Here's a taste of some of the Colour Expert questions and answers to help you with your own colour scheme.
If you would like more colour advice for your project, please ask our Colour Expert for help or come in and see our staff at your local Resene ColorShop or Reseller. Colours are a representation only.
Please refer to the actual paint or product sample. Resene colour charts, testpots and samples are available for ordering online.
Q. My family just bought a new house and my room is dark and small. How can I make my room light and make it feel bigger? A. The tendency is to slap on pure white paint in the hope that this will do the trick in a small dark room but it may only make it look like a grey white and colder than the inside of the fridge. Perhaps look at using a pale colour (yes pale is best) in a sweet warm creamy/white like Resene Orchid White, Resene Half Cararra or Resene Bianca. The tinge of yellow in these colours makes it appear lighter/brighter and most of all - warmer.
October 2015
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Q. We are painting our interior walls Resene Quarter Tea and wondering what to paint the doors. Do we go darker such as Resene Tea or Resene Half Tea or lighter? A. If you go a little deeper - i.e. Resene Half Tea - it could be a practical choice - doors get a lot of touching, bumping and finger marking and it may hide the marks a little bit. Resene Tea is nice as well but being that bit deeper again it may look quite strong compared to the wall colour.
October 2015
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Q. I am building a new home with a Grey Friars roof and joinery. Can you suggest some interior colours for the walls? I think I have made a mistake with the joinery as I don't want to continue the grey theme inside the house. A. Grey Friars is a fundamental neutral that is dark enough to be used with almost any colour so you don't need to use a grey in the house unless you want to. You might look at these colours - which are all totally different from each other - to see if they appeal to you – Resene Half Thorndon Cream, Resene Eighth Drought, Resene Eighth Bison Hide, Resene Quarter Truffle or Resene Eighth Napa.
October 2015
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Q. We will be painting our master bedroom soon and will use Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta for most of the walls. Can you recommend a mid or pale warm grey for a feature wall behind the bed please? It would need to go with a beige carpet, beige/taupe curtains and accents of blue in the bed linen. A. Beige is generally referred to as a warm light brown and because it features so predominantly in the bedroom perhaps the pale warm grey needs to carry some brown in it otherwise it may be in danger of looking 'lonely' and unrelated. For a brown/grey option try Resene Cloudy. Or for pale warm greys try Resene Half Foggy Grey, Resene Eighth Stonehenge, Resene Half Mountain Mist or Resene Eighth Friar Greystone .
October 2015
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Q. We have used Resene Quarter Thorndon Cream and Resene Quarter Black White for our internal walls and trims. I now need external colours. I was keen on a greyish or beige colour for the walls. A house near us has used Resene Friar Greystone which looks great with COLORBOND® Black but I think it may not blend internally with Resene Thorndon Cream. Is there a colour which is less grey and more beige (mushroom coloured may describe it) that we could use that will tie in with Resene Quarter Thorndon Cream internally? I was thinking of a steel blue to black for guttering as old sections need to be painted over and are now heritage green. A. You might consider these options – Resene Thorndon Cream (this is the full strength version of your interior colour), Resene Eighth Stonewall, Resene Eighth Arrowtown or Resene Cloudy (this is the most 'mushroom' like in hue).
October 2015
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Q. I would like to paint our brick and roughcast 1960s home this summer. But quite close to our home is a Versatile COLORSTEEL® garage that is New Denim Blue and Smooth Cream. I don't want to paint the garage so what would you recommend for the house colour? The house is currently painted to match the garage but I find it a bit more towards yellow than cream. I am happy to keep New Denim Blue on the house. Any suggestions? A. Perhaps you could consider using a tiny bit of the Smooth Cream as a door colour and an off white for the house and the New Denim Blue for the house roof and some other trims - i.e window frames or window sills and door frames.
October 2015
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Q. I am decorating our interior open plan kitchen/living area. I have chosen the kitchen colours: Benchtop Trendstone Glisten White, cupboards Melteca Warm White and accent cupboards of Bestwood Melamine Urban Wilderness. The carpet will be a mid warm grey and the kitchen tiles I am unsure. What wall colour, architraves and sills and ceiling colour would you suggest? I don't want stark white. I want something with a hint of colour and was considering Resene Quarter Truffle or Resene Half Truffle with maybe a feature wall in the lounge in Resene Half Stonehenge, but I am concerned it is a bit 'beigey' which I don't want. A. If you are worried about whether or not the Resene Truffle palette of colours is too beige then it may pay you to compare a 'more beige' colour so that you eye can adjust the information - try Resene Quarter Tea or Resene Quarter Bison Hide. In order to judge colours you need to compare them.
October 2015 |
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Q. We have chosen Resene Rice Paper so could you please advise colour for ceilings, walls and trim? A. Resene Rice Paper is a lovely fresh bright yellow/green. You could look at using one of these colours as your trims and ceiling colour as they work well with it – Resene Rice Cake (the name may be slightly similar but this is a sharp clean yellowed white with a hint of green hiding in it) or Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta (slightly yellower than Resene Rice Cake). Or if you wanted a more definite colour to use for trims and the ceiling you could look at Resene Chill Out but it will make the overall look very strong.
October 2015
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Q. We are thinking of using Resene Buttery White in our living/bedrooms and just wondering what colour you would use for ceiling/architraves etc. We are planning on a feature wall of Resene Half Robin Egg Blue in the bedroom. Do you think these two colours would go well together? A. I think the colours you mention will look lovely together. You may need to consider a very light ceiling, architraves and other trim colour in order not to create too much 'yellow' which may over power the delicate Resene Half Robin Egg Blue. You could check these options out to see if they appeal to you – Resene Eighth Pearl Lusta or Resene Half Bianca.
October 2015
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Q. My new home to be built will have Resene Eighth Rice Cake on the ceiling and doors with Resene Double Rice Cake on the walls. I need a white colour to go on the doors. Would either Warm White or Arctic White work? If so which would be the best? A. Do you mean the exterior doors? Are the windows going to be the same colour? I see you already have chosen an interior door colour - Resene Eighth Rice Cake. Warm White is fine with your interior colours - please don't choose Arctic White unless you want a really chilly blue/grey toned white.
September 2015
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Q. Looking at painting part of our house with Resene Oilskin. The other part would need to be in a lighter colour. What colours would blend with this? A. You could check these colours out to see if they appeal to you: Resene Quarter Oilskin, Resene Stonewashed or Resene Double Perfect Taupe.
September 2015
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Q. We're looking at modernising our property exterior. The joinery we can't change and we have recently got double glazed windows in a pretty standard cream colour. Our thoughts were to paint over the green with a dark slate/charcoal type colour and then choose a light colour complementary to the cream joinery for the walls. Can you offer any suggestions of colour combinations that might work? A. A warm charcoal or dark slate colour for the areas that are green would look very smart. Check these charcoals out to see if you like them – Resene Grey Friars, Resene Nocturnal or Resene Windswept. The window joinery may be similar to a powdercoat colour called Off White. If it is then it works really well with Resene Spanish White. Be careful of using too pale a version (Resene Half Spanish White or Resene Quarter Spanish White) as it will make the window joinery look a lot darker and that may not be what you want.
September 2015
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Q. I need to repaint my bach and would like some help. I can change the colour of the roof and the joinery and I am thinking about white joinery and possibly a grey exterior and a dark grey roof? A. I like your ideas for changing the look of the bach. A dark grey roof and white joinery will go with almost any colour, not just a grey, as they are classical and timeless. There are several roof and joinery colours that you might consider: Resene Grey Friars and Resene Black White, or Resene Nocturnal and Resene Alabaster. For the main house colour you could look at these colours – Resene Half Silver Chalice, Resene Half Atmosphere or Resene Half Foggy Grey.
September 2015
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Q. We are nearing the end of huge renovations and need some colour help. The master bedroom will be Resene Half Drought and other bedrooms Resene Quarter Drought. I'm stumped as to what colour to choose for Roman blinds. I like browns and neutral colours. Would something similar to Resene Mission Brown suit? A. If you like the rich dark look of Resene Mission Brown then that is good. I think you need to look at soft creamy beiges and greens as well - too much of one colour can be heavy and not allow different rooms to have their own look . If you have the opportunity, pop into your nearest Resene ColorShop to view their curtain fabric samples for a bit of inspiration.
September 2015
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Q. What would you suggest for an exterior white on a house that has a Surf Mist coloured metal roof. I am wanting a much whiter, white than Surf Mist. Any suggestions? A. Colours often look a lot lighter on an exterior with bright natural light. If your Surf Mist roof looks very pale (because of the angle of the roof to the sun) it may be a little difficult to find a 'whiter' colour apart from real White - Resene White. You might like one of these and certainly they would be worth checking out – Resene Eighth Rice Cake, Resene Half Sea Fog or Resene Quarter Black White.
