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. We are having the exterior of our house painted soon and would like your advice on colours that would work well together. We think we have finally chosen Resene Napa for the weatherboards, but would like to know what you think about the deck colour (currently green) and whether the plaster surface should be a shade lighter (currently lighter). Perhaps a different colour scheme all round? The aluminium joinery is a bronze colour and the roof is dark brown, although you can't see it from the street. Currently the house is a green colour. A. I’ve put two schemes together for you using Resene Napa as your weatherboard colour: The best thing to do from here would be to go into your local Resene ColorShop and ask one of the staff to show you larger sizes of all of these colours.
September 2017
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Q. I am building an 80 square metre home with mono pitch roof. The COLORSTEEL® roofing is FlaxPod and aluminium joinery is white. I have a bright red aluminium door - glass top/solid bottom half. I want to paint the house a good sage green colour that will complement these. I am looking at Resene Flax and Resene Sage. Is there a similar colour with a deeper tone that you would suggest? A. You might like to look at these colours: Resene Waiouru, Resene Hemlock, Resene Siam, Resene Gondwana, Resene Bach or Resene Paddock.
September 2017
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Q. We have a nine year old home with Ironsand COLORSTEEL® roof and aluminium joinery. The house is currently painted Resene Double Akaroa. We would like to repaint in a different colour not as yellow and a little darker. Some friends of ours have a similar home with Ironsand and Resene Double Napa. We like their choice but don't want to copy. Can you suggest some colours that we could consider? A. You might like to try these colours: Resene Triple Tea, Resene Stonehenge, Resene Pravda or Resene Double Friar Greystone . These are all darker and more brown/grey than your existing Double Akaroa – similar to the Resene Napa family but hopefully different enough from your friend’s house that they won’t be the same.
September 2017
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Q. Do you also do heritage colour consultancy from the Resene Heritage colour chart? I think we will have a white painted soffit - a match-lining finish for the back covered patio area, with big cedar posts that we could stain to a finish the same as the posts/balustrading on the front veranda. The paint finish I would like to tie in with what we have - the roof I would like to be white. Almost every other house in the street is white. A. A true white isn’t a heritage colour – are you really keen on a white roof? It isn't a heritage inspired (or even commonly seen on more modern homes) roof colour. There are two very pale colours on the heritage chart that may be considered if you are very keen for a 'white' roof - Resene Merino or Resene Soapstone. Colours that might be considered as looking similar to the existing stained veranda timbers are Resene Toffee, Resene Kakaramea or Resene Waiwherowhero [these two colours are on the Traditional Maori Colour Palette part of the Heritage chart] but I do have reservations about how one of these colours will look within a Heritage inspired colour relationship - they are most distinctive. Colours for the house that might be considered - Resene Fawn Green (this would work if Resene Merino was a 'white' colour on the house) or Resene Stack (this may work with Resene Soapstone which has an undertone of chalky pink in its whiteness). If you were using real Resene White under the soffits and any other timber - i.e. window sashes - then it does allow a little bit more leeway in regard to choosing a house colour. If you want a white look for the house then the whitest colours that I have mentioned – Resene Merino and Resene Soapstone - might be considered as a main colour.
September 2017
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Q. I was thinking of painting the exterior roughcast of my house in Resene Thorndon Cream, and would like to use a dark brown, perhaps Resene Ironsand or Resene Black for contrast on the garage door, trim and fences. Could you suggest one please? I was also thinking of Resene Eighth Thorndon Cream for contrast on the eaves and wall trim etc. A. I like your colour idea - Resene Eighth Thorndon Cream to go with Resene Thorndon Cream - it is exactly the right level of contrast. You might check out these dark brown types of colours - as well as Resene Ironsand and Resene Black - to see if one of them is appealing to you - Resene Bokara Grey, Resene Diesel, Resene Monkey or Resene Kilamanjaro.
September 2017
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Q. We are planning to paint our walls, doors and trim with Resene Tea. What strengths do you suggest we use for the different areas? A. There may be a very large/very sunny room where full strength Resene Tea is perfect. But for the most part - taking into account smaller rooms, rooms that aren't blessed with all day sunshine or hallways which often are a bit dim, Resene Half Tea is the best choice. All colours in an interior have the potential to look twice the depth that you think they will do, so slightly lighter is better than slightly deeper. For the wooden trims and doors, you could use Resene Quarter Tea so you get a nice co-ordinated look.
September 2017
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Q. We have black aluminium sliding stacker doors, which are full height and the full width of our room (6.8m x 2.4m). There is timber trim around the door, which we'd like to paint Resene Black to match or complement the door. We also have a brick wall which we're leaving as is, but there are two timber beams in the room, which we would also like to paint Resene Black, as our light fittings will be black and we think it will look great. We are unsure as to what black to use for the door trim and the columns. A. You might check out either of these blacks to see which one suits being closer to the black aluminium slider door colour - Resene All Black or Resene Nero.
September 2017
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Q. My partner is recladding his 60s house is either black or dark grey corrugated iron, with all new aluminium joinery (doors and windows) and a new colour roof. What colours would go with the black? I'm thinking light, either light grey or off white but he's thinking green. All joinery will replace what is there now. The old stacker doors will be replaced with new aluminium stacker doors. A. These colours may be worth checking out - Resene Gauntlet (this is a match to COLORSTEEL® Sandstone Grey - this is a warm toned mid grey), Resene Atmosphere (this is a match to COLORSTEEL® Gull Grey - it is a pale silvery grey) or Resene Bone White (this is a match to COLORSTEEL® Bone White which is pale but a little bit yellow/green/bone, Resene Sponge (this is a match to COLORSTEEL® Foam - this is nearly white but not too stark) or Resene Paddock (this is a match to COLORSTEEL® Mist Green - it is a soft fresh green).
