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. I would like to lighten up the colour of my walls but need to match in with brown/cream tonings (carpet/rug). We also have a low stud. The kitchen doors have just been replaced and are a little ‘whiter’ than I expected so need to tie that in. I want a soft, warm, cosy look but lighter and fresher than I have now. A. If you stay with pale off white based beiges you may tie all your colours together. Colours in an interior often look to have more depth than you might imagine so these following colours may look a bit deeper. These colours might be worth checking out - Resene Half Albescent White, Resene Eighth Drought, Resene Quarter White Pointer or Resene Eighth Spanish White.
May 2016
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Q. I have a weatherboard single storey dwelling with a single garage door as part of the same dwelling, late 80s. The roof has recently been painted Resene Grey Friars and it has green aluminium windows and door. What colour do you recommend for the house and garage door please? A. With the very distinctively different colours for the roof and the window joinery (is it Karaka?) your colour choices are somewhat compromised. The garage door could match the roof or the windows - which colour do you like the most? That is tricky but in truth you need to choose whether the garage door relates to the roof or the windows. The house might be painted any colour - because the joinery is olive/green and the roof deep charcoal there is no straightforward colour path to take - but these following colours might be worth checking out - Resene Archive Grey, Resene Dusted Grey, Resene Quill Grey or Resene Triple Merino.
May 2016
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Q. Would you please advise on the suitability of combining these colours – Ebony, Moon Dust, Night Sky and Black? A. I’m concerned about the use of the different blacks because of the potential for blue/black brown/black combinations. Will there be no variations with these selected? Also I agree that there is a lot of black and that the building may benefit from some lighter elements. There will always be some differences. It would be against the laws of nature that all blacks were exactly matching - wishful thinking too I suspect. I only have very small samples of all these blacks so I wouldn't want to be put into the position of making the call. Any surface painted with Resene Black in a CoolColour™ product may be seen as a warmer black shade. I think your safest course of action is to go to the lengths of getting real samples of all the blacks in a large enough format - A4 size - so they might be compared in a reasonable way. After seeing them you may be in a better position to judge whether or not they will all work together. May 2016
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Q. We are renovating at the moment and are recladding the entire house. The finished product will be plaster finish with LINEA® on the feature pop out at the front of the house (dark green colour) and also on another pop out down the side of house. We like neutral colours for the plaster with a slight brown tone rather than grey tone. We also like dark grey colours like Ironsand for the LINEA® features, garage door and window joinery. What colours would you recommend? A. On the plastered surfaces colours that work well with Resene Ironsand (for the LINEA® features and the garage door and roof) could be Resene Gauntlet or Resene Quarter Masala or slightly lighter Resene Eighth Masala. Browner greys like Resene Friar Greystone or a slightly deeper version Resene Double Friar Greystone might also be considered.
May 2016
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Q. I would like your advice as I am extremely nervous about selecting an exterior colour scheme. All our windows are being replaced. They will have quite chunky frames and will be more simple lines, just vertical panes, no top lights. The colour of the new windows is pretty close to Resene Double Sisal. We now need colours for I would like to bring out all the architectural features of the property but want the house to look striking, but not over the top. I'm afraid that if the cladding is too light that the windows will look funny so stucco should be a complementary tone to the windows. Also the front door is being replaced with a solid walnut door. The burgundy tones look lovely against the window colour but they scare me! I also like Resene Mondo, Resene Double Napa and Resene Akaroa. A. Why are you considering COLORSTEEL® window sills? Usually COLORSTEEL® windows are the whole frame not just the sill. The guttering ideally should be a colour that is sympathetic to the roof colour (but deeper); perhaps a charcoal may work - i.e. COLORSTEEL® Grey Friars - as it is a fundamental neutral that works with many other colours. A light to mid toned neutral is a versatile way to go as a main colour - but Resene Mondo is a very heavy muddy brown colour - is this what you want? Resene Double Napa isn't as dense and sludgy in tone and Resene Akaroa is a lot lighter and sweeter.
May 2016
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Q. We love our 1980s Lockwood with cathedral ceilings but the varnish has yellowed and the beams are painted an unattractive deep dark brown. The joinery is brown aluminium. Can you help with a light colour to paint over the beams and another for the doors and door surrounds to help lighten the room? A. The beams, doors and door frames may have been stained not painted. In order to paint over an existing stain you may have to do more extensive preparation. The beams and doors etc. may need to be sealed, undercoated and have two topcoats applied to them for a paint finish. A lighter colour (for beams and doors) could be the same colour to tie all the woodwork together. Perhaps you could check out these colours- they look quite good in relationship with the brown aluminium - Resene White Pointer, Resene Half Truffle or Resene Half Tea. You can lighten (whiten) the Lockwood varnished pine with Resene Colorwood Whitewash - this will make the interior a lot lighter and not so yellow/brown. Have you considered doing that? The product is very easily applied over old varnished timbers. There is a very good display of this product over Lockwood varnished pine at Resene ColorShops on their Wood Finish display. You might check it out to see if it appropriate or not.
May 2016
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Q. I want to paint our hall a light grey with white trim but a bold colour for the doors. I would like some suggestions please. A. Some bold colours you might like to try - Resene Wild Thing, Resene Juicy, Resene Irresistible or Resene Flourish. A light warm grey and a white that you could check out - Resene Whiteout with Resene Double Alabaster or Resene Half Concrete with Resene Half Black White.
May 2016
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Q. We have COLORSTEEL® Ironsand and Resene Half Villa White soffits with a cedar trim. The doors and windows are all totara which will be oiled. We are also having a river stone entrance. The gable ends are cedar. We are having the exterior clad in Rockcote but we need suggestions on what colour the Rockcote should be. Can you help? A. You might look at these colours to see if they appeal to you - Resene Caraway, Resene Fossil, Resene Quarter Cougar, Resene Double Truffle, Resene Quarter Stonehenge or Resene Quarter Friar Greystone .