September 2015
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Q. Can you please suggest a good white and grey that goes with a polished concrete floor? We are building a new home and in our living room we have a pitched ceiling with a tongue and groove finish. There is a polished concrete floor. My intention had been to have light grey walls with white skirting boards and doors. The room has plenty of windows and doors and the glass is tinted green. A. Greys are very popular, and there are a huge amount to choose from, and that goes the same for whites. You will need to test colours carefully and see how they respond to changes of natural light as well as taking into account the cast of green that will possibly reflect onto the walls from the windows. You could start by looking at these greys and whites to see how they appeal to you – Resene Quarter Silver Chalice and Resene Quarter Wan White, or Resene Quarter Foggy Grey and Resene Alabaster, or Resene Double Sea Fog and Resene Half Black White.
September 2015
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Q. We are renovating our 1930s bungalow and I want a light grey colour for the kitchen/dining walls to go with our Resene Black White ceiling and trims and our rimu floorboards (with white kitchen cupboards/bench). I don't want it to look too cold but love grey walls. A. At least half of all greys are cooler colours plus, unless they face toward all day sun, even warm greys can look chilly. You might check these greys out - they have yellow, brown or red undertones so they are warmer options: Resene Quarter Foggy Grey, Resene Triple Sea Fog, Resene White Pointer, Resene Truffle or Resene Half Mountain Mist.
September 2015
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Q. We are about to repaint our 1960s weatherboard home and we are wondering what colour scheme would work well with white aluminium window frames. The home also gets all day sun so it is very bright. It would be great to get some colour scheme ideas. A. Almost all colours will work with white aluminium windows. If the natural light aspect is very bright then you may need to consider colours that have underlying depth in order for the colour not to be washed out. This is often what happens if you want lighter/brighter colours and don't mind wearing sunglasses if it is a bit glary. Some colours to try – Resene Lemon Grass, Resene Quarter Cougar, Resene Double White Pointer or Resene Iron.
September 2015
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Q. I'm wanting to paint the skirting boards, door and a French door in a bedroom and we aren't sure what the original colour of the walls is. It's very close to Resene Double Pearl Lusta and is quite a yellow creamy colour. So my question is what would be the best complementary colour or lighter colour that would complement to paint the skirting boards etc? In the past I have used Resene Quarter Villa White in other rooms but this looks like it will be too 'white' - so I think we need a yellow based white? Should we go with Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta for example. A. Perhaps you could look at Resene Half Pearl Lusta or Resene Double Bianca if Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta doesn't work for you. Both of these suggestions appear warmer (more yellow toned) so they may work with your main colour.
September 2015
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Q. I have worked out that Resene Merino on the walls, ceiling and skirting boards suits my new build in terms of matching to brown carpet, a grey lino and pale kitchen. However, I'm undecided about the colour for the doors, door reveals and window frames. I'm not even sure if I want to go lighter or darker. Any thoughts? A. You may need to think carefully about the overall look - deeper wood work creates a feature colour, paler wood work accentuates the wall colour and using exactly the same colour as the walls (but in a semi-gloss enamel) hides or under emphasises the wood work. So perhaps look at these colours – deeper Resene Double Merino or lighter Resene Quarter Merino.
September 2015
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Q. I love greys, and we are about to have repairs done and I'd like to paint the living and dining area in a shade of grey. I'm thinking one wall Resene Fuscous Grey and the others Resene Athens Grey. We have dark grey carpet and light grey curtains. Will it be too much? A. I don't think it will be too much as long as the greys have a solid relationship with each other and harmonise well. This is where testing colours carefully and seeing how they respond to the angles of walls and changes of natural and artificial light helps. All the best with your shades of grey dining room.
September 2015
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Q. I am having a lot of trouble choosing a colour for our kitchen area. I'm finding Resene Nepal too blue and Resene Hermitage too grey. A. Both of these colours are radically different to each other. If it is a less blue version of Resene Nepal (with a undertone of grey in it) that you are looking for then you might check out these options – Resene Casper, Resene Longitude, Resene Bounty, Resene Dusted Blue or Resene Duck Egg Blue.
September 2015
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Q. We are looking at painting the interior walls of our house Resene Half White Pointer and are debating over colours for the trim (skirts, architraves and doors). What would you suggest for a trim colour lighter than the walls? And one darker than the walls (but not too dark)? A. You might look at these options to see if they appeal to you – Resene Quarter White Pointer or Resene Half Black White and deeper colours – Resene White Pointer or Resene Double White Pointer.
September 2015
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Q. Can you recommend a Resene colour that will work well with Snowdrift Melteca cabinetry for a kitchen? It is for a splashback. I am thinking of a pale spearmint green or a similar colour to the Melteca or an orange colour. I have a mix of Resene Eighth Black White colour on the walls as well as clear polyurethaned plywood. A. Any colour would work with the Melteca Snowdrift, the Resene Eighth Black White and clear coated plywood. If you like oranges and spearmint greens you could check out these colours – Resene Kandinsky, Resene Fringy Flower, Resene Vista Blue, Resene Guggenheim, Resene Sebedee or Resene Shirley Temple. I hope this is helpful - there is only one type of splashback glass that shows colour true to reality. It is low iron oxide crystal clear glass. The other is standard float glass which has a green caste to it and colour seen behind this glass is altered by the green cast and doesn't look like it does in in reality.
September 2015
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Q. What are suitable colours for libraries? A. Any colours can be used in libraries. Often warm neutrals are used (sitting for long periods of inertia can make people feel cold) and offset by very colourful carpets, tables, chairs, sofas and (sometimes) notice boards and art work. Unlike an art gallery there is no need for a white background in order to accentuate the colours in the paintings. September 2015
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Q. I need colours for a downstairs bedroom on the southern side of my house (it is a bit dark and gloomy). I don't really like 'cream' colours but want something warm. I have previously used Resene Sea Fog and Resene Half Alabaster and like both of those. A. I think that cream colours may look a lot warmer in gloomy south facing rooms and whiter colours may look grey and chilly but you might look at these colours to see if they appeal to you: Resene Eighth Joss, Resene Quarter Tea, Resene Eighth Drought, Resene Double Sea Fog or Resene Double Merino.
September 2015
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Q. We are repainting our student acupuncture clinic. We have five small clinic rooms and need them to be clean and calming and fairly neutral. A. Generally colours need to be chosen in relationship to existing flooring, curtains/blinds and other elements that are coloured so that there is a harmonious co-ordination. Some colours to try are Resene Quarter Wheatfield, Resene Half Secrets or Resene Eighth Akaroa.
September 2015
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Q. We are building a house in a rural setting and situated next to it will be a shed constructed in Ironsand. Our house has a high pitch COLORSTEEL® roof with LINEA® cladding. We like the dark look. Given the colour of the shed, we were thinking of going Ironsand for the roof, perhaps Resene Half Ironsand on the cladding but are very unsure regarding the joinery. What colours work well here? Interior wise, we like Resene Alabaster, but aren't 100% on whether to go single or double. We were also thinking of either doing a few feature walls or perhaps wallpaper. We are young and like a little bit of flair, but aren't too sure what colours will work. The kitchen is black and white and the rest of the house we have yet to decide. A. Linking the roof colour of the house to the shed colour is a good idea. I suggest you keep the joinery a light colour, not white as it may be too stark against the deep colour of the house. Perhaps you could look at Resene Cloud, Resene Titania or Resene Bone White. As some alternative options (to Resene Half Ironsand) as the main deep colour of the house you could check out these (earthy/rural inspired) colours – Resene Squall, Resene Masala, Resene Touchstone or Resene Quarter Ironsand. For the interior you might look at both colours that you favour - the Resene Double Alabaster may be nice in huge open spaces that are blasted with sunlight as it will be less stark. Resene Alabaster might be used for smaller rooms and hallways plus all ceilings and woodwork - call it the main colour. Flooring (unless it is invisible) needs to be taken into account. It is always coloured so it has an effect on all spaces. You need to make decisions on that first so you have options. If you like to be a bit different in regard your decor then using some amazing wallpaper (not everywhere/choose the space that deserves the most 'wow') can be such a good thing to do. Perhaps a wall in the lounge or in the master bedroom or even the entry foyer - it sets the scene for visitors who will admire your style. Otherwise feature colours might be either paint or it could be the drapes - people often overlook these but fabric can be so exciting. Check out the Resene Curtain range fabrics at your local Resene ColorShop.
September 2015
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Q. I have a 100 year old farmhouse with galvanised roof. I would like to paint it white. I am not scared of bright white, but need it to work with COLORBOND® Deep Ocean or Ironstone gutters, a darker blue for fascia boards, also a pink front door (French doors). Would it be too much to paint all the French doors pink? I live in a rain forest on a river, so it's very green around me. Could you please help me with choosing the white, dark blue and pink? A. A question - if all the French doors are pink which is the right one to knock on when visitors arrive? I feel it may be a visual confusion to have all of the French doors pink. I would be inclined (if you have your heart set on pink for all the doors) to use a deeper pink for the front entry door (to emphasise its greater function) and a lighter variant for all the others. Some ideas to get you started: Resene Half Sea Fog (main), Resene Sundown (front door) and Resene Chablis (other French doors). Pinks can be tricky as unless they are tonally related they can look mismatched.
