Julie's art deco black beauty

Julie Atwell was working in a garden centre in the UK when she was tasked with painting an internal wall – the plan was for it to be a pale soft green.

The boss bought the wrong colour, a bright green, but they went ahead with it. And it was while painting that wall, and seeing how beautiful it looked against all the plants and flowers, that Julie decided she wanted a house one day that same colour.  

Years later, and that dream has been realised, with Julie and family now settled into a 1930s art deco home, the exterior painted in Resene Parsley, a clean country green.

The inside of the three bedroom, 120 square metre house is just as dramatic, with moody black walls in Resene Nero decorating the lounge and master bedroom.

And in in the rest of the rooms, Resene Alabaster brings a great contrast and light to the low-lying property. Julie tells us more about decorating her dream home.

How did you decide on the overall look of the interiors?

I never set out a plan, I just do what I love and overall it has produced a really cohesive theme that suits the house and us... but it can be tweaked to incorporate new trends or ideas!

What part of the house are you most happy with?

Oddly enough, it’s our new toilet. With my elderly mum moving in we needed a second toilet and it looked as if it was going to end up a small poky windowless room.

However with plenty of time to mull it over, I decided (while in the bath) to extend a wall and move a door frame just by 200mm. It's given us a bright well-proportioned toilet and a better proportioned family bathroom.

What is your advice for someone trying to achieve a similar look?

Research research research. I had planned this all for so long that even when things went wrong, I knew what I wanted, what I would concede on and what I wouldn’t give up on. I knew the answers to Plan B, C and D!

I also think you have to get the feel right for how you live and what you love, and the rest will fall into place. I have worked out that I love contrast – hence black with white and the green exterior with white trims.

What was the biggest challenge for this project?

We hadn’t intended to touch our exterior wall on the south side, but it was so rotten when the internal linings came off. So we had to replace the entire thing from parapet to base plate. 

Do you have a favourite colour? 

Black is my very favourite. Safe, warm, cosy and exciting!

How did you find working with Resene paint and colours? 

I’m a fan of Resene paint for the quality of it. It's always easy to apply and the colours are true to paint samples.  The staff in stores are always helpful.

Published: 20 Dec 2016

Do you have a home full of wonderful Resene paint and colour? Send us some snaps by emailing [email protected].

lounge, living room, black, art deco, feature wall, paint ideas

A statement wall in Resene Nero in the lounge creates an inviting, cosy living area.

lounge, living room, white, art deco, paint ideas, paint trends

The rest of the lounge is painted in Resene Alabaster, bouncing around plenty of light into this part of the low-lying property.

master bedroom, black, art deco, paint ideas, paint trends

Julie's love of moody black walls extends to the master bedroom, also painted in Resene Nero.

white, art deco, black, paint ideas, paint trends

With white furniture and art details and parts of the room painted in Resene Alabaster and Resene Nero, there's a beautiful balance of light and dark in the master bedroom.

kitchen, white, living room, art deco, paint ideas, paint trends

The living room is also painted in Resene Alabaster, and leads into the sun-filled lounge.

bathroom, white, black, art deco, paint ideas, paint trends

The bathroom continues the black and white theme, with walls painted in Resene Alabaster and a stylish black clawfoot bath.

green, exterior, art deco, paint ideas, paint trends

Julie always dreamed of owning a house painted in a particular bright green shade, which she found in Resene Parsley. The trims are painted in Resene Alabaster.

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register h icon  look book

Create your own mood boards of your favourite colours, photographs and information from habitat by resene.

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Create your own mood boards of your favourite colours, photographs and information from habitat by resene.

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