May 2016
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Q. We are looking for a colour to use on the exterior trims of our villa style house. It is currently completely white with a very dark green band around the bottom which we will also repaint. The white is in good condition so we will leave it but it needs something else! We have used Resene Sepia for our fence and outside area and were thinking possibly a warm grey or similar? Inside the house is Resene Quarter Parchment. A. Warm greys with interesting undertones of colour in them that you might check out are these ones - Resene Gauntlet, Resene Eighth Masala, Resene Mountain Mist, Resene Friar Greystone or Resene Scarpa Flow.
May 2016
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Q. I want a lovely deep red colour for my door. The house is a reddish cedar colour and I think a deep red /maroon colour might look good. A. Many thanks for the photos. Some deeper reds that may appeal to you are: Resene Persian Red, Resene Hot Chile or Resene Red Ochre. I do suggest you see larger A4 real paint samples of them at your local Resene ColorShop in their Colour Library. You will find it very helpful to see the reality of the colours and judge whether one of them are what you have in mind.
May 2016
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Q. I am doing a new build. The house is a large very plain two storey five bedroom home with a 9 foot stud. The roof is barely visible and the house has small soffits. I was thinking of painting the LINEA® weatherboard Resene Silver Chalice, soffits maybe Resene Triple Alabaster and the joinery Appliance White. Can you please advise me as to roof colour? I was thinking of Grey Friars or the Resene colour equivalent to COLORSTEEL® FlaxPod. The garage door would be the same colour as the roof. A. Resene Element is the match to COLORSTEEL® FlaxPod. Another roof colour worthy of consideration is Resene Windswept which is the match to COLORSTEEL® TernStyle. You could paint the soffits to match the joinery instead of using Resene Triple Alabaster.
May 2016
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Q. If you had bronze aluminium joinery and a Resene Black Bean painted big deck what colour would you paint the house and roof? I love the darker colours especially black. Would this work? A. The roof might be painted in Resene Element and the house Resene Triple Stonehenge. These colours will help the bronze aluminium joinery tie in and not stick out as a feature.
May 2016
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Q. We are thinking of painting our master bedroom in Resene Quarter Fuscous Grey. It is not a large room and one wall is mostly French doors and window, one wall mostly wardrobe doors. Which white should we use for all the trim and wardrobe doors? I was thinking of Resene Alabaster. A. That is a very good choice for a white. Another one worthy of consideration is Resene Half Sea Fog - it has a tiny bit more warmth.
May 2016
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Q. What is a third colour to go with Resene Kombi green and a strong turquoise? We have grey carpet and it is a bedroom with white walls. A. It depends where you are using it and how much of it will be seen. You could try a paler turquoise or a fresher paler lime. A pale yellow/green might be worth looking at too – perhaps Resene First Light. As I said it all depends upon where and how much of the third colour you will use.
May 2016
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Q. After staying in a room decorated with Resene Halcyon and Resene Alabaster, my daughters want a similar blue in their south-facing room with large Resene Rum Swizzle and rimu windows. The room has rimu skirtings and wooden doors and closets and brown shaggy seventies carpet! The curtain fabric we have chosen is 'Botanik Fabric in light blue' from A Bolt of Cloth, and I think the blue matches Resene Zumthor. Is this going to be a warm enough and light enough blue in a South facing room - and does it go with Resene Rum Swizzle alright? A. If your daughters are moving into the room in the house where they fell in love with Resene Halcyon then all will be well. But they are not. Theirs is a south facing room with rimu, brown shaggy carpet and Resene Rum Swizzle (very sharp green edged yellow which is a huge whack of yellow compared to Resene Alabaster) so Resene Halcyon won't look the same and it will look colder (all blues do) and not well co-ordinated with the curtains. You might check out a warmer slightly green edged blue like Resene Breeze to see if that works with the curtains.
May 2016
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Q. We are repainting our house in Arrowtown. The windows are brown aluminium. There is currently a lighter trim around the window frames - we do not want to retain that. We would like a recommendation for a new colour to give it a fresh look. We think we would like it lighter - but not too grey, cream or white. We have been told to look at Resene Half Bison Hide or Resene Half Tea. We have looked at a lot of houses around Arrowtown and we like a number of colours on the charts. But because the house is only one storey we are told that colours that look light and fresh on two storey houses will be quite dark on our house. A. Certainly they are worth checking out but perhaps these colours as well might be worth considering - Resene Half Truffle or Resene Quarter Fossil. If you can pop into your local Resene ColorShop to view the large A4 real paint samples of all of the colours in their Colour Library you can compare them to each other. This will be very helpful and it may make choosing a colour easier. A helpful tip - place the A4 samples upright (as they would be on the wall of the house) to your right and left hand side - the colour is often seen in a radically different way when you do that.
May 2016
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Q. I have painted our laundry and toilet Resene Rice Cake and have done the bathroom top half also. What colour would you suggest to do the bottom half - dado wall tongue and groove look? A. If you want a simple look you could use the same colour as the upper wall but in a semi-gloss enamel. Alternatively a deeper version of the upper wall colour - i.e. Resene Double Rice Cake for a neat tonal look. Some other colour options that may work but because they are more definite they may make the wall seem broken in height (shorter) because they pull the eye down to the lower wall - Resene Duck Egg Blue, Resene Secrets, Resene Dusted Blue, Resene Abbey Road, Resene Triple Black White or Resene White Thunder.
May 2016
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Q. I have recently painted my blockwork house. The walls are white and the barge boards and roof are Scoria. I was wondering what colour to paint the wooden window frames and the doors. I was thinking Resene Double Merino or do you have any better suggestions? A. I like the colour Resene Double Merino but because bright natural light bleeds out colour on an exterior and makes it look lighter you may not see as much contrast as you think you will. Perhaps you could also check out these slightly more definite green colours to see if they appeal to you - Resene Half Lemon Grass, Resene Linen or Resene Ash.
