Projects on the go

Jessica’s children enjoy getting outdoors on motorbikes and four wheel drive buggies so when Jessica found a jeep bed the four wheel drive adventure theme for his room was built from there.

Jessica repainted the interior of the home a few years back in Resene Black White and she wanted to keep this in her son’s room as she loves the crisp fresh feel it gives and the consistency it creates throughout the home.

She decided to add a bit of personality to his room by painting trees as a feature onto one of his walls in Resene Oxygen, Resene Subzero, Resene Stack and Resene All Black, using masking tape and tyre tracks across two walls. The template for this was created by tracing tyre marks off a google image on an ipad onto paper, tracing it and then painting it onto the wall in Resene All Black. Jessica also used the left over paint to paint shadowboxes, plywood art, pegboards and furniture.

Her daughter’s room is in contrast to this with a palette of soft warm colours – Resene Ballerina, Resene Bedazzle, Resene Dancing Girl, Resene So Cool and Resene Unicorn - for her princess room as many of her toys were in similar colours. Due to lack of space and storage, and for ease of play, Jessica wanted to display these toys as part of the room decor. Jessica started working on her room when she moved out of the nursery, which her son then inherited, and as a now five year old her room has grown with her. Resene Fountain Blue and black spots (using Resene Black White and Resene All Black) have been added since it was first finished.

Jessica cut a wardrobe door feature in a princess castle shape out of plywood with a jigsaw. She painted this in Resene paints and layered the ply one of top of each other to give a three dimensional effect. The cupcake sprinkle effect that goes up the wall behind the bed, over the ceiling, and down the opposite wall is painted in Resene Fountain Blue. She then painted the sprinkles using masking tape and finished this with a coat of Resene FX Pearl Shimmer to give the feature a shiny effect. Jessica has also painted many accessories and homemade items in Resene paints, such as picture frames, the coat stand, hanging stars, the book ledge, wooden hearts and even parts of her duvet, rug and floor cushion).

The lounge/dining room has also progressed over the years. Jessica painted thick horizontal stripes onto her Resene Black White wall using Resene All Black. The stripes actually continue around a corner and across two walls (one long, one short) as she removed a cupboard which opened up to be used as a home office. Parts of the home, including the office, were damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes so when she was paid out to repair the home many years later Jessica’s dad helped her remove the shelving and doors and she plastered and painted the space which now houses the TV.

The hallway that runs from my entrance to stairwell has a feature wall of Resene wallpaper in a grey concrete brick look.

Jessica always has a project on the go and recently cut a house shape out of leftover wood which she painted in Resene Blackboard Paint which the kids love to decorate using chalk. It also displays the children's favourite art prints and flag. She has repurposed an old train play top, painting on the reverse with Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer and Resene paints. Her son now plays with it with his cars instead of trains and the top can still be turned over to use with the train set.

Jessica has also just completed a sweet stall/lemonade stand for the children using a planter as the base. She flipped it over, extended the wood to hold the cover, made a sign, and added some extra wood to create the top and legs using wood. It is painted in Resene Black White. The cover is removable (it ties to the dowel) so it can be left outside over the summer months while the kids play with it without the worry of it getting damaged if it rains.