Refresh your outdoors for summer

Here are some quick and simple ways to set your outdoor areas up for a summer of relaxing.

An outdoor dining area can function as an extension of the home, providing additional space for hosting family and friends. No matter your budget, there are plenty of ways to make your outdoor space presentable, practical and even more enjoyable.

Wash up

Give your home exterior its annual wash to remove moss, mould or mildew as well as any salt residue if you’re near the sea. Avoid water blasting, which can damage weatherboards, and go for a garden hose with a broom with Resene Paint Prep & Housewash.

Treat areas of mould with Resene Moss & Mould Killer. Or spray on Resene Deep Clean and leave it and nature to clean your surfaces.

A bright splash of colour on this exterior door gives the whole house a lift. The door is painted in Resene Turbo with trim in Resene Black White and weatherboards in Resene Triple Concrete. Bench painted in Resene Tuna, pots in Resene Nocturnal and Resene Silver Chalice and house number in Resene Nocturnal. Project by Vanessa Nouwens, image by Bryce Carleton.

Repaint your front door

One way to improve your kerb appeal is to paint your front door. Embrace the trend for vivid statement doors by choosing a bold colour like the gold Resene Mandalay or Resene Mexican Red.

If that doesn’t appeal, think about painting your door a bolder or lighter shade of your exterior colour. For example, if your exterior is a neutral beige such as Resene Quarter Napa, try Resene Double Napa on your front door. Paint your door frame and any surrounding porch trim in the grey-white Resene Sea Fog for a fresh, light touch.

To make your door stand out - and cope with wear and tear - think about using paint with a gloss or semi-gloss finish, such as Resene Enamacryl (gloss) or Resene Lustacryl (semi-gloss). To extend the makeover you could also paint porch steps and surrounding pathways. To keep family and visitors safe, paint on Resene Non-Skid Deck & Path for a non-slip finish.

Freshen up the furniture

If you have outdoor furniture, planters or a shed, give them all a once-over. Check for areas that might need repairs to make them safe to use. Give them a wash down to remove flaking paint and any moss, mould or mildew.

If some of your furniture is looking a bit tired, fresh paint, or, for wooden furniture, stain is a cost-effective and quick way to bring it back to life. Darker stains like Resene Woodsman Treehouse or Resene Woodsman Banjul look dramatic and modern with bright coloured cushions and throws.

Fresh foliage, inexpensive furniture and a lick of paint can do wonders for an outdoor area. This simple setting even includes a car tyre recycled as an ottoman and painted in Resene Double Pravda. Walls painted in Resene Half Villa White, side table in Resene Double Pravda. Image by Bryce Carleton.

Create outdoor rooms

Think about how you might be using the space over the warmer months. Will you need different types of seating? What mood do you want to create? Having a theme or mood in mind helps keep your space cohesive.

Once you have a plan, you can start to create use areas within your garden. Painted recycled doors, or wooden screens, even concrete blocks can be repurposed as dividers, or shelters to give you a secluded relaxation or eating area. For a less solid option, train climbing plants such as sweet peas or even beans to grow up wires to create a living screen.

Add layers of colour and texture as well as lots of plants and flowers. Using a similar or the same Resene colour palettes as you’ve used inside helps create that indoor-outdoor flow everybody’s aiming for. It could be a good way of using up leftover paint.

Add art

Decorating the walls and surfaces of your outdoor space is an effective way to give it a new lease of life and add some of your personality to your garden. Find cheap ceramic or concrete tiles and have a go at painting your own designs to dot around the garden.

If you have a long stretch of wooden fence, add some artistic shapes to it – e.g. the shape of large leaves in a contrasting colour. Go for something geometric you can mask up if you don’t trust your freehand skills or try something abstract with different colours.

Or simply hang a beautiful piece of art on the fence or exterior wall of your home. Mirrors can be another fun way to add life to your garden. They’ll throw light around nicely and can make smaller gardens seem larger.

A fresh approach to decorating and seating have made this a unique and appealing outdoor retreat area. Upper wall painted in Resene Eagle, lower wall in Resene Waiouru, planters in Resene Cut Glass, round rattan tops of cushion seats in Resene Eagle and bottoms of the paper lanterns in Resene Sweet Corn. Project by Kate Alexander, image by Bryce Carleton.

Outdoor, solar power fairy lights are a quick way to make everything look more glamorous when the sun goes down! Wrap them around your trees. Hang them from your fence or pergola, or simply tangle them up inside a glass vase for a pretty outdoor table lamp. Hurricane lanterns or tealights floating in a large platter or birdbath, are other simple, fast and effective ideas for outdoor lighting.

And if you’re planning to do the whole house, then come in and see your local Resene ColorShop team so they can help you with all the prep and paint advice you need to bring out the best in your home.