May 2016
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Q. I am looking to paint the exterior of my Edwardian weatherboard house. I would like the weatherboards to be a silvery grey, and the window trim to be a white that is complementary (although the inside walls are a warm white so one that matches both may be difficult). The roof is being replaced but with the same galvanised steel to match the gutters. I am contemplating a third darker grey to contrast to the pale colours, but I do not want a busy look. If I did a third grey, which trim would I use it on (e.g. veranda posts, door and fence posts)? A. If the galvanised roof isn't being painted it will be a silvery grey. If the house also is a silvery grey are you considering a much lighter/whiter colour or a mid-tone? You may end up with the main colour on the house and the roof looking all the same colour - will this worry you? Silvery grey options for the main colour - Resene Half Silver Chalice, Resene Triple Concrete or Resene Surrender. You may need a distinct contrast for the window trims so that in bright natural light you can see the difference between the grey and the white. Bright light bleeds out colours making them look very similar. You could try Resene Quarter Black White or Resene Half Alabaster. Deeper greys for the trims, door and fence posts may need to be 'distinctive' as opposed to subtle in order to create any visual contrast and excitement. You could try Resene Tuna, Resene Half Baltic Sea, Resene Half Nocturnal or Resene Steel Grey.
May 2016
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Q. My bathroom and much of the house is painted Resene Tea. I am looking to do the laundry in the same colour or use a complementary colour but would like something that breaks up the neutral tone. What colour options are there? I am thinking of a blue, green, purple etc. that does not look out of place but provides a break from a neutral colour. A. You could try out these colours - they are really lovely and one of them may appeal to you - Resene Moby, Resene Awash, Resene Aspiring, Resene Green Spring, Resene Abbey Road or Resene Deluge.
May 2016
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Q. I am planning a small feature wall. The main part of the room is to be Resene Half Thorndon Cream and ceiling Resene Quarter Thorndon Cream. I am looking for a soft grey (LRV 50+) for the feature wall and have considered Resene Half Atmosphere and Resene Longitude. There will be a very large painting covering a good portion of the wall. Both the wall and painting are landscape in shape. The painting has a lot of black in the background and some yellow tones so maybe a soft blue grey would contrast better than Resene Half Atmosphere? A. You might look at these colours as well as the Resene Longitude - Resene Gull Grey (LRV 48%), Resene Mischka (LRV 49%) or Resene Surrender (LRV 57%). If you have the opportunity to visit your local Resene ColorShop to view the large A4 real paint samples in their Colour Library it will help you to identify the different undertones in the greys. This could assist you to find the right one for the feature wall.
May 2016
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Q. I am renovating my house. My new kitchen cupboards are Resene Half Pravda. I had picked either Resene Bianca or Resene Half Pearl Lusta for my walls. Of the two samples cards I have painted the Resene Bianca blends and is softer but the Resene Half Pearl Lusta looks more 'alive'. The cupboards are in a family/dining/kitchen area which is open to the hallway and also has double half glass doors into the lounge. So I am considering using the one colour on walls, with half strength on doors and quarter on ceiling. A. I am inclined to agree with you in regards to Resene Half Pearl Lusta compared to Resene Bianca. There is a sharper quality to the Resene Half Pearl Lusta that is nice. For the wood work and the ceiling I would be inclined to use the same colour - Resene Eighth Pearl Lusta for both surfaces - a quarter tone of Resene Half Pearl Lusta is Resene Eighth Pearl Lusta. Yes it is fairly light but it adds a crispness and good contrast to the warmth of the Resene Half Pearl Lusta and the Resene Half Pravda.
May 2016
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Q. We have just had Silver Pearl aluminium windows put in and have reclad the top half of our house in weatherboards which we have started painting Resene Half Truffle. The block bottom half of the house is going to be rendered and we were going to also paint that Resene Half Truffle. Our garage door and front door are both Ironsand. At the moment it is all looking quite bland so was wondering what colour you would suggest we paint the window frames so that the silver pearl stands out? Also, what colour should we paint the gable? The top of the left hand window above the garage door is slightly crooked where it meets the gable so we were thinking we might need to match the gable and window frame colour to hide this? We also have Resene Double Truffle paint as well so it's not too late to change the weatherboard colour if you think that's a better option. A. In order to stand out and be a feature Silver Pearl powder coated joinery would need to have a starker/brighter colour - like a white - around the window frames or a really dark colour. You already have a dark colour - Ironsand - that the doors are painted in and I am unsure that using more of that colour will achieve as much as a whiter colour. I think the weatherboards are a good colour - it is light enough to make the joinery seem as though it is a deeper grey. If you do have a deeper variant - i.e. Resene Double Truffle - you will note that it is about the same depth of colour as the Silver Pearl so changing your main colour to that one won't highlight the windows but it may merge them in visually. Is this what you want? Had you thought about using the Resene Double Truffle on the base of the house to create a tonal contrast instead of having the same colour as the weatherboards? Perhaps the gables and window frames could be one of these colours - Resene Half Sea Fog or Resene Double Alabaster. Being 'whites' they make the Silver Pearl look deeper/greyer by comparison and frame them.
May 2016
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Q. We are looking for a colour scheme for our house. Currently the roof is blue; however it is being replaced with zincalume shortly. We are thinking of going with zincalume gutters as well, but are happy to consider a COLORBOND® colour. We are looking for a new paint scheme for the house. We really dislike the green and are not sure what to do with the bricks at base. Many houses in the area are light browns/greys with whites around trims etc. A. I would be inclined to have a COLORBOND® roof and matching gutters - i.e. a lighter colour like Shale Grey or deeper Wallaby. The bricks around the base of the house do tie in nicely with stained wood trims on the deck, roof, fascias and window surrounds. You could look at these colours to see if they appeal to you - Resene White Pointer, Resene Quarter Delta, Resene Quarter Foggy Grey or Resene Half Cloud. If you are contemplating a white for trims or under the roof of the deck you could look at these ones - Resene Alabaster or Resene Half Black White.
