One room at a time

Jane and Ian bought a neglected DIY disaster with half-finished projects and dodgy wiring but they could see it had potential. The outside was a peeling grubby white and the inside was painted either yellowy cream or a muddy green.

They resolved to repaint the whole house in Resene paints themselves as they had used it in earlier houses. They have been doing that room by room ever since. Ian cuts and Jane rolls! They are also renovating the house in stages as budget allows.

Before they started the first renovation, they brightened up the hall and kitchen/dining area with Resene Alabaster on walls and joinery and painted two bedrooms in Resene Half Wan White and the third in Resene Wan White. The fresh crisp whites and soft greys were transformational and Jane was keen to keep going but first they had to gut the middle section of the house and move the laundry downstairs to free up some space.

The following year they renovated the kitchen, doubled the size of the poky third bedroom, and put an ensuite in. Jane painted her all time-favourite colour Resene Powder Blue above the kitchen cupboards and the stools were painted to match.

Their son's new room was painted in Resene Alabaster, with a feature wall to match his lampshade and duvet in Resene Hawkes Blue. The other son's room received a mini update by repainting his chimney breast in Resene Bokara Grey to give it a more grown up look.

The new ensuite and cupboards in the master bedroom were painted Resene Half Wan White to match the existing paintwork.

Jane and Ian had a rest from painting until some time later when they painted the outside of their house in Resene Half Eskimo with Resene Bokara Grey on the front and the garage doors and joinery in Resene Alabaster. Jane wanted a soft ‘Nana’ bach blue since they are in a bungalow near the sea - but once it was done it was slightly too low key.

Inspired by a cushion and earlier Resene colour finalists, Jane bought heaps of Resene testpots and painted the bay window shingles in multiple colours. The neighbours were a little disapproving but kids love it, and it is now called the rainbow house by little girls in the neighbourhood.

Next was the living room to get rid of the last of the depressing green, painting three walls Resene Half Wan White and the wall behind the TV Resene Grenadier - a bright pop of orange as Ian was complaining that Jane paints everything blue!

She then updated the master bedroom with a Resene Nebula feature wall behind the bed which she has argued is more green than blue!

They didn't have the money to redo the bathroom completely, but managed a new look on a small budget. Jane wanted to paint the walls above the rather manky white tiles Resene Bokara Grey, but her husband worried that it would be too dark. After about 10 Resene testpots they settled on Resene Half Silver Chalice on three walls and Resene Bokara Grey on the fourth. Jane hung some hexagonal display boxes to bring out the pastels and painted the vanity in a Resene Soft Mint and added a round mirror. A bathroom revamp for $500!

Hall, kitchen/dining walls and joinery, boy's bedroom walls	Bedroom walls, en suite and cupboards, living room walls	Bedroom walls	Kitchen walls and stools
Resene Alabaster	Resene Half Wan White	Resene Wan White	Resene Powder Blue
Boy's bedroom feature wall	Chimney breast, bathroom feature wall	Living room feature wall	Master bedroom feature wall
Resene Hawkes Blue	Resene Bokara Grey	Resene Grenadier	Resene Nebula
Bathroom walls	Vanity	Exterior walls	Front and garage doors
Resene Half Silver Chalice	Resene Soft Mint	Resene Eskimo (used as half)	Resene Bokara Grey
Exterior joinery
Resene Alabaster

Thanks to Jane and Ian.

---

Decorating inspiration gallery
Click on the links below to view more great home decorating ideas and colour schemes for home interiors and exteriors.