dauntless bravery

From Habitat magazine - issue 34, my favourite colours

Interior designer and broadcaster Hamish Dodd is not afraid to use colour unexpectedly.

What have you been working on in the past 12 months?

I have been fortunate enough to be extremely busy. I have a regular spot on the television show The Café, and I co-host the DIY Experts show on Magic Talk Radio. Last year I also worked on the TV show The Bach That JK Built. I also have my interior design work, and I’ve been working on a few garden projects.

What is your favourite room to design?

I particularly like bedrooms; they are just for the homeowner – not a room designed for visitors. People cut loose a bit more when they are decorating a bedroom.

You’ve become known for your wardrobe designs – how can colour transform a wardrobe?

I’ve started painting in between the shelves of wardrobes with colours such as dark emerald greens, greys and charcoal blacks such as Resene Rivergum, Resene Excalibur, Resene Grey Area and Resene Bokara Grey – and boy does it make a difference, even on a cheap white melamine wardrobe. The wardrobe is where you store your clothes, and it’s part of your personality, so why not have fun with it? If the closet is all higgledy-piggledy and it’s very generic, that’s a bit frustrating.

What are your favourite Resene colours?

It’s difficult to pick. I love Resene Dauntless – it’s a fantastic blue and has some depth to it. If someone asks me, “What’s a nice colour” I always say Resene Dauntless. My favourite colour for a barn is Resene Red Red Red. It can be tough to find a red that sits nicely in the landscape and looks good in our bright light, but this one does. For wood stains, I love Resene Woodsman Crowshead for fences and weatherboards. Resene Iroko is a fantastic smoky brown that looks great on a deck. If you are looking for a neutral interior colour that will feel white – but not too white – I love Resene Thorndon Cream, it goes well with pastels.

Do you think people should be braver with colour?

Paint can change the entire feeling of a room, and I try to instil confidence in my clients about using colour.

People often panic when I paint a room thinking it looks very bright. I often remind them that the paint colour will seem intense until you have the furniture and bedding back in the room. When the furnishings are in place, they never think the colour is too bright. I designed a room with Resene Blue Bark on the walls – a very strong blue/black, but it looked great because there were lots of windows in the space: the dark colour framed the views.

Are there any colours you don’t like?

I’m a little challenged by lavender or lilac. But there are some beautiful shades of purple – it’s how you use it that makes the difference.

To see more of Hamish’s work, visit www.stripemedia.co.nz.

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