May 2016
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Q. We are looking to repaint our building this year and were hoping for some expert advice on colouring. Due to the features on the building, we are leaning towards a sandstone colour palette. A. Due to the many variations of colour in natural sandstone the following are some colours that you might check out - one main and one strong contrast for deeper trims, balconies, windows or iron railings etc. You could try Resene Triple Sea Fog, Resene Fuscous Grey, Resene Foggy Grey, Resene Ironsand, Resene Double Fossil, Resene Baltic Sea, Resene Quarter Canterbury Clay or Resene Bokara Grey.
May 2016
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Q. I am looking for colours for a new build - modern style. I'm wanting clean crisp simple white, a medium grey (for the bathrooms), a lighter grey and then a white for the ceiling too. I am debating between Resene Alabaster and Resene Quarter Alabaster for the white (and are these both suitable for the ceiling?) and then need a medium grey for the bathrooms. I don't want the grey to be too browny. I wasn't sure but was thinking maybe Resene Surrender or Resene Half Surrender or Resene Revolution or Resene Half Stack? For the lighter grey - maybe Resene Quarter Surrender? I'm basically just wanting to check which three you might think work well together. A. I like the Resene Alabaster and Resene Quarter Alabaster. To be absolutely sure about the grey for the bathroom I suggest you order at least three A4 sheets of colour so you can see bigger samples and confirm the rightness of your colour choice. They are large enough to pin on the wall of the bathroom next to each other close to the white units so that you can see what they truly look like. Colours can change radically when seen in close association with each other and the natural light in a room also radically changes how colours are seen. You need to know exactly what you are getting. As well as Resene Quarter Surrender you might check out Resene Concrete and Resene Quarter Silver Chalice for the bathroom. Paint for service rooms (kitchen, laundry, bathrooms etc) needs to be tougher, more easily cleaned and more protective than a standard acrylic. I recommend Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen Kitchen & Bathroom waterborne enamel for both the walls. Standard ceiling matt acrylic isn't a tough paint or one that can be wiped clean without shiny patches appearing - if you want a washable matt paint then I recommend Resene SpaceCote Flat waterborne enamel. If you have an expectation that the house when finished being painted looks excellent, and that the paints resist normal day to day wear and tear, are easily cleaned and provide a superior finish then it is really important that you have not only the right colours but the right products.
May 2016
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Q. I am trying to find what the colour match of a Monier concrete roof tile Slate is equivalent to in Resene colours. This is to match my spouting with roof colour. A. The very best way to find a corresponding colour is to take a real roof tile into your nearest Resene ColorShop so they can help you match it. You must view colour as close as possible to the tile in order not to choose wrongly. Also the colour samples (they have large A4 samples in the shop) needs to be held vertically next to the tile which is held at a 45 degree angle - this is how the two colours will be seen on the house and it is amazing how light and angles change the look of a colour. May 2016
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Q. I am painting kitchen walls. I have a granite Black Pearl benchtop, melamine Arctic White cupboards and a red splashback. What neutral colour would you suggest for the walls? A. Because of the cool toned Arctic White on the cabinets you might check out some soft greys. These are a few that may appeal to you - Resene Midwinter Mist, Resene Designer White, Resene Zumthor, Resene Quarter Duck Egg Blue, or slightly deeper - Resene Half Mischka.
May 2016
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Q. We are painting our new house. We are painting the walls Resene Thorndon Cream and have done the ceiling Resene Quarter Thorndon Cream. We have Arctic White aluminium joinery and I am not sure what colour to paint the architraves and skirting boards. I'm worried about it looking weird against the white joinery if we did the same as on the ceiling but if we were to try and match the white it might look strange next to the ceiling as it is quite creamy. Would appreciate any suggestions. A. Arctic White powder coat joinery is an icy blue/grey white, which doesn't sit well with any other colours except (perhaps) cool blues, cool greys and charcoals and black. Don't try and match this white. You could paint the woodwork the same as the ceiling or the same as the walls so there is no other white in the room.
