Get bach fit – fast, cost-effective coastal makeovers

The last thing you want is to be spending precious beach time working hard on a bach makeover. That said, it can be just as much of a disruption to your holiday if you’re distracted by interiors that need some love and attention.

Here are some ideas for quick and inexpensive bach makeovers from Resene that let you find the perfect balance between having a chilled-out family holiday, and immersing yourself in interiors that help you relax. And if you don’t have a bach, why not try these out in your everyday home and bring a little holiday joy to everyday life.

Colour blocking

Resene Colour Expert Jackie Nicholls suggests adding blocks of colour to rooms as a quick and effective way to add character. “All you need is some good quality masking tape, a Resene testpot or a small tin of paint – depending on the size of your colour block – and a roller.”

Some of Jackie’s ideas for colour blocking are:

• Add a block of Resene colour behind a piece of art that’s getting lost on a big stretch of wall. Choose your colour based on the colours in the artwork to make it really pop.

• Add a band of colour or large circles on the walls of a children’s bunk room. Add hooks for towels or pegs and bulldog clips attached to the walls to show off holiday drawings or other artworks. You could also try adding shelves painted in the same shades as the circles or colour blocks.

• Add extra interest to any bedroom with a coloured headboard, either painted directly to the wall or painted onto ply or upcycled wood. Paint it in a bold shade like fresh green Resene Anise, a dusty sunset shade like Resene Tuscany or a soothing sea blue like Resene Boost. For a more textured, relaxed finish simply finish the wood a coat or two of Resene Colorwood Whitewash or Resene Colorwood Shade and allow the natural wood grain to show through.

Other colour blocking ideas are to frame a particular piece of furniture. This works particularly well around a couch or chair if you repeat the colours of the furniture in your colour block.

If you have a fabulous couch in a deep forest green, paint a block on the wall behind it, the same but just slightly larger than the couch, in a shade like Resene Rolling Hills. Alternatively if you have a neutral coloured couch against a neutral wall in, says Resene Tua Tua, paint your framing colour block in a bold contrast like stormy blue Resene Watermark. In both cases, the colour block frame will showcase your couch perfectly.

Another way to try colour blocking in your bach is to paint out the corner of a larger room, to create the sense of a space within a space. To get the best effect it’s a good idea to paint the ceiling and floor of the corner in the same shade as well. For a neutral room in Resene Meringue, paint out a corner in soothing Resene Green Acres for a quiet reading zone, or go for bold Resene Red Berry as children’s play zone, or around a children’s activity table.

Consider the floor

Did you know you can paint over a number of flooring surfaces, not just wood? Concrete, lino, some vinyl flooring and even ceramic tiles can be revived with a coat of paint – and the right preparation. Reviving the flooring in your bach with your chosen colour of Resene Walk-on will give it an instant lift without the hassle and expense of replacing your flooring.

If you’re painting over smooth surfaces like ceramic tiles, give the flooring a good clean with Resene Interior Paintwork Cleaner, followed by Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer. Allow it to cure without water contact for at least 48 hours before painting.

Some concrete floors may need to be diamond ground or acid etched, otherwise prime with Resene ConcreteSeal 3 in 1 before painting.

For wooden floors, your preparation before painting will depend on what’s already on your floor. Whatever flooring surface you’re working with, talk it through with your Resene ColorShop staff to get advice on the best products and preparation for your project.

Once your preparation is done, you can either go for a straightforward paint colour – consider going beyond a plain white or cream to try something bold like a dark blue Resene Indian Ink – or simply stain wooden flooring in Resene Colorwood Natural or choose a greywashed finish with Resene Colorwood Mid Greywash.

For something more creative, paint your floor in a background colour and use a stencil to create a faux-tile look with a repeating pattern in a different shade. Simple Resene Black and Resene White works well for a classic look, or invoke the colours of the sea with a blue Resene Island Time base colour and overlaid stencil design in Resene Ocean Waves.

Jackie suggests extending your creativity even further, by creating one large stencilled mandala, or other design on the floor. If designing and cutting out a stencil isn’t for you, there are plenty of designs to download or buy online.

The trick with any stencil design, large or small, is to apply your colour with a sponge and use the paint sparingly with no excess water in the sponge so you avoid the paint bleeding or smudging under the stencil.

As with any stencil or freehand design, it’s a good idea to have a practice run on a piece of card or wood first.

Top tip:  For any circular Mandala-type design, always start painting in the centre and work outward.

A traditional bach is often the place where furniture and decor pieces go to ‘retire’. It might be that vase you’re not sure about any more, the old dining room suite, or the bench seat and bookshelf that have seen better days. All that presents an opportunity for upcycling with paint to add uplifting bursts of colour to your spaces, that give the whole bach a lift.

Go for a relaxed maximalist vibe with a mix of colours from across the spectrum, from the pastel yellow of Resene Shalimar, to the deep purple of Resene Blackberry and dark teal off Resene Top Notch. For a more pared back approach try mixing and maxing your fixtures and furnishings in tonal botanic green layers in Resene Wabi Sabi, Resene Contour and Resene Smashed Avocado – add a note of fresh pink Resene Cosmos for unexpected levity.

Refresh a dining suite by painting each piece a different shade – you could even let the kids pick the colour scheme of their own chair. Dining areas – indoors and out – tend to be areas where people gather in a bach, so they’re a good place to focus your small scale bach improvements.

Outside Resene Woodsman stain, oil or paint will do wonders for tired chairs and tables. Instead of the traditional natural wood shades, experiment with different tones to go darker with Resene Woodsman Charred Black, grey-toned with Resene Woodsman Smokey Ash or reddish-tone with Resene Woodsman Japanese Maple.

Wallpaper

Transport your bach to the tropics or an exotic jungle immediately with a bold drop of Resene wallpaper. Use it sparingly to frame certain spaces within bigger rooms, as a headboard in a bedroom or even to cover furniture. Go bolder with a mural feature wall with the Impressionist waves of Resene Wallpaper Collection 1905-123-01 or decorate a whole room in the leafy green palms of Resene Wallpaper Collection M37801.

Wallpapering a small space like a toilet or reading area can be a simple way to theme a space and make it stand out from the rest of the house in a way that’s stylish, creative and fun. How about an ensuite bathroom decorated with the tropical forest of Resene Wallpaper Collection 1906-133-01 or the exotic fauna of Resene Wallpaper Collection 2109-157-04.

Bach renovation or makeover projects, no matter how small, can be fun ways to experiment with new design ideas, while still giving your family holiday home a pick-me-up.

October 28, 2022

For help choosing colours to suit your projects, visit your local Resene ColorShop, ask a Resene Colour Expert online or book a Resene Colour Consultation.

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