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Colour with compliments

Tessa and her family's house was a sea of beige and yellow apart from one pink bedroom. The exterior was in desperate need of a refresh and the weatherboards required some love. In the five years that they have owned the house they have had two children and slowly transformed the house to better reflect their style and made improvements to both the interior and exterior.

The renovation budget didn't quite stretch far enough to replace the existing brown cabinetry in the kitchen so they decided to tile the splash back and paint the walls in the adjoining living area and make the most of what they had. They replaced old blinds and flooring and refreshed the trims and skirting boards. Resene Duck Egg Blue allowed them to add warmth to the space, create a modern feel and also complement the existing cabinetry. The hallway runs on from this room so Resene Duck Egg Blue was carried through to the hallway with new carpet and light fittings. The ceilings are Resene Alabaster and the trims and skirting boards are in Resene Half Rice Cake.

The north facing master bedroom has a large bay window and is a real sun trap. Tessa wanted to create a calm relaxing space during the day and in the evening. She painted the walls with Resene Ash, trims in Resene Alabaster and added double tracked curtains custom made to add a luxe feel to the space. Tessa constantly gets comments from friends and family who say they just want to lie on the bed in the sun as it looks so inviting. The subtle green tinge in Resene Ash is very calming but also has enough depth to not be boring.

Tessa painted her 3 year old son's room in Resene Avalanche with Resene Alabaster. The colour is deep and warm and really allows his colourful artwork to pop. She also updated the colour in her 5 year old's room. She had previously painted it two years ago but felt like it needed slightly more depth especially once they laid the new carpet. The colour is Resene Lynch. It used to be Resene Blue Moon. This is joined with Resene FX Blackboard Paint for a fun wall area that can be drawn on with chalk.

Tessa found the hardest colour choice for the house was the exterior. The previous owners had installed aluminium windows which took away some of the character of the house. Tessa didn't want to make the aluminium a feature so decided to paint the weatherboards in Resene Sea Fog and make the remaining character features pop with Resene Element. The double garage has been painted entirely in Resene Element. The deck will be stained in Resene Woodsman Pitch Black once the weather improves. The black and white looks smart and modern yet still allows the house to have some character. The exterior was painted by A1 decorators who did an amazing job as there was a lot of prep work involved. They completely transformed the house.