Natural complement

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With generous sea views and the warmth of wood in the living areas, this renovation features a balancing palette of Resene paints.

The owners of this home say they had had some early misgivings when architect John Mills first showed them a proposed colour scheme for the renovated residence.

"After all, our previous house had been painted 50 shades of white," one of the owners says. "John's known for his use of colour, but we were still a little surprised by his choices. However, we trusted him and now we're so glad we did."

The home's resulting colour palette is a riot of vibrant blues and jewel-toned greens – along with more subtle shades of lavender, grey and lemon. The home won a Maestro award in last year's Resene Total Colour Awards.

"The hero of this house is the harbour view," says Mills. "So while I didn't want the palette to detract from that, there was an opportunity to not only enhance what was going on outside but also to create a cooler look, as this is a warm home."

And the reworked living area is a good example of this, with the colour scheme complementing both the sea views and the generous use of wood. The wall colour on the left is Resene Half Fossil and on the right Resene Half Robin Egg Blue. Resene Bermuda Grey features on the central wall.

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