’s often overlooked in favour of flowers when we’re filling vases, but these lush, leafy sprigs offer colour and interesting forms while providing visual balance to your displays through their height. Pop out into your garden and see what you can find, taking note of how different shades of green work together while you’re at it.

How to create a painted plates display

You will need:

• Old plates – ours were from a secondhand store
• Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer
• Resene testpots in your choice of colours
• Paintbrush
• Plate hangers

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Give each plate a coat of Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer both front and back.

2. Once dry paint each plate in two coats of desired colour.

3. Attach plate hangers to back of plates as per instructions and hang on wall.

How to create a cake stand

You will need:

• Old plate or platter
• Small vase
• Construction glue
• Resene testpots
• Brush
• Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Take a large platter or plate and small vase and give it a coat of Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer and leave to dry.

2. Then apply two topcoats in Resene Lustacryl in your desired colour (our plate was painted in Resene Amulet and vase in Resene Norway).

3. Turn plate upside down and place the vase in the middle of the plate. Draw a pencil line around the vase as a marker.

4. Apply construction glue around the pencil mark and then place the vase onto the circle to create the base of the cake stand.

5. Once dry turn upside down and voila… a cake stand!

Project Vanessa Nouwens. Images by Bryce Carleton. 2021