September 2015
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Q. We are thinking of going with Resene Quarter Rakaia for our interior walls. What colours complement Resene Quarter Rakaia that would be good as feature walls for a gas fireplace inset wall (with TV on top), a master bedroom, a girl's room, a boy's room and a splashback. The kitchen cabinets are Resene Alabaster and the bench top is a granite stone white with grey/blue flecks in it. Our floors are a really light colour bamboo in the kitchen and our carpet will be a dark grey colour. Also, what colour would you paint the ceilings and trims? I heard you use a lighter shade of the wall colour, but we were thinking Resene Alabaster? A. Ceilings and trims would look great in Resene Alabaster but if you would like more contrast you might consider Resene Half Alabaster. Feature walls for the master bedroom or gas fireplace inset wall that could appeal are: Resene Triple Rakaia, Resene Chapta And Verse, Resene Matakana or Resene Half Baltic Sea. The girl's and boy's rooms are dependent upon age. Tricky call. I suggest you let them choose their own 'special' colour or relate a colour to drapes or duvets. For a splashback in the kitchen you might look at a deeper blue/grey - i.e Resene New Denim Blue or even a metallic like Resene Meridian but you must choose carefully as it will have to adore being seen in close proximity to the (more gorgeous) granite and work with your main wall colour. Take your time. Testpots are your best friend.
September 2015
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Q. We're choosing our colours (with Fairview Aluminium) for a major renovation of our 1950s house in Lyttelton (looks just like a State house but we're also extending and putting a level in the basement). We want the aluminium to blend into the wooden trim we'll place around it as much as possible, to appear as wooden as possible. Our favoured exterior scheme is Resene Silver Chalice weatherboards with Resene Alabaster trim around the windows. We tried it on the kids' playhouse and it gave the dreamy beach house feel we are after (we overlook a beach and have lovely sea views). I've also found Resene Alabaster has lasted the test of time as a versatile interior trim colour. It worked during our Resene Black White phase and lasted through our Resene Rice Cake phase. It's my perfect soft yet crisp white and I hoped the aluminium joinery could be the same colour. However, my choices are limited to Arctic White (I think it will give the cold, plasticky, too-white, too-obviously-aluminium look I want to avoid), Pearl White, Appliance White and Warm White Pearl. I'm down to a choice between Appliance and Warm White Pearl. The Warm White Pearl seems to look the best next to Resene Alabaster in lots of different lights, though it is slightly deeper in some lights. My main concern is that it might read as a cream, when I'm definitely a 'white' person. I haven't been able to see anything bigger than a colour chip to reassure me. Are you able to comment on whether I could pair it with Resene Alabaster trim for a soft white look? Appliance White is definitely 'whiter' but seems to have a slightly dingy grey tone when I hold it next to the Resene Alabaster and next to other white surfaces in our house. Perhaps paired with Resene Black White and that colour family it would be ok. Is it at all clear to you which direction we should go in? Other factors that may be relevant are that the Warm White Pearl is technically metallic, though not very obviously - I think it would be ok - whereas Appliance White is a satin finish. We will have rimu floors upstairs and polished concrete with rugs in the basement. The basement is south-facing. We have our beach view on the south side and the house opens to the garden out the back. It's a sun trap in summer but loses sun at around 2pm in winter. A. Warm White Pearl and Appliance White are usually my recommendations for 'white' powder coat joinery. You are right - Warm White Pearl is warmer (I have never found the pearl finish too metallic and sparkly) and in some lights you can see a little creamy tone. I think the secret is to use it with Resene Double Alabaster (not the standard Resene Alabaster) which is still 'white' enough to work well with Resene Silver Chalice. Try a testpot on the playhouse on one window only and see what you think. If you decided on the Appliance White powder coat for the joinery you might have to reduce to Resene Half Alabaster - it seems to work better with the cooler white powder coat. Because there are so few powder coat colours to choose from I usually recommend that the joinery be chosen first and everything else needs to work with it.
September 2015
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Q. I need some help. I'm choosing some colours for my house and I currently have Resene Iron chosen for all of the walls throughout the house. I have a 3m long splashback for the kitchen and I have no idea what colour to choose! I'm not into anything bright or in your face. The kitchen cabinets are black, the bench is a white marble type finish, the carpet is black, the curtains are dark grey and the vinyl planking is a light colour similar to Resene Iron. I'm looking at the metallic range or colours and I'm not sure what would suit the Resene Iron walls, but would also stand out a nice amount. I'm very much into darker colours - black and various shades of black (greys and silvers). Would Resene Basalt or Resene Blast Grey 2 be suitable? Do you know if many people use metallic shades as their splashbacks?to be built A. I personally wouldn't use Resene Basalt as it is inclined to flash a warm aubergine/brown tone. Resene Blast Grey 2 is good, but if you want deeper you could look at Resene Blast Grey 1. For a lighter more neutralised splashback colour you might look at Resene Silver Aluminium or Resene Meridian. Another option is to use Resene Tuna. It is not a metallic, it is just a standard paint. This would give you a slightly blue based charcoal so not as black as the cabinets. A word to the wise - there is only one type of glass that will show the paint colour behind it true to reality. It is low iron oxide crystal clear glass. The other glass used - standard float glass - has a distinctly green cast to it and all colours are seen 'altered' by this and not at all as they are in reality.
September 2015
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Q. We recently stained our brown cedar with Resene Equilibrium, which looks much better. What could we paint our roof, post and rail fence? A. You might look at using a warm earthy olive/grey colour like Resene Squall or a warm charcoal like Resene Windswept - either of these would look smart. The post and rail fence needs to be darker - as a back drop to any gardens and to accentuate the new stain colour on the house - you might check out Resene Zeus, Resene Blackjack or Resene Baltic Sea.
September 2015
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Q. We are looking at painting our house (stucco) in Resene Tuna. We like the idea of using Resene Pohutukawa on the window sills but wonder what white would go with Resene Tuna and what roof colour might work also? A. It is important to use a white that has a slight undertone to it so that it doesn't appear too stark with the main house colour. You might check out these 'whites' to see if they appeal to you – Resene Black White, Resene Wan White or Resene Double Alabaster. Your roof could be very dark like these colours – Resene All Black, Resene Grey Friars or a paler silvery grey Resene Silver Chalice.
September 2015
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Q. We are decorating a sleep-out for my two teenage sons. I am having a medium grey carpet on the floor and Resene Eighth Truffle on the walls in the bathroom. What do you suggest for the walls in the bedroom? A. You might look at either of these colours to see if they appeal to you – Resene Double Truffle or Resene Quarter Tapa. I think the 'eye appeal' of these two rooms is to do with the strong 'white' influence of the wooden trims and crisp white linen on the bed.
September 2015
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Q. We are looking at painting our house interior Resene White Pointer. Is it a good idea to go down to Resene Half White Pointer for darker rooms? A. I think going lighter in dim rooms (or smaller rooms) is a good idea. Smaller rooms (because of their close proximity of walls) often make colour look a lot deeper. Colours in an interior often look a lot deeper than you might imagine they will. Resene White Pointer reduces to a quarter formula as well if you should need to investigate that possibility.
September 2015
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Q. We are painting our concrete block garage. We have chosen Resene Grey Chateau but am not sure what colour to use for the garage door (which is wooden), window sills, window frames and fascia boards. A. I recommend using a lighter colour for the wooden garage door (and window sills) to minimise UV damage and heat associated problems. You could check out Resene Iron or Resene Half Surrender to see if they appeal to you. If your heart is set on a very deep colour I strongly recommend that you use the Resene CoolColour™ modified formulations to reflect more heat - you might look at Resene Tuna or Resene Steel Grey. If the fascias and window frames were a crisp white - i.e Resene Half Black White or Resene Alabaster - you will get a tonal contrast which creates a lot of 'eye' interest.
September 2015
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Q. We have chosen Ironsand for our COLORSTEEL® and are building the house with board and batten. Can you please advise what is the closest timber stain match for this colour? A. You might look at either of these two colours – Resene Waterborne Woodsman Sheer Black or Resene Tiri. Please test the stain colours on timber off cuts and do two good coats. This is the recommended coats for the product and it is important to know exactly what it will look like.
September 2015
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Q. I am trying to match my paint colour. The original mix by the painter is white with two spots of black to 4 litres – 'painter's white'. Please could you give me an idea what is the equivalent? i.e. white with a miniscule amount of black. A. It would be very hard to match exactly as it is such a minuscule amount of colour tinter but you might try Resene Half Black White or if this is too dark you might try Resene Quarter Black White.
