How to give your bedroom a pre-winter refresh
A Resene colour expert answers your makeover questions. By Anabela Rea.
If your home is feeling a little bit tired and the thought of the seasons changing makes you sigh, maybe it’s time for a little pick-me-up. Redecorating your home is a great way to bring life and energy back into your abode, and there’s no time like the present to do that. With the weather still warm enough to allow you to transform your bedroom in a weekend, why not use paint to give your most personal room a curated new look? You’ll feel all the better for it when it’s time to cuddle up, come winter.
Resene Colour Expert Amy Watkins shares her tips on how to revitalise your boudoir.
If someone said they wanted to refresh their bedroom without spending a fortune, what would you suggest?
Start by looking at what you can’t change, these are what you are going to have to work with. Even something as simple as a feature wall behind the bedhead can make a huge difference to refresh a room.
Which paint colours are trending for bedrooms right now?
A:
Clients are loving colour! Anything from your dusty pinks of Resene Soothe, earthy greens of Resene Siam or the navy inspired blue of Resene Teal Blue, are all colours getting used in bedrooms right now. Whether it’s a feature wall or going bold and having all the walls painted in these richer colours, people want to use colour.
Which colours promote a feeling of restfulness?
Colour is such a personal choice, so what feels restful to one person might not feel restful to the next. As a general rule your cool, nature-inspired colours are what give a restful feeling. These are your blues and green colour tones.
What are some of your favourite greens for bedrooms?
Resene Paddock, Resene Xanadu, Resene Forest Green.
What are some of your favourite blues?
Resene Wishlist, Resene Teal Blue, Horizon.
What do you think of lilac or purple as a bedroom colour?
These are wonderfully soft and can be very inviting colour tones. Going for the light colours such as Resene Greywacke or Resene Heartbreaker can give you an away-with-the-clouds feeling.
Talk to me about feature walls. Are they still in fashion? Can they be done to look cool in 2024?
Yes of course! Even though people like to immerse themselves in colours, there is still a time and place for a feature wall.
Feature walls are often still used when there are interesting roof angles or as a way to make the room feel longer than what it might actually be.
How much paint approximately do you need to do a feature wall?
It completely depends on the size of the wall. This can be anywhere between one and four litres.
How else could I use paint to refresh my bedroom if I didn’t want to paint the whole room?
Look at your bedside tables and other pieces of furniture. Just repainting or staining these can help lift the whole room.
How do I figure out the right neutral to accompany my feature colour?
It’s important to look at your feature colour first because that will narrow down the neutral options. Resene has complementary colour options with all of our colours to help make the narrowing down easier.
Which whites are the most popular for bedrooms?
Resene Rice Cake, Resene Merino and Resene Alabaster are always popular.
What type of paint should you use on walls and ceilings in the bedroom?
For your walls, I would recommend Resene Zylone Sheen or Resene Spacecote Low Sheen. For your ceilings, Resene Ceiling Paint.
Should you paint your ceiling a lighter colour?
Ninety per cent of the time that is the case. This is because it helps to lift the ceiling height to make it feel open. If you are looking at a darker, moody setting then you might want to go for a darker colour which isn’t a problem.
Could repainting just my ceiling refresh my room?
It depends on the condition of your wall colour. Whenever you repaint just one element of a space you run the risk of the other spaces looking tired.
What shade should you paint trims and skirting?
This comes down to personal taste and what kind of style you are wanting to achieve.
■ Option 1: Going lighter than the walls with an off-white.
■ Option 2: Same colour as the walls.
■ Option 3: Going darker than the walls.
■ All work: It just depends on what style you are wanting to achieve.
What sort of paint should you use on furniture, for example, bedside tables?
It needs to be a harder-wearing paint such as your waterborne enamels like Resene Lustacryl.
This article was produced in partnership with Resene.