Donna does it for the art

Located in Seatoun, Wellington, with incredible seaviews and an envious art collection, Donna Cross’s home / art-gallery is special in more ways than one.

The illustrator and graphic designer turned her home into a public art gallery a few years ago, after her husband Scott Kennedy passed away.

Painted in Resene Blackjack and Resene Hint Of Grey, the colour palette was chosen as a backdrop to let Scott's art shine, as well as Donna's other collected art, for the public to enjoy in the gallery area.

The rest of the house follows a similar whites and neutrals theme, with Resene Foggy Grey in the bedrooms and Resene Half Chicago on a cube feature downstairs.

Donna tells us more.

Tell us about the colour palette.

I chose a limited colour palette on the interior so as not to compete with the art. I also wanted to have a positive-negative thing happening. The ceilings, most of the walls, and shelves and cupboards are painted in Resene Hint Of Grey, with feature walls in Resene Blackjack. 

Scott and I painted all the walls Resene Hint Of Grey when we built the house and I have never got sick of it. Resene Blackjack has proved to be perfect as it looks good on the outside as well as the inside (the exterior balcony and garage are also in Resene Blackjack).

The bedrooms are painted in Resene Foggy Grey and look completely different from each other, because the upstairs has a sloping ceiling and matai floorboards; whereas the downstairs bedroom has black concrete floors and a flat ceiling. I love how both of the rooms look.

I used Resene SpaceCote Flat for everything as I have a lot of light in the house and I don’t like shiny walls.

What was the biggest challenge for this project?

The inconvenience of the renovation, which was spread over two years.  However, it meant that I could keep working and living in the house, apart from a couple of days when the downstairs floors were being polished and stained.

What part of the house are you most happy with?

I really don’t have a favourite part of the house as the spaces flow into each other – it would be like asking (even though I don’t have any) who your favourite child is.

Do you have a favouritecolour?

My favourite colour is charcoal and white, because all other colours contrast or blend with them.

For more about Donna's work and the gallery, see Three Eyes Gallery.

Published: 27 Jul 2017

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

black, white, grey, hallway

Donna loved the idea of a positive-negative colour scheme, painting the walls in most of the house in Resene Hint Of Grey and Resene Blackjack. 

black, white, grey, feature wall

She also included Resene Foggy Grey in the colour scheme, adding it as a feature in areas around the home. 

hallway, art, black

Most of the walls in the house are painted in Resene Blackjack and Resene Hint Of Grey, as a perfect background to display Denise's collection of art. 

hallway, black

The house is open to the public as an art gallery. The walls are painted in Resene Blackjack and Resene Hint Of Grey. 

Part of the art gallery, painted in Resene Hint Of Grey. 

black, white, kitchen, grey

The kitchen carries on the same black and white theme, painted in Resene Hint Of Grey on the walls, and Resene Blackjack on the ceiling and cupboards. 

grey, bedroom

For the bedrooms, Donna went with grey, painting the walls and ceilings in Resene Foggy Grey. 

grey, white, black, neutrals, bathroom

The bathroom is painted in Resene Blackjack and Resene Hint Of Grey. 

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Resene Half Chicago

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Resene Hint Of Grey

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