Fresh faced

The Gauthier family bought their house over a year ago, having fallen in love with its original 1920s detailing and solidity. It was complete with most of the original woodwork and windows but was rather dark and very old-fashioned in style having been refurbished throughout with Victorian wallpapers, swagged curtains and ornate brass light fittings.

When deciding on a new colour scheme Rosemary tried to think elegant rather than antique. She wanted to lighten the rooms up considerably and incorporate modern, fresh touches while retaining the dark, handsome woodwork.

Their furniture is an eclectic mix, collected to suit various other houses and so they decided on a carpet similar to sisal to keep things natural and tie it all in together. This left them with the very dark brown of the woodwork, a wheat beige sofa, a mixture of limewashed and dark wood furniture and only small amounts of colour in the cushions, lamp shades and pictures that were mostly shades of green, old yellow, rusty pink or red, making it all a bit bland and safe.

Rosemary has always loved the contrast of a clean fresh green with dark rich wood and she wanted a slightly surprising colour to bring in the light and avoid the feeling of living in a museum. They chose Resene Poprock on the two back walls without windows and Resene Alabaster on the remaining walls.

The makeover has been a great success and seems to keep its freshness even on a dull winter day. They find it surprisingly restful and warm in artificial light and it makes a great backdrop for their various pieces of artwork.

Lounge walls
Resene Poprock	Resene Alabaster

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