rescue remedy

From Habitat magazine - issue 22

A lot of imagination and a lick of paint freshens this family kitchen.

Interior designer Jackie Jones has no objection to her kitchen renovation being referred to as a 'makeover'. The word has quick-fix connotations which was exactly what she and husband Jeremy Patston needed when they bought their house two years ago for themselves and their blended family of five kids.

Faced with an old timber kitchen and visually busy two-tone timber floor, they wanted to give the kitchen a modern look without dipping too far into their longterm renovation budget.

"It's not our dream kitchen," says Jackie. "But our dream kitchen is three or four years down the track, so we needed to give this one a spruce-up in the meantime."

The results are spectacular proof of what can be done with a bit of imagination, and some paint. Even the floor has been painted with Resene Walk-on tinted to Resene Napa. "That old floor was so visually busy, and would have taken a lot of effort and money to sand back and re-stain."

The cabinetry carcasses have been kept, and the doors resprayed with various Resene colours. Resene Double Alabaster is the main neutral, with Jackie's perennial favourite, Resene Ashanti, as a second colour. Then, for a bit of fun and added impact, hot pink Resene Pink Panther from the Resene KidzColour range has been used on just one cupboard – the front of the pull-out rubbish bin.

Echoing that, Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen tinted to Resene Pink Panther has been used on the door to the laundry as a chalkboard. Jackie makes a habit of writing the dinner menu on the board… "so that I don't have five kids asking me what's for dinner."

Once the cabinets were repainted and the floor finished, Jackie felt the kitchen was still a touch too bland, so she painted wide stripes onto the area surrounding the free-standing stove, using Resene Ashanti, Resene Pale Prim and Resene Alabaster. She was encouraged by the experience of painting a striped feature wall in her previous home.

An old roller door to the appliance area has been removed, and the shelves left exposed. It's a practical open-plan approach for a busy household. The brushed black granite benchtop is original, as are the appliances.

While the layout of the kitchen, with its long single bench against the wall, isn't what Jackie would choose if she were redesigning the space, it works well when a family of seven is preparing breakfasts and school lunches in the morning. "We can all spread out and not get in each other's way. The kids can be at one end, while Jeremy and I are making our coffees down the other end."

The kitchen is flanked by two living areas – one is a dining room, and the other a light and airy family room which continues the colour themes of the kitchen with misty blue sofas and fabrics, and accents of hot pink. The hot pink is a recent addition, Jackie explains, which could be easily changed if the family tire of it. In the rest of the house, a more 'grown-up' shade of red is used as an accent colour. "

Once you commit to an accent colour, you need to use it with confidence throughout the space for it to work well," she says.

It didn't take Jackie long to accessorise the kitchen or family room, because her love of grey-blue is virtually life-long. "When you have a favourite colour like that you find that you tend to collect items that will always work well together. I still have some things from my childhood that look right at home here."

Even her daughter's recent birthday present, a retro style Kenwood mixer, fits the scheme perfectly!

Did you know… that the Resene Kitchen & Bathroom range combines antibacterial silver protection and MoulDefender to minimise unwanted nasties in kitchens, bathrooms and laundries?

words: Sharon Newey
pictures: Mark Heaslip

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