May 2016
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Q. I have a 1960s split level house with stucco on the bottom and weatherboards on the top. The house has a COLORSTEEL® New Denim Blue roof. I would like a fresh, modern and crisp look for the exterior of the house - with the lower part of the house to be painted Resene New Denim Blue and the trim to be a white. For the weatherboards I have been looking at either Resene Half Kumutoto or Resene Cut Glass but can't decide which works better with the Resene New Denim Blue, or which white to use. A. With both the roof and the stucco base being the same deep colour - New Denim Blue - will you mind if the upper house appears sandwiched between these colours? Visibly the house may be cut in half height wise. By using either of the two pretty blues on the weatherboards it will make the New Denim Blue look very grey by comparison. They wouldn't be my first choice of blue to use with the New Denim Blue. Try these colours: Resene Half Halcyon, Resene Breeze or Resene Breathless. They all have a muted chalky tone to them that seems to sit well with New Denim Blue. A good white to use with these types of colours might be Resene Quarter Black White. It will look cool and crisp and enhance the blues and greys. You might check out the slightly lighter versions of New Denim Blue to see if you might prefer them to the deepest version - Resene Half Denim Blue or Resene Quarter New Denim Blue. The New Denim Blue on the roof (because of the angle to the sunlight) may look lighter and bluer but the same colour on a textured vertical surface (the stucco) may look deeper and greyer - will you mind if it doesn't look the same colour? All colours can be viewed as A4 real paint samples at your Resene ColorShop in their Colour Library - this is always helpful and makes seeing the reality of colours easier. May 2016
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Q. We are putting in a new kitchen and I'm trying to match the splashback colour with our benchtops. We are having Caesarstone Shitake for our benchtops. Do you know this colour and what a good match would be for the splashback? A. I think it is always a little difficult matching exactly a surface which has several colours in it. If you feel that you want a splashback to draw attention away from the Caesarstone Shitake (make it less of a feature) it rather depends upon a lot of other things. The colour of the cabinets, floor and main wall colour have a direct bearing upon what might be used for the splashback. I have been looking at this bench top colour on a lot of sites to see what has been used and predominantly it seems that the splashback is crystal clear low iron oxide glass (not the green toned standard float glass) over the wall colour (so no colour but just a protected glass surface) or in some cases white tiles to co-ordinate with the cabinets which are also white. As you can imagine this allows all of the 'eye interest' the room to be focussed on the benchtops. Rather a good idea I think with the lovely colours in the Caesarstone. If you are intent on a coloured splashback it would pay you to take the sample of Caesarstone, the cabinet colour and the flooring sample into your local Resene ColorShop to view A4 real paint samples of colour in their Colour Library. If you stand the A4 sheets of colour vertically behind the horizontal sample of the benchtop you may find a colour that looks quite good - but I suggest you choose the wall colour first to go with everything and the splashback last. May 2016
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Q. Our carpet is much like Resene Mischka grey and I want to paint the walls Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta. What would you suggest for curtains? Our open plan lounge/dining/kitchen has a mottled denim blue benchtop and the kitchen tiles are similar in colour to the latte coloured curtains that match the Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta beautifully. It's the grey carpet that is proving a problem. Reluctantly, I might need to rethink the wall colour. A. I think that Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta goes with a huge amount of other colours so it would be a shame to change that. The carpet colour (soft grey) shouldn't overly influence the very pale (goes with anything) wall colour. For new curtains you might look for those ones that look exactly like the wall colour (so not a coloured feature, more of a neutral non-colour statement) as they won't add more colour into the rooms. This allows all other existing colours to have a place in the rooms without any discordancy happening. I encourage you to look at the Resene range of curtaining fabric to see whether there is a match to the wall colour available as a fabric but do keep an open mind.
May 2016
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Q. We have just bought a beautiful original villa. All of the trim windows, doors and skirting are natural wood, quite golden, and with quite a lot of stained glass. I know that painting it all white is the current thought but as we know 25-30 years ago a lot of energy went into stripping off paint and also it has been like that and very well cared for, for 110 years so we feel it has to stay. My question is what colour/s to paint the walls? I usually go for black white or similar. I expect a grey, maybe even a muddy grey, may be the best bet. I would love to hear your opinion on this dilemma. A. I suggest you venture away from the cool whites to warmer slightly more developed whites that will resonate well with all that gorgeous wood. You might look at these colours to see if they appeal to you - as well as work with other existing elements in the house - flooring, furniture, drapes etc. You could try Resene Quarter Ecru White, Resene Quarter Albescent White, Resene Half Merino or Resene Eighth Thorndon Cream. All of these colours also come as slightly deeper variants should you wish to pursue a bit more depth and character in your 'white' tone.
May 2016
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Q. I am looking for creamy warm white to replace the butter yellow walls in our 23 year old house and hope to paint every room the same colour. A. Some creamy warm whites that you might check out to see if they appeal to you - Resene Bianca, Resene Half Pearl Lusta, Resene Half Villa White or Resene Half Albescent White.
May 2016
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Q. I would like to paint the exterior of my home and we have classic cream COLORBOND® doors and frames around the house. I’m having trouble deciding what will match these and would like some advice. A. Often very distinctive coloured joinery compromises what else might be used on an exterior - as in this case. A match is a colour that is exactly the same - is that what you want? If that is the case then Resene Smooth Cream Or lighter colours that could appeal to you - Resene Clotted Cream, Resene Pearl Lusta, Resene Eighth Pavlova, or deeper colours - Resene Triple Parchment or Resene Bison Hide.
May 2016
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Q. I am building a home. The roof is COLORSTEEL® New Denim Blue (all gutters and downpipes are also New Denim Blue). There are eight sides to the house some of which are COLORSTEEL® Pioneer Red and the remaining four sides (three facing north and one on the west face) are weathered. I need to confirm the Resene colour for the weathered walls and also the soffits. I was thinking a lighter colour like Resene Eighth Tapa but wonder if that's too grey? And I've been told to go light for the soffits but am worried about introducing too many colours. A. With the New Denim Blue (blue edged grey) and the Pioneer Red (traditional red oxide) I would be inclined to use either a grey that relates to the New Denim Blue (rather than a unrelated green based grey) or a completely different neutral colour. You could try Resene Surrender, Resene Triple Concrete, Resene Half Gull Grey, Resene Half Truffle, Resene Half Cloud or Resene White Pointer. These are light colours and if you didn't want a fourth colour on the house then you could use the same colour (as the main colour) for the soffits if you wanted to. You may find it a lot easier to choose the colour if you are able to pop into your local Resene ColorShop to view the large A4 real paint samples in their Colour Library. By comparing the colours to each other and viewing with colour samples of Pioneer Red and New Denim Blue you will be better able to envisage what they are truly like. May 2016
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Q. I am painting my house exterior. I have a roof coloured in approx. Spanish Green, and will probably do all horizontal beams the same. I will be putting on shutters in Ivy Green, but need help choosing the main siding and post colour. I do not want to go too bright; I want to merge in with the area around. A. You might check out these colours to see if they appeal to you - Resene Triple Blanc (main), Resene Half Merino (posts), or Resene Triple Sea Fog (main), Resene Half Sea Fog, or Resene Fossil (main), Resene Eighth Thorndon Cream.
