go with the flow

From Habitat magazine - issue 33, feature garden

A 1930s bungalow gets refreshed with Resene, both inside and out.

The crossroads of old world charm and colourful contemporary character meet at Rachel and Steven's 1930s Auckland bungalow, which they share with their two children, Elias and Ivy. While open plan living may be the norm for many new build and renovated home layouts these days, Rachel and Steven fell completely in love with the composition of their character bungalow and its clearly defined areas. They left its ornate high ceilings, panelled walls, dado rails and floor plan intact and uplifted it with a considered selection of Resene paint colours and a layered mix of vintage and contemporary décor.

"Each room has its own personality and style which gives the house a real sense of authenticity," says Rachel.

When it came to the bungalow's exterior, they took a similar approach by opting to retain its charming façade but refreshing its painted surfaces. To complement their eye-catching terracotta roof, they went for Resene Quarter Silver Chalice for the stucco, Resene Villa White for the doors, trims and awning and Resene Shark to add contrast to the fascia and windowsill details.

But when it came to the garden and patio, much more significant changes were in order."

When we bought the bungalow, the garden was completely different. It had been beautifully landscaped, but it unfortunately didn't suit us for various reasons. Firstly, it had a spa pool and water feature, and we had very young children. Secondly, it was full of tropical plants – many of which had vicious spikes or thorns," says Rachel.

She estimates that they removed at least 90% of the plants before replacing them with native varietals. They also removed the spa pool and water feature and built a deck in their place.

"We wanted a garden that we could all relax in and that our children could play in without supervision."

One of the things the family likes most about the yard are the different levels. "We built the deck on the upper level, and when you sit up there with the palm trees hanging overhead and the parakeets nesting above, it feels like you are floating on your own private little island. The different layers really give the yard a sort of resort feel."

Steven and Rachel are both big fans of creating 'zones' or delineated spaces both indoors and out – after all, that was a driving factor in maintaining the original layout when they renovated the inside of their home. "We adore the separation of the new garden. The garden was designed to suit the era of the home, so it has a distinctly art deco feel to it with lots of curves and rounded edges." The retaining walls were also given a stucco finish to coordinate with the look of the exterior, however, these were painted Resene Stack to provide subtle contrast.

It seems as though the new garden design ended up suiting even more of their lifestyle than they originally anticipated. Thanks to its flowing curves, the family's trampoline fits perfectly into a nook at the end, nestled under a canopy of puka trees that keep it beautifully cool in the summertime."

One Christmas," Rachel recalls, "we bought our daughter Ivy a wonderful little playhouse and conveniently, next to the deck, we had a set of stairs that we hardly ever used so we positioned her 'clubhouse' at the top of them to create her own private entrance."

Rachel says that her family has spent an enormous amount of time in the garden since the update. Steven loves relaxing in the hammock hung between palm trees while she prefers to lounge in the shade on a beanbag, on the lower level where she can drift in and out of the house with ease. "We've entertained a lot in the garden, and it's been the most wonderful space to have lots of friends over for barbeques."

While deciding on new colours for your home can seem overwhelming, Rachel settled on hers by investing in a selection of Resene testpots. "Try out many, many testpots," she recommends, "and, test patches of the same colour in different areas so that you can see what it looks like in different lighting." Judging by how great the bungalow looks now, her efforts clearly paid off.

Paint it right

Choose the right Resene colours and paints for the job.

Naturally clean

Get your patio in top shape for entertaining family and friends for summer barbeques with Resene Deep Clean. It's a simple, safe method of keeping all your outdoor areas free from moss, mould, algae and lichen. Simply spray it on paths, patios, decks and other exterior concrete, timber and painted surfaces and leave Resene Deep Clean and nature to do the work.

Style tip

They say variety is the spice of life. Adding one or more contrasting accent hues to support your base colour scheme is the ticket to really making your exterior shine. If you have a terracotta roof like Rachel and Steven's, bring a similar colour down into your garden by painting accents in one or more of these earthy Resene tones to create repetition in your scheme.

Alternative solution – contemporary European splendour

Symmetry and scale are the underpinning elements for this playful modern take on a traditional French provincial aesthetic. A bespoke concrete structure sits proud as the focal point, with an internal vertical moss wall taking centre stage. The concrete patio surface is defined and elevated with a metallic finish in Resene Spark to bring a sense of grandeur to the space. New vertical guardrails in Resene Blackout help delineate the entertaining area from the lower pool garden while the perimeter fence in Resene Waterborne Woodsman Crowshead frames the new garden and accentuates a row of Alnus jorullensis evergreen alder trees under planted with Hedera helix ivy. Low shrubs consisting of gardenia, penstemon, ajuga, liriope, helleborus and alternanthera line the lower pool area to envelop the space and create a colourful European flavour. The exposed concrete platforms, protected with Resene Concrete Conserver, provide an understated foundation while being a functional medium to the overall aesthetic.

contact: phone 021 244 6524    web: www.outlooklandscapes.co.nz

illustration (alternative solution): Malcolm White

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