September 2015
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Q. Our 70s weatherboard bungalow is painted in Resene Tea with white trim. We are painting our front door and can't decide on a dark complementary colour. We do have some trim painted in Resene Karaka but would like to change this. A. You can have any dark colour for the front door. Lucky you! Front doors usually only require 500ml of paint - so choose a colour that rips your socks off - and if in a year or two you decide you want a different colour - then it is quite ok to repaint it another colour. The front door sends a message to people who come knocking/visiting - so make the colour reflect your personality. Testpots are your best friend – paint onto A2 card (available from Resene ColorShops) and if you pin it to the door you get a really great idea of what the colour truly looks like. If you are unsure about the trim (that is painted Resene Karaka) and don't want to highlight with colour then it could be Resene White.
September 2015
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Q. We have a 1900s single fronted terrace that currently has a terracotta red corrugated roof that I would like to repaint with your roofing system in a dark grey colour like COLORBOND® Monument. We are rendering the front, and wondered what colours you would suggest for the lacework, render, window trim and fence in light grey/whites? A. You could look at these colours to see if they appeal to you – Resene Mountain Mist and Resene Alabaster, or Resene Surrender and Resene Quarter Black White. The deeper of the colours might be used on the rendered surface and the white used for all the lacework, window trims. Depending upon what type of fence you have you could use the white (wrought iron or picket style fences) but if the fence is a wooden fence you might consider using the same colour as the roof - Resene Nocturnal (colour match to COLORBOND® Monument or a slightly lighter Resene Half Nocturnal.
September 2015
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Q. Our house is brick with a terracotta tiled roof and has bronze anodised window frames. We may render the brickwork in the future. We have just repainted the interior in a grey white and want to modernise the exterior. What colours would you recommend for the purlins, rafters, trim, fence and pool fence? We have just moved in, so have a blank canvas. Outdoor area is concrete, with terracotta tiles around pool. I like stone and wood colours. A. If you use a mid/deep toned grey/brown/green colour for the pool fence and the iron fences and a greyed white for the purlins, rafters and other trim you can then use any colour with it - the bricks , the roof and the bronze joinery - and later a completely different type of colour if you render the bricks. You could check these colours out to see if they appeal to you: Resene Masala, Resene Half Ironsand, Resene Half Baltic Sea or Resene Gravel. A paler greyed white – Resene Sea Fog or Resene Black Haze.
September 2015
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Q. We are wanting to update our 2003 home, first the outside then painting the walls inside. It's a mix of colours inside at the moment. I really love whites but am not sure it suits the walls of this house, but am keen to do the ceilings and doors in something like Resene Alabaster. Also keen on a soft beige like Resene Half Tea. Really keen for some advice, I am nervous about getting this newer house right! The one bedroom I have painted is Resene Quarter Rice Cake. A. The bedroom that you have painted in Resene Quarter Rice Cake looks lovely, light and fresh. Is there any reason that you can't continue with this colour? You could use Resene Eighth Rice Cake for all ceilings and painted woodwork and in the largest lightest room you could use Resene Quarter Tea. These three colours look warm, bright and modern. Colours often look a lot deeper in an interior - look at the lounge 'feature' colour around the windows - I am sure it isn't really all that deep but it looks almost like a dark chocolate. The exterior of the house is quite a solid look at the moment. Perhaps you could use one of these colours on the exterior to lighten it a bit – Resene Quarter Cougar, Resene Quarter Craigieburn or Resene Quarter Bison Hide. Take your time and test the colours well so that you get exactly what you want - testpots are your best friend.
September 2015
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Q. We are painting the exterior of our 1970s split level brick house - north facing. Colour decided is Resene Half Stonehenge. We're putting on new 'white' windows and plantation shutters (also putting on architraves around windows for contrast), new front door (would like to paint in gloss dark charcoal grey/or black - suggestions?) and new French doors opening to the veranda. We are putting sandstone cladding above and around garage doors. Replacing/extending front veranda with merbau decking and painting roof (which will be a slate grey/dark grey). So, my question is - can you advise what light colour (white?) to do window trims, French doors etc. to complement the Resene Half Stonehenge colours. Also, what colour should we paint the garage doors, gutters, downpipes etc. Also need a suggestion for the front door. Should this be same as the garage doors? Or, should we replace the garage doors with timber look doors? A. It seems to me that you are doing a major renovation and I think it is going to look amazing! If you use this white - Resene Alabaster for all the 'white' features on the house they will 'pop' crisply and add great contrast. If you want deeper colours for the garage doors etc - Resene Fuscous Grey or Resene Half Nocturnal might be used. Yes please do the front door of the house exactly the same in a slick full gloss enamel (it gets too confusing if another darker colour is used) and no don't replace the garage doors with timber looking ones. Keep it simple and totally 'style divine'.
September 2015
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Q. My daughter has recently moved into a post war weatherboard two bedroom cottage by the lake near the central coast of NSW. The cottage is double fronted and has a corrugated iron (silver) roof. It has timber sash windows with timber trim and a small veranda with timber balustrade at the front and back. It needs new guttering and she would also like to repaint both exterior and interior. I was thinking of a light or mid grey with white windows and trim. What would you suggest for the exterior wall colours, trim and guttering as well as suggested interior colours? A. Are the new gutters going to be powder coated metal ones or white pvc? If the gutters are powder coated then perhaps a mid grey from COLORBOND® Windspray or Shale Grey might be a smart look. Check these colours out to see if they appeal to your daughter – Resene Half Delta and Resene Alabaster, or Resene Triple Black White and Resene Half Black White, or Resene Transmission and Resene Sea Fog.
September 2015
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Q. We have a home that needs modernising while still giving a natural warmth to our living area and dining room. The home is traditional with strong colours on the walls, drapes and carpets. It also has wallpaper, friezes and wooden picture rails. A. This may be a very time consuming job - the house is very traditional and colourful. You may need to work with existing flooring and drapes as well as your furniture - all of which are coloured. If the ceilings and any painted woodwork is painted with a crisp/slightly warm white - Resene Alabaster - it will look clean and fresh. Houses of this era are often wallpapered (the dining room is) as the walls were never finished to a perfectly smooth paint quality finish. Modern often means gorgeous smooth walls (plastered to a Level 5 finish and painted in very light/whitish colours). Is that something you are contemplating? Or is it re-wallpapering that you are thinking of? You have wooden picture rails and wallpaper friezes to contend with - and the question is do you to keep or to remove these elements of decor in order to modernise - and would that ruin the traditional ambiance of the house? Personally I would be inclined to live in the house for a while to get a feel for it before ripping into the decorating.
September 2015
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Q. What colours go with Resene Quarter Drought? A. You might look at these colours to get you started – Resene Eighth Drought, Resene Half Drought, Resene Eighth Spanish White, Resene Sandcastle, Resene Coco, Resene Timekeeper or Resene Half Fuscous Grey.
September 2015
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Q. Don't get me wrong, I love colour but inherited this horrid shade of lime green on all four walls of a small narrow south facing room. Yes, it has big windows, but it gets no sun in winter and limited sun in summer due to the neighbour's trees. I hate it and have been living with it for four years now. What's a good colour for a cold south facing room to make it look warm, lively and loved? It even makes the grey carpet look blue. A. You have been long suffering with this amazingly fluoro lime green room. Firstly I suggest you undercoat it all in white to alleviate the colour so that you can then re-acquaint yourself with the room and its unique quality of natural light. The benefit of undercoating over that lime green will be that you would be able to see the true reality of any testpot colour that you trial in the room which would be an impossibility now. A cold south facing room may need a warm colour with a bit of depth. Perhaps you could check out these options - Resene Quarter Drought, Resene Sandspit Brown, Resene Nougat or Resene Fossil.
September 2015
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Q. The outside of our house will have COLORSTEEL®. We are keen to explore a light colour for this. For the inside walls I prefer calm colours. The kitchen benches are steel and the island is black granite. The kitchen cupboards are pavement and the splashback Resene Quarter Napa. A. For the exterior you might check out these light colours – COLORSTEEL® Bond White, Titania, Gull Grey or SandScape. For the interior you might look at these colours – Resene Half White Pointer, Resene Merino, Resene Eighth Napa or Resene Double Sea Fog. And perhaps a crisp white to offset the walls – Resene Alabaster.