September 2017
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Q. We’re painting the exterior of our villa, Resene Silver Chalice with Resene Alabaster trim. We’re trying to decide on the best COLORSTEEL® roof, to go with that colour scheme. We’re looking at Thunder Grey, FlaxPod, Slate and Grey Friars. Which one do you think might look best, or are there other options we should be looking at? A. I think Thunder Grey is too yellow/green and earthy but of the other three, I am drawn to Grey Friars. It is a personal choice and I think whatever rings your bell is what you should pick. If you need to see what the roof colours look like in situ, you might ask the roofing people for some addresses to do a drive by. They would know from their records what colour roof was installed where. It does help a lot seeing them on a house rather than in a brochure.
September 2017
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Q. I am looking to paint the interior and exterior of a 1960 St John hall. It has a very high ceiling in the central hall part, with an annex which is a normal ceiling height. I want it to feel light and airy and the doors need to contrast, for practical reasons. The exterior will probably be Resene White, with the front entrance either Resene Coast or Resene Zinzan. The roof doesn't need painting. Usage for the hall is first a church, and it is also used for community senior citizens, mothers, babies and children. I thought that maybe the interior door colours, could be a salute to the era of the building, with a selection of colours. A. Interior colours to create an ambiance of airy lightness, might be like these colours - Resene Rice Cake - main wall colour, Resene Eighth Rice Cake - all ceilings and possibly some doors (i.e. cupboards or 'no go' doors to storage rooms etc.) And several options for the interior doors as requested - Resene Unwind, Resene Quarter Moonbeam or Resene Ship Cove for doors. Instead of real pure white as the main exterior colour you might check out these slightly coloured whites - Resene Quarter Rice Cake with Resene Coast, or Resene Double Alabaster with Resene Zinzan.
September 2017
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Q. We have a 90 square metre mono-pitched roof. We are recladding it in ply and batten. The roof colour is brown and the windows are the same colour. I am trying to choose the main exterior colour. I have tried Resene Half Arrowtown and Resene Quarter Sandstone. Would you have any suggestions or am I on the right track? A. I think the colours you are considering are fine but if you were wanting to check out a few more then these ones are very nice - Resene Quarter Stonewall or Resene Double Tea.
September 2017
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Q. What colour would be equivalent to a quarter of your Resene Half Jumbo colour? A. It is possible to request a Resene Quarter Jumbo colour be made for you. If you wanted something similar but not exactly Resene Quarter Jumbo, you might check out these colours - Resene Mountain Mist or Resene Half Mountain Mist.
September 2017
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Q. If our carpet is mid to dark slate/blue, and the trim around the windows is Resene Alabaster, what colour do you recommend for the wall? Ideally darker than white but only enough to show the difference? A. If you want a whitish colour slightly deeper than Resene Alabaster (but only enough to show the difference) then you might use Resene Double Alabaster or slightly more shaded - Resene Half Sea Fog - this is also called Resene Triple Alabaster.
September 2017
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Q. We have painted a room in Resene Quarter White Pointer but it is too cold looking and slightly blue/grey. We would like something warmer, like Resene Eighth Truffle but not as deep. What would you suggest? A. Resene Eighth Truffle is slightly warmer than Resene Quarter White Pointer but if you find it too deep then you might check out Resene Half Albescent White or even Resene Eighth Tea. If the natural light aspect in a room is cool (if it faces to the east or south) then you do need to test your colours carefully as the tendency in these rooms is to grey off a lot of colours.
September 2017
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Q. What colour should I do my kitchen cabinets, in a south facing open plan room? I have chosen the colour Resene Half Emerge as the wall colour for the room. Should I do a light grey like Resene Half Truffle, Resene Triple Sea Fog or Resene Titania for the cabinets? Or should I choose a white or off white like Resene Eighth Tea or cream like Resene Eighth Thorndon Cream? It is a 1920s Californian bungalow renovation and the kitchen is shaker style with Caesarstone® Frosty Carina. A. Resene Titania, Resene Triple Sea Fog and Resene Half Truffle are slightly deeper colours - they are about the same degree of depth as the wall colour - so they appear warmer. Is that the look you are trying to achieve? If you are looking for a lighter/brighter contrast on the kitchen cabinets so the wall colour - Resene Half Emerge - appears to be more grey/green then you might look at using Resene Eighth Thorndon Cream. Resene Eighth Tea is nice but it does have a bit of pink/grey mushroom in it, so if it was chosen, you may see that tone developing more with the grey/green walls. Test your colours carefully and watch how the natural aspect of light in the room alters how the colours are seen. Take your time to get it right.
September 2017
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Q. I have put Resene Yuma on the walls of my bedroom but I don’t know what to do with the skirting. Can you suggest some colours please? A. You might check out these colours to see if they appeal to you - Resene Half Wheatfield, Resene Triple Rice Cake or Resene Pearl Lusta. Or a default choice that would work - you might use exactly the same colour as the walls but in a semi-gloss enamel finish so that the skirting blended into the wall colour and the difference was a sheen level, not a colour difference.