May 2016
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Q. We would like to use Resene Triple Sisal on the foundations of our house but when we put it on it appears much lighter than on the swatch. Can you tell us if there is another colour that we could use that would give us the colour of the swatch when painted outside? Alternatively can you get Resene Triple Sisal darkened? A. All colours look lighter than you might expect on an exterior due to bright natural light minimising their depth. The opposite is true of colour seen in an interior - they appear slightly deeper or brighter. It may appear lighter also if only one coat was applied instead of two (or three) or if the original colour (being painted over) is a true white as the reflectance lightens and brightens the following colour. It may also appear lighter due to close association with a deeper colour. Colours are very reactive to each other and you don't mention what other colours are on the exterior of the house. The colour itself is not wrong - i.e. if the swatch was placed directly on the exterior painted sample it would be the same colour. So a deeper but similar colour to Resene Triple Sisal might be Resene Triple Bison Hide - you might check this out - it has a bit more brown in it but this may look like it has a slightly greener undertone.
May 2016
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Q. I have Resene Quarter Sisal on my walls, and want to paint my kitchen cupboards white. Can you suggest a suitable white that goes well with Resene Sisal? The untinted white I have is too harsh. A. You might check out these warmer whites to see if the look is appealing to you - Resene Double Alabaster, Resene Quarter Bianca or Resene Eighth Rice Cake.
May 2016
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Q. We are currently trying to decide what colour to paint our walls/ceiling. Our exterior cladding is black COLORSTEEL® and cedar. We have black joinery. Our kitchen is also a mix of black and white. We want the walls to be white and bring colour in elsewhere. The colours we were thinking of were Resene Black White for the walls and Resene Alabaster for the ceiling/doors/window frames. Will this be too white? Do you have any other suggestions that will work with the black joinery but still give the impression of a large open area? A. I like your choice of colours - the Resene Alabaster looks quite crisp against the slightly greyer Resene Black White. I don't think any of the colours will look too white. In an interior colours often look a little deeper than you might imagine they will do. Other options worth considering might be these ones - Resene Wan White used with Resene Quarter Wan White, or Resene Double Alabaster used with Resene Quarter Alabaster.
May 2016
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Q. We want to paint our interior walls to brighten up the house and give it some consistency. We want to go for a warm white and match it with a grey colour. We have tried Resene Sauvignon but it is a bit too pink and tried Resene Vista White, but it's not warm enough. We were thinking about Resene Pearl Lusta, Resene Half Pearl Lusta, Resene Alabaster and wondered whether these would match well with Resene Surrender? Also, if we were going with one of these whites on the walls and Resene Surrender (or another grey) on the trims and doors, what colour should we go with on the ceiling? A. So have you decided a warm creamy tone may be better than the pinker tones? I think you may need to lighten the main colours (not as yellow) so that it works better with the Resene Surrender. You could check out these colours to see if they appeal to you - Resene Bianca and Resene Quarter Bianca for the ceiling, or Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta and Resene Half Alabaster for the ceiling, or Resene Half Albescent White and Resene Quarter Albescent White. Colours in an interior can look a bit deeper than you might imagine they will do when all four walls of a room are painted. Test your colours well to ensure you get the look you want. May 2016
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Q. I have two rental flats that are 1970 concrete block units. I am repainting the inside walls Resene Alabaster with the kitchen cupboards Resene Triple White Pointer. I am having the units double glazed and I really like the aluminium joinery dark bronze. What external colour would you recommend? I want the external colour to be quite light. A. If you have a very light colour on the exterior that will make the windows seem very dark by comparison. Is this the look you favour? Some colours that you might check out to see if they appeal to you - Resene Half Tea, Resene Eighth Napa, Resene Double Merino or Resene Double Sea Fog. All colour seen on an exterior looks a lot lighter due to the bright natural sunlight minimising their depth. These colours may look a lot lighter than you might imagine.
May 2016
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Q. We are building a new house with a white kitchen. We are thinking of painting the house a very very light grey. Possibly Resene Black White or Resene Double Black White? If so, what colour would we paint ceiling and trim - maybe Resene Half Black White? A. Resene Double Black White is too strong relative to your wish for a very very light grey because the colour tends to multiply in tone when multiple walls are all the same colour. Use either a half or quarter shade elsewhere.
May 2016
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Q. We’re about to paint the exterior of our bungalow which has terracotta roof tiles. We'd like to go with a mid grey weatherboard and white trims but I need some help choosing a grey which is not blue or purple or too brown. Can you recommend a Resene grey? A. You may need to trial several greys in order to find your best one. I suggest you paint the testpot onto large A2 card (available from Resene ColorShops) rather than test it on the house exterior (which is already a colour- unless it a true White) as this will alter your perception of the how the colour sample looks. These are worth checking out - Resene Double Concrete, Resene Quarter Silver Chalice or Resene Quarter Delta. These colours come as slightly deeper versions also should you like a colour but find it looks lighter than you want.
May 2016
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Q. We are building a brick house with LINEA® above the garage and front door. The bricks are Premier Country Charcoal and for the LINEA® we are thinking maybe Resene Half Silver Chalice. The joinery is Palladium Silver. We are unsure about the colour for the COLORSTEEL® roof - looking at Grey Friars, Slate or FlaxPod. We like FlaxPod but will this be too dark? Is Resene Silver Chalice a good choice? We are thinking of Resene Quarter Silver Chalice for the inside walls. Also we need to choose a soffit colour. A. All colours on an exterior look a bit lighter than you might imagine they will due to bright natural light. With this in mind you might consider using full strength Resene Silver Chalice instead of Resene Half Silver Chalice. If colours are reduced by half (approx.) in bright light then the full strength Resene Silver Chalice may look like Resene Half Silver Chalice (and Resene Half Silver Chalice may look like Resene Quarter Silver Chalice) so do you want a paler/whiter type of grey? In an interior the opposite is true - all colours tend to look deeper or brighter. The roof colour as well - when seen on a 45 degree angle to the sun - may look lighter. The colours you mention will still be deep colours but you may notice Grey Friars looks like steel/blue instead of a deep charcoal, Slate looks like a medium deep charcoal and not as black, and FlaxPod may throw off a warm brown tone. The soffits might be a whiter colour - Resene Wan White or Resene Half Black White to add a crisp clean line and to emphasise the main house colour.