September 2015
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Q. We have an art deco house which we need to repaint. The windows are Resene Alabaster. Is Resene Bokara Grey or Resene Half Bokara Grey too much of a contrast ?? A. I have seen very dark colours like the ones you mention used on Art Deco houses. They can look stunning. However it is a very hard edged look and you may tire of it a lot sooner than you would if it was a softer more muted tone. Also the heat absorption reflecting off the surface from a very dark coloured house may make walking close to it on a hot summer's day worse than being in front of the open door to a blast furnace. I definitely recommend using the Resene CoolColour™ version of any dark colour. Any garden plants in close proximity to the north or west facing walls may dry out or wilt because of this too - that wouldn't worry you (or the plants) if they were cactus or plants that like a hot radiant situation. The most important thing is to try the testpot on a large sheet of A2 card (available from Resene ColorShops), painting two coats/all of the testpot and then attaching it to the different sides of the house so that you can see large amounts of colour and how the colour responds to different angles and natural light.
September 2015
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Q. I am looking at painting my rendered house with Resene Climate. What colours do you suggest for the roof and joinery? I was considering a darker colour. Also considering a brown/dark wood like colour for the weatherboards. Can you suggest colours that may suit this scheme? A. You might look at either of these colours for the roof – Resene Nocturnal or Resene Ironsand. For the weather boards you could look at either of these colours – Resene Jacko Bean or Resene Space Shuttle.
September 2015
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Q. What colour best matches Oamaru stone? I have a garage half clad in Oamaru stone and half in block and need to repaint block to blend in. A. When the Oamaru stone is wet (half the year possibly) it may look a different colour than when it is dry. This may need thinking through a bit - deeper (as when wet) or lighter (as in dry) - I think I would be looking at the slightly deeper version of colour because as long as it is sympathetic it will work. But if it is trying to be the same - but not quite making the grade - it won't be so obviously 'off'. September 2015
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Q. We are going Resene Black White on our walls. What should we do for the ceiling and doors? A. If you want to see the Resene Black White as a subtle colour (and not just White) then you could use Resene White so there is a contrast of crispness. If you don't want the ceiling and doors to look very different than the wall colour then you could use a slightly lighter version of the wall colour - i.e Resene Half Black White.
September 2015
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Q. Where do I start with a whole home colour scheme? A. I suggest you check out the roof, garage door and joinery colour options from the brochures of powdercoat colours. Once you have chosen them - and there isn't a huge selection available - it will be a starting point for the exterior house colours. For the interior the choosing of the colours comes last - after you have chosen kitchen cabinets, kitchen worktops, tiles, other hard flooring and carpets. This allows you plenty of options in an otherwise limited range. There are 1000s of paint colours but not 1000s of carpets etc. September 2015
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Q. Will colours dry darker with subsequent coatings? I'm using a lime green colour. A. If a colour is a bright colour it will always be a bright colour (unless it fades in the sun). Extra coats of paint don't alter the tone of the colour. If more than one wall is painted the effect (and intensity) of a colour will double in strength in an interior. On an exterior that receives a huge amount of bright natural light the colour may appear slightly lighter - but not always - as it depends a lot on the type of colour it is. This is the reason why people test colours with testpots - painting two coats (all of the testpot) onto large A2 card (available from Resene ColorShops) and moving it around from wall to wall/room to room so they can see a huge amount of it in different qualities of light before finally making up their mind as to whether or not it is the right colour. Some people find that super bright colours appear slightly more muted (but not always) when they use a matt (totally flat) paint as it is a duller surface film. September 2015
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Q. I'm looking for a clean, warm white for the walls of our 1902 villa. We're keeping the ceilings plain white, keeping some of the timber including the fireplaces (and painting some) and the cream carpet. Eventually we'll change the curtains. I've looked at Resene Black White but it seems a bit grey, Resene Rice Cake is nice but it's a bit green and Resene Milk White seems too cream? I've also tried the half shades and now I'm really confused. A. Colour is a mercurial mystery. I always suggest the testpots be applied to A2 card (available from Resene ColorShops) as two coats/all of the testpot leaving an unpainted white perimeter all around the edges. This helps you focus on the reality of the colour and allows you to move it from wall to wall/room to room and see how angles and changing qualities of natural and artificial light alters it. Applying it to an already coloured surface doesn't allow you to truly know what the colour looks like as the existing wall colour alters your perception of the test patch colour. You might try these clean warm whites to see if they appeal to you – Resene Quarter Villa White, Resene Half Bianca, Resene Double Alabaster or Resene Half Pearl Lusta.
September 2015
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Q. I have a brick exterior painted Resene Wan White with a black stained cedar entrance. Am not sure what colour to paint the front door. A. It seems that you have the perfect opportunity to use any colour at all for the front door. This is where you can indulge your 'inner Picasso' and go with what makes your heart sing. If you are fearful of colours you can default to a black or charcoal. Because the cedar is stained it isn't shiny and the painted bricks probably aren't shiny either so a very glossy front door is appealing. Be brave - be colourful.
September 2015
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Q. We are looking for help with exterior colour on a new build house. We have chosen the roof colour and joinery, now we need to choose the weather board, window surround and fascia colours. Our roof is Gerard Tuffcoat tile, satin finish in Obsidian (black), which has Ironsand as a colour match. Garage doors and the front door are Ironsand and window joinery is New Appliance White. I'm looking for a light/mid grey for the weatherboard, and a white to match the joinery for the window surrounds. I would like the grey to not have a blue tone to it. A. Ironsand is an earthy brown based charcoal - it isn't an exact match for Obsidian which is - as you say - Black. If this is what you have on the front door and garage door with Appliance White joinery you might look a warmer greys like these ones – Resene Half Friar Greystone (lighter and deeper versions of this colour are available), Resene Truffle (lighter and deeper versions of this colour are available) or Resene Half Atmosphere (deeper version is also available). There is no exact match to Appliance White powder coat but you could use Resene Alabaster.
September 2015
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Q. What colour exterior plaster goes well with Arctic White aluminium windows and a Grey Friars roof? A. Any of the cooler greys or grey/based blues work well as they force the eye to see the Arctic White joinery as 'whiter' and not as icy a grey/blue toned coloured white that it is. Try Resene Silver Chalice, Resene Triple Concrete, Resene Grey Chateau or Resene Surrender.
September 2015
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Q. What interior colour would go with rimu wooden doors and skirting boards? A. Most people choose what they personally find appealing whether it suits the rimu or not but if you are cautious because of the green/gold brown undertones of the rimu then you might look at colours like the following that pick up on those undertones – Resene Pearl Lusta, Resene Half Parchment or Resene Quarter Sisal. The lighter and deeper variants of the colours mentioned also work well.
September 2015
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Q. I am finding it hard to decide what colours I should paint my room. I am 12 years old going on 13 and my room has quite a lot of light. I like light teal colours and possibly light aqua as well. I might change my curtains to suit my room colours as well. I would like three walls with the lighter colour on them and one with either a normal or dark colour on them. A. It is always difficult sorting out colours - there are so many to choose from. These suggestions (light main colour and deeper feature colour) may offer you options – Resene Reservoir and Resene Dauntless, or Resene Aqua and Resene Free Spirit, or Resene Scandal and Resene Teal Blue. I think it would be a good thing for you to look at larger A4 samples of these colours at your nearest Resene ColorShop. They are in books in their Colour Library. Looking at large real paint samples is really helpful. Something for you to consider is that the curtains or (possibly) the duvet might be the deeper teal colour instead using it as a feature wall.
September 2015
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Q. I have a 1920s weatherboard house with a bay window at the front and porch. I have a COLORSTEEL® Karaka roof. The house is currently painted cream (including windows). I am looking to redo the exterior and would like there to be contrast between the weatherboards and windows. I would like the house to be a warmer cream colour rather than bright white or grey, so was thinking of some kind of white around the windows and cream on the weatherboards. I like either Resene Villa White for the weatherboards, but then have a problem choosing a colour for the windows that is lighter and provides enough contrast. Perhaps the windows should be darker? What would you suggest? Alternatively I like Resene Quarter Tana for the weatherboards. What lighter colour for the windows would you suggest? Resene Alabaster? A. In order for creams and whites (or off whites) to work successfully they need to have a greater level of contrast as bright natural light bleeds out colour and makes their differences less apparent. Try Resene Double Villa White and Resene Quarter Villa White, or Resene Triple Rice Cake and Resene Eighth Rice Cake, or Resene Half Tana and Resene Half Alabaster. September 2015
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Q. My friend loves the exterior paint colour of a villa in a magazine. Bathroom colours are noted in the article, but not the external paint colour. Is there any way you could determine the colour and advise me accordingly? A. You could contact the H&G journalist who wrote the article and see if they know or could find out. But if you are a bit shy of asking for the information directly probably the easiest thing to do is to take your copy of the magazine into the nearest Resene ColorShop to check out what colours look the most like the photo of the door. Resene staff can show you similar Resene colours or make a custom colour up for you. September 2015
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Q. We are renovating and replacing our kitchen and dining area and struggling with what shade of white to paint the cabinetry and the walls. It's a long space, open plan with the dining room at one end which is bright and sunny, and the kitchen the other end has the one window but is quite dark and gets no sun through it at all. We want the walls and cabinetry to both be a bright white - not too cool though but definitely not creamy. Where Resene Black White paint samples look great the dining end, it looks a bit too grey and cold the kitchen end. Our cabinet samples are a slightly warmer white that look too cream in the darker kitchen end but ok in the lighting around where the big wooden storage cupboard and island currently is. The other sample is a very bright white that also looks great in the area around the wooden storage cupboard but almost looks a tinge blue in the darker kitchen end. Help! Is it better to go with Resene Half Black White over the whole wall space? Will it not throw grey? In a white on white kitchen is the cabinetry usually lighter than the walls? And in regards to the cabinets, to achieve a bright white kitchen in a space that is partially filled with light and partially not so much, that doesn't look cream at all but is also not sterile, should we opt for the cooler or warmer white in the cabinets? Our stone bench top is greyish just to add to it. A. I would be inclined to use a slightly warmer 'white' than Resene Black White to try and stop the tendency to 'grey'. You might look at Resene Alabaster. This is definitely not creamy - it is warmer than Resene Black White. If you use a low sheen acrylic on the walls and a semi-gloss enamel on the cabinets this will create a visual difference but not a colour difference. The semi-gloss enamel on the cabinets and any other doors, frames etc will reflect light and the low sheen will appear slightly (but not very much) duller. How colour looks depends on light - natural and artificial. Whites picks up all colour influences when light changes. There is nothing that one can do about this - it is a natural occurrence. I suggest that you investigate lighting for the kitchen that has a high lumen value for a strong white/brightness i.e 4100K and a softer warmer light in the dining room i.e 2700k.
