When you’re planning a home makeover project, no matter how big or small, it’s important to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve.
For many people, that includes being clear about whether they are making over their home to suit their own lifestyle and taste or whether they are improving things to make their home more appealing and valuable to potential buyers.
The variables
Where you put your focus will largely depend on how long you expect to be in your current home.
If it’s your first home, you might be expecting to outgrow or upgrade your house within a year or two, or you might have bought a do-up with the goal of selling it on. In these cases, your focus should be more skewed to potential buyers.
If you’ve bought a home you intend to live in for many years, your makeover is obviously going to be much more focused on what you like and how you and your family live in it.
Good foundations
Whether you’re designing for yourself or for others, a backdrop in Resene whites and neutrals can be your best friend. It allows you to create a versatile, adaptable canvas, or spark the imagination of potential buyers.
Resene Colour Consultant Jackie Nicholls suggests exploring some of Resene’s complex mid-tone neutrals rather than sticking to a minimalist white-on-white approach.
Within the Resene Whites and Neutrals range there are many off-whites and creamy tones that look quite different in different light conditions or when placed next to other colours, appearing warmer or cooler, she says.
Some good examples are Half Tea, Spanish White, and Fossil. You can then build up the personalisation of your space, adding accent notes in your favourite colours.
Try a dramatic contrast with a single chair or shelf painted in a bold shade like Moroccan Spice, against walls in Half Tea, or layer in richer neutrals like Lemon Grass or Eternity for earthier contrast.
If part of your renovation is giving your walls a refresh, you can work with subtle pastel and muted colours that will give a widely appealing neutral look, with a little extra
colour. Some subtle shades to try are grey-blues like Nebula, pastel greens like Paris White, peach tones like Cashmere or pale yellows like Egg Sour.
Tips for outdoors
A key thing for your outdoor space is to make it look both intentional and adaptable. That means creating at least one space that feels sheltered and well-used, ideally connected to your interior for an indoor-outdoor flow.
Take a similar approach to your indoor living area by using a combination of neutrals in wood stains like Colorwood Natural or Colorwood Driftwood and outdoor paint shades like Merino and White Pointer. Add some personality to your furniture and planters with bold sunshine shades like Meteor, Mai Tai, and Hero.
Top tip: A darker fence stain like Waterborne Woodsman Charred Black can actually make your outdoor area feel larger as black tends to recede from the eye so your property borders aren’t so firmly defined. This is particularly true when it’s used on fences behind trees and shrubs, as it starts to disappear into the shadows.
If you need help finding the right colours to bring out the best in your home, visit your local Resene ColorShop, ask a Resene Colour Expert free online, www.resene.com/colourexpert, or book a Resene Colour Consultation free instore or virtually or a paid home visit in selected areas, www.resene.com/colourconsult.