September 2017
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Q. We are planning on using Firth Devonstone Antique White (it's a grey white concrete brick that has different shades of colours coming through). We have a very short driveway and are thinking of using Sandstone Grey on the garage and front door to detract attention from it. For the roof however, we are limited to the Gerard Range. At this stage we are thinking Castle Grey. It is a darker grey and we are wondering how that would look. I think the closest colour to Sandstone Grey is Pearl Grey however, we think that may make the building look a bit 'old persons'. Hence the Castle Grey for that contrasting look. Would you recommend keeping the guttering and fascia the same colour as the roof? A. I think that Sandstone Grey for the garage and house doors is lovely. It has a soft look and works well with your bricks. Not too attention seeking. A deeper roof colour is a classical look and very smart - and I do recommend that you match the guttering and fascia to the roof colour. September 2017
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Q. I am thinking of using Resene Quarter Beryl Green on the interior walls of my townhouse, as an alternative to going white. What colour should I use on the ceiling? The carpet is Glazed Grey closed loop by Cavalier Bremworth. A. You would never go wrong if the ceilings were painted in 'real' white - Resene White. Alternatively you might use Resene Eighth Black White or Resene Quarter Alabaster - these are very subtle toned 'whites'. Any other 'white' may alter how the delicate/fresh main wall colour - Resene Quarter Beryl Green is seen.
September 2017
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Q. We are extending a hall cupboard into a laundry/scullery. The hall is quite dark and the laundry will have no natural light. I am looking for a white that will be bright, warm and reflective to avoid making the space glum and cold. There are warm, tawa floorboards and the bench is stainless steel. A. You might check out these bright, warm and reflective whites to see if one of them appeals to you - Resene Eighth Rice Cake, Resene Quarter Bianca, Resene Quarter Albescent White or Resene Eighth Thorndon Cream. In all areas that are dim or those that have no natural light, using the best artificial lighting that you can locate is helpful. There is artificial lighting that is 'warm' which would stop the spaces look glum or cold.
September 2017
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Q. We have a COLORSTEEL® roof in Lignite and the garage door is Pioneer Red. Could you suggest a colour for the walls of the house? At present, it is a sort of pale grey but needs repainting. A. These suggestions may appeal to you - Resene Half Thorndon Cream, Resene Quarter Parchment, Resene Half Truffle, Resene Half Tea or Resene Double White Pointer.
September 2017
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Q. I am doing a new build and the exterior is getting painted next week. About 60% of the exterior is weatherboard, which I want to paint white. The other 40% is James Hardie Stria® cladding, which I have already selected Resene Black paint for. I want the weatherboard to be white - unsure on which white to pick. I don't want it to look cream or have a green or yellow tone to it. I have tested Resene Alabaster (thought maybe it will be a bit too intense to look at in the sun). I have also tried Resene Black White and Resene Half Black White. I do want to make sure it looks white, rather than light grey. Can you please recommend a nice white paint to use? It is not the sunniest site and is surrounded by native bush. A. I’d say the best colour to use would be Resene Black White. It has slightly more depth than the Resene Alabaster, without getting into that ‘light grey’ area. Keep in mind that you could have a slight green tinge at certain times due to the native bush, but you will get that with any white or light colour.
September 2017
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Q. I'm trying to choose a nice neutral, that's bright while still being warm. Our house has areas that are quite dark, and others that get a lot of sun. We have kwila wooden floors, with a white and pale grey kitchen. I thought at first that Resene Quarter Truffle could work, but I'm concerned it could look too grey and not warm enough. We currently have a dark cream colour on the walls, which makes the house feel claustrophobic. All the ceilings and trims are going to be painted a white. What other options are there? A. You might check out a lighter version of Resene Quarter Truffle - i.e. Resene Eighth Truffle - to see if it looks a little warmer. Alternatively you could check out these other options - Resene Quarter White Pointer, Resene Barely There, Resene Quarter Tea or Resene Double Sea Fog. They are all quite different to each other and you would need to carefully test the colours in the environment, to see how they work with existing colours and the natural aspect of light.
September 2017
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Q. We want to stain our fences but don't know what colour. We want something to match our house exterior. Our roof and joinery are Ironsand and our plaster is Resene Half Pravda with our Stria® Resene Double Masala. Could you please suggest something for me? A. You might check out these stain colours to see if any of them appeal to you - Resene Woodsman Iroko, Resene Woodsman Tiri, Resene Woodsman Sheer Black, Resene Woodsman Treehouse, Resene Woodsman Bushtrack or Resene Woodsman Touchwood.
September 2017
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Q. Can you team up cream doors and skirting boards, with Resene Alabaster white? A. Without knowing how coloured the cream is, I am unable to make a definite judgment but it would probably work better, if the Resene Alabaster was the doors and skirting boards and the cream was the wall colour. By using the Resene Alabaster as the wall colour and the cream for all the trims and doors, you draw a lot of attention to the woodwork. What you must ask is, are they totally gorgeous and do you want to highlight them and minimise the impact of the walls?
September 2017
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Q. I am doing a new build and need suggestions for a wall colour for south facing kitchen/dining. The cabinets along wall are in Silver Strata and the island bench is all in Warm White. I was leaning towards Resene Merino. I really wanted one main colour to use to carry throughout. The joinery is Ironsand matt. A. I do like your idea of using Resene Merino and if you like those colours then I see no reason to not use it. If however you want an alternative option so that you can compare it with Resene Merino to see which one you prefer then you might check out - Resene Half White Pointer. Take your time and carefully test colours - they will take on a completely different look in each room so this is where it is very wise to paint up very large samples with testpots and move them around from wall to wall/room to room so you get to make a good judgement about how colours react in each space.
