How-To: Start with art

By MiNDFOOD

Calm of the Sea/Laolao by Alice Berry was used to inspire the interior scheme of this home office space. The upper wall is painted in Resene Triple Alabaster, lower wall in Resene Aviator, floor in Resene Romantic, desk in Resene Sail, chair in Resene New York Pink with legs in Resene Triple Alabaster
Calm of the Sea/Laolao by Alice Berry was used to inspire the interior scheme of this home office space. The upper wall is painted in Resene Triple Alabaster, lower wall in Resene Aviator, floor in Resene Romantic, desk in Resene Sail, chair in Resene New York Pink with legs in Resene Triple Alabaster

If you are in the mood to refresh your interiors, looking at your existing art for inspiration is a good place to start.

Has all this time at home made you realised you are not loving the colour of your interiors, or forced you to notice all the chips and scratches in the paintwork? If you’re thinking about a new colour scheme for your home, a good place to start is with the art you have picked for the space. Whether you have an investment piece or something that holds sentimental value, art is always personal – and it’s an integral part of a decorating scheme. And now, you can get everything you need on shop.resene.co.nz.

“I can’t even begin to count the number of clients who come to me asking me to pick artwork for their already designed space,” says designer and stylist Kate Alexander of Places & Grace. “While it can be done, it’s much more of a struggle both in terms of finding something that will not only be the right colour, size, vibe and subject for the space, but it also needs to resonate with the owner. When I’m beginning a new design, I always start with the art instead.”

If you don’t own any art as yet, or you are not loving what you do have, now is the time to start looking. While you may not be able to go shopping for art right now you can start looking at artworks online to get an idea of the styles you like. Many galleries around the world now have their exhibitions online, including The Louvre, The Guggenheim and The Met. Google has also partnered with more than 1200 cultural institutions for The Google Art Project, to provide virtual tours of museums.   Whether it is photography, landscapes, abstract or etchings, the key is to find the style you love.  It’s also a good idea for the art to reflect the mood you would like to create in a room, particularly in rooms used for relaxation like the living and bedroom. Not sure what style of art appeals? Look at the location of your home and also your favourite piece of furniture for some clues on what style of art you may like. 

Resene Colour Palette Generator

Once you have found the artwork you love, Resene offer a free online Resene Colour Palette Generator that can take the guesswork out of creating a colour scheme that will complement the hues in your art. Simply upload an image of the artwork to www.resene.com/palettegenerator and the tool will create a customised Resene palette based on the most common colourways that occur in the image. It will also tell you what proportion of the palette they are to help give you an idea of the colour balance, which can be especially helpful when you’re trying to translate that information into your new interior colour palette.

Back wall in Resene Lola, return wall with tongue-and-groove panelling in Resene Jurassic

Of course there is nothing stopping you from creating your own art, like artist Alice Berry. “I love Resene colours because they are so thick, juicy and vibrant,” says Alice. There are so many colours to choose from, and while I have my favourites, I like to bring in different colours each time I paint. The metallics are great, too. They bring a whole different element to my artworks – plus, I really enjoy a bit of sparkle in my life.”

Need some inspiration? Visit www.resene.co.nz/projects for a host of DIY artwork projects and other creative paint ideas to get you started.

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