8 Perfect Pairings for the Hardest-Working Rooms in Your Home

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Selecting the right colours and finishes for what are generally the busiest parts of your home – the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry and outdoor area – can feel overwhelming and confusing. After all, you’ll want whatever you choose to not just look great, but cope with the challenges of daily life and our harsh Australian climate.

Fortunately, help is at hand. Paint brand Wattyl has teamed up with quartz-surface specialist Caesarstone to create Perfect Pairings 3, the third chapter in their popular collaboration, where colour and design experts have produced eight stunning colour and material palettes specially tailored for Australian homes. The fashion-forward palettes show you how to combine Wattyl paints, Caesarstone surfaces and Polytec timber veneers and a range of other colours to fabulous effect in the most-used parts of your home, both inside and out.

Here, we explore the eight colour palettes, and where you might use them in your home.

Wattyl

Comforting Neutrals palette.

1. A kitchen full of heart
If you’re looking to create a warm and inviting feel in your kitchen, consider a scheme based around soft, earth-drawn tones of mushroom, greige and warm white, as featured in the Comforting Neutrals palette.

“This palette creates a natural, balanced and understated feel with a touch of glamour. It’s particularly well-suited to homes with an organic, minimalistic style,” says Katherine Champion, Wattyl colour ambassador.

“The raw, warm neutrals of Wattyl Confetti Shower and Wattyl Tipi paired with Polytec Ligurian Walnut and Gossamer White cabinetry create the ideal canvas for statement-making Caesarstone Calacatta Maximus on a benchtop, backsplash or kitchen island,” she says. “Wattyl Confetti Shower is the perfect warm white for the main wall colour with Wattyl Tipi as an accent or feature wall to delineate a dining area in an open-plan space.”

Tip: When choosing paint for a busy spot such as a kitchen, it’s important that it’s easy to clean and healthy for the inhabitants of your home. Wattyl I.D Advanced interior paint has an ultra-low VOC formula, and is mould-, fungus- and stain-resistant. It’s also virtually odourless and a breeze to wipe down.

Wattyl

Aromatic Blend palette.

2. Turn up the heat
A rich scheme with a hint of spice, such as the Aromatic Blend palette, is guaranteed to add dynamism and energy to your kitchen – just the thing if you want to make your cooking space the main gathering point for friends and family.

It features Wattyl Mombassa Grass (ochre), Wattyl Ice Volcano (a warm buff), Caesarstone Aterra Blanca (a misty white), lime-washed timber (Polytec Ligurian Walnut) and Polytec Greige.

“Try Wattyl Mombassa Grass as a feature wall or accent, earthy Wattyl Ice Volcano on the main walls, marble-inspired Caesarstone Aterra Blanca on your benchtop and backsplash, and soft tones of Polytec Ligurian Walnut or Polytec Greige on cabinetry,” says Champion. “Or keep your kitchen colours neutral and add a touch of spice to your butler’s pantry by painting the walls in Wattyl Mombassa.”

Wattyl

Inner Tranquility palette.

3. Chic outdoor kitchen
Looking to design a serene and stylish outdoor kitchen in a contemporary or coastal home? The cool, calm and thoroughly contemporary Inner Tranquility palette is a great place to start.

It features Wattyl Earth Child, a fresh, greyed-off white that you could use on your main walls, Wattyl After; a refreshing surf-spray blue that would work a treat as a feature wall; and Caesarstone Midday, which evokes the colour and finish of light concrete – ideal for the benchtop of an outdoor kitchen or a custom dining table.

Complete the look with charcoal or oak cabinetry, such as Polytec Prime Oak or Empire Oak, and sleek, stainless steel appliances and hardware.

Tip: Any paint you use outdoors needs to be able to withstand our at-times brutal climate. Wattyl Solagard is a durable exterior paint specially designed for Australian conditions. It resists flaking, peeling and blistering so your exterior looks better for longer.

Wattyl

Botanic Oasis palette.

4. Balcony makeover
Or transform a bland balcony or courtyard into an enticing retreat with a fresh palette such as Botanic Oasis, which is built around whispery grey, rich green, blonde oak and milky, marble-look quartz.

Use nature-drawn Wattyl Leaves of Green to create an eye-catching feature wall, balanced out with gentle Wattyl Magnesium on the surrounding walls. From there, look to use Caesarstone Palm Shade on benchtops or around an outdoor kitchen, and Polytec Coastal Oak and Polar White on joinery.