September 2017
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Q. We are currently underway with renovations of a country house - the first room being the main bathroom. The general feel of the house is a brown/taupe feel. The exterior is white brick veneer with a Mission Brown roof and brown trims e.g. veranda poles and finials. The only things throughout the house that will remain is the trim, interior door colour and kitchen cabinets in either Resene Villa White or Resene Half Villa White and the planked vinyl which is an imitation natural wood look. We ideally need a colour palette that can be carried throughout the rest of the house consistently as renovations progress from room to room. A. The following colours may be a little random but they do offer options for you to consider - and they will work with the colour of the trims and doors - Resene Half Linen, Resene Double White Pointer, Resene Half Truffle, Resene Double Merino or Resene Eighth Bison Hide. The default option is to use exactly the same colour as the trims and doors and exploit lots of colour in every other thing - i.e. accessories, drapes, upholstered furniture, artwork etc.
September 2017
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Q. We are looking at combining a dusky rose in a bedroom with a dusky blue feature wall. It is for a teenage girl and she wants aquamarine details in her soft furnishings. Which colours in those palettes would go well together? A. You might like to try these colours for the dusky rose/pink: Resene Coral Tree, Resene Paper Doll, Resene Turkish Delight, Resene Sakura, then Resene Explorer, Resene Bismark, Resene Seachange or Resene Shadowy Blue. I’ve given you blues that have a slight green undertone (as opposed to purple) so that it will work with the aquamarine furnishings. Resene ColorShops stock folders with A4 swatches of each of their colours and these are great to look at before deciding on your final colour. You may need to carefully test colours to see how they respond to light and shadow. Don't apply a testpot to the already coloured walls - it won't look true to reality because of the greater amount of existing colour influencing it negatively. If you paint large A2 card (available from Resene ColorShops) card with all (two coats) of the testpot it lets you see a huge amount of colour. Please leave an unpainted white card border all around the edge of the card to act as a barrier between the tested colour and the existing wall colour. You can move it from wall to wall so you can see how it alters during the day and night. Each wall may show the colour in a different way.
September 2017
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Q. I`m trying to match a COLORSTEEL® roof paint colour. It is Sandstone Grey. Are you able to match this in roof paint? A. Yes we have a match for that colour, it is called Resene Gauntlet.
September 2017
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Q. The open plan kitchen/living space of our house is painted: ceiling Resene Eighth Pavlova, walls – Resene Half Pavlova, skirting and architraves – Resene Quarter Pavlova, doors – Resene Pavlova. The room has lots of natural light so the luminescence/reflectivity is about right. I do not like the overall yellow green effect and would like to tone this down. I would prefer not to have to repaint the ceiling or doors. Can you suggest a solution? A. In order to work with the very distinct yellow/green undertones in the existing ceiling and doors you do limit your options a lot. Plus you may well make the ceiling and the doors appear to be much stronger in hue. Is that ok with you? At this point the depth of these colours may not be apparent as they are part of a palette of similar colour. If you undercoat all of the walls (white undercoat) you will be able to test new wall colours on a true neutral background and you will also be better able to see if the doors and ceiling colours will work or not. Do not be surprised if they won't play nicely for you. You may need to test a few colours and these may need to be deeper colours in order to make the ceiling and doors appear not so yellow/green. Colours that you could check out are these ones - Resene Quarter Craigieburn, Resene Quarter Stonewall or Resene Pravda.
September 2017
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Q. We have bought a house that we need to lighten up. The ceilings are currently darker than wall colour which I think is mostly yellow tones of Resene Thorndon Cream or similar. What colours would give us the most light and go well on ceilings? If the ceiling was a fresh white it would give a lot more reflectance and light within the house. A. Perhaps try one of these ones - Resene Quarter Black White or Resene Half Alabaster. You don't indicate what types of colours that you favour for your walls so the following are a few that you might check out to see if they appeal to you and work with existing flooring and drapes - they are very light colours - Resene Half White Pointer, Resene Eighth Fossil, Resene Eighth Tea or Resene Barely There.
September 2017
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Q. Hoping we can get some help choosing paint colours. We have purchased a transportable home being built by the local polytechnic. We are located near Queenstown so have quite strict rules on the colour range we must be in. We have already chosen the roof and it is now on the house. It’s COLORSTEEL® FlaxPod which matches up with Resene Element. We wanted to go with quite a dark colour on the cladding along the lines of Resene Ironsand or Resene Half Ironsand or similar but have just learned that the weatherboard being used needs quite a high LRV rating. Can you please suggest any ideas or alternatives? A. These are some of the colours mentioned that you might check out plus a few that are in the same LRV criteria - Resene Cougar (LRV 46%), Resene Cloudy (LRV 48%), Resene Half Napa (LRV 51%) or Resene Quarter Craigieburn (LRV 55%). If you were keen on a very deep colour then you might use it on the fences or garage doors if they aren’t under the same strict criteria.