September 2015
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Q. We have a 1920s villa, with high studs in the kitchen, dining and lounge. The bedrooms are a later addition and have normal height ceilings. Our existing colours are strong. I want to do splashes of colour but keep the same cream or white throughout and I'm struggling to choose that colour. I want a clean bright warm look. Starting with one kids room we were thinking of doing two walls Resene Vista Blue and the others cream/white. For the other kid's room we want some pink somewhere. This room tends to be darker as the veranda limits light. Do we do a different white cream on the ceiling to the walls? Maybe a different tone of the same colour in the bedrooms, kitchen and high studded living spaces? A. Because a lot of the rooms have strong coloured walls I suggest that you (white) undercoat the colour away so that you can see your spaces and light in a different way. Once existing colours are removed any tested colours will show up true and not be influenced by what is there now. You may find you change your mind about the feature colours when you see them again on a pure white background. You need to re-acquaint yourself with your rooms then you can see just how much colour you need - some rooms need a little more and some need lighter/brighter colours. Rooms and their natural and artificial light are all totally different so this is going to be a great help to you so don't fret too much at this point - it will become a lot easier soon. Resene White for all the ceilings will help by adding lots more light and then any subtle wall colour that you finally decide upon will show as a 'colour' and not a nothing.
September 2015
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Q. We are ready to paint our renovated home. We have 2.4m ceilings and polyurethaned matai/rimu floors. The living side of the house gets lots of sunlight and the bathroom/toilet has less light but will be tiled on half the wall space with white subway tiles. I really love Resene Black White and was hoping to use it for the walls. What would you suggest for the trims (architrave/skirtings) and ceiling? Should we go Resene Half Black White or Resene White for these? A. Resene Black White is a lovely cool crisp white. If you were wanting to see some level of contrast then I would suggest you use Resene White or Resene Eighth Black White for the ceilings and woodwork. If however you would prefer the walls and woodwork and ceiling to look very similar to each other then you could use Resene Half Black White. In certain lights and angles this colour looks exactly like (full strength) Resene Black White.
September 2015
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Q. We wish to update the exterior of our 1970s beach house. It has in previous years been painted Resene Hint Of Green which turned out more white than anything, and was very reflective in the heat of the day. At present it is Resene Zombie. Our preference is for cool relaxed colours preferably in green tonal colours, but we are open to other suggestions. The roof is Resene Forest Green but can be repainted if necessary. The house is Hardiplank® with white aluminium windows. The fence also will need to be repainted to blend in more. A. The green of the roof is very definite (this compromises colour choices a little bit). Try these greens to see if they appeal – Resene Rainee, Resene Gum Leaf, Resene Paris White, Resene Edgewater or Resene Secrets. These greens aren't related tonally to each other. If you were thinking of doing the barge boards, gables etc in a different green personally I wouldn't. I think the roof and house are enough greens and you might consider using Resene Half Black White on these areas to give the windows a 'friend' and to lift and lighten the structure. The fences look lovely as they are but if you were wanting to make a complete change then you might consider using a deep warm grey like Resene Half Baltic Sea which because of its depth would provide a balance colour for the other deep colour on the roof. I am not sure about 'blending it in' as the only blending colour would be using the same as the house or the roof - this may be perhaps a bit too much green?
September 2015
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Q. Renovating a west-facing bathroom with lots of afternoon light. Style is a mix of traditional and modern. Have a traditional-looking wall shaving cabinet that matches Resene Pearl Lusta exactly but a wall painted the same colour makes whole room look too yellow (husband hates it!). Want a colour to complement the wall cabinet and white Subway tiles that go up two-thirds of the wall but don't want it to look too dated. A. Perhaps you could see if the lighter versions of Resene Pearl Lusta work for you – Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta or Resene Eighth Pearl Lusta. But if they still throw out too much yellow you could look at this colour - Resene Half Rice Cake. There are two problems that may make your choices difficult -
September 2015
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Q. I am painting the walls throughout my house Resene Double Black White. I have painted the cupboards in my kitchen Resene Blue Bark, but am looking for something with a little less impact to paint the cupboards in the laundry. I am also looking for a feature wall colour to go with Resene Double Black White in a small bathroom. A. For the cupboards in the laundry or bathroom feature you could look at these types of colours – Resene Atomic, Resene Explorer, Resene Ivanhoe, Resene Dusted Blue or Resene Duck Egg Blue.
September 2015
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Q. We are building a new house. It is rather large with a lot of doors and windows. We have chosen Silver Pearl Joinery and Grey Flannel for the roof and three garage doors. We are wanting advice on what colour you would suggest for painting the weatherboard house. We are happy with light natural tones or darker greys. We would like a nice contrast to the silver pearl. A. Colorcote Grey Flannel is a lovely warm (almost olive/brown) based roof colour so any house colours need to take that hue into consideration. You might check these colours out to see if they appeal to you – Resene Atmosphere, Resene Foggy Grey, Resene Half Tapa, Resene Half Gravel (or any deeper Gravel variants) or Resene Half Bokara Grey.
September 2015
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Q. I want to repaint the outside of my house. I really love the grey tones but wondered if they were more for character or new homes? Also if I was to go grey would I paint the barge boards and the concrete round the bottom a darker colour or keep fairly monochromatic? A. There are lots of greys to choose from so it isn't wrong to look at those colours as possibilities on the exterior of your house. I think I would be inclined to stay with the same colour for the base of the house if only to stop it from looking like a layer cake. Using a feature colour on the base (or anywhere) means you love it and find it gorgeous and want everyone to notice it - do you? I would also be inclined to go 'whiter' for any trims - barge boards etc - as this creates a nice sense of contrast to the grey and stops it from looking too 'no nonsense' or heavy in mood. Check out these greys and whites – Resene Silver Chalice and Resene Half Black White, Resene Rakaia and Resene Double Alabaster, or Resene Half Mountain Mist and Resene Half Sea Fog.
September 2015
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Q. We have a Grey Friars roof and Resene Equilibrium stained cladding and Sandstone Grey from Nulook windows. We currently have white fascia boards and soffits but would like to have the fascia and soffits grey also. Just not sure what grey. A. Because of the diverse variety of unrelated colours already on the house I would be inclined to stay with a 'white' for the areas you mention. Perhaps you could use a slightly colour toned white that will 'like' the Resene Equilibrium stain colour and the Sandstone Grey joinery. Check these out to see how they appeal to you – Resene Half Merino, Resene Double Sea Fog or Resene Barely There. If you can pop into a Resene ColorShop to view these colours (and the roof, window joinery and stain colour at the same time) as A4 real paint samples in their Colour Library and compare a sheet of white printer paper to the 'coloured whites' it may help you see how coloured they actually are.
September 2015
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Q. I am painting the interior of our home and have mid brown carpet and chocolate brown leather sofas. I like a clean warm look. Can you please suggest some colours for me in the whites range? A. Try Resene Quarter Spanish White or Resene Eighth Biscotti.
September 2015
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Q. I don't know how to match the colour of my ceiling and my wall. A. Best idea is to take a small chip of the colour from an inconspicuous area and take it to your local Resene ColorShop for colour matching. September 2015
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Q. I am after a denim blue and navy paint. Can you please put me in the right direction? A. After looking at jeans and the Resene colour charts - with so many blues that might be termed 'denim' colours - you might check these ones to see if they suit – Resene Biscay, Resene Astronaut, Resene True Blue, or faded denim blue – Resene New Denim Blue or Resene Rhino. And some navy blues – Resene Bunting, Resene Midnight Express or Resene Blue Night.
