Half dark

When Jessica’s family bought their new build house all rooms were painted Resene Thorndon Cream. The rooms were rather bland so it has been Jessica’s job to try and breathe some life in to them.

The dining room was huge – no matter how much furniture they put in it, it still felt empty and large. They have always loved the old period features in villas with the dado rails etc. So Jessica decided to break the big room into two halves (top and bottom) with a dado rail and a dark colour underneath. For the darker colour she chose Resene Bokara Grey (almost black).

Most of Jessica’s friends and family thought she was mad to go with such a dark colour, but she had faith that it would look great and really anchor the room while giving it some life. Jessica’s husband puts up with her decorating crazes… he says "do what you like but don’t get me involved". (He hates painting). Since Jessica loves painting, this is not a problem. Jessica did have to beg for a bit of help with putting the dado rails up, but since it involved his power tools to cut the rails, it wasn’t a problem!

Once Jessica had prepped the walls with tape, she started painting. Once the painting was complete they put the dado rails up and finished them off in the above wall colour of. Those people who all thought Jessica was mad…? Well they LOVE it and now ask her for advice on their rooms!

Since Jessica loved the effect of the dark colour on the dining room walls, she then moved onto the living room where they have a feature wall/chimney with shelves either side. Jessica painted this Resene Bokara Grey too and it ties the two rooms together really well.

Now it’s time to get started on the bedroom… Jessica is going to attempt stripes on the wall in Resene San Juan and Resene Thorndon Cream.