Get inspired

Kate Alexander's home renovation is an homage to colour

Forrest Gump said that life is like a box of chocolates, and interior designer Kate Alexander’s bungalow proves your home can be like one too. The outside of this Resene lover and colour enthusiast’s home has classic good looks painted with Resene Lumbersider Low Sheen in Resene Foggy Grey on the weatherboards, Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel in Resene Rice Cake on the trims and Resene Gravel on the front steps. But behind the Resene Blackjack front door lies bright, colourful Resene hues similar to what you might find in a box of Favourites.

“I love colour, but I wanted to keep the outside of the house quite classic and the inside to be a bit of a surprise that you discover as you walk through,” says Kate.

The delicious colour adventure starts in the hallway, a space which Kate says is often overlooked when it comes to design and colour. The ceiling is painted with Resene SpaceCote Flat in Resene Pink Lace – this marshmallow hue not only creates a friendly welcoming atmosphere and positive first impression, but it’s also a clever design trick DIYers can use in their renovations. A quirk of many of our homes, particularly those that have been extended or renovated over the years, is that they often feature rooms with different door and ceiling heights. Kate’s colourful ceiling employs what designers call ‘distraction theory’ as it draws guests’ eyes away from imperfections in the home. The walls and architraves are both painted in Resene Eighth Black White to add to the optical illusion.

“One of the really important parts of a house is your hallway. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in,” says Kate. “Because I had lots of different heights on my doorways and I really wanted to distract the eye away from that, I decided to add the colour on the ceiling. So, I used Resene Pink Lace and I painted the door at the end of the hallway in Resene Turbo.”

Statement kitchen

The banana vibes of Resene Turbo make another appearance in the kitchen, where Kate used the high energy yellow to create the colourful splashback with Resene Lustacryl.

“Instead of tiling I painted it to create a pop of colour and I love it,” says Kate. “I can always paint it a different colour in the future if I ever change my mind. Paint future-proofs your design choices and I love having that freedom.”

For a lighter colour you could also use Resene Lustacryl Kitchen & Bathroom, a durable waterborne enamel which contains anti-bacterial silver and MoulDefender for added protection and hygiene in the kitchen. For even more protection, add a glass panel in front of your Resene painted splashback. The yellow is contrasted with the Resene SpaceCote used on both the walls and the ceiling in bright white, Resene Eighth Black White.

Kate kept the exterior of her home subdued so that the interior bursts of colour would make more of an impact. Weatherboards painted in Resene Lumbersider Low Sheen in Resene Foggy Grey, steps in Resene Lustacryl in Resene Gravel and trims in Resene Lusatcryl in Resene Rice Cake.

The different heights of Kate's hallway doors have been cleverly disguised by drawing the eye to the pink ceiling and yellow end door. Ceiling painted in Resene SpaceCote Flat in Resene Pink Lace, yellow door in Resene Lustacryl in Resene Turbo, entrance door in Resene Blackjack and walls and architraves in Resene SpaceCote Flat in Resene Eighth Black White.

Choosing to paint the end of the kitchen bench was inspired by Art Green’s kitchen cabinet makeover featured on MasterStroke by Resene. Kate used Resene Laminate and Melamine Primer to prep the surface before painting with Resene Enamacryl gloss waterborne enamel in Resene New Day.

“I hated looking at the exposed piece of melamine but I had never tried painting melamine before,” says Kate. “It turned out to be really easy once I had primed with Resene Laminate and Melamine Primer.”

Another colourful and creative detail in the kitchen is the table upcycled from an old door and painted with Resene Enamacryl tinted to Resene True Blue. The high gloss surface makes it very easy to clean if there are any messes or spills.

A feature that has visitors gasping “Oh my” for more than one reason is the giant neon letter O on the back wall. The O, which she purchased from Junk and Disorderly, came from a former bank. “It’s a bit like a pizza or a burger joint at night-time when the light is on.”

To make the O stand out, Kate painted over an anaglypta textured wallpaper (for a similar design try Resene Anaglypta Wallpaper Collection RD80029) in Resene Blackjack. This liquorice colour also appears on the architraves in the kitchen and lounge.

“It’s traditional to paint the trims of your home in a white, but painting trims like the architraves or skirting boards in a colour can be a fun way to introduce colour and demarcate different areas of the home.”

Art as inspiration

The dark architraves also frame off the kitchen from the two living areas which are decorated with many colourful artworks – including some by her father Grant Alexander who is a collage artist, and some from her brother Elliot’s art gallery, endemicworld. The walls in the living room are painted in Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen tinted to Resene Green Meets Blue and framed with Resene Blackjack trims, making the space feel like a work of art in its own right.

“Resene Green Meets Blue makes the room feel cosy and contrasts to the white and grey that we have in other parts of the house.”

Thanks to the oversized neon letter and bold colour palette, the kitchen feels a bit like a burger joint at night. Splashback painted in Resene Lustacryl in Resene Turbo, walls and ceiling in Resene SpaceCote in Resene Eighth Black White, bench end in Resene Enamacryl in Resene New Day and back wall anaglypta textured wallpaper painted in Resene Blackjack.