May 2016
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Q. We are painting the interior of our house Resene Double Sea Fog and having all the skirtings etc Resene Half Sea Fog. However we were wondering if we should go even lighter for the ceiling and do Resene Quarter Sea Fog? Or just stay with Resene Half Sea Fog like the skirtings. A. I think you could use Resene Alabaster if you wanted a crisper 'white' for the ceiling - this is equivalent to Resene Eighth Sea Fog. All colours on ceilings seem to have a little more depth because of the way the light works on the surface (creating shadow) so this colour may look like Resene Quarter Sea Fog, and Resene Quarter Sea Fog may look like Resene Half Sea Fog.
May 2016
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Q. Can your metallic range be used on a pressed metal ceiling? A. Absolutely. They are water based enamels – Resene Enamacryl - so they are very durable. No turps involved - it is a water clean-up. May 2016
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Q. This cottage needs to be brightened up a bit. We have not been able to agree on suitable colours. Do you have any suggestions? We need colours for around the front veranda and windows. Both buildings. A. Perhaps you could look at Resene Squall and the doors and windows could be Resene Dawnbreaker and the front veranda could be Resene Double Thorndon Cream. Alternatively the roof colour could be Resene Botanic and the doors and windows Resene Double Arrowtown and the front veranda could be Resene Half Cararra.
May 2016
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Q. We want to change the colour of our house at the beach. Any suggestions? The window joinery, doors and roof are New Denim Blue or Grey Friars. A. The window joinery, doors and roof are quite definite in hue. There are lots of ways that you might approach a colour change for the house and the following colours are indicative of these - Resene Sea Fog (a white look), Resene Half Duck Egg Blue (watery blue grey), Resene Half Truffle (bleached beige/grey), Resene Half Silver Chalice (soft grey) or Resene Triple Rice Cake (creamed green edge neutral).
May 2016
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Q. I am looking for a white paint colour for the exterior weatherboard and trims of our house currently being renovated. It is currently proposed to have a COLORBOND® Wallaby roof and garage doors, Resene Half Masala fascias, gutters and balustrades, and Resene Eighth Stonehenge for brickwork and rendered FC. Is there a Resene colour you can suggest to suit for weatherboards and trims? A. If you don't want a white that is too stark but works well with your other colours you might check these out to see if they appeal to you - Resene Double Alabaster, Resene Quarter Merino or Resene Half Black White. They are quite different from each other though this may not be apparent if you only view the charts. If you had the opportunity to view the large A4 real paint samples at your local Resene ColorShops in their Colour Library and placed a sheet of white printer paper partially over each sample you would see subtle tints in each 'white' and be able to judge better what they were like. If you felt them to be too stark you could compare them to other 'whites' to get a better idea of what was available.
May 2016
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Q. I'm looking for a mid-grey that is close in colour to concrete. Would you be able to suggest a range of colours? A. This could be difficult. I have old concrete, new concrete, wet concrete, dry concrete and concrete that has a lot of fine aggregate in it and they all look a completely different grey colour. You may have to compromise and choose a grey you like rather than an exact match to concrete. Perhaps you could check out these greys - Resene Half Foggy Grey, Resene Quarter Delta, Resene Silver Sand, Resene Delta Grey, Resene Silver Chalice or Resene Triple Concrete.
May 2016
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Q. I have painted my house with Resene Jungle Mist and am now trying to choose a COLORSTEEL® colour for the roof as well as a colour for the brickwork and the trim. I got an Oslo Grey testpot but I think the colours are too similar so am thinking maybe a darker grey would be better I'm also thinking a flat (rather than bright) white colour for the trim. I’m not sure about the best colour for the roof. I'd like colours that will mute the blue a bit as it's very bright! A. There aren't a great many colours available in COLORSTEEL®. You could use a deep grey like Grey Friars - it is a fundamental neutral that works with any other colour. Whites that you could check out that have a soft look rather than a sharp optic look are these ones - Resene Half Wan White or Resene Half Black White. Deeper greys for the trims might be one of these - Resene Quarter Grey Friars or Resene Quarter Foundry.
May 2016
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Q. I am trying to find a white semi-gloss/gloss paint for my skirting boards that does not discolour over time. I have been reading up on oil based paints and it seems that this is near impossible to avoid due to the chemical nature of it. It does not help that my house does not have a lot of natural light. I have heard that I can get a water based paint from Resene that is applied like oil based and looks like oil based paint but does not discolour in the same way. Can you please advise? A. New technology favours waterborne products and they have many benefits:
The semi-gloss water based enamel is called Resene Lustacryl. It gives a lovely finish. If you have always used solventborne enamels in the house then you may need to sand back really well and apply a good undercoat before applying two coats of the waterborne enamel – Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss. It is advisable to use a synthetic brush rather than a hog bristle to ensure you get a lovely smooth finish. In every Resene ColorShop there are sample boards painted in all types of paint finish so that you can see before you buy what it will look like. May 2016
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Q. Our internal walls/ceilings are painted Resene Quarter Thorndon Cream and I want to do a black feature wall. Our floor is concrete. Please advise the best black for this. A. The best 'black' is the one that looks wonderful - not only with the wall colour - but with any other colour (carpet, drapes, furniture) in the room and responds well to the quality of natural light you have in the room. You may need to try several. You could try these as a start: Resene Bokara Grey, Resene Cinder, Resene Double Cod Grey or Resene Nero. They are all quite different from each other. I suggest you paint all of the testpot/two coats onto super large A2 card leaving a narrow unpainted border all around the edges of the card. This gives you the best size to judge what the black is really like. The narrow unpainted border helps your eye to focus on the reality of the colour. You can move it around - low to the floor, behind any furniture that may be close to the feature wall and higher on the wall. Check out how it looks at different times of the day and again (especially) at night. Take your time - testpots used this way are your best friends.
