Fiona’s exquisitely detailed homage to heritage

So often older homes are given a millennium makeover with rooms opened up for open-plan living, a modern kitchen… and then we paint it all white.

Not so for Fiona Saville of Flow Colour and Design and her clients who own an 1880s Victorian house in the Sydney suburb of Strathfield, an area rich with Victorian and Federation houses.

They wanted to use heritage colours to maintain the integrity of the house and the results are spectacular, like something off a BBC period drama, with richly detailed paintwork and furnishings.

The owner was keen on using Victorian era colours. She also wanted a different colour scheme in each room, and to make a feature of the ornate cornicing and ceiling roses.

They are undoubtedly the stars of the show.

Using the Resene Heritage collection as a guide to kickstart the colour schemes for each room, Fiona then used the Resene Whites & Neutrals and Resene Multi-finish collections to add more colours in either a tonal or complementary way to create the full scheme of up to five different colours.

Fiona’s research uncovered an image of a Victorian hallway with a red ceiling, so when her client labelled an earlier scheme of muted olives and taupes “too dull”, Fiona suggested a red ceiling. Says Fiona: “My client loved the idea. Not many clients are brave enough to go with something so bold, and quite frankly, not many houses can take it.”

Resene Vanquish was chosen for the ceiling echoing the hall carpet runner. For the walls, Resene Wafer, a soft nude salmon, looks stunning against the Resene Vanquish ceiling. The fact that it is on-trend right now is a bonus, but in this situation, it looks timeless.

After discovering the impact of colour used on a ceiling, the homeowner was keen to also try colour on the ceilings in the lounge and master bedroom. The ceiling roses in these two rooms are the same design, so for continuity, they used Resene Quarter Solitaire and Resene Gold Dust metallic as part of the scheme for both. Painter Ashley Hill of DNA Decorators had the skill to execute the detailed work.

Resene Quarter Solitaire also worked well as a common neutral – not too pink, yellow or grey. 

For the lounge room, the kick-starter heritage colour was Resene Olive Green, used on the cornices. After trying many A4 paint samples, Resene Organic was chosen for the walls; a green strong enough to hold its own against the Resene Olive Green cornicing, but still soft enough to use on the vast expanse of walls. Resene Wafer is used on the ceiling.

In the master bedroom, they worked around the existing elaborate salmon pink curtains. The heritage colour chosen for the cornicing and ceiling rose was Resene Nelson Red, teamed with a strong dusty pink Resene Brandy Rose for the walls.

For the ceiling colour they looked at pale greens and light duck egg blues to contrast with the strong pink and red, finally deciding on Resene Half Coriander, a pale green.

The colours for each of the rooms may be distinctive but they come together in a cohesive scheme:

•          The Resene Vanquish red ceiling in the hallway ties in with the Resene Nelson Red used as the heritage feature in the master bedroom;

•          The Resene Wafer ceiling and walls in the lounge and hallway tone with the Resene Brandy Rose walls in the master bedroom;

•          The Resene Half Coriander ceiling in the master bedroom ties in with the Resene Organic walls in the lounge room opposite.

For more of Fiona’s work, see www.flowcolour.com.au

Published: 28 Jun 2018

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

hallway, entranceway, red ceiling, salmon paint, interior design, painted ceiling

This stunning red ceiling echoes the colour in the carpet runner below. It’s painted in Resene Vanquish and framed with a cornice in Resene Quarter Solitaire. The walls are a soft nude salmon, Resene Wafer, which is both an on-trend colour but a timeless choice for this situation.

living room, lounge, green paint, green lounge, white ceiling

The homeowner had always wanted a green room, so Fiona’s scheme of Resene Organic walls and Resene Olive Green cornicing hits the mark.

living room, lounge, salmon ceiling, painted ceiling, green living room, metallic gold

The living room ceiling rose is intricately executed in Resene Organic, Resene Olive Green, Resene Quarter Solitaire and Resene Gold Dust metallic, against a ceiling in Resene Wafer.

bedroom, red bedroom, fireplace, rose paint, pink bedroom

The colour scheme in this bedroom was created around the existing curtains, using Resene Brandy Rose walls with Resene Nelson Red cornicing.

bedroom, pink bedroom, pink and red paint, ceiling rose, metallic gold, ceiling

The ceiling rose here is in Resene Nelson Red, Resene Quarter Solitaire, Resene Brandy Rose and Resene Gold Dust metallic, against a ceiling in Resene Half Coriander.

hallway, entranceway, ceiling rose, painted ceiling, red ceiling, metallic gold, hallway rose

The hallway rose is offset by its background of Resene Vanquish and uses Resene Quarter Solitaire, Resene Wafer and Resene Gold Dust metallic.

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Resene Quarter Solitaire

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Resene Olive Green

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Resene Brandy Rose

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