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how to colour block


From Habitat magazine - issue 21

It's a simple on-trend way to create eye-catching and personalised interiors – colour blocking.

Colour blocking is exactly what it sounds like: a design technique that groups blocks of colour together. It's a simple way to not only dress up your walls but also your house exterior, ceilings and furniture.

Colour block style kitchen
Colour block style bookshelf
Kitchen: Making the most of her already panelled kitchen, Karen Kyriakoudis used Resene Ziggurat (blue), Resene Glamour Puss (paler pink) and then Resene Havoc mixed with Resene Alabaster to inject some colour into the room.  Book Shelf: If you're not sure you want to colour block a whole room, try the trend on a smaller scale by painting a set of shelves like these, crafted for Good magazine, and using Resene Black White, Resene Citrus, Resene Pelorous and Resene Chelsea Cucumber. The walls are Resene Rice Cake.

Colour blocking tips:

Colour block style kitchen/dining
To offset the predominantly raw, natural materials of this house designed by Tim Dorrington of DAA, he and homeowners Mark and Susie Easterbrook chose strong, sunny, vibrant colours – Resene Monza (red), Resene Supernova (yellow) and Resene Chilean Fire (orange) for the kitchen. Says Mark: "This is the 'active' part of the house, so we wanted energetic colours. In summer, the house is full of warmth and sunlight, so we wanted colours that brought this through in the colder months as well. We wanted to avoid cooler colours in this space, especially greens, because the extensive glazing brings so much green in anyway."
Colour block style home exterior
A colour blocked exterior for this Waikanae Beach house was devised by Gerald Parsonson of Parsonson Architects. The scheme gives the house a playful and casual feel with colours that relate to the blues and greens of both the built and natural beach environment. He used Resene Dell, custom-made Resene Parsonson's Kaitoke Green, Resene Juniper and Resene Green Meets Blue along with Resene Quarter Spanish White and Resene Surrender (pale grey).
Colour block style dining room
Architect John Mills used the aerial dance of the tui to inspire the dramatic colour blocked ceiling of this Wellington house. The composition of six different colour-stained ply panels represents the blurred flash of deep incandescent colour of a tui as it dives past you in full flight. The stain colours were carefully customised with Resene Colorwood. This sense of movement is also echoed in the way the floating ceiling starts true and square to the north and west, then dips and twists to the south and east. This house recently won a Resene Total Colour Maestro Residential Interior award (see page 24).
Colour block style ceiling
Colour blocking with a twist – this Japanese-style dining area has colourful storage compartments hidden beneath the raised tatami mat floor. The colours are those used elsewhere in the house: Resene Raspberry, Resene Hero (yellow-orange), Resene Morning Glory (aqua) and Resene Grenadier (orange) while the walls are Resene Canterbury Clay. The colours were selected by Nathan Edmonston of MOAA Architects and client Yuki Fukuda.
 

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Colours shown on this website are a representation only. Please refer to the actual paint or product sample. Resene colour charts, testpots and samples are available for ordering online.   See measurements/conversions for more details on how electronic colour values are achieved.

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