Spring fresh

One of the most wonderful things about paint is that you can use it on almost anything, and a just a little bit can go a long way...

The most common wall colours used locally tend to be neutrals, especially whites and near whites. These walls, painted Resene Rice Cake, are in one of the most popular colours which regularly features on our Top 20 list. The plywood floors have been finished in Resene Aquaclear, a look that is both trendy and popular for its neutrality.

While colour can seem scary for some to introduce to their walls, a life in a home without any colour at all can be a pretty dismal one. One of the most wonderful things about paint is that you can use it on almost anything, and a just a little bit can go a long way when it comes to transforming your space. Weekend warrior your way to a more colourful kitchen and dining area with a couple of quick and easy DIY projects.

With a focus on simplicity, the padded circular design of these bar stools provides a super comfortable seat for perching but were looking pretty lack-lustre colour wise. Despite their woven fabric cover, just a testpot worth of paint spread in two or three coats was all it took to give them a total refresh for a lot less money and effort than reupholstering. We used Resene Party Zone, Resene Away We Go and Resene XOXO to give our stools a pick me up – colours that match the Whakakīkī Art Print by Makus Art, hanging on the left.

For an added bit of whimsy, we also masked off the end of each leg below the footrest and gave them two coats of another colour. We chose to paint the legs of our Resene Away We Go stool in Resene XOXO, the legs of the Resene XOXO stool in Resene Party Zone and the legs of the Resene Party Zone stool in Resene Away We Go, but you could also paint yours the same colour as the seat for a more uniform look.

Inspired by the maze-like design of Glen Jones’ ‘Tricky Tiki Art’, we created a similar pattern on to the raised planter below. First, we covered it in two coats of Resene Rice Cake to match the walls. Then, using a pencil, we mimicked the curvy, broken lines of the artwork then painted over them with artist’s brush and a testpot of Resene Away We Go.

The kitchen cabinets coordinate in Resene Aura, a soft minty green that pairs perfectly with warm whites and a range of different greens. The minimalist lipped shelf, painted Resene Atlas, provides some contrast within the space along with a place to store cookbooks so that they’ll be safe from whatever you’re mixing up. A few small vases, plant pots and accessories were painted Resene Party Zone, Resene Away We Go and Resene XOXO to create more unity in the design through colour repetition.

While this look is vibrant, it’s also clean and simple – plus everything is fast and easy to change with a new coat of paint in any colour you’d like whenever your tastes change or the creative mood strikes.

Styling by Kate Alexander. Photography by Bryce Carleton. 2019