Sight unseen

When the Sharp family bought their home to move into as a young married couple, wife Gemma hadn’t even been inside. In fact, she had only driven past it once after they’d signed the paperwork because she felt she “should probably see what we’ve just bought”. Now that is total trust in a husband!

While they weren’t in love the pinky/mustard walls, the green swirly lino, and the small boxy rooms, they were not too bothered by the current state as they knew that with Gemma’s love for interior design and building and project management skills from James, it wouldn’t stay like that for very long.

We all know what the word POTENTIAL means when in real-estate marketing, and this house had a lot of it! It was a two bedroom ex-state house with no insulation, no love, a peach bathroom, and a kitchen that Gemma had to get her grandmother to help navigate through as it had pull out draws/bins dedicated purely to flour!

They started their renovation/extension shortly after purchasing the property, adding on an extra 70sqm of kitchen, dining, living and master suite, and completely modernising the existing parts of the house.

During the renovation both kept key words to keep in mind when making decisions. They were classy, elegant and sophisticated.

Thanks to a recommendation from their painter, Gemma spent a lot of time talking with the Resene colour consultants learning about the percentage mixes and predominant colours in the colour samples. She then used many testpots to try the colours at home, under the natural and artificial light.

When it came to choosing colours, Gemma knew she wanted colours that had either blue or black bases. Neutral grey was catching her eye everywhere she went and she liked the clean look. Blessed with a lot of natural light, they wanted the place to feel warm and inviting. Grey is generally assumed to be dull and cold, however they found Resene Concrete worked in all our areas and gave the space a classy feel. This was paired with a gloss Resene Black White for the architraves and skirting, and Resene Quarter Black White on the ceiling. They also made the unpopular move to paint over Rimu doors with Resene Black White which made the place feel more modern and fresh.

When it came to the kitchen, it was time to add statement colours. Gemma knew she wanted dark cabinetry but without looking too harsh. She had seen a lot of black in kitchens, but because the space wasn’t that big, pure black would make the space feel too small. After some searching, Resene Jaguar proved to be the perfect colour choice to provide the dark colour impact while also having the softness of the navy shine through. The kitchen joiner was a bit hesitant at first but once he had applied the colour on to the cabinetry he thought it looked great! The dark colour was offset with Resene Black White cabinetry on the island bench. It is a gorgeous contrast that ties the whole space together.

As a young couple with a relatively tight budget, they found it more economical to use one colour throughout the house. Resene Concrete gave them the ability to create soft, tonal effects which looked different in each room, due to the room sizes and lighting. They opted for Resene Double Concrete in the lounge area to give an extra touch of glamour.

They also used a Resene roof colour to transform their roof from orange to black. It made the whole exterior feel complete too.

It was a real personal project, being their first home and the home they welcomed our baby son into. The beautiful yet practical and neutral Resene colours has allowed them to add our personality through their accessories, which they were able to update and purchase over time as our finances improved.

The colour choices are the perfect base/foundation to create a classy, sophisticated, elegant home that is clean, fresh and modern – a far cry from its former self. They were able to keep the character of the home, while adding the fresh modern feel and comforts.

This process has given Gemma the confidence to experiment with colour and take the risk to go bold and mix it up. When they get the opportunity to do this next time Gemma knows she will have more fun experimenting with colours and textures.