Only natural
Create a nature- inspired interior
NEXT TIME you’re out for a walk in nature, pay attention to the hues around you, the colour combinations and the variety of tones. Chances are, if it works outdoors, it will work well in bringing a sense of nature inside.
Expansive windows are good to give a feeling of bringing the outside indoors but, if your home is not blessed with big windows or you don’t live in an area with a green outlook, you can create natureinspired decor with careful choice of paints and wallpapers.
Colour me natural
Many of Resene’s colours draw from our beautiful natural environment.
Think of the blues popular in coastal baches — from deep-ocean blues of Resene True Blue to soft hues of Lazy River. Think of the wide range of greens that reflect our verdant bush areas from forest green of Wheel of Fortune to soft Grasshopper or the moss-like hues of Green Spring and Envy and botanical Good Life. Don’t forget the aquas and green tinged blues like Freelance.
To echo the sandscapes of our beach escapes try beiges like Celeste and Castaway, tans like Desert Sand and soft yellows like Moonlight and Popcorn.
If you’re wondering what colours go together, take a cue from nature and look at the colours in your favourite parts of the world. You can even use the Resene Colour match tool to find the exact shade of blue to match your favourite coastal view. Simply upload a photo at www.resene.co. nz/colourmatchonline and click on any part
of the photo to get the closest Resene colour.
Paper it pretty
Designs from the Resene Wallpaper Collection include a wide range of botanical prints that take inspiration from grand English gardens, ornithological patterns, Japanese style botanicals and tropical palm tree prints. Visit your local Resene ColorShop to to find a print that adds the drama or floral feel you are looking for.
Just like using testpots to try out your paint colours, you can ask for sample pieces of wallpapers to hang in place and compare patterns. Oversized designs and murals are very in vogue and well suited to larger rooms or rooms with high ceilings. You can even transform a photo of your favourite
place into a mural using the Resene WallPrint service at www.resene.co.nz/ wallprint so you can drift off to sleep in a bedroom wall showing your favourite beach or soak in the bath beneath your favourite mountain.
Wood is good
Wooden floorboards and wooden furniture goes well with a nature-inspired interior. Native timbers are fantastic but any wood can be painted and finished to create the look you require. Resene wood stains enhance the natural beauty of timber and let the grain of timber show through. They also protect the timber when paired with Qristal ClearFloor for flooring and Aquaclear on walls and furniture. Colorwood stains can be easily applied onto plywood — an easy and cheap DIY weekend project to transform a room.
Battens are also super easy to do at home — just glue or screw them in place. As wood stains are semi-transparent, the colour of the wood beneath the stain will affect the colour of the stain. You can also create a darker colour by applying more stain to the timber. Team woods with greens, blues and pops of colour that would be at home in a cottage garden.
Create texture
Love the look limestone and mudbrick? Create natural earthen-looking textured walls by using Resene FX Paint Effects medium. Simply paint a base colour of your favourite colour and then mix a second colour with FX Paint Effects medium to create a natural mottled look. Try a basecoat of Aspiring with a topcoat of FX Paint Effects medium mixed with Moon Mist for a classic stone look.