The bee's knees

The apricot tones of the walls and ceiling of the master bedroom in Dianne MacDonald's home closed the room in. Keen for a change, Dianne opted to makeover the room including fresh paintwork for the ceiling, windowsills, walls, door skirting boards plus new curtains, carpet and door handles.

To get the best finish the walls were plastered and sanded prior to painting. In a stunning departure from the once apricot walls, Dianne selected Resene Zylone Sheen low sheen acrylic tinted to Resene Napa for the majority of the room complemented by a feature wall of Resene Deep Koamaru. The complex hues of Napa and Deep Koamaru are beautifully offset against the neutral Resene Quarter Spanish White on the ceiling and trim.

Master bedroom walls	Master bedroom feature wall	Master bedroom ceiling and trim
Resene Napa	Resene Deep Koamaru	Resene Quarter Spanish White

While it took longer than expected to complete the ceiling, with three coats of paint needed to completely obliterate the apricot, the trim was finished quickly using Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel. In Dianne's words - "Enamel wash up in water (Resene waterborne enamels) is just the bees knees!"

Choosing the right colours took longer than the physical transformation - a month of trialling approximately 8 different testpots to get the right look, it took just a fortnight for the room to be finished including the making and alteration of the new curtains.

To make sure you get the colour you want, Dianne recommends that you "paint testpot colours on lining paper and dry with a hairdryer, then always look at the colour in the night light." And to make painting trim easier, never use old masking tape on windows - buy fresh as you will find it easier to remove.

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