September 2017
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Q. I want a light greeny brown colour for the exterior of our house. It has brown/bronze joinery and we are going to paint the roof a charcoal colour. It looks like a bungalow from the front so don't want anything too dark. I’m not a huge fan of brown as such but given the joinery I think we need a hint rather than a grey green. It is currently white with a Resene Karaka roof. A. All colours on an exterior have the potential to look much lighter/brighter than you might expect them to. These options may work with the roof and the joinery colour - certainly they are worth checking out -although at first glance you may feel they are too 'coloured' or too deep toned – Resene Double White Pointer, Resene Truffle, Resene Quarter Taupe Grey, Resene Dusted Grey, Resene Archive Grey or Resene Greige.
September 2017
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Q. I have just painted some cedar on the exterior of the house with Resene Woodsman Sheer Black. There is some older style blockwork that needs to be painted but I have tested some whites and they are too stark, especially near the deck when it is sunny. Could you please suggest some light greys that might look great and contemporary with the black? A. All colours on an exterior have the potential to look much lighter/brighter than you might expect them to. Whites that carry some unusual muted undertones may suit you better - these ones are certainly worth checking out – Resene Triple Sea Fog, Resene Quill Grey, Resene Barely There, Resene Quarter Foggy Grey, Resene Whiteout or Resene Triple Black White.
September 2017
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Q. I am thinking of having my new kitchen cabinetry painted in Resene Quarter Parchment. This colour was chosen because I did not want a stark white. Does this colour have yellow in it because I do not want my cupboards to look yellow? A. Resene Quarter Parchment is a greige/yellow type of colour. If you were to compare it to a pure white it would appear to be earthy and light/mid toned in colour. If you wanted your colour to not look stark white then you may find this particular colour too coloured. You could compare it with these colours to see which one appeals to you - you will need to judge it also with your flooring and benchtop colour to see how they work together – Resene Merino, Resene Half White Pointer, Resene Barely There or Resene Black Haze.
September 2017
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Q. I am looking for some advice/options for a splashback colour. My walls are Resene Quarter Silver Chalice and my kitchen is white. I would like to keep to a grey colour but something that would add some depth so something a little darker than the walls. The carpet is a medium grey colour and the tiles are light grey. A. You could look at these colours to see if they appeal to you – Resene Silver Chalice, Resene Half Scarpa Flow or Resene Trojan. Or you might consider using a metallic finish - Resene Silver Aluminium - this is a little bit special. There are two kinds of glass used in splash backs - standard float glass and crystal clear low iron oxide glass. It is the last one that shows colour behind it totally true to reality. The standard float glass has a green cast to it and it alters how any colour is seen - but not always in a good way.
September 2017
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Q. I'm having trouble picking the right colour for the exterior of our house. We are wanting to go with bright white trims, paint the house another white and have a black door/fence. I've tried a variety of sample pots but can’t seem to get the right colour. A. You don't mention which particular white colours you have trialled and found to be not right. I may be in danger of suggesting 'whites' that you have already tried, but these are worth checking out – Resene Wan White, Resene Sea Fog, Resene Half House White or Resene Barely There. If the bright white trims and the black door and fence are true examples of these fundamental neutrals - i.e. Resene White and Resene Black - then the overall look will be very smart and classical in ambiance.
September 2017
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Q. We are building a new home clad in cedar. Originally the plan was for aluminium joinery and the roof in Grey Friars, with Resene Tiri for the cedar stain and Resene Foggy Grey for the Titan® board which appears in places around the house for contrast. We have since reduced the amount of Titan® board and included more cedar so we are worried there is not enough contrast between the joinery and the cedar stain. We are thinking of using Resene Smokey Ash instead of Resene Tiri as a contrast to the Grey Friars but I am nervous about that. Any thoughts? A. The Grey Friars joinery is a smart deep charcoal with an undertone of steel blue in it. The cedar stain colour Resene Woodsman Smokey Ash is a mid-toned warm earthy grey which looks well co-ordinated with Resene Foggy Grey even if there is a smaller amount of Titan® board presenting on the house. I think there will be a nice sense of contrast between the joinery and the cedar. If you are unsure then I suggest you use a Resene testpot of both stain colours on off cuts of cedar and place them right up against the window joinery so you see how well (or not) they relate to each other.
September 2017
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Q. We have chosen TernStyle for our roof and a small amount of vertical wall cladding. We are using macrocarpa for the exterior cladding of covered decks. We were thinking Resene Uluru which is very natural, Resene Ebony Clay for the garage door, entrance door and aluminium frames (doors and windows). We are using the Resene integra product for the remaining exterior walls. What colour would you suggest we use for this to bring it altogether? Our house is a new build in the Mackenzie Country and we would like it to blend in. A. All types of timber pick up stain colour in a unique way. I do suggest that you test the stain on a sample of macrocarpa so you can be very happy with your colour choice. If you wanted other stain colours samples to compare with Resene Woodsman Uluru, you could test Resene Woodsman Natural and Resene Woodsman Driftwood. You could check out these earthy neutral colours to see if they appeal to you - they are all available to be seen as A4 real painted samples in the Colour Library at your local Resene ColorShop. This way you see samples that are large enough to judge the reality of the colours. Try Resene Triple Truffle, Resene Triple Bison Hide, Resene Craigieburn, Resene Cougar or Resene Triple Tea.
September 2017
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Q. We have Resene Sisal semi-gloss on an exterior wall. It is throwing a greenish tinge. What can we do to pull it back to the neutral beige we were expecting? A. Resene Sisal is a French beige that does have a lot of yellow undertone that conspires to flash a green edge in certain aspects of light. Try Resene Half Cougar, Resene Tea or Resene Half Bison Hide.
