white hot

There is a reason that Resene's top 20 colours are all whites and neutrals – versatility. White goes with everything and can be an excellent unifying colour. Says Brooke: "There are so many different shades of white. Cool shades such as Resene Sea Fog often work well if you are working with a modern new home. With a more traditional style home, warm, soft whites such as Resene Half Spanish White will be complementary, especially if there is a lot of native timber. For something in between, greige – where grey meets beige – is a good option," says Brooke.

Resene Colour Consultant Amy Watkins suggests choosing whites to complement the home's chattels when renovating. "Start by choosing flooring, tiles, carpet, laminate and wood, as these will soon narrow down paint or stain colour choices," she says. "For example, if you have warm, neutral-coloured carpet, it's best to go with a warm white such as Resene Chalk Dust. If the carpet contains grey tones with a slight blue, you could use Resene Poured Milk."

One myth about white is that it can make a room appear light and airy – even bigger. In fact, using the same colour everywhere can make a room feel cramped as the eye cannot take in the space’s height and depth.

Darker colours on furniture or flooring can ground the room to help the eye perceive the distance between the ceiling and the floor, as can varying the strength of the paint and the sheen level.

“When it comes to a neutral colour scheme, Resene makes it easy because of the way they have the double, half, quarter etc strengths all displayed together in one sample card,” says interior designer Megan Harrison-Turner.

“When taking advantage of Resene’s tonal colours, change the gloss levels on different surfaces. For example, use Resene SpaceCote Flat on the ceiling, Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen on walls and Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss on trims. Glossy surfaces will read as slightly lighter in colour because gloss is more reflective of light.” Megan suggests that instead of pure white (Resene White), a classic renovator choice, use the lightest colour available on the sample card for ceilings, aiming for no more than a half or quarter strength of your main wall colour.

There are moments when you might want to use the same colour on the walls and ceiling. “In some rooms, it’s a good idea to use the same colour to simplify the architecture and disguise certain elements – for example, a crooked wall or a cornice you don’t like,” says interior designer Kate Alexander. “Use different sheen levels to create variation.”

Pale and interesting

The risk of painting a room white from top to toe is that it can appear flat, like the pages of a brochure, even if you introduce pops of colour. Megan says two things are needed to make a neutral room sing:

• A source of interesting lighting other than overhead lighting.
• Three different types of texture.

She says lighting can be as simple as a table lamp in the corner. “To create texture, a good option is timber flooring with its natural colours knocked back, such as one finished with Resene Colorwood Whitewash. Remember to introduce texture. A two-tone wall created with Resene FX Paint Effects Medium is a good option, as are textured textiles and rugs.”

Another way to keep a white room dynamic is by remembering Megan’s styling rhyme.

“This is my adaptation of the old bridal rhyme,” she says. “When styling a room, look for: ‘Something old, something new, something shining, something hue.’

“The ‘something old’ could be an heirloom or opshop treasure, which work well because patina is a way to show texture, personality and character. The ‘something new’ could be fresh Resene paint or new bedding, ‘Something shining’ could be metal or glass or something painted in Resene FX Metallic paint to create visual texture as a contrast to the older pieces in the room. The ‘something hue’ is either about keeping the tones similar or, if the room has colour, ‘hue’ refers to repeating the colour on a different scale and a different plane to the wall colour.”

Pairing colours

If you’re keen on using statement feature colours, consider your colour palette before committing to one neutral colour throughout. For example, if your heart is set on Resene Duck Egg Blue, a yellow neutral such as Resene Pearl Lusta might detract from the blue’s chalky grey qualities. A softer choice might be a tonal white with grey undertones like Resene White Pointer. With bright or dark feature walls, consider the reflections on white walls.

“Whites often have a high reflectance value, which you can find neighbouring colours reflect onto easily,” says Brooke. “For example, if you painted a hot-pink feature wall and had a sofa to match, it’s very likely the colour will come through with a soft pink hue on crisp white walls. You can achieve a softer approach using a tonal scheme rather than a full-on colour block.”

How to test

Use Resene testpots or A4 drawdown paint swatches to test the paint colour in your home. This will help you observe how the colour ‘shifts’ in different lighting and at different times of the day or night.

Try your painted swatches in different parts of every room you want to use that colour in – or every side of the house if you’re painting the exterior – to see how the colour changes as the available light changes.

Place your painted swatches next to key furniture items like sofas to see how the colours work together, or if you’re doing a full makeover, try your painted swatches next to curtain, carpet and upholstery fabric swatches. Make sure you also experiment with Resene testpots and painted swatches in any contrasting or trim colours to make sure everything works together in all lights.

If something isn’t working, remember that most whites are available in different strengths – for example, Resene Rice Cake comes in six different strengths from Resene Triple Rice Cake to Resene Eighth Rice Cake. You may find that different strengths of the same neutral work better in different rooms.

Future thinking?

For more than a decade, cool, flat greys and whites have been the favourites in the Resene top 20 colours, including best-sellers Resene Black White and Resene Alabaster, though there is a trend towards more dynamic hues. “There has been a shift to warmer and more complex options, such as character neutrals, which feature more depth in their subtle undertones,” says Brooke.

“Look out for biscuit beiges, blush suedes, steeped tea toned whites, olive taupe, slate and stone and complex pewters. Resene Cobblestone, Resene Solitaire, Resene Athena, Resene Foundation, Resene Cargo, Resene Carpe Noctem and Resene Silver Chalice represent the new neutrals. Immensely flexible thanks to their rich and complex undertones, each of these hues makes a great base for those who like to change up their accent décor regularly.”

Projects: Kate Alexander, Megan Harrison-Turner, Vanessa Nouwens, Melle Van Sambeek
Words: Emma Rawson
Images: Bryce Carleton, Melanie Jenkins

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