Design for spring - make it work all year

Spring is the season of renewal, with nature bursting back into life all around us. It’s also the season when many of us get the itch to dig into home renovations and makeovers - mostly due to the improving weather.

While we often want to capture the essence of spring in those makeovers, with fresh florals, botanical greens and airy neutrals, seasonal design can be tricky. No one wants to sit in a cool, breezy-feeling room come mid-winter, yet we also don’t want to foot the bill for redecorating to suit every season.

The trick is to find the colours and motifs you love about spring and work them into a broader, versatile canvas for your rooms that will work all year.

Resene Colour Expertcolour expert Jackie Thomas suggests starting with the fresh growth and blossoming flowers we all love about spring, and use that as the base of a more versatile look.

“Bring garden décor like potted plants and flowers inside or try other simple, small botanical features like ivy trailing along a shelf,” she suggests. These simple additions add touches of spring and its close association with nature to an existing interior design, rather than going all -in on a spring design, then trying to make it work for other seasons.

Of course, adding touches of colour is another way to do the same thing.

Jackie suggests trying a simple block of painted colour, rather than a whole feature wall, in classic spring shades like soft pastels in mint and lemon with icy blues such as Resene Springtime, Resene Cooled Green and Resene Timeless.

Use your block colours to frame a chair, shelves or a showpiece artwork. Small blocks of colour are simple and cost effective to change out to warmer or bolder shades if you prefer, as your taste evolves.

This lush, warm green has all the vibrancy of spring yet the room feels warm and timeless. Walls painted in Resene Rivergum, floor washed in Resene Colorwood Shade and skirting stained in Resene Colorwood Charred Black. Table in Resene Tuscany, chairs and coral in Resene Alpaca, sideboard in Resene Pandemonium and planter in Resene Pipi. Tall vase on table in Resene Cest La Vie, bowl in Resene Pearl Bush and sideboard vases in Resene Eighth Black White and Resene Soiree. Art from Spotlight. Project by Annick Larkin, image by Bryce Carleton.

You can try the same approach with drops of wallpaper in delightful spring florals like Resene Wallpaper Collection 333124, which comes in a range of different background colours, or Resene Wallpaper Collection E313557 which offers texture rather than a pattern, in a soft spring green, similar to Resene Half Washed Green. It works well against deep browns like Resene Dark Rum and off-whites like Resene Parchment.

If you want to try a bolder spring-inspired Resene wallpaper pattern in florals or dramatic leaves, but don’t want to overwhelm the space, use your wallpaper in a single drop behind a favourite chair or frame sections of the wallpaper to hang as art.

Jackie also suggests using a strip of your chosen Resene wallpaper design over a tabletop or on the front or interior of a chest of drawers for a nod to that spring feeling, without having to re-theme your whole room. “Topcoat your wallpapered tabletop with Resene Aquaclear for added durability or you can place a piece of glass on top if your wallpaper is textured.”

Lift one or two spring, or botanical, colours from your wallpaper design and find similar Resene colours to paint decor features like picture frames or plant pots to pull your room together.

Top tip: Take a photo of your colour inspiration and upload it to the Resene Colour Match online tool at resene.com/colourmatchonline to find a similar Resene shade to help get you started on your colour palette.

Colour choice

When it comes to choosing a spring-inspired colour palette, adding touches of punchier, bold colours with classic neutrals will help your space stand the test of time and feel comfortable year-round.

Jackie suggests spicing up a pale yellow and soft green palette of colours like Resene Half Splash and Resene Soft Apple with accents of hot pink and grape, like Resene Very Berry, Resene Grape Escape and Resene Black Doris. Add drama to a palette of pastel pinks like Resene Paper Doll with orange-reds like Resene Bliss and dark crimson Resene Spitfire or a dark neutral like Resene Coffee Bean.

This simple DIY artwork in spring-inspired Resene Moonbeam works just like a ray of sunshine to keep this simple room feeling bright and uplifting year-round. Wall, floor, bench seat and vase painted in Resene Half Sea Fog, frames in Resene Teak, framed wallpapers in Resene Wallpaper Collection 409253, left, and Resene Wallpaper Collection 464900. Coffee table from Smith & Caughey, cushion fabrics from Atelier Textiles. Mural by Leigh Stockton, project by Tracey Strange, image by Belinda Merrie.