September 2017
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Q. I'm painting a 60s original kitchen. The walls through the house will probably be Resene Quarter Sisal and Resene Half Sisal and the ceiling Resene Alabaster. I'd like some colour in the kitchen and was thinking of a nice aqua colour and maybe a soft/med pink on the cupboard that opens to the dining area. A. You could check out these lovely colours – Resene Paradise, Resene Wishlist, Resene Ming, Resene Fugitive, Resene Mexican Red, Resene Cabaret or Resene Drop Dead Gorgeous.
September 2017
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Q. I am about to paint the exterior of a two storey house after rendering. I am planning the gutters and fascia to be in Surfmist and the garage door and front door in Shale Grey (Resene Atmosphere). There is a rendered single storey height fence adjoining the garage. What colour should I paint the render on the house (in whites)? What colour should I paint the front fence (in a light contrast grey tone) to tone with the Resene Atmosphere garage door and the overall house paint? A. You might look at these types of whites for the house – Resene Quarter Ecru White, Resene Sea Fog, Resene Half Merino or Resene Quarter Rice Cake. The front fence might be one of these colours – Resene Quarter Foggy Grey, Resene Quarter Atmosphere or a mid-toned deeper grey – Resene Gauntlet.
September 2017
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Q. We are building a low set rendered house on a beach property. I want to keep it as light as possible. What are some good beach colours to paint a rendered house? I also want to use crisp white trim. Any suggestions about the main wall colour would be appreciated. A. You might like to look at these colours: Resene Eighth Sisal (sandy colour), Resene Eighth Ash (grey/green), Resene White Pointer (grey/brown) or Resene Rice Cake (grey/yellow). I’ve chosen colours that have an earthy undertone while all being slightly different. If you want the most amount of crisp contrast for the trim, I’d advise you use Resene White.
August 2017
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Q. I'm looking for a warm neutral mid to dark grey colour with hints of brown and black to paint our once clear coated weatherboards. Also suggestions for the windows and fascia. I intend to leave the decks, handrails and posts Weathered Grey. We live in a coastal bushy environment. A. There is a restriction on the depth of colour you’re able to paint on weatherboards, if you’d like a dark colour we should look at stain options. You might like to look at these stains: Resene Shadow Match, Resene Sheer Black, Resene Treehouse or Resene Iroko. You will achieve a more natural look using a stain. It would probably only require a recoat every few years just on the sides that get the most wind/sun. If you would definitely like to paint, you’ll need to ensure that all the existing clear finish has been removed from the weatherboards then prime with Resene Wood Primer. As I mentioned above, there is a restriction on the depth of colour you can achieve with paint, due to the fact that dark colours attract heat and heat can make the timber warp and paint bubble. Here are some paint colour options: Resene Triple Truffle, Resene Triple Tea, Resene Napa, Resene Half Stonehenge, Resene Rockbottom or Resene Half Friar Greystone . Once you have settled on a weatherboard colour, a trim and window colour can be considered which will depend on the amount of contrast you’d like to see between finishes.
August 2017
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Q. Our house render is painted with Resene Canterbury Clay but I would like to go a bit darker as we have updated our roof, gutters, roller door and driveway to Monument colour. We were thinking of Resene Double Canterbury Clay or maybe Resene Double Sisal as it seems a bit more of a cooler colour? A. If you want a deeper colour (but not as yellow and warm toned as Resene Double Canterbury Clay) then you could check out these ones to see if they appeal to you - Resene Double Sisal, Resene Triple Fossil or Resene Triple Parchment.
August 2017
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Q. Our hallway is quite narrow (standard 60s ex-state house) with limited light and rimu floorboards. I want to paint it a true white and have used Resene Black White, which I have done (two coats) but it looks very creamy which is what I definitely didn't want. Is there another colour that would work better? A. I have heard Resene Black White being referred to as a cool white and also grey edged but never creamy. Does your hallway get a lot of late afternoon sunlight perhaps through a glass paned front door? That may possibly be why this colour has turned creamy. Perhaps as a careful test to find out how a true white will look in the hallway you might pin up a sheet of real white printer paper in the hallway if this looks creamy too then it will definitely be the type of light you have in hallway. If that was the case then you might just have to embrace the fact that both natural and artificial light wins always when it comes to how colour looks. Light controls colour which is a mischievous chameleon and alters itself constantly. These other starker whites may be worth checking out - Resene Quarter Alabaster, Resene Quarter Black White or Resene White.
August 2017
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Q. Are Resene Tea and Tea Velvet the same colours? A. We do not have a colour called ‘Tea Velvet’. Velvet is a term used to describe paint finishes. What I believe you might be reading is the sheen level of paint, shown in a coloured example of Resene Tea i.e. a flat/velvet/gloss finish. So in this case, both ‘Tea’s’ are the same colour.
August 2017
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Q. My roof and windows are Karaka. What colours go with this? The house is brick (red with white grout) and the bottom and some sides are rough cast. I’m happy to paint over the brick. A. If you are considering painting just the basement area you might consider using a light to mid toned colour (not too pale) so that area doesn't look too heavy. I would hate you to feel the house looks like a brick sandwich which may happen if it is a deeper colour. These earthy neutral types of colours might be considered as they are well co-ordinated with both the Karaka roof and windows and the brick colour - Resene Quarter Evolution, Resene Taupe Grey, Resene Eighth Arrowtown, Resene Double Thorndon Cream or Resene Triple Merino. However if the basement and the bricks were painted the same colour then the house would take on a completely new look.
