Resene Quarter Duck Egg Blue Resene Albescent White O ne room in this elegant two-storey villa missed a colour conversion. It’s the only neutral space in a series of skilfully coloured rooms. Jokes the owner: “I sneaked it in through the back door. I had to have one white room just in case I hated all the others.” Luckily, she loves ‘the others’ – bedrooms, living areas and the exterior. Each are distinctive, yet are part of a harmonious whole. Inside this historic home in central New Plymouth the dominant colours are soft blue and green balanced by navy and grey – all unified with Resene Albescent White as the main neutral colour. Outside, Resene Wireless is teamed with the same white and finished off with a black roof, gables and a Resene Black front door. “We used Resene Albescent White everywhere with both the exterior and interior,” says designer Mike Mansvelt, who has worked with the family on previous projects, advising on both the interiors and garden design. “It’s a really great go-to white – creamy, not too cold. You could put any colour with it and it would look good.” The family had restored another character home in Taranaki and wanted this one to reflect its location near the coast. The gardens enhance that impression with more formal hedges and established trees being joined by nikau palms and temperate-loving plants. When she was young, the owner remembers walking past this villa with a childlike fascination about what the inside might hold. As an adult, her impressions of the interior were less favourable: “Dark Top: Michael’s favourite colour is used on the formal dining room – Resene Coast, a colour he describes as “inky, like a stormy sea”. Above: Designer Michael Mansvelt introduced a bold yet harmonious scheme to the home’s history-loving owner. Left: Restful Resene Quarter Duck Egg Blue was used in the kitchen where an island bench extends to look like a dining table. The existing timber joinery was painted over with Resene Albescent White and the old fire surround retained. “I think Resene Coast is an amazing colour. It’s sort of inky – the colour of sea on a really moody day” Resene Coast 43 feature house