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Resene Quarter Nullarbor is used as the main neutral throughout the house, with feature walls in the upper living room in Resene Happy. The balustrade posts are in Resene All Black.
Walls in Resene Dusty Road work well with the new birch plywood cabinets and a new black benchtop. The eye-catching sliding doors are in Resene Smashing and Resene All Black.
A black band of Resene Double Foundry runs through the house as a delineating line between the walls and the ceiling. The walls are Resene Quarter Nullarbor with Resene Lightning Yellow shining through from the room next door.
The new internal stairwell has plywood on one side and is painted Resene Happy on the other side with the distinctive Resene Double Foundry black line running along it.
Sven wanted a warm peachy terracotta tone for the feature wall in the south-facing main bedroom so chose Resene Roxy. The other walls are Resene Quarter Nullarbor.
Resene All Black and Resene White were used to create the yin/yang painted sliders in the upper bathroom. The wall colour around it is Resene Half Cut Glass.
Son Tauamiti Johann chose Resene Neva for feature walls in his bedroom. The other walls are Resene Quarter Nullarbor.
Sven and Fuailelagi find happiness with their sunshiny scheme
Inspired by Island Bay’s rugged southern coast, Sven and Fuailelagi Samoa Saleupolu Heger wanted their renovated home to have materials and a Resene colour palette that was earthy but crisp, and to turn the previously neutral interior into a warm and cosy yet stylish and vibrant family home for them and their two children.
They’ve ended up with a fun family home, and a daring use of strong yellow paint: Resene Happy and Resene Lightning Yellow in the living areas.
Resene Happy is used in the upstairs living area and reminds the family of the centre of a frangipani flower. Says Sven: “It creates a beautiful bright sense of sunshine to the space, especially when the morning light bounces of it and ties back to our connection with Samoa where my wife’s family is from.”
The 1970s-era house had been split into flats when the couple bought it. Converting it back into a family home took 10 months – seven more than intended, with the family living first on one floor and then the other. It stayed within budget, however, with Sven doing all of the painting himself, and working full time.
The house was insulated, relined, reglazed and given new flooring.
The colour scheme began by selecting the main wall colour – Resene Quarter Nullarbor.
This pastel tone gave them the intended earthy warm look: “It’s serene and not too overpowering,” says Sven. All other colours needed to work with the main wall colour and the final scheme was developed over three or four months and with the help of 40 A4 drawdown paint swatches ordered through Resene.
The ceiling colour needed to be reserved and neutral yet warm – Resene Half Alabaster was the perfect choice.
A distinctive aspect of the design is the use of black accents to tie the whole scheme together. A black line runs between the walls and the ceilings, and black is used for power points, light switches, light fittings, the kitchen benchtop, joinery handles and blind trims.
For the ceiling trims a deep charcoal band snakes through all of the spaces in the house as a connecting element, using Resene Double Foundry. The same colour was also used for the stair stringers.
Sven painted the interior himself (as well as having a full-time job), often working into the night to keep on track with the renovation schedule. He discovered the importance of good prep work and had to contend with hard-to-remove 1970s wallpaper.
Painting the ceiling trims in black was tricky. Having masked the entire top floor, Sven came up with a clever alternative, painting the trims for the downstairs area before they were fixed in place. The builders cut them to size, and carefully numbered them. This eliminated time-consuming masking.
The interiors also feature a lot of plywood for a relaxed modern look, which Sven finished in three coats of Resene Qristal Clear polyurethane in satin.
A colour had to be found that would work in with the black benchtop, birch cabinets and red splashbacks and that evoked warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. The couple chose Resene Dusty Road with its brown masculine hue.
The adjacent laundry is a small but gets a lot of use, so yellow Resene Wild Thing was chosen to make it light and bright.
The downstairs kids’ lounge colour was chosen by the couple’s seven-year-old son and matched their desire for a bright and striking effect using Resene Lightning Yellow. He also suggested Resene Neva as a feature colour for his room which he shares with his younger brother.
Published: 07 Oct 2019
Do you have a home full of wonderful Resene paint and colour? Send us some snaps by emailing [email protected].
Resene Quarter Nullarbor is used as the main neutral throughout the house, with feature walls in the upper living room in Resene Happy. The balustrade posts are in Resene All Black.
Walls in Resene Dusty Road work well with the new birch plywood cabinets and a new black benchtop. The eye-catching sliding doors are in Resene Smashing and Resene All Black.
A black band of Resene Double Foundry runs through the house as a delineating line between the walls and the ceiling. The walls are Resene Quarter Nullarbor with Resene Lightning Yellow shining through from the room next door.
Resene Half Cut Glass was chosen for the bathroom walls for its sense of serenity and reference to the colour of water.
The new internal stairwell has plywood on one side and is painted Resene Happy on the other side with the distinctive Resene Double Foundry black line running along it.
Sven wanted a warm peachy terracotta tone for the feature wall in the south-facing main bedroom so chose Resene Roxy. The other walls are Resene Quarter Nullarbor.
Resene All Black and Resene White were used to create the yin/yang painted sliders in the upper bathroom. The wall colour around it is Resene Half Cut Glass.
Son Tauamiti Johann chose Resene Neva for feature walls in his bedroom. The other walls are Resene Quarter Nullarbor.
Resene Double Foundry
Resene Double Foundry
Resene Half Alabaster
Resene Half Alabaster
Resene Half Cut Glass
Resene Half Cut Glass
Resene Quarter Nullarbor
Resene Quarter Nullarbor
the look
If you're stuck on what
colour to use or need colour
advice, try out the Resene
Ask a Colour Expert service.
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Resene Double Foundry
Resene Double Foundry
Resene Half Alabaster
Resene Half Alabaster
Resene Half Cut Glass
Resene Half Cut Glass
Resene Quarter Nullarbor
Resene Quarter Nullarbor
the look
If you're stuck on what
colour to use or need colour
advice, try out the Resene
Ask a Colour Expert service.
