feature article

Cairns Post
Richie Stevens is face of Wattyl paints

Brad Ryan

Thursday, December 17, 2009, The Cairns Post http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/12/17/82815_local-news.html

An eye for colour, a "tropical modern chic" style and a bright personality have proven the perfect mix for a Cairns designer, who has been offered a lucrative gig as the face of a popular paint brand. Richie Stevens, who achieved fame through renovation reality TV program HomeMADE, has signed on as the new face of Wattyl ID paints.

Mr Stevens is set to be splashed across the country through magazine spreads and ad campaigns, and a book deal is also understood to be in the works. "I can’t speak too much about that but there will be a great big book launch probably late next year," Mr Stevens said.

The co-owner of Cairns design company insideout will also heavily feature in RealLiving magazine, which will run monthly pieces on room design featuring Mr Stevens and the range of paints. Mr Stevens said he was grateful that the exposure through the HomeMADE program had shown Cairns designers were able to produce top quality work.

"I’ll still be working here in Cairns but I’ll obviously be travelling quite a bit now," he said.

Wattyl, a sponsor of the Channel 9 program, decided to offer Mr Stevens the deal after being impressed by his approach on the television series.

"Richie had a real sense of colour, bold and brave, but at the same time stylish," Wattyl spokeswoman Lucy Sutherland said.

"We were a sponsor on the show where Richie did some really exciting things with our Wattyl ID paints."