September 2015
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Q. We are building a house, standard weatherboard with a roof in Windsor Grey and windows/doors platinum silver. We are having Resene Black White around the windows and box corners and we are looking for a nice grey. Can you suggest any? A. Windsor Grey is a lovely warm charcoal so perhaps you could check out these warmer soft toned greys to see if they suit you – Resene Half Friar Greystone , Resene Mountain Mist, Resene Kensington Grey, Resene Delta, Resene Half Stack or Resene Foggy Grey. They are all quite different from each other and hopefully having these options will give you a little inspiration.
September 2015
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Q. I am painting my new house interior Resene Quarter Cloudy. I need a colour to complement in the foyer. My kitchen will be charcoal colour but I need something to give the entrance a lift of colour. A. Is it a bold or bright colour that you were considering or something of a more muted nature? The following are assorted colours that you might check out – Resene Seeker, Resene Wimbledon, Resene Matchmaker, Resene Tiki Tour or Resene Imprint. The most amazing wallpapers are available - have you considered using one of those? They are super and create a real lift. You can view the wallpaper collection at your local Resene ColorShop.
September 2015
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Q. We are looking for two colours for our cedar clad house. Could you please suggest some colours for us to test? I would also like to try a charcoal colour. A. You might try these Resene Woodsman stain colours – Resene Woodsman Pitch Black or Resene Warm Kwila. Or lighter – Resene Woodsman stain colours – Resene Sheer Black - not too grey but definitely not too black and Resene Woodsman Stain – Natural. A more grey based stain colour might be Resene Woodsman Stain – Bleached Cedar.
September 2015
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Q. Wanting some colour suggestions to repaint a lakefront motel business in Wanaka, currently a neutral colour with blue grey joinery and roof. A. You might check out these earthy colours to see if they appeal to you – Resene Bison Hide, Resene Half Craigieburn or Resene Napa. Or lighter/brighter – Resene Triple Rice Cake or Resene Thorndon Cream.
September 2015
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Q. I have painted the wall at my old farmhouse Resene Beachcomber and need a suggestion for the door trim. The rest of the cottage is Antique White and the kitchen cupboards are a Honey Toast. I want it all to flow. A. Because of the three very different colours I suggest you use a warm off white that hopefully will tie all of the colours together. You might check out these colours to see if they will work for you – Resene Half Rice Cake, Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta or Resene Double Alabaster.
September 2015
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Q. We have Resene Half Tea throughout our house on the walls and Resene Eighth Tea on the architraves and skirtings. I am wanting to do a feature wall in our TV area - a black colour - could you suggest a colour? A. You could look at these 'blacks' - they are softer and not as hard edged as some blacks but may suit – Resene Baltic Sea, Resene Nocturnal or Resene Foundry.
September 2015
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Q. I have painted the inside of our house Resene Half Tea. It has forest green aluminium joinery and grey carpet. I am looking for a colour for a feature wall and trim. A. I am inclined to think that you may need to consider your options carefully. You could do the feature wall in a darker variant of Resene Tea - perhaps Resene Double Tea or a deep grey in a related tone to the carpet or a green similar to the aluminium joinery. These may well work well with what you already have in the house. You might have many other colours - as a feature - but whether or not they would tie in and harmonise could be a bit of a lottery. Trims might need to associate well with the existing wall colour rather than be totally different. So a semi-gloss enamel version of Resene Half Tea could be good - or lighter - Resene Quarter Tea.
September 2015
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Q. We are painting a bathroom on the cooler south side of the house, with the vanity, bath etc all white and light wooden looking vinyl flooring. I like Resene Half Robin Egg Blue for the walls but the painter is suggesting Resene Double Concrete would be a warmer option. What do you think? A. Resene Double Concrete is a silvery grey with cool edge to it. In a south facing, cool or dim room it may look cooler and greyer. If you feel you want to see if it could work for you I suggest you paint an A2 card (available from Resene ColorShops) so you can see a large enough sample pinned on the walls in the bathroom. I would be inclined to do the exact same thing with the Resene Robin Egg Blue. This is a bit deeper and is a lovely green edged colour. It is only by looking at huge samples on card (so you can move it around from wall to wall) that you get a good reality check about what colour (any colour) looks like in the space you are thinking of putting it in.
September 2015
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Q. I'm wanting to add some colour and 'life' to our kitchen. What colours would complement a grey kitchen? (Not browns, blacks or whites). A. Even though you say no 'white' it is a good option to consider in that it works well with the kitchen cabinets and allows the flexibility to add accessories in bright or funky colours. Other colour suggestion are fresh lime influenced greens or soft yellows or fruity soft toned reds. These colours might be checked out – Resene Bianca (a warm fleecy off-white) or Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta (a sharp clean warm white). And more definite colours – Resene Chill Out (lime influenced green), Resene Sidecar (soft yellow) or Resene Forbidden (soft edged red).
September 2015
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Q. Bedroom colours: Resene Warhol to match an existing chair has been chosen for the feature wall. I had thought of having Resene Alabaster for the remaining three walls and ceiling, doors and trims. Perhaps I should be using a different colour on the remaining three walls? The carpet is neutral, bedhead and lamps are black and room is very sunny and warm. Curtains also not yet chosen. A. If you are wanting to achieve a lot of contrast between the main wall colour and the feature then Resene Alabaster would definitely achieve this for you. If you wanted a slightly softer transition between your main colour and the feature then you could look at using these coloured whites – Resene Double Alabaster or Resene Half Sea Fog. Either of these would still work with Resene Alabaster for the ceilings and woodwork.
September 2015
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Q. Myself, and my neighbour who has the same style house, are looking to repaint over the next few months. This is for the entire outside of the house and the plaster fence. We know that the paint will be Resene X-200 weathertight membrane. We want advice on what would be a good colour for the house and plaster fence. A modern look and a colour that will still look good over the next 8 years until the next painting is required. Both houses have dark aluminium window joinery and dark roof. A. Do you want the houses and fences to be the same colour or tonally different? I will include deeper versions of the main colour - just in case. You could check out these options – Resene Sea Fog and deeper for fences Resene Triple Sea Fog, Resene Thorndon Cream and deeper for the fences - Resene Triple Thorndon Cream, Resene Truffle and deeper for the fences - Resene Triple Truffle, or Resene Quarter Parchment and deeper for the fences - Resene Parchment. The colours are all quite different but they may give you options and a little inspiration.
September 2015
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Q. I'm after a warm light neutral for the walls of a south facing guest bedroom. I will be changing the blind and carpet at some stage. And also a complementary colour for ceiling and trims. I'm looking at Resene Half Truffle or Resene White Pointer through our sunny north facing living area. A. Both Resene Tea and Resene Blanc in dim south facing rooms with lots of shadow would look grey toned or - in the case of the Resene Blanc - muddy/mushroom toned and quite a bit deeper than you might expect them to be. You might check out these colours - they will still associate well with your possible colour choices in the much warmer/larger living rooms – Resene Eighth Spanish White or Resee Quarter Albescent White. Being light warm toned neutrals they will make the Resene White Pointer or the Resene Half Tea appear quite grey toned but they may suit the spaces/light in the southern rooms. I wouldn't be inclined to use whiter or greyer colours as they will take on a grim atmosphere in that particular aspect of natural light.
September 2015
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Q. I'd like to paint in driftwood colours, light and darker. Can you help me choose the right colours to duplicate driftwood... sandy, neutral, bone, cream, grey? A. Perhaps you could look at these colours - based on driftwood in the garden - pale/bleached/dry driftwood - September 2015
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Q. I am having a glass splashback made to sit between the bathroom basin and the mirror. I would like it to be metallic silver. Can you suggest a silver that would look good as a splashback? A. You might look at these silver metallics to see if they appeal to you – Resene Meridian, Resene Silver Aluminium or Resene Silver Streak. As long as you specify low iron oxide crystal clear glass so the colour is seen true to reality - the other type of glass is standard float glass and it casts a green tone over all colours seen behind it - you will maintain the cool silvery colour.
September 2015
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Q. I am building a new home. The house is two storey LINEA® with the entrance on the south and east side (with few windows). I would like a neutral colour, not too light, possibly grey - taupe colour (not brown). The roof will be Grey Friars longrun and the windows white aluminium. A. Try Resene Foggy Grey, Resene Half Taupe Grey, Resene Double Truffle or slightly greyer – Resene Half Friar Greystone (not Resene Half Grey Friars - it is a different colour completely).
