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Eric and Thea’s modern kitchen reno

Olympic gold medallist rower Eric Murray and his partner Thea Lyle are channelling their inner DIY powers and renovating a rundown 1950s house in Cambridge. With the power of Resene paint and some cool and clever design additions – including installing a pool – they’ve transformed it into a stylish and fabulously functional home sanctuary.

So far they have reworked their powder room and master bedroom and are now moving on to the heart and social hub of their home – the open-plan kitchen and living space.

As with the previous spaces, keeping the classic bungalow vibes in the refresh was an important consideration for the reimagined kitchen.

“We want to still add character but have it modern,” explains Thea.

“It’s really just about figuring out what colours we’re going with that will match with our kitchen design,” adds Eric.

As they’re incorporating new lighting, kitchen cabinetry and a scullery, they not only need to consider the new colour palette, but the practicalities of what type of paint will work best and how the kitchen walls need to be prepared before the cabinetry is installed.

Resene Colour Consultant Christine Hodges helped Thea and Eric select the right products and colours for the job.

Armed with expert advice, the couple got stuck in to their kitchen reno, painting the walls with Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen in Half Rice Cake.

Expert advice

As is always advised, and as Eric and Thea have done in the past, they headed into their local Resene ColorShop to talk through their ideas and inspiration with Resene Colour Consultant Christine Hodges.

As the new kitchen cabinetry was going to be installed onto plastered walls, Chirstine advised them that all they needed to prep those walls was a coat of Resene Waterborne Sureseal. This seals the walls and is ideal for use in wet areas like kitchens and bathrooms, as well as the rest of the home.

The couple had ummed and ahhed about adding a feature pop of colour within their scullery, much like they did with their powder room. Christine gave that idea a big thumbs up, knowing how much wow factor it would bring to the kitchen.

They ended up narrowing it down to two green options: Resene Flax and Resene Bitter. They ultimately went with Resene Bitter as it perfectly complements the timber accents – pendant lighting, flooring and shelving – in the kitchen.

Culinary transformation

Then it was time to get to work on their kitchen makeover, which both admit had its challenges.

“We had our plasterers do all of their work, and then it was just about painting, sanding and cleaning,” says Eric.

“I whinged probably the whole time we did the prep,” laughs Thea.

But as always, making sure that they did that prep properly enabled them to get to the finish and standard that they were after.

They chose Resene Zylone Sheen in Resene Alabaster for the ceiling and SpaceCote Low Sheen in Half Rice Cake on the walls, which perfectly complements the creamy white of their kitchen cabinetry. Then, of course, the pop of nature-inspired Resene Bitter in their scullery, also in SpaceCote Low Sheen.

“We have produced a fantastic entertaining area,” says Eric. “The kitchen, everyone says, is the heart of the house and I think we’ve really made it the heart of this place.”

As the scullery is tucked away, Eric and Thea were able to be more adventurous with their colour choice. They opted for Resene Bitter as the perfect pop of earthy style that works well with the wood shelving.

The light Resene paint tones the couple chose complement the cream-coloured kitchen cabinetry. Ceiling painted Resene Zylone Sheen in Alabaster and walls in SpaceCote Low Sheen in Half Rice Cake.

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