Habitat by Resene is a publication celebrating clever, creative or beautiful use of Resene paint colours by New Zealand in their everyday lives.
Recently, habitat by Resene sat with abstract expressionist artist, Catherine Roberts about her lovingly renovated 1910 villa and the extensive use of many Resene colours throughout.
Read the full article here, or below
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Art and soul: A 1910 villa with an unexpected colour scheme
Artist Catherine Robert’s revival of a run-down 1910’s Wellington villa was a labour of love, patience and self-expression. She was intent on injecting love and personality back into the house which, as a result of living through different design eras and being a rental for two decades, had lost a lot of its character. Catherine wanted to create a place that not only represented herself and her artwork but also her family – eclectic, warm, with just a hint of chaos. The palette of Resene colours that adorn every room of the house strikes those chords, creating a space that is bold, yet homely.
Together with her partner Galu Letiu, owner of Wellington building company Fair & Square Building Services, they’ve created a home for themselves, their three children Braden (26), Riley (18), Cairo (16) and Braden’s partner Milly, as well as John John the dog and cats Ruby, Max and Nova, that they’re truly proud of.
Catherine’s artwork is always very colourful and vibrant and so her art studio in Kilbirnie has been painted white to create a neutral space to work in. “However, after spending time amongst the white walls in the studio, I love to come home to my own bold, yet homely space,” she says. “Colour reflects my personality and so in many ways a colourful home feels like I’m immersed in one of my paintings.”
Resene Karry, a soft pastel peach shade, adorns the kitchen and living area, with contrasting Resene Black painted on the trims and window frames. Resene Paradisofeatures on the stairs and hallway.
This gorgeous hallway is painted in Resene Paradiso with Resene Ming, painted on top of Resene Wallpaper Collection RD576 providing texture and character. The laundry room running off the hallway, features Resene Wasabi.
Almost every wall in the villa is different – the hallways are cool, calm and collected using the turquoise of Resene Paradiso and ceramic blue-green of Resene Ming as well as textured wallpaper from the Resene Anaglypta Wallpaper Collection.
A sucker for a good name, Catherine originally wanted to go for Resene Romantic for the living space, but decided the soft, peachy colour might be a bit too much pink for some of her family. Instead she settled for Resene Karry, a paler, pastel pink.
However, Resene Escape won her over for the bathroom, both in name and colour. A pale cerulean blue, it’s the perfect contrast for the vintage oak dresser now acting as the vanity, the mint green concrete basin and raw brass fittings.
Catherine Roberts sitting in her peachy Resene Karry lounge.
Inspired by the name, Catherine used Resene Escape to turn her bathroom into a tranquil space. The vintage oak dresser hosts a mint green concrete basin, locally made in New Zealand. The trims and door are painted in Resene Black.
The laundry room is painted in Resene Wasabi, a warm olive green, while the bedsit features a mid-century aesthetic with terracotta brown on the walls and green velvet seating.
Much like her artwork, choosing the colour palette was all about intuition and feeling. “There is not one white wall in our house as I don’t personally get a ‘feeling’ from white walls,” says Catherine. Besides, the benefit of using paint is you can paint over it again if you think you got it wrong – unlike wallpaper, which you really want to get right first time, she adds.
“This, I think, gives you the confidence to take bigger risks. I guess the feelings I’m trying to share through our home is joy, cheerfulness and a place to feel comfortable.”
The terracotta orange of Resene Tuscany is featured downstairs, creating a warm and inviting space.
In that vein, the look of the interior came about by accident. Crown Lynn, colourful woollen blankets, indoor plants, a range of treasures, old and new, many filled with nostalgia and childhood memories – “anything would look at home here,” says Catherine.
She describes it as eclectic, retro and a little rough around the edges, confessing to her slight obsession with pottery mugs and jugs, especially those with a colourful glaze.
That was what her renovation was all about – there is nothing perfect about the 1910 villa, but it’s warm, welcoming and has all of the colours.
Treasured items, indoor plants, knick-knacks – all filled with stories and memories – give Catherine’s house character, warmth and familiarity. The living space and kitchen are painted in Resene Karry with trims in Resene Black.
It was a renovation project that required large amounts of patience, with Catherine saying her biggest learning was not to rush.
“As my partner runs the building firm, often there has been a spontaneous someone available to do the work, but this often leads to compromises made at the time, then ultimately having to redo things sooner in the future than anticipated,” she explains.
“I have learnt that if things are well thought out and fixtures are of good quality, then the need will not arise and therefore we will save money in the long run, but more importantly there will be less waste of materials which the environment definitely does not need.”
Old villas come with their own challenges and Catherine says it was frustating at times having to fix the fundamentals as they are the aspects you can’t see – like the 100 years of sand that lives under the house and the walls that weren’t square.
“But it feels great knowing it’s all been rectified and the house is strong and sound. There really is no point doing all the lovely aesthetic stuff if you don’t get the fundamentals right first. Again, this is about patience.”
She’s the most happy with how the bathroom turned out, filled with interesting fixtures and fixings, some of which were made locally and others, in India, and were also bought long before the bathroom renovation began.
“That’s just how it rolls in our house, we find the interesting things and eventually they get their time to shine.”
The open plan living space has created a central hub for all to enjoy – like their favourite cafes, people come and go, creating a perfect blend of comfortable chaos. The walls are painted in Resene Karry with trims in Resene Black.
But it’s the living space that’s Catherine’s favourite part of the house. The open plan lounge, dining room and kitchen is the hub, complete with French windows, doors that open up and of course, a great coffee machine.
The idea was to create the best parts of their favourite cafes, where music is on all day and people come and go. Those people include Catherine’s oldest daughter Liana, her partner Rory and two grandchildren, Remy and Marcella, who live within walking distance and come over most days for a coffee.
“Our home is perfectly chaotic,” says Catherine with a grin – just how she likes it.
design Catherine Roberts
build Fair & Square Building Services
Make sure to check out Catherine’s art exhibition at Parnell Gallery from 23 July – 6 August. Click here for more information.
Top tip: When you’re planning lots of colours in your home, make sure you test them using Resene testpots. Don’t paint them direct onto your wall though. Instead, paint each colour onto an A2 piece of card, using two coats, and leave an unpainted border around the edge. Then move the swatch around the room to see how it looks. If you are planning a major colour change, sometimes the best idea can be to apply Resene Quick Dry primer over the existing colour so you it doesn’t impact on your new colour choices.
Published: 10 Jul 2024