Complete your outdoor oasis with tropical-inspired furniture and prints, and plenty of greenery.

Tip: Caesarstone’s new outdoor quartz range allows you to use select Caesarstone finishes outdoors (including Caesarstone Palm Shade, shown here). Use them to create a custom outdoor dining table, to clad an outdoor kitchen or to create a striking feature wall.

Wattyl

Grounded in Nature palette.

5. Laid-back luxury outdoors
For a classic-meets-contemporary aesthetic in your outdoor area, consider a scheme based around warm, organic tones, such as Grounded in Nature.

“With its deep, earthy browns and neutral whites, the Grounded in Nature palette is versatile enough to work well with any architectural style, and can transition seamlessly from the interior kitchen to the outdoor kitchen,” says Champion.

“Wattyl Feather Dawn is a popular exterior and interior white and, when paired with the rich grey-brown of Wattyl Espresso Martini as a feature wall or accent, sets a cosy scene for outdoor entertaining.

“Caesarstone Clearskies creates a beautiful balance, and can be used on a range of both interior and exterior surfaces, including benchtops, splashbacks and dining tables, as it has been designed to withstand extreme environmental conditions,” she says. Finish off with Polytec Notaio Walnut and Stone Grey on joinery.

Tip: Add depth and interest to your exterior scheme by choosing a textured paint finish. Here, the designers have used Wattyl Feather Dawn in textured Wattyl Granosite finish on the wall.

Wattyl

A Nostalgic Romance palette.

6. A laundry to love
Make the laundry a place you love spending time in with a cheery and uplifting palette such as A Nostalgic Romance.

“Surrounding yourself with beautiful, warm colours, finishes and styling touches in a laundry can make it feel more welcoming,” says Champion. “In a small space such as this you can be a bit more experimental with colour – try sun-kissed Wattyl Ember Glow as an accent wall and subdued Wattyl Lushious White on the other walls, with sandstone-inspired Caesarstone Adamina on the benchtop and splashback.”

“For a cosy feel, specify rich, dark cabinetry in Polytec Rojo Walnut. Or, for a sleeker look, use Polytec Gossamer White on cabinets,” she says.

One or two small styling touches is all it takes to bring your new-look laundry to life; add floating or open shelves to the main wall where you can prop an artwork and a pretty trailing plant.

Tip: A bold feature wall colour, such as Wattyl Ember Glow, works best when balanced out with a calming neutral, such as Wattyl Lushious White.

Wattyl

Harmonic Wonder palette.

7. Bathing beauty
Create a sanctuary-like vibe in your bathroom by selecting a scheme based around muted, nature-drawn tones of moss, white, cool grey and marble, as seen in the Harmonic Wonder palette.

Paint the main walls in an earthy grey-green such as Wattyl Gretna or a pale grey such as a Wattyl Winter Mushroom, with pops of gentle green, such as Wattyl Smoked Jade, on a feature wall or lining the back of open shelves.

Use a complex marble-look quartz such as Caesarstone Arabetto on the benchtop and splashbacks to add subtle pattern to the space, with cabinets finished in an understated grey-green veneer, such as Polytec Verdelho.

Tip: When choosing colours for a room scheme, particularly whites and neutrals, ensure they share the same undertones – either cool or warm – for a cohesive look. You can assess undertones by viewing colours against a pure white piece of paper under different light conditions and at various times of day.

Wattyl

Poised & Polished palette.

8. Monochrome magic
If you can’t go past a classic black and white combo, here’s a modern iteration to try: the Poised & Polished palette, which combines complex tones such as Wattyl Noir (a deep charcoal), Caesarstone Vivid White, Polytec Black Ply (charcoal) and Polytec Agave (mid-grey with a hint of green). The nuanced nature of these tones gives them more depth and personality than pure tones.

Add bright white benchtops (Caesarstone Vivid White) and white-washed walls to balance out the dark tones.

“This palette is bold, dynamic and sophisticated, and works beautifully in kitchens, laundries and bathrooms,” says Champion.

It’s versatile too, lending itself to both classic and contemporary architecture, and different interior styles, including industrial and modern-Scandi.

“Ensure the space receives plenty of light to prevent the scheme from too feeling dark or closed-in, and add brass hardware or wooden elements for a touch of warmth,” she says.

More: Learn more about Wattyl and Caesarstone’s Perfect Pairings 3 here.

Tell us: Which of these 8 palettes is your favourite?

This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.