August 2017
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Q. I am asking for some help, albeit an unusual request. I work as a voluntary worker, making coffins for some underprivileged people who cannot afford what the undertakers charge. I would like your input in a selection of colours for the younger people up to teenagers, for painting their coffins colours, for both male and female. We are a charitable group of retired men and women, who wish to help out in our community, and seek help with ideas and possibly some paint. Could you please help us with some great colours and ideas? A. Yours is an unusual request, but being colourful and creative with paint is what it is all about. Teenagers - male - are often inspired by bold colours, fast cars, technology and sports so these are a few suggestions that may appeal - Resene Havoc, Resene Adrenalin, Resene Turbo, Resene Groovy and Resene Endeavour. Plus Resene Nero (this is a black) and silvery metallics like Resene Silver Aluminium. Teenagers - female - are often inspired by glitzy glamour, makeup/nail polish, trendy pop singers, clothes (as in latest fashions) and their best friends, boyfriends and pets. These suggestions may annexe some of these themes - Resene Bedazzle, Resene Go Go Go, Resene Happy, Resene Hashtag and Resene Decadence. Resene Blackboard Paint or Resene Write-on Wall Paint are a very good idea as well - especially if the young people like the idea of leaving messages or making their mark. Younger children (pre–teens) are often remarkably well informed and are into the same types of colours as their older peers but may have ideas about outer space, under the sea, pets, fantasy and computer games etc. Layering photos of their interests in a random, decoupage theme may be another creative way they might express themselves. A few ideas to look at might be these ones - Resene Float, Resene Space Cadet, Resene Time Warp, Resene Smitten, Resene Witch Haze, Resene Atlantis, Resene Discover, Resene Freelance or Resene Big Bang. There is a huge range of colours available and they are all unique - as are young people - so these suggestions must be considered as possibilities but definitely not the only options.
August 2017
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Q. I want to paint the entire main floor of a house in whites, to create an achromatic look throughout. I would love some suggestions on whites for the ceilings, trims, doors and walls. I was thinking warmer whites for the walls, and whiter, whites for the doors and trim etc. A. Warmer white might be like these options - Resene Half Albescent White, Resene Rice Cake, Resene Half Pearl Lusta, Resene Half Bianca or Resene Quarter Thorndon Cream. Whiter whites for the doors etc might be like these options - Resene Eighth Rice Cake, Resene Eighth Pearl Lusta, Resene Quarter Alabaster or Resene White. In order to see the subtle undertones within these 'whites' I suggest you pop into a Resene ColorShop, to view the A4 real painted samples in their Colour Library. It is only by comparing them with each other and by placing a sheet of white printer paper, partially over these whites so your eye adjusts, you will better identify their unique differences. August 2017
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Q. I want to do something with stripes and I really like the kid’s room jungle feature on your website - but I'm wondering if the following colours would go together, Resene Coast (blue), Resene Galliano (mustard yellow) and a teal colour like Resene Hullabaloo? A. Those colours would look fantastic together and really on trend right now. One of the main things when grouping colour, is to ensure there are differences with the depth of colour, so avoid grouping three really bright or deep colours together. It’s more interesting for the eye to see varying depths, and the Resene Hullabaloo sits in between the Resene Coast and Resene Galliano.
August 2017
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Q. We are looking for some help with both exterior and interior colours for our new build home. The roof and front door will be Grey Friars, with white trim around the windows. We want to keep the exterior light, with a blue (or grey or both) undertone. The colours we have considered are Resene Zircon, Resene Solitude and Resene White Thunder. Do you think these colours work, or is there anything else you could suggest? For the interior, we want to keep it neutral - something like Resene Half Sea Fog - what would we then use for the roof? We think the separate lounge and bedrooms could have another colour - something like Resene Breeze or Resene Half Duck Egg Blue. Would these work with the other colours? A. The exterior colours that you have mentioned are very pale and whiter rather than being definitely coloured. All colours on an exterior can look a lot lighter/brighter than you might expect them to. It is very important to carefully test colours by painting up all of the testpot (two coats) onto very large white card. This card can then be moved from wall to wall around the house so you can see how different aspects of bright natural light alter how the colours are seen. If you want to see a crisp contrast between the wall colour - Resene Half Sea Fog and the ceiling (and possibly the woodwork trims as well) then you might look at using one of these colours - Resene Half Alabaster, Resene Quarter Black White or even a real white - Resene White. The colours you have mentioned as possibilities for the lounge and bedrooms look really gentle and appealing. It always pays to test colour - in an interior they can look deeper than you might imagine they will do. It is the opposite of how colours appear on the exterior. In the interior you have close proximity of all the walls and changing light and shadows as well as the colour of the flooring, furniture, drapes and accessories, all of which have an influence on how the wall colour is seen. Testpots are your best friend, if you use them in the manner I have suggested.
August 2017
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Q. I am building a new house, with the windows and roof in Ironsand. What colour would you suggest for the exterior which is Shadowclad® board and batten? A. You don't mention whether you want a paint finish or a stain finish on the Shadowclad® board and batten, so I have included both types of options – For a paint finish (such as Resene Lumbersider low sheen) - Resene Double Truffle, Resene Half Pravda, Resene Cougar or Resene Half Friar Greystone . For a stain finish (such as Resene Woodsman stain) - Resene Limed Gum, Resene Iroko or Resene Sheer Black.
