Juxtaposition of Artisan paint finishes and textures

I really thought we would be much further ahead with our plans to paint our home when we first moved in just over a year ago, but those ideas along with lockdowns, restrictions home schooling and working all the way through... I will admit it's been a struggle and like many, we're trying to fit in a few projects here and there on the long weekends and weekends with bad weather and even then there hasn't been many....

But today I'm sharing the placement of our recently painted piece,  showing that rustic doesn't necessarily have to go into a "rustic or character home" that it can also be placed in a more contemporary setting and backdrop as the "soulful feature" piece and how a mix of both rustic and contemporary can work harmoniously, create depth, interest, great contrast and be beautifully balanced. I always find too much rustic falls flat and too much contemporary can also have the same effect. I love a space with clever  juxtaposition, using different textures, combining opposing styles, colours to create a space that makes the eye wander, creates depth a sense of calm and excitement all rolled into one.

Rustic piece in premium chalk paint and coloured waxes in a contemporary setting 

One of my biggest inspiration for this was walking into a clients home  when we first started commissions way back when in Whitford Auckland. I was probably around 27 at the time and big on monochrome spaces and minimal neutral spaces.

After driving up the impressive long windy driveway, you were greeted with a sprawling large stone and rustic wood home with  tuscan but kind of farmhouse vibes at the same time. Stunning hand forged metal work in the balustrades, chunky wooden character doors. Im not sure what I expected to see inside at the time, I just know that on my first step in  I was in complete awe, it just sparked an emotion straight away. Inside you were greeted with  beautiful contemporary matte coloured walls;  in colours that were in no way "usual"  I was told that the paint was imported from overseas, the owners had a love for colour and unique decor gathered through travel and work. The walls were just striking, framing everything with in it with so much mood and sophistication... in any line of sight you could spot at least 2 to 3 colours contrasting beautifully, creating interest and depth and Im talking colours like deep teals in the same line of sight with apple greens, a rich brown leading into a soft lemon yellow, sounds questionable when written down but visually stunning the way this was done. I likened the experience to like watching TV in black and white all your life and then in a split second discovering full blown coloured television in HD.

A predominantly open plan space  but each area defined by different neutrals and bold contrasting colours with an incredibly clever juxtaposition in the styling and placement of furniture and decor.  The rooms were filled with a stunning balance of  both modern and rustic furniture, you had sleek modern cabinetry with large rustic french style mirrors against a deep coloured wall, rustic chippy, dilapidated  large tables with midcentury modern chairs.  There was a clever juxtaposition in everything  from the  decor, artwork, textures in the  furnishings and raw materials, as you walked through each room you were transported into different stories and moods, the colours and styling flowed effortlessly, there was a sense of luxury walking through but also surprisingly  a strong lived in rich homely vibe.  My eye kept wandering and stopping to pin point the many things I loved, the way it was done, enhanced each item and purposely drew your eye through and across the room noticing the many juxtaposed pairings  ( there was a lot of  that looks so good with that, or I never would have thought that style of furniture would work with that and so forth...) It was a home that broke all the stereotypes of styles, pairings and colours and I wouldn't even know how to describe what style this home was even to this day. 

Walking into it made me feel like I straight away knew the owners through the layers and depth of their home.  I feel inspired just writing and thinking back to it.  I left that place with my my views completely changed on interiors , it opened a completely new outlook on  using colours to define, create spaces and the beautiful impact of  having stunning pieces of furniture that told a story.  This was a home that showed that breaking the rules , mixing, merging, layering can be absolutely stunning, turning a house into an incredible home, if you are brave enough to follow through on it. That place has always had a strong lasting impression on me and is what I always go back to when I'm wanting to brave with colour in my own home.

Light base in a textured Potters clay premium chalk paint with dark wax 

Using an Artisan Pink in our guest living room was a brave move but we absolutely love it and the feeling you get in this room when you walk in is pretty special. In here we've mixed a whole range of styles and materials, modern industrial light fittings on the wall (this photo which also shows I need to do a little dusting on that bulb! )but it's how Artisan Bruised Petal adjusts at night on the wall that has been captured so well in this shot that I want to show.   

That light base that it sits on was done in Artisan Premium Chalk Paints, as it arrived in a bleached wood that didn't fit in with out space, so we gave it the same finish as the beams in this room using Potters Clay and refrigerated dark wax. This light does not sit far from the piece below which is super rustic with strong frenchy vibes. You see another shade of Bruised Petal as it constantly reacts and adjusts throughout the day with Artisan crafted colours. 

So here we've set our Rustic hand painted piece in Premium Chalk Paint against a super smooth matte flat wall painted in Artisan Matte Estate Wall Paint, in Bruised Petal a paint that makes the most novice painter into a professional painter, with it being self levelling, drying luxuriously matte and flat. Pair this paint with the Wooster Roller (thats my tip)  and you can't go wrong. Against the Matte walls sits our vase and tea light holder in Artisan Metallic cremes.

same room, blue and pink... why not; I love this guest lounge so much more than ours which currently sits as all neutral and when compared to this lounge is pretty un-exciting and so much less homely  


Bruised Petal spread across the walls really brings out the complex multi-pigmented nature of Artisan paints. Bruised Petal sits as a dusky pink, it glows and warms in the evening when the warm sunset light comes in, it adjusts from a dusky pink, taupe-pink to a mauve pink to a  brown-pink in the evening. It is a pink; so there was a bit of bravery required on our part to use this in our guest living room and I really questioned it, but it was the story above and a bit of a "just do it" from Darrell that made me go ahead with it.  

off sets beautifully with greenery and blue and pink... why not. 

The wall in a dusky pink below the furniture with strong rustic green hues. Green and Pink are complementary, they sit opposite each other on the colour wheel. This means that when paired together it has high contrast and  impact and it works best when one colour is more dominant than the other and this year I'm all about living in colour and having as little white in my home as possible :-) 

I went browsing online to see if I could find some photos that reminisce the beautiful home I was referring to earlier , but nothing online really even compares but I did find some great juxtaposed interiors and some great info online around this so if you're interested get googling...

below from pintrest  

industrial vibes mixed with painted antiques with some rustic farmhouse wooden  vibes. Beautiful light blues framing the green grey walls... 

I love this juxtaposed setting found on pintrest, you have wood and marble, tiles and flax, a modern vase next to traditional taps, the beautiful tiles with a large french gilded mirror framed by contemporary lighting . 

glamorous chandelier with mid century style chairs, with a rustic farmhouse table with contemporary subway tiles and cabinetry. Fabulous juxtapostion making every element shine  

housebeautiful.com

 
italianbark.com 

We have fur,  we have leather, we have a feature rustic cabinet, contemporary decor with industrial lighting with a pink wall and they all work so harmoniously together. 

The next time you see rustic, picture it with contemporary, the next time you see industrial picture it with classic, we love that a juxtaposed home pulls down the stereotype ideas and walls of what should go together, it allows the idea of mixing, merging and opposing styles, colours and textures being the true beauty that creates harmony and depth in a space. 

This is what I hope most people get, out there with Artisan Paints, that you can change pretty much anything to create those layers,  to make things contrast, to make things cohesive that you can create varied textures and and paint finishes not just on furniture but on walls, floors and decor to create a place with layers and depth. With little to no prep, its all do-able, that this artisanal freedom gives you a chance to explore something outside of the norm from what is presented to us daily in catalogues and mainstream magazines.  . I hope everyone finds that inspiration to live in colour even if just a little.... 

- Dorophya