“These bolder accent colours can be used in artwork, to paint items of furniture or use them as inspiration on your mood board for fabrics and wallpaper,” Jackie says.

“Have you ever looked at the selvedge of furnishing fabrics? You can see the individual colours used to make up that fabric and there are usually some unexpected contrast colours that bring life to the overall combination.

“The same idea works for dressing a room. It can fall a bit flat if everything is in the same colour family. Audition some different accent colours, you may be surprised what works!”

Neutral backdrop

Choosing the right neutrals can be another important part of creating different spring looks that feel timeless, rather than seasonal. If you opt for the right neutral as your main room colour, you can build on that with notes of spring shades to lift the room, and make it feel bright and uplifting, yet warm year- round.

Within the Resene Whites & Neutrals range there are many different shades of whites and off-white that are quite mutable that look quite different in changing light conditions. Depending on what other colours are around them, they can appear warmer or cooler. Some good examples are Resene Half Tea, Resene Spanish White and Resene Merino which are very versatile - one of the reasons they regularly feature among Resene’s best-selling colours.

Two shades of turquoise evoke the gentle blue of a sunny spring day, while the earthy neutrals and touches of brown keep it feeling like a classic look for all seasons. Lower wall painted in Resene Undercover, upper wall in Resene Ashanti with moulding in Resene Hermitage and panels in Resene Edward. Skirting and floor painted in Resene Half Sea Fog, vases and books in Resene Undercover and Resene Ashanti and ball sculpture in Resene Hermitage. Throw from Niche Homestore, ottoman from Indie Home Collective, sofa, pouffe, cushions and lamp from Maytime. Project by Tracey Strange, image by Belinda Merrie.

This versatility also means they can make a good base for seasonal designing because they work well with a wide range of colours - meaning you can add furniture, soft furnishings or painted decor pieces and feature blocks in spring colours which are easier to move around or swap for other pieces to suit different seasons.

The other thing to consider when choosing a spring-inspired yet neutral base is the location of your room. South-facing rooms will feel inherently cooler so opt for warming spring inspired neutrals and accent colours like Resene Half Rice Cake and Resene Merino and pair them with warm spring colours such as Resene Caper or Resene Lipstick. In north-facing rooms you can afford to go a little cooler with your colour palette with shades like Resene Half Barely There with spring-inspired splashes of delicate Resene Wafer or mauve Resene Poet.

Top tip: If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the vast array of whites and what will suit your room, start with Resene testpots in soft mid-toned neutrals rather than classic white. Your local Resene ColorShop team can advise you on the difference between warm and cool shades and what might work in your space.

In the garden

If you want to play with spring-themed designs that will work all year, a good place to start is outside. It’s the natural place to try different botanical or nature-inspired ideas and you have to think less about whether the finished look feels too cool for year-round appeal.

Give your outdoor furniture a clean and paint it in a spring-theme palette of colours. Use different, but tonally similar, shades for each item of furniture for added colour flair that still leaves them looking like a set.

The sense of movement in this DIY mural and the layers of spring greens give this living room an uplifting liveliness. Wall painted in Resene Moon Mist with mural in Resene Waiouru. Floor in Resene Moon Mist, table in Resene Bud, sideboard and candleholders in Resene Flax and plant pots, bowl and coaster in Resene Waiouru. Sofa from Danske Møbler, round cushion from Adairs, linen cushion from H&M Home. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Bryce Carleton.

Try sunset pinks like Resene Ebb, Resene Soothe, Resene Paper Doll and Resene Coral Tree with a contrast of lush green Resene Green House with neutral trims or accents in Resene Quarter Spanish White. Try a contrasting dark stain like Resene Woodsman Crowshead on boundary fences. Dark colours will recede from the eye making your backyard feel larger and they look great against fresh greens and pretty floral colours.

For all the ideas, inspiration, colours and products you need for your next decorating project, visit your local Resene ColorShop.