Round and around, up and down

Arches are an architectural device that have been popping up in our homes.

Hard edges are out. Curves are in. Curves are comforting, soft and easy on the eye. They are like a visual snuggle, so it’s no wonder that in turbulent times more rounded shapes are appearing in our home interiors.

Arches are an architectural device that have been popping up in our homes. Rich in nostalgia from the 1970s when they last had their moment, arches are a softer way to create an opening between adjoining spaces and a great way to help define different living zones in an open-plan space or to lead from a hallway into a living area.

An archway instantly elevates the look of a room as your eye travels around the curve. They also draw attention to the height of your wall, making a room look more spacious. There are various ways to enhance an arch and one of the best and easiest is to paint the adjoining spaces in different colours.

You could choose quite different colours for a more playful approach and to define and accentuate each space, for example using soft pastels such as an icy aqua like Resene New Day and a peachy tone like Resene Negroni for a riff of a 1950s scheme.

Or use complementary colours – those that sit opposite each other on the colour wheel – in an elegant way with a deep blue like Resene Time Traveller and a burnt orange like Resene Tuscany.

But perhaps the most popular direction to take with using different colours in adjacent spaces is to use a tonal scheme, such as Resene Lemon Grass, a mossy deep green, in the front room and Resene Lemon Grass, a smoky grey-green, in the background. These greens have a sharpish yellow edge – other colours that would team well would be Resene Contour, Resene Tic Tac Toe, Resene Nirvana and Resene Green Days.

Other tonal combinations to try are smoky blues such as Resene Watermark, a stormy grey-blue, and the lighter Resene Duck Egg Blue or stony greys such as Resene Tapa and Resene Eighth Tapa.

If you’re after a tonal scheme using neutral colours such as beiges, creams or greys, the Resene Whites & Neutrals collection is your friend. Many of the colours in this range come in various strengths, from triple to eighth, and are laid out on handy palette cards, available at your local Resene ColorShop.

Another approach is to use a combination of wallpaper and paint. Choose your favourite wallpaper design from one of the many ranges at your local Resene ColorShop, then identify a colour from within the design that you can then match with paint for the adjoining space.

Another fun trick is to paint just the edge of the arch, so the depth of the wall, in a contrasting colour. It’s a little element of surprise.

Consider the view through the archway, from both sides. An archway can act as a frame to highlight a piece of furniture, like this dining setting or art on the wall of an adjoining room.

Curves are also practical. Rounded corners and curved furniture are easier to move and walk around, particularly in small spaces. The chair in this area is a good example of clever use for small spaces – it’s not only round with a curved back so snuggles into the corner but it has no arms so takes up less visual and physical space. Teamed with the bookshelf, it makes an inviting little reading nook to sit awhile.

Easy DIY arch artwork

To make this stylish on-trend artwork we took a boxed canvas and painted it in Resene Contour. We then cut out arch shapes from a thin piece of ply and painted them in Resene Lemon Grass. These ply pieces were then glued to the canvas. Simply, inexpensive and very effective.

Colours and products mentioned in this article

Styling by Vanessa Nouwens. Photography by Bryce Carleton. 2022