Rebooting your home for winter

When all the leaves are brown and the sky is grey, your best asset is a home that wraps you in a warm embrace in the form of cocooning colours, comfortable furnishings and touchable textures. Just as you pull on a jacket and scarf when the temperature dips, rebooting your home for winter is as simple as adding layers to your décor.

While some may believe that deep dark colours could make a room feel cold, their cocooning nature actually makes them feel like just the opposite. Wall and floor in Resene Suits, fireplace and low vase in Resene Noir, side table in Resene Thunder Road, tall bottle vase in Resene Ethereal and vase with dried flowers, large round vase (on side table) and tea light holder in Resene Barnstorm. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Melanie Jenkins.

Stuff and things

Now’s the time to rescue your blankets and throws from storage, taking them from their summertime slumber to snuggle-ready in living rooms and bedrooms. Update your cushion covers or add a couple of seasonal newbies to the mix, opting for rich tones and textures like velvet and wool. You could swap airy summer-weight curtains for heavier fabrics such as linen, make hard floors more inviting with the addition of rugs, and switch light cotton bedding for saturated colour combinations and heavier materials. Available at Briscoes nationwide, the Resene Living range is designed to complement your paint and includes duvet covers, cushions and towels that are perfect for this purpose.

Restful, romantic and often associated with royalty, purple combines the calm stability of blue and the fierce energy of red. When combined with the warmth of taupe like the purples is this lounge, the hue is among the most warming winter-appropriate colours – especially when layered with a soft rug and velvet furniture. Walls in Resene Rocky Mountain, floor in Resene Sixth Sense, door in Resene Thunder Road, side table in Resene Rivergum, large-ribbed plant pot in Resene Indian Ink, basket (with plant) in Resene Safehaven, tray in Resene Courage and plant pots (on tray) in Resene Grey Olive and Resene Safehaven. Project by Annick Larkin, image by Melanie Jenkins.

Warm your heart

Christchurch interior designer Becky Lee, of Becky Lee Interiors, says the change of season often sparks in her a desire to pick up a paintbrush and redecorate. “Paint is easy to change, so don’t be afraid to take the plunge and try something new.”

The experts at your local Resene ColorShop are here to help, and Becky says she’s drawn to brick tones such as henna red Resene Burnt Sienna and colonial Resene Red Oxide. “These colours are fabulous for a living space, dining room, moody bedroom or powder room teamed with warm metallic accents in brass, bronze, copper or gold. I also love these tones combined with other earthy colours – check out mustard brown Resene Korma and cardamom bronze Resene Horses Neck for inspiration.”

Seasonal transitions often inspire an adjustment to everyday life. Much like you change up your wardrobe when the weather gets warmer or cooler, a change of seasons is the perfect time to spruce up the design scheme of your home, inside and out. Back wall in Resene Merino, front wall in Resene Alabaster, floor in Resene White Pointer, DIY artwork in Resene Quarter Tea, Resene Double Ash and Resene Half Truffle, tall vase in Resene Parchment , lamp in Resene Tapa and hook rack in Resene Double Ash. Project by Gem Adams, image by Melanie Jenkins.

Neutral gear

Being a fan of neutral colours doesn’t preclude a chilly season revamp. Becky suggests bringing depth to your walls with a grey-brown such as Resene Half Mondo or green-tinged Resene Masala. “These provide a wonderful backdrop for showcasing antique timber furniture, baskets and artisan crafts made using natural fibres like jute and rattan. These complex neutrals are also versatile for lovers of brighter, more playful colours as they look amazing as a backdrop for a gallery wall with lots of colourful mismatched frames and bold artworks.”

Grey is a wonderfully enveloping neutral for a wintery scheme and totally on trend. Get chic with it by layering it from ceiling to skirtings, combining several tonal shades like warm pebblestone Resene Kensington Grey, warm carbon Resene Gunsmoke and warm ash Resene Quarter Gravel, for instance, to create an all-consuming effect that can be offset with furnishings in blush pink and taupe such as Resene Tuft Bush and Resene Alpaca, teamed with white or cream like Resene Quarter Rice Cake or Resene Blanc.

