Tis the season: Five festive and stylish ideas for your home

When it comes to decorating your home for Christmas, it doesn’t have to be all traditional green and red with mountains of tinsel. Using some simple tricks and styling ideas, along with classic and striking Resene shades, you can create a home that is both stylish and festive this season. Hold on to the colour palettes and décor you love while celebrating this wonderful time of the year.

Let’s take a look at these five ‘Ho Ho Home’ decorating ideas that you can try this Christmas:

 

Easy, breezy, summery Christmas

In this summer shaded room, the walls are painted in Resene Half Putty, floor and NOEL letters in Resene Double Pearl Lusta, cabinet and coral in Resene Pearl Lusta, coffee table, book and tealight holder in Resene Teak, tall vase, baubles and plant pot in Resene Half Putty, rattan tree cones in Resene Putty and Resene Travis and presents and decorations in Resene Half Putty, Resene Teak, Resene Travis and Resene Pearl Lusta. Sofa from Freedom, throw and cushions from Adairs, rug from Mocka.

When we think of Christmas, images of red, white and green often fill our heads, be they in decorations, the tree we adorn or the festive cake we devour. But the world is your oyster when it comes to deciding on a colour palette and any colourway will work using Resene paints that speak to the heart. Take your starting point from coastal locations, it is in these spots that many of us will be basking in the sun on Christmas day, greeting the morning with a swim or finishing the day of entertaining by walking along the sand or playing beach cricket. This tongue-and-groove wall, painted in the warm and sandy Resene Half Putty, accentuates a laid-back feel, oozing the character of a holiday bach.

Try other warm and welcoming shades like Resene Pipi, Resene Manuka Honey, Resene Rob Roy and Resene Noosa.

 

Wooden wallpaper wonder

In this more minimalist space, the Christmas tree is created with MDF board wallpapered with Resene Wallpaper Collection 221188. The wall is painted in Resene Triple White Pointer, floor in Resene Colorwood Breathe Easy, coffee table, pendant, small Christmas tree and star on wall in Resene Bush, bowl and basket in Resene White Pointer, presents painted in Resene Nocturnal, Resene Bush and Resene Triple White Pointer, book on coffee table in Resene Nocturnal and plant pot in Resene Black. Sofa from Nood, green cushion from H&M Home, boucle cushion from Adairs.

If you live in an apartment or are too short on space to have a big traditional Christmas tree, then these slim MDF triangle trees could be a simple and stylish solution for you. This is super easy to make, and ours still looks very Christmassy - which is probably helped by the fact that the base colour of the wallpaper chosen is a deep green which is traditionally associated with Christmas.

A pop of colour has been added in the rattan pendant and old coffee table in Resene Bush. This colour ties back into the wallpaper - an easy and effective trick to making the space cohesive. Sometimes sticking to a limited colour palette has more impact than a room full of colours.

 

Try other wallpaper and colour combos like Resene Wallpaper Collection SUM002 with Resene Merlot, or Resene Wallpaper Collection SUM405 with Resene Clover.

Tip: Wallpaper off cuts can be used for wrapping presents so don’t chuck them away. If you have lots of presents for a family, then you can always group them into a basket too and use the wallpaper off-cuts to add colour instead of tissue paper.

 

A soothing twist

In this trendy toned room, the wall and floor are painted in Resene Soothe, cabinet and tall vase in Resene Green Meets Blue, side table, ribbed bowl and small triangle Christmas tree in Resene Mexican Red, larger Christmas tree in Resene Wallpaper Collection SUM002, low vase and tealight holder in Resene Vintage, books painted in Resene Mexican Red, Resene Green Meets Blue and Resene Vintage and presents painted in Resene Green Meets Blue, Resene Vintage and Resene Mexican Red. Chair from Danske Møbler.

Before you deck the halls in your go-to red and green colour scheme, consider putting a fresh spin on things this year. While the classic red and green combination is timeless, there's something refreshing about breaking away (even very gently) from tradition. A pastel twist might be just what you need to refresh your living space in time for family and guests this festive season.

For a trendy twist on the colour duo try our shades above or try a dusky pink and pale khaki like Resene High Tea and Resene Cobblestone, or a brick orange with a sophisticated stone green, Resene Crail and Resene Mangrove.

 

Deck the outdoors

On this summery patio, the trellis and wall are painted in Resene Aspiring, table in Resene Bud, deck in Resene Woodsman Uluru wood stain, bench seat in Resene Yuma, plant pot in Resene Aspiring, vase in Resene Thistle, bowl in Resene Coconut Cream, tealight holder in Resene Yuma and pedestal bowl in Resene Frontier.

In this part of the world, we’re lucky to enjoy Christmas in summer, giving us the delightful option to celebrate the season outdoors. How about decorating your deck with seasonal offerings while getting creative with paint in the process? Choose an outdoor plant to be your ‘Christmas tree’. We’ve cut various festive shapes, including trees, baubles and stars, from Resene A4 drawdown paint swatches. You could even use Resene wallpaper offcuts for more detailed patterns. For those who are feeling confident with an artist’s brush, go the extra mile with a feature artwork such as the dove we created.

How about making some super bright decorations to catch everyone’s eye?

Pick up some testpots from your local Resene ColorShop in bright shades like Resene Wellywood, Resene Home Run, Resene Rapture or Resene Big Bang for a fluoro festive feature.

 

 

Wrap it in neutrals

This inviting, neutral living room is the perfect place to enjoy this Christmas with family. The wall is painted in Resene Tea, floor in Resene Colorwood Shade, coffee table and console in Resene Zeus with Resene FX Metallic Catch 22 on top, vase on coffee table in Resene Black, ribbed vase in Resene Triple Tea, ball decoration on books in Resene Tea, bowl with decorations in Resene Triple Rice Cake, decorations on tree in Resene Tea with Resene FX Metallic Bedrock on top and presents painted in Resene Black and Resene Zeus with Resene FX Metallic Catch 22 on top, Resene Tea with FX Metallic Bedrock on top, Resene Half Tea, Resene Triple Tea, Resene Triple Rice Cake and Resene Tea. Sofa from Nood, black cushion from Adairs, other cushions from H&M Home.

If you have a neutral interior scheme, you can easily create a Christmas look to go with your existing palette, all with a few simple touches. Look to the colours already in your home for inspiration, like this living room where we borrowed the chic hue of Resene Tea on the walls and Resene Colorwood Shade on the flooring, bringing in beautiful beige and neutral elements into the decorations and wrapping.

This Christmas tree is adorned in stars, baubles and acorn ornaments that have been painted in Resene Tea layered with Resene FX Metallic Bedrock, giving the decorations a classic holiday shimmer while remaining cohesive with the rest of the space. There are many shiny shades in the Resene Metallics range, such as Resene Magma, Resene Go Go Go and Resene Glitterbug!

Top tip: Don’t go out and buy new decorations, if you have old ones, refresh them with paint to align effortlessly with your current colour palette.

Whatever your style or traditions, there is something for everyone in the Resene paint colour and Resene wallpaper collections. If you need help choosing, visit your local Resene ColorShop or Ask a Paint Expert online.

Have a very, merry colourful Christmas!

projects Vanessa Nouwens

images Bryce Carleton

Published: 06 Dec 2023

Do you have a home full of wonderful Resene paint and colour? Send us some snaps by emailing editor@habitatbyresene.co.nz.

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Resene Double Pearl Lusta

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Resene Pearl Lusta

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Resene Manuka Honey

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Resene Triple White Pointer

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Resene White Pointer

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Resene Green Meets Blue

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Resene Mexican Red

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Resene Cobblestone

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Resene Coconut Cream

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