Nooks and books

Space is a premium in any home and more often than not we need our spaces to be multi-functional.

You might be working from home and need an occasional desk and virtual meeting area that doubles as a dining area or a study nook that can fold up to make room for a larger living space. Whatever you need finding ways to make different spaces work for multiple uses is not as tricky as it might sound.

When planning a multi-use space, one of the first considerations is what colour to choose that will incorporate all the uses of the area. Starting from the ground up, we’ve chosen to treat part of the floor in this room with the deep tone of Resene Colorwood Shade. This easily delineates the zone for the fold-down work desk, the flooring colour then flows into the couch area, a quick step from the work station when relaxing is called for.

Marking out the other area with the light toned cube shelf system, Resene Colorwood Greywash has been used on the flooring, lightening the secondary space. Using the similar tone on the cubed shelves with a colourwash in Resene Quarter Chicago gives the impression of more space in a smaller room. Using a shelving divider in this way makes it easy to mark out spaces in your home, while keeping the area fairly open. If you want to make more of a statement with your bookcase or dividing shelves, you could paint them a darker colour like Resene Ravine. This will make the shelves stand out from the lighter flooring and clarify the spaces around them.

Using a shelving option like the one here is a great space saver and organiser. When you’re living with spaces that need to be fluid in their function, it’s even more important to keep the areas as clear and tidy as possible. These shelves offer plenty of storage while also being a screen between spaces.

Like this floor, the choice of wall colour also has a major effect on the impact of the space. In this room we’ve selected Resene Comfortably Numb, a soft sky blue reminiscent of clear bright days and a great choice to set the scene for a clear mind.

There are many ways to create a fluid design in your home, dividing different zones to accommodate different needs. In this room we’ve chosen separate the areas with a focus on the floorboards, though wall paint is also a great way to demarcate zones.

To create a space for work that requires a darker tone, say for computer design or editing, choose a paint that tones the walls down and reflects very little light. Try Resene Baltic Sea in the dark area and then choose a lighter shade in a similar colour, like Resene Longitude to paint the other zone. Breaking up the zones with paint in this way will make you feel as though you’re moving from a clearly defined work space into a lighter more peaceful area of rest.

When you are designing smaller spaces or a studio apartment, this style choice can be a great option for breaking up spaces when there isn’t a great deal to begin with. Paint your bedroom area in a light peaceful shade like Resene Quarter Chicago, then place a shelving divider painted in a darker tone like Resene Steam Roller to create an elegant divider and provide a secondary space, while also having shelves to display and store your favourite pieces.

Whatever your specific dividing space needs, take a look at the many colours Resene offers to help separate zones in your home. There’s so many possibilities that colour can present from your floor to your walls and shelves, so take your pick and create the fluid zoned home that works best for you.

Colours and products mentioned in this article

Styling by Megan Harrison-Turner. Photography by Bryce Carleton. 2022