From habitat plus - decorating and colour trends 2024
When bringing your favourite Resene paint colours into your home, don’t discount your fifth ‘wall’ – the floor.
With a stencil, you can create the look of a patterned or tiled floor in a matter of hours in just the right colour combination at a fraction of the cost of the real thing. Or opt to bring a bold paint colour underfoot that might feel too overwhelming to use on your walls.
When painting most types of flooring in your home, you’ll want to use Resene Walk-on. Resene Walk-on is a general purpose flooring paint with an attractive satin finish based on tough acrylic resins for durability and abrasion resistance. Use it to create solid or patterned designs on floors, steps, decking, concrete, porches, primed timber and composite boards. To rejuvenate a previously painted floor, simply wash down the existing coating, remove any loose flaking material, prime or seal if needed and recoat using two coats of Resene Walk-on, then finish with Resene Concrete Wax.
By measuring from the outside in and using high-quality painter’s masking tape, this concentric rectangle floor design is simple to achieve with Resene Walk-on flooring paint.
Upper walls in Resene Wallpaper Collection 220482, lower walls painted in Resene Double Spanish White, dado rail in Resene Quarter Spanish White, floor in Resene Quarter Spanish White and Resene Double Spanish White, console table in Resene Half Duck Egg Blue, mirror in Resene Rewilding, plant pot in Resene New York Pink, pendant lamp in Resene Cest La Vie and vases in Resene Spanish White, Resene Wax Flower and Resene Soothe. Dining table and chairs from Danske Møbler, pendant lamp from Freedom.
Trend: stripes – see other trends
Painting your floor using a stencil is a cost-effective alternative to tiling, and best of all, you can easily paint over it when it’s time to refresh your space. If you can’t find a stencil in a style or scale that suits, or if you’re after a completely unique look, making a cardboard stencil yourself is quick and easy. Draw your own design or print out an online template and keep this copy as your ‘master’ in case you need to cut another copy of your stencil at any point. Use carbon transfer paper or transpose it onto a sheet of thin cardboard by pressing hard on the outline using a pencil (and a ruler, if needed). Using a craft knife, cut out the parts of the design you want to be painted.
Paint your entire floor with two coats of Resene Walk-on flooring paint in your chosen base colour. While your floor is drying, you can practice using your stencil on a scrap panel or larger sheet of cardboard. Use low-tack masking tape to keep your stencil in place, pour your second Resene Walk-on paint colour into a shallow tray and use a slightly damp sponge or paintbrush to dab paint through the cut holes in your stencil. Take care not to overload your brush or sponge with paint during the process, as adding too much paint to your applicator could result in paint bleeding underneath your stencil. Keep a clean rag on hand to dab off any excess paint as needed, then carefully lift the stencil off and reapply it in the next position.
top tip For best results when creating a stencilled paint design, measure your surface and decide your pattern repeat first, then scale your stencil appropriately. Be sure to measure all four walls, as you may discover that your floor isn’t completely square – which could affect your choice of stencil. Rounder or curvier designs can be a great option in these rooms, which will hide the flaw better than a geometric design.
A blue and white stencilled floor design, window-shaped painted mural and a striped bench and side table bring a taste of the Mediterranean home.
Wall painted in Resene White Noise with arch window mural in Resene Eau De Nil, Resene Sail Away and Resene Comfortably Numb, floor in Resene Half Alabaster and Resene Sail Away, bench and pendant lamp in Resene Half Alabaster, drum tables in Resene Half Alabaster with stripes in Resene Deep Teal and plant pot and plate in Resene Eau De Nil.
Carry your bolder checkboard colour on to small details within your design, such as wall hooks, picture frames and pendant lampshades, to harmonise your colour palette.
Walls painted in Resene White Pointer, floor in Resene Dawn Glow and Resene White Pointer finished with Resene Concrete Wax, lampshade in Resene Dawn Glow and Resene Yogi and wall hooks in Resene Dawn Glow. Bed and ottoman from Mocka, chair from Danske Møbler, linen from Foxtrot Home, shell pillow, whale toy, poster and banner from Little Whimsy, sheepskin from Allium Interiors, diary and tote bag from Father Rabbit.
When it comes to patterned painted flooring, a checkered look is among the simplest designs to create – and a major decorating trend. All you need is a ruler or tape measure, a pencil, high quality painter’s masking tape – available from your local Resene ColorShop – a paint roller, smooth surface roller sleeves and Resene Walk-on in two or more chosen hues.
Once you’ve rolled two coats of your lightest Resene paint colour over the entire floor surface and it has dried fully, we recommend measuring and marking out all your lines to ensure you have a straight guide to follow when applying your masking tape. A common error made when masking off a painted checkerboard design is applying long strips of masking from one side of the space to the other, and then doing the same thing perpendicularly. However, unless you want gaps in between each of your darker coloured squares, it’s not possible to create this look by attempting to paint all your darker coloured squares at once. Keep in mind during masking that your tape will need to be applied on the outer edges of the squares. It’s best to mask and paint every other row in two coats, remove the masking once the paint has dried, and then apply new masking around the squares of the alternate rows.
Have you ever fallen in love with a vibrant Resene paint colour but worried that it would be too overpowering for your walls? Vivid and vivacious colours can make a stylish statement on your floor in an otherwise light and bright room. Use your favourite classic Resene white for your walls then liven things up with a zesty green on the floor. Or stick to a single colour family and try a romantic raspberry red for your floor with a pale pink for the walls and ceiling.
On-trend acidic greens like chartreuse may be an overwhelming choice for walls but can be an eye-catching option for a painted floor.
Wall painted in Resene Rum Swizzle and floor in Resene Enamacryl gloss tinted to Resene Grass Hopper. Bench from Good Form, chair from Danske Møbler.
Carry an exciting statement floor colour on to a piece of furniture and give it a glamorous, glossy finish with Resene Enamacrylgloss waterborne enamel.
Wall painted in Resene Vanilla Ice and floor and side table in Resene Blackberry. Chair from Smith & Caughey’s.
top tip Once your final coat of Resene Walk-on is dry on your floor, apply Resene Concrete Wax with a roller for an even more durable satin finish. Or for a high gloss finish, use Resene Enamacryl gloss waterborne enamel.
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