May 2016
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Q. I want to go for Resene Alabaster for my internal colour. Would it go well with very light shades of grey throughout the house? I mean in terms of carpets, tiles etc. A. Resene Alabaster is essentially white so it goes with a huge amount of other colours - including light greys. However I do think some light greys may work better than others - it is all about looking at the wall colour, the 'white' colour on the doors and the greys (carpet and tiles) together to see how they react to each other.
May 2016
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Q. We have a brand new build. The main kitchen, living and dining area is north facing with heaps of windows. It also has a very high cathedral ceiling. I want to paint the area white but am not sure what one. Would Resene Half Black White on the walls and Resene Alabaster on the ceilings work? I don't want the area to be glary. I also have a south facing bedroom and a very dark hallway. Which white would be best here? I really don't like whites that look yellowy. I would ideally like to minimise the number of whites and do like the cooler whites but don't want the areas with minimal light to feel cold. A. You may need a little more contrast for the ceilings if you are using Resene Half Black White for the walls - perhaps Resene Half Alabaster? For the south facing bedroom and the hallway you might need to be a bit more 'coloured' to stop the cold or dingy ice/white/grey look taking over. What about a charcoal? The reason I am suggesting a charcoal because compared to 'white' it is warm, it creates a dramatic ambiance, and all 'whites' look good with it.
May 2016
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Q. We are painting our house interior (renovated bungalow). So far in the living room and hall we have used Resene Quarter Black White for the ceiling and woodwork and Resene Wan White for the walls. We would like some advice on the bedroom. It's for an 11 year old girl, but is used as a guest room as well and we don't want it to be too 'young'. The tongue and groove wall trim comes up to about two thirds of the way up the wall. I'm not sure if we should be painting the tongue and groove the lighter colour or the wall above the tongue and groove. What colours would you recommend as a contrast? It's a smallish room about 3.5x3m and only has two small windows. A. I suggest painting the lower two thirds (the tongue and groove) a soft colour - not too deep - and the upper portion of the wall (and possibly the ceiling as well) a related but whiter colour. Because of the two small windows I am presuming the room isn't bathed in bright sun light all day so you might consider light/warm colours. You might look at these colours - Resene Half Sandspit Brown - main walls and Resene Quarter Albescent White, or Resene Secrets - main walls and Resene Quarter Black White, or Resene Westar - main walls and Resene Double Alabaster, or Resene Half Duck Egg - main walls and Resene Quarter Wan White. May 2016
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Q. We are currently picking colours for our new LINEA® and Rockcote home. We have a Grey Friars roof and like Resene Baltic Sea for the LINEA® board; however we are struggling for the Rockcote colour. I have a testpot of Resene Silver Chalice but found that may be a bit too dark. Are there other popular colour combinations we could try? We are also looking at doing neutral wall colours inside and were thinking Resene Black White or Resene White Pointer. A. Something for you to consider - colours seen on an exterior often look lighter overall due to the bright natural light which makes them seem less 'coloured'. If you liked Resene Silver Chalice (but wanted paler) then there is always Resene Half Silver Chalice or Resene Quarter Silver Chalice. These are very popular colours. Of the two colours you mention for the interior both are really popular but Resene White Pointer is warmer than Resene Black White. Ideally if you choose all of the other interior elements first - all the flooring, kitchen cabinets and work tops, drapes etc. - that then helps you to see what is a 'right colour' to work with these. There are a huge amount of paint colours but not so many options in regard the other elements - so choosing these first gives you choices.
May 2016
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Q. I have a low 2.4 ceiling height in my home. Can you suggest a way to make the ceiling feel higher? If I want to do white walls what colour white do you suggest I use for the ceiling and doors? A. Using a real white - Resene White - is the only 100% sure way of making the ceiling look higher. If the walls were exactly the same white then the wall and ceiling blend into each other making the ceiling appear further away as there is no wall colour 'break' drawing attention to it.
May 2016
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Q. We are building a new house which is having a white kitchen. We are thinking of painting the house a very, very light grey. Any suggestions? Possibly single or double Resene Black White? If so, what colour would we paint ceiling and trim? maybe Resene Half Black White? A. If you want a very, very light grey then I suggest you use Resene Double Black White as it does look a light grey whereas ordinary Resene Black White may just look white. Using a much lighter version - Resene Half Black White - will look whiter and will highlight the subtle grey in the wall colour. If you did decide to go 'whiter' (not greyer) as a main colour – Resene Black White - then you may need to lighten your ceiling and trims to Resene Quarter Black White to maintain a distinct contrast.
May 2016
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Q. We are renovating our first home and are wondering if it is okay to paint everything black/white, including the ceiling, walls and scotias? We have detailed scotias with bows on them. The lounge also has round archways and medallions that the lights hang from and there is also a wall niche. So there is a bit of detail in the room. A. If you use the one colour only - Resene Black White - I suggest you use a flat (matt) paint on the ceiling, scotias and wall niche as they are all plaster – Resene SpaceCote Flat waterborne enamel - as it can be easily cleaned (scrubbed if necessary). Standard matt acrylic for ceilings can't be wiped clean as it leaves shiny patches. If the round archway is a plaster one then it should be matt but if it is a wooden one then it would be painted a semi-gloss waterborne enamel. Walls could be painted in a low sheen acrylic – Resene Zylone Sheen - and all woodwork trims in a semi-gloss waterborne enamel – Resene Lustacryl. This way the elements in the room will be highlighted in a sheen difference not a colour difference. This will make the room have 'eye interest'. If every part of the room was painted in the exact same colour and type of paint (sheen level) you may find that nothing stands out in an interesting way.
May 2016
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