September 2015
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Q. We are looking at building a house near the beach and while our last house had one neutral colour throughout, we would like to be a bit more adventurous with colour this time. I recently read the article in Habitat (#22) about choosing colours according to which compass direction each room faces and really liked some of the suggestions. I was wondering if you could provide some additional colour suggestions for our living/dining/kitchen space which will be east/north facing. We will be taking our existing red leather couch with us but have chosen no other colours yet. A. East facing rooms lose the bright/white early morning light once the sun moves and north facing rooms often rely upon the low arc of the winter sun to flood the space with sunlight - the summer sun only works its way so far into the room as the sun is higher in the sky. I think you could use denser colours i.e Resene Nougat, Resene Spanish White or Resene Biscotti as long as the kitchen cabinets and bench tops were much, much lighter - and ceilings and woodwork might echo this. These denser colours look warm (they work really well with wood - whether it is pale or dark) and they allow the richness of the red sofa to 'pop'. As the house is near the beach you might like to think of a slightly maritime influence for accessories to balance the red sofa and the sandy/biscuit hues of the walls. Think of white, teal, aqua and rich deep blue.
September 2015
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Q. I have rimu floors and have been told I can't stain them dark grey because rimu has a natural orange finish to it. Is this true? I want dark floors but not keen on dark brown, so may have to go black. But I want dark grey and I thought that would show up as it should as it's so dark anyway. A. If you were painting over the floors you could obliterate the natural colour of the wood. But stain is semi-transparent - nothing can truly remove the influence of the natural colour and often the new colour stain plus the existing coloured floor create a new colour as they merge. Dark grey stain combined with the yellow/orange tone of the rimu may create a green edged stone/grey/brown. Black coupled with the yellow/orange look of the rimu may give you a dark olive black - is it a green look you are seeking? I feel you may need to re think your options. Yes a black stain - if applied heavily or with multiple coats - will hide the existing colour of the wood but it may well end up looking as though you have painted it. Most people want to see the grain of the timber - stain being semi-transparent allows this - but the darker the colour and the heavier the application the more the natural look of grain and planking disappears. September 2015
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Q. We have Desert Sand coloured aluminium joinery. What colour would you recommend for interior window liners and architraves? A. Do you want to highlight the Desert Sand so it appears more of a definite colour - i.e lighter colours will do that - or do you want to use more of the window colour so it appears throughout the house on all the woodwork/doors etc - not just on the windows - or do you want to use the wall colour so that the wooden trims blend into the walls? There is no right answer, just whichever you prefer. A match to the window joinery colour is Resene Desert Sand. A lighter colour that works with the window joinery to emphasise it is Resene Half Sisal. A match to the wall colour will depend on the wall colour but any woodwork that is painted to match Resene Zylone Sheen low sheen acrylic wall paint may need to be a semi-gloss enamel, such as Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel, version of the colour if a shinier/tougher/easily washed paint surface is required, or if you want it to be a matt finish like the aluminium then you might use a matt enamel like Resene SpaceCote Flat waterborne enamel.
September 2015
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Q. I have a bedroom that faces north but the light is blocked by the house next door and a fence. The room is very dark. Do I go for cool colours to brighten the room? There is also a master bedroom that faces west. It seems to avoid direct sun but is still dull. Any colour suggestions? A. Cool colours don't brighten rooms when there is a light issue to contend with. They appear colder, greyer or dingier because of the absence of warm bright light flooding into the room and the shadows around the wall - especially the window walls. In the north facing room (that is affected by the house and fence cutting out the light) you may need a very clear white with a undertone of yellow in it to brighten the room and make you feel as if it does get natural light. Because the sun is higher in the sky from the north aspect even rooms that don't have the problems of houses, fences or trees cutting out the light you would see that the sun only comes a little way across the floor - it moves further into the room in winter when the arc of the sun is lower in the sky. You could check out these colours – Resene Half Orchid White, Resene Half Bianca or Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta. In the west facing room you would only get direct sunlight in the very late afternoon (if there was no low eaves on the house or trees etc blocking it) and the rest of the day it would have a lot of shadow in it. West facing rooms often get the last low rays of sun at sunset in summer and possibly more in winter because the arc of the sun is lower in the sky. Again it is a case of testing lighter/brighter/warmer colours to see how they respond to the axis of natural light. You could try the same colours as already suggested or slightly deeper versions for more warmth.
September 2015
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Q. We are currently building a house. The cladding will be vertical cedar which we are planning to stain with one of the Resene Woodsman CoolColour™ blacks. The roof is black as is the aluminium joinery so we want the cedar to be a slightly lighter black with the grain of the wood visible. Could you please advise me on which black stain you would recommend please? Also, we want to stain the cedar front door natural as a contrast to the black. We are also wanting to match that natural cedar colour with our soffits, veranda and pergola beams and posts but the issue is that soffits are in pine ply and beams/posts in pine also. Do you know if we stained the front door cedar in natural which stain would be the best to use on the pine to match the colour as close as possible? The Woodsman Cedar Stain on the samples chart looks really red so thinking that not a good match? A. You might check out these 'blacks' for the main colour of the house - I suggest testing (two coats) on off cuts of cedar so you can truly see what the colours might look like – Resene Woodsman Sheer Black, Resene Crowshead or Resene Pitch Black. Resene Sheer Black might be best for seeing grain through. It will be nearly impossible to match a cedar stained with Resene Woodsman Natural to get the exact same look on pine.
September 2015
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Q. I am looking for a warm white wall colour to go with Titania joinery. Do you think Resene Albescent White would work? I was thinking of doing the skirting and architraves in a white like Resene Alabaster. A. I think that Resene Albescent White may 'pink up' a little bit when seen next to the Titania which has a grey/yellow/green undertone. Will that worry you? Colours that look good with Titania that you might test are these – Resene Merino, Resene Half Thorndon Cream or Resene Rice Cake.
September 2015
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Q. I am looking for a sophisticated 'greige' to paint our interior over an existing federation cream colour. Ceilings are standard height and window coverings will be changed after the painting to complement the colour. The tiles are white with a sandy coloured streak and the carpets are faint grey. The rooms are large with lots of natural light. I have so far tested Resene Quarter Cloudy, Resene Triple White Pointer, Resene Half Flotsam, Resene Whiteout and Resene Concrete on various walls (2-3 coats) but they all throw blue or purple. But on cardboard (2-3 coats) they look like the colour I'm expecting. Why is this happening? Am I just choosing the wrong colours? I'm after a colour that doesn't come through blue, green or pink/purple. Does such a greige colour exist? A. All colours are created by a variety of colourants. So there is always an underlying colour influence of some kind. I think testing small patches of colour on walls that are already painted a colour will alter tremendously what the reality of the test sample looks like. It is probably the cause of people getting a 'wrong' colour 95% of the time. If colour is painted (two coats/all of the testpot) onto A2 card (available from Resene ColorShops) leaving an unpainted white border all around the edges it helps your eye focus on the reality of the colour so that you can truly judge it. Pinning the card to walls - all walls in all rooms - allows you to see how the colour looks without the influence of the existing wall colour because of the unpainted border keeping them apart. Different rooms with different angles and different types of light - natural and artificial- alter the colour. Colours also alter when seen close to other colours - they are reactive. You need to see this in order to ascertain what works for you in each space. Of the colours you have tested Resene Half Flotsam, Resene Whiteout and Resene Concrete carry undertones of purple/silver or some blue/red tones which are quite obvious - especially if you compare the colour chart samples with each other. I suggest you test again the two colours that have the most merit plus Resene Eighth Stonehenge, Resene Eighth Pravda and Resene Truffle using A2 cardboard (available from Resene ColorShops).
September 2015
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Q. Could you please advise on a colour scheme to modernise the look of our beach property? We have had the joinery repainted to New Denim Blue as it had faded badly in some areas. We were thinking of a white grey for the render. Not sure about colour for front door and garage door but would like a pop of colour for front door. If greys aren't right with the joinery colour we are open to other colour schemes. A. A grey white for the render sounds like a good call - you could look at these ones to see if they appeal to you – Resene Double Black White, Resene Black Haze, Resene House White, Resene Concrete or Resene Quarter Surrender. Seeing as you have already used New Denim Blue for the windows it might be considered also for the garage door to link it altogether. A pop of excitement for the front door is where you get to choose a colour that really appeals to you - and with the colours on the house this could be almost anything. I say - let your inner Picasso free to choose a colour. The world of colour possibilities is waiting for you.
September 2015
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Q. Would like to know whether to go for grey walls and what other colour to use for trim and fascias or whether I should go for grey trim and other colour walls. The roof is orange terracotta and the main walls are multi-coloured brick. An atrium section is all wood and glass. A. Try these greys to see if they suit – Resene Half Tuna or darker Resene Tuna. Or even these that are darker – Resene Foundry or Resene Double Foundry. Whichever one you choose I would be inclined just to use one colour (walls and trims) as there are so many multiple colours in the bricks plus the guttering and roof colours.
September 2015
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