Woodn’t it be nice?
Here’s a fresh look at wooden interiors
WE KIWIS have long had a love affair with wood in our homes. Not only have we built our houses with it, we have invited the versatile strength and warmth of wood inside to use in everything from flooring and walls to furniture and fittings.
After spending so much of our recent time indoors, disconnected from nature, it’s no wonder we are embracing wood textures and finishes in our homes like never before in new and interesting ways.
Texture and tone
Bold native wood finishes in rimu, mata¯ı and kauri have always been a key feature in our older homes.
But today’s aesthetic has one eye firmly fixed on sustainability, using less iconic and increasingly rare timbers. The other eye is on maintaining a lighter touch style-wise as well, opting for timbers that complement, rather than dominate. Today’s wood finishes showcase and protect the natural texture and grain of the wood but allow it to sit comfortably in all environments.
For example Resene Colorwood Whitewash highlights the beautiful grain of any wood flooring, walls panels or furniture for a summery, easy-care Hamptons style finish. But you’re not limited to white or a neutral colour.
Shades like Colorwood Mid Greywash or Crowshead bring in tones of grey- and green-edged black but you can also go bold with, say, Deep Purple or Satin Orange.
Darker stains such as Resene Colorwood Pitch Black or Deep Oak help create a soft, cosier finish for comforting rooms synch as studies, but with a less dense finish than a dark paint. It’s a good option for smaller retreat spaces.
The beauty of stain is that you keep the essential grain finish of the wood, but it can sit comfortably in any design aesthetic. It can also ease the concerns of those wood lovers who hate the very idea of painting over wood!
TOP TIP: Resene Colorwood can easily be applied with a brush or rag and is a great way to add colour to your timber without losing its natural beauty. As all woods are different, use a small off-cut of timber to test the colour before applying a stain. Make sure to coat interior wood stains with two coats of a clear coat such as Resene Aquaclear. You can also play with layering different stains to create a new colour finish.
Quality control
Good use of timber finishes — whether it’s stain or paint — allows you flexibility in the timber used for design features such as built-in shelving, bed heads or cupboards. That can be important give the cost of some timbers.
Simple pine or even ply that is stained still lends your interior the texture, grain and solidity of wood without the costs of higher end timbers and it can be adapted to suit any colour scheme.
The flipside of that is you can also take cheaper timber features and paint them in shades that resemble a natural wood finish.
It’s a fun, inexpensive way to get the effect of an all-wood finish. Aim to stick with natural and neutral wood tones, rather than those that tend toward the orange or gold; Resene Bronco or Resene Sisal might work.
The ever-popular Scandi aesthetic of keeping things simple and natural is a good guide for “faking” your wood effects. Highlight pale neutrals with leafy plants and complementary shades in forest or sage greens such as Resene Palm Green or Paddock. Alternatively go for bold tones such as Wood Bark for dramatic accents.
Go structural
An exciting trend emerging in interior designs is the use of wood battens, panels and planks on walls, fittings and furniture.
This opens a whole new channel for creativity, using wood in ways that add interest and visual depth to a room.
Lay battens across a wall in a grid or criss-cross pattern, add tongue and groove panelling to the bottom half of walls, create an eye-catching bedhead or use elegant wood screening to divide spaces in larger rooms.
Wood accents like these, which can be stained or painted to suit your wider colour scheme, can lend a layer of luxury, and work as a modern spin on traditional wood craft in older homes. They add textural elements which create highlights, lowlights and shadow into a room, making it more inviting and comforting.