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garden glow-up

From habitat highlights - issue 41, creative outdoors

Homeowners get creative with paint to give their outdoor areas a colourful makeover.

We asked habitat by Resene readers to show us the different ways they’ve used Resene paints and products in their gardens and backyards to give them a vibrant glow-up.

Winner:

A child friendly outdoor area

Natalie chose Resene FX Blackboard Paint for some of the honeycomb sections with others in Resene Explorer and Resene Bright Spark, which is also used on the pillars and retaining wall of the fairy garden, under the house. The wall is painted in Resene Pattens Blue, Resene Bright Spark and Resene Paper Doll. The fairy garden trellis is a celebration of greens painted in Resene Crusoe, Resene Japanese Laurel, Resene Tree Frog, Resene Wham, Resene Groovy, Resene Snowy Mint and Resene Feijoa.

Natalie, Dunedin

With an active and outdoorsy toddler to keep amused, adding a child-friendly climbing wall to the outside of their home was a fun and practical choice for her family.

The climbing wall is part of a larger project that has turned a previously unused area underneath the family home into a sunny fairy garden and play area for four-year-old Addison, and an adults retreat.

“We wanted to include something in the garden that Addie could really interact with,” Natalie says. “She absolutely loves it and uses it a lot.”

Natalie chose a honeycomb pattern for the climbing wall to echo a beehive which they were considering adding to their garden that is already filled with plums, apples, pears, blackcurrants and grapes.

“Using a honeycomb pattern also allowed us to add in some reachable blackboard areas painted with Resene FX Blackboard Paint that Addie could draw on, making the wall more interactive for her,” she says.

“When it came to choosing colours we chose the same blues and yellows we’ve used in other parts of the garden like our glasshouse.”

And Addie’s adventure garden isn’t done yet. Natalie has plans to add in a second stage over this coming summer with climbing bars and a play area on the lawn, which will all be decorated in rainbow colours, using Resene paints.

“We’re not done yet!”

Natalie’s top tip  “Always have fun with colour. It is so easy to paint, and something like this can be done in an afternoon using some masking tape and a template.”

Runners up:

Julie, Te Awamutu

“I find Resene Paddock soothing and restful and it really complements the greenery outdoors,” says Julie of the colour she chose to repurpose this chandelier into a quirky and unique bird feeder. “I actually grabbed the chandelier out of my friend’s car boot as she was on her way to the dump to dispose of it!”

Julie says Resene Paddock is the perfect green for her garden. “And for my large covered deck area, I’ve just bought some more of it, as I plan to paint some more items over spring using that green. I’ve also recently discovered Resene FX Faux Rust Effect and I’m enjoying using that on some old urns to get that timeworn vintage rusty look to them.”

Julie’s top tip  “Depending on the condition of the item, I do prepare it really well. If it’s rusty or has flaky paint, I remove that, treat it and then paint. I find Resene products last really well outdoors and they weather really well too.”

A repurposed chandelier
Julie’s outdoor space

A veranda upgrade
Charlotte's outdoor space

Charlotte, Pukekohe

As it was the main entrance to her home, Charlotte decided the veranda of her 1960s bungalow needed a bit of ‘wow factor’. She first painted the veranda floor in two coats of Resene White before stencilling an overlaid pattern in Resene Triple Bison Hide.

“It was love at first sight when I saw that colour on the Resene colour chart. I used it on the exterior windowsills and loved it so much that I ended up using it on the entire patio and the front steps.

“I love how everyone comments on the veranda and I secretly love how it stunned my sceptical family. They thought I had lost the plot when I started painting the first two coats which were bright glaring white!”

Charlotte’s next patio project is to paint her patio furniture.

Charlotte’s top tip  “When painting with stencils, take your time and make it relaxing and enjoyable. I did mine over a couple of warm summer evenings, armed with a glass of wine or two.”

Samantha, Napier

“I love to think outside the box,” Samantha says of the inspiration behind her beautiful drawers upcycled into a unique and eye-catching planter, now full of luscious plants. “I’m constantly looking at things and thinking about something different I can use them for.”

The drawers are an artistic combination of colours like Resene Home Run, Resene Blue Gem, Resene Poppy and Resene Wham and the drawer frame is a custom-made Resene colour similar to Resene Billy T. There are many other Resene colours throughout Samantha’s garden on other projects like a claw bath mural and toilets turned into planters. “My partner always jokes that you can’t leave something for too long or I'll either mosaic it or paint it. There’s pops of colour throughout the whole garden; it’s uplifting.”

Samantha’s top tip  “Don’t be afraid to give something a go and be a little bit bold. If you don’t like it you can always put another colour over it. It’s as easy as that.”

Eye catching planters
Samantha’s outdoor space

Adding colour to a metal framed glasshouse
Mark's outdoor space

Mark, Christchurch

When retired farmer Mark added this secondhand, metal-framed glasshouse to his vege garden, he decided it was an opportunity to add a burst of colour to his backyard. After seeking some advice from the paint experts at his local Resene ColorShop in Shirley, Mark carefully cleaned and prepped the frame with Resene ArmourX GP Metal Primer, then sprayed the glasshouse in vibrant Resene Half Resolution Blue. “We wanted something different. It’s a great colour, it adds such a great brightness to the garden.”

Mark’s top tip  “Do the prep, but make sure you do the right prep by checking with the experts first. The staff at our Resene ColorShop were so brilliant at giving us the right information.”

› For more step-by-step garden ideas, visit www.resene.com/gardenprojects.

Colours mentioned in this article

Products mentioned in this article

Products marked as "coming soon" may not yet be available in our online ColorShop, however, they can be purchased in-store at your local Resene ColorShop or reseller.

Images: Nick Beadle

 

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