Kate transformed an old door into a custom dining table using hairpin legs and a bright coat of Resene Enamacryl in Resene True Blue.

The deep green-blue hue of the living room is a cosy contrast to the white and grey that Kate’s used in other parts of the house. Walls painted in Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen in Resene Green Meets Blue, ceiling in Resene SpaceCote Flat in Resene Eighth Black White, architrave in Resene Blackjack and other trims in Resene Lustacryl in Resene Eighth Black White.

Art has inspired some of the rooms in Kate’s home. A piece by Clare Brodie was the starting point for the colour scheme of the main bedroom and ensuite.

“The key artwork sets the colour scheme of the space,” says Kate. “The great thing about it is we’ve got Resene Concrete on the walls, which is a lovely neutral,, but we’ve used the artwork, the chair and the mirror to bring the fun and vibrancy to the space,” says Kate.

“Through the bedroom into the master ensuite you see Resene Bingo which really pops on the mirror, and you’re seeing Resene New Day on the ceiling and you also get the door which we’ve painted in Resene Sail Away. So all of it works in one joyful delightful space that I love being in.” Resene Lustacryl Kitchen & Bathroom is the paint used on the ceiling and the door of the ensuite and the semi-gloss finish adds additional visual texture to the space.

Kate loves using Resene paint as a cost-effective alternative to tiles and to create greater design freedom. Many of the floors in her home, including those in the main bedroom, are painted using Resene Aquapoxy high performance wall and floor paint tinted to Resene Double Black White.

“The floor is just chipboard, but painting is such an easy solution to freshen up the space. I wish I could encourage more people to paint their floors – think of it like an extra wall in your home and an extra opportunity for colour,” says Kate.

Grey escapes

Possibly the most shocking thing for colour-loving Kate was when her teenage daughter asked for an all-white room. Kate opted for Resene Eighth Black White on the walls and trims but to soften the look added a hint of colour with Resene Kinship on the ceiling. “It’s grey but it’s got a bit of a pinky tone to it. It’s soft and it’s so lovely to lie in the bed and see the grey ceiling.”

The soft neutral grey in her main bedroom is brought to life with artwork and furniture. Walls painted in SpaceCote Low Sheen in Resene Concrete, floor Resene Aquapoxy in Resene Double Black White, ceiling in Resene SpaceCote Flat in Resene Eighth Black White and trims in Resene Lustacryl in Resene Eighth Black White.

Walls painted in Resene SpaceCote Flat in Resene Silver Chalice, retro gaming machine in Resene Eighth Black White with hand-painted stripes in Resene Popcorn, Resene Guggenheim, Resene Pursuit, Resene Upstage and Resene Nepal, ceiling in Resene SpaceCote Flat in Resene Eighth Black White and trims in Resene Lustacryl in Resene Eighth Black White.

Her son also has grey on the walls but in a different colour, Resene Silver Chalice, which Kate chose because of the amount of light in the room. “My son has the best room in the house because he gets the sun all day, and we’ve used Resene Silver Chalice because it can handle the brightness,” says Kate.

A quirky detail in her son’s room is the retro gaming machine loaded up with classics such as Mario Kart. Kate’s husband Matt built an arcade machine frame from scratch and painted it in Resene Eighth Black White with stripes in Resene Popcorn, Resene Guggenheim, Resene Pursuit, Resene Upstage and Resene Nepal. “I often draw my lines freehand and don’t mask up, but I wanted it to look clean,” says Kate, who asked dad Grant to tackle the stripes.

How to pick a palette

To choose colours for her own home and for her clients, Kate starts with a mood board and then orders Resene A4 drawdown paint swatches from her local Resene ColorShop. These A4 cards are painted with real Resene paint and give a true representation of the paint colours – another option is to use Resene testpots to paint A2 pieces of card.

“One of the most important things about colour is how it reacts in different lights. I also bring my Resene swatches with me when I’m shopping for accessories so I can match things correctly,” she says.

Although Kate’s renovations are technically completed, her home will never ever be finished as she loves putting on her Resene overalls to change things up when she feels inspired.

“People keep saying, ‘Now that you’re done, what are you going to do?’ But a house is never really finished, like any piece of art.”

Top tip:

Resene Aquapoxy is a low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) waterborne epoxy that’s a highly durable option for protecting many floors, but also fibre cement, concrete and plaster. The two-pack system features a base and a hardener that are mixed together, and the cured film is non-yellowing with high surface hardness and excellent flexibility. Resene Aquapoxy is available in semi-gloss or gloss and has excellent adhesion and water resistance.

To apply to flooring such as particle board or ply, sand away any nibs to a feathered edge and wipe off the sanding dust. Prime using Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer undercoat and leave for two-free days before overcoating. Apply 2-3 coats of Resene Aquapoxy and wait at least three days before walking on it. Take care with the coating when it is new. For the first couple of weeks the coating will be soft and will likely scratch if in contact with sharp objects such as high heels, chair legs or dog claws.