In an age where it can sometimes feel like trends change even faster than the weather, classic design styles and colour combinations will always be in high demand. Try these warm options in your own living room. Main wall colour in Resene Merino with small circle (top right) in Resene Swiss Caramel, large circle (left) in Resene Indian Ink and corner circle (bottom right) in Resene Route 66, pendant lamp and coffee table in Resene Indian Ink, tray in Resene Route 66, round vase (on coffee table) in Resene Excalibur , tea light holder in Resene Merino, sideboard in Resene Swiss Caramel, tall vase in Resene Excalibur and small vase in Resene Route 66. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Bryce Carleton.

Paper trail

Becky has stellar advice for layering up your spaces with colour. “Identify a starting point – an artwork, a favourite cushion, an inherited piece or wallpaper. Using the latter as an example, choose two to three colours that appear in the wallpaper, then consider the variations – shades, tints and tones – of those that can be safely added to the space. If your wallpaper is strongly patterned, such as with a large-scale floral, as you layer up the space, you can add more pattern with cushions, drapes and the like, but look for patterns of different scales that won’t compete with your walls, yet are still connected to your colour palette. Prints in the same style or that feature the same shapes can also form that common thread.”

If patterned wallpaper isn’t ‘you’, cosy choices for colour-blocked winter wallpaper include the tactile options in the Resene Wallpaper Collection. If you can’t find a wallpaper in just the right colour, choose from the Resene Anaglypta Wallpaper Collection then paint in your favourite Resene colour to suit your room’s colour palette.

Another key to layering successfully is to think about what each item in a room is connected to and create contrast between them. Take that patterned wallpaper, for instance, says Becky, “The sofa pushed up against this wall will look best in a plain fabric, then you might like the cushions on the sofa to be patterned. Most carpet is plain, so consider putting a pattered or textural rug on top of it. Of course, there are all sorts of scenarios where these ‘rules’ don’t apply, such as colour blocking and clever maximalist design, but these are foolproof tips for beginners.”

Wintery whites contrast with deep dark plywood walls stained in Resene Colorwood Woody Bay, which has a beautiful blue tinge to it. Floors painted in Resene Sea Fog, sideboard and coasters in Resene Casper, coffee table painted in Resene Indian Ink with Resene Sea Fog wiped on as a ‘white wash’, pendant lamp in Resene Sea Fog, textured pot on sideboard in Resene Felix, screen painted in Resene Felix with Resene Sea Fog wiped on as ‘white wash’, basket in Resene Felix, tall vase in Resene Indian Ink, bowl and tea light holder in Resene Thunder Road and white vase on side table in Resene Sea Fog. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Melanie Jenkins.

Top tips:

1. Rather than impulse buying low-cost items for your update that may not last the distance, invest in a few quality ones you’ll enjoy for years to come. Support local makers and artists and look for vintage pieces with extra character. These can be inexpensively spruced up with Resene testpots, which are just the right size for satisfying weekend paint projects such as revamping timber furniture. Timber can also be revitalised with Resene Colorwood wood stains, or use Resene Colorwood Whitewash for a French-antique effect.

2. “Winter means more time spent indoors, so it’s a great time to reconfigure the layout of your spaces to encourage connection and relaxation,” says Becky. “If you have a fireplace in your lounge, turn your seating to create a conversation zone facing the fire. Or perhaps there’s a spot in your bedroom that gets beautiful winter sun – how about moving a seat there?”

3. Lighting is crucial to creating a warm ambience. Choose weaker bulbs for a lights-down-low vibe, use lamps rather than overhead lighting, and bring candles into the mix as well – all the better if they’re scented.

For more paint and wallpaper ideas and inspiration, visit your local Resene ColorShop. See the Resene website, www.resene.co.nz/projects for a huge range of step by step projects for you to try out at your place.