August 2017
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Q. We currently have our open plan living area painted Resene Half Pavlova, with curtains in warm beige with some stripes a bit greyer. We would like to make the living area lighter but need it to still match the curtains. The living area is attached to the kitchen, which is also being renovated. The joiner uses Resene colours and we would like a combination of white/light tan and a warm shade of light blue for the cabinetry. Could you please suggest shades of warm neutral (I really liked Resene Merino and Resene Sea Fog but I am not sure they can work with the curtains being so warm) and also possible whites. We are a bit stuck with the kitchen walls connecting to the lounge ones, so we are trying to work out a wall colour that can do the lounge/kitchen and work with the cupboards in the kitchen. We have used Resene Half Rice Cake for the window frames. A. The following are some colours that you might consider - they do all work with Resene Half Rice Cake which you have used already. A lighter variant of this colour - Resene Quarter Rice Cake might be considered as a 'white'. Try Resene Quarter Canterbury Clay and Resene Whirlwind, or Resene Double Blanc and Resene Kumutoto.
August 2017
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Q. Our walls are currently painted in Resene Eighth Surrender. Can you recommend a colour that matches for a splashback please? A. You might check out these ones to see if any of them appeal to you - Resene Botticelli, Resene Smokescreen or perhaps a metallic colour might be considered - Resene Scotty Silver.
August 2017
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Q. We live in a 1930s Queenslander with closed-in verandas on three sides. All the internal rooms lead off the verandas and are dark and low lit, especially in the afternoons. They also have very little direct natural light. Our bedroom is the darkest room in the house. This room, plus the south-facing kitchen and dining room are dark and gloomy for much of the day. The yellow-orange hoop pine timber flooring plus the timber cabinets and window trims in the kitchen, makes the room timber sem heavy. After a long search for the perfect white to address these issues, we are now reeling with more swatches than I care to count, and confusion! My go-to choice is a soft white palette throughout - with minimal or zero yellow, blue or red undertones. Please could you give me some pointers for walls, ceilings, doors and trims - and a subtle contrasting colour we can use on the kitchen cabinets? A. Working with very little direct light is a very real problem for you and I understand your desire to create a lovely light [white] look but - and there is always a but - what worries me that a white may take on a grey cold look where there is no direct light in the rooms. Can I suggest that you undercoat one whole room in white, so you can see what the dim light does to the white - before you go ahead with the white look everywhere? At worst, you may decide that the white look won't work for you and at best it is the perfect neutral surface to test a few warmer whites on, to see how they respond to your quality of light. I feel that one of these coloured whites may be able to lift the light factor so they are worth testing - Resene Half Rice Cake, Resene Half Bianca or Resene Quarter Thorndon Cream. If one of these proves successful, then using a slightly lighter/whiter tone of the same colour for the kitchen cabinets in a semi-gloss or full gloss enamel (you do need a light reflecting sheen to add more light to the cabinets and all painted wooden trims in the house) so these may be worth checking out - Resene Eighth Rice Cake, Resene Quarter Bianca or Resene Eighth Thorndon Cream. You could use a stark pure white for the ceiling - Resene White - as this will create maximum light and make the very subtle coloured white on the walls and woodwork take on a slightly warmer look.
August 2017
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Q. Can you tell me the difference between Resene Delta Grey and Resene Half Stonewall? We live in Brisbane so should I get CoolColour? A. There is a Resene Delta Grey (Resene BS5252 chart) but it has more of a yellow/grey undertone and there is Resene Delta (Resene Whites & Neutrals) which is a warm grey. Resene Half Stonewall is yellow/olive toned beige brown. All three colours are quite different to each other and Resene Half Stonewall is slightly deeper than the other two but they are all available as CoolColour™s. CC in the colour codes indicates the potential for a colour to be made into a reformulated version, which reflects heat away from the surface that the colour is painted onto. You might request a colour be made into a Cool Colour for an exterior that receives a tremendous amount of heat and UV fading. Cool Colour technology is very helpful and is an aid to minimising the heat/UV associated damage that occurs. It is not just very dark colours that attract heat - it is entirely dependent upon the surface and how much direct sun it gets, so often light to mid toned colours can absorb heat directly into the surface as well. It is not just the paint that is affected by heat - the surfaces that are painted - especially timber - can warp and twist from heat. An exterior painted surface that receives very little sunlight (perhaps because there are trees very close to the house or a high fence or the close proximity to other houses that cast shadow onto the house) may not need this extra advantage.
August 2017
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Q. We are looking at repainting our apartment building, the current colour is a pale yellow and the windows are not being painted so they will remain dark green. Some of the owners are happy with the existing colour (or a slightly different shade), but others would prefer something 'less 90s', 'more modern', 'on trend', but not too bright. Are you able to suggest a few colours that would fit this description? A. Perhaps these ones will appeal - Resene Taupe Grey, Resene Half Tapa, Resene Double Truffle, Resene Foggy Grey or Resene Delta. There are many other options available to you but the ones I have suggested span the grey/beige and grey/green/bone types of neutral colours that are very popular now.
August 2017
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Q. What colour goes best with Resene Sea Fog for trims and doors? Could you recommend a ceiling paint to match besides a straight white colour? Also, a grey colour slightly lighter than COLORBOND® Shale Grey for my back veranda area. A. If you would like to see the Resene Sea Fog as an actual colour on the wall, your best bet is to use a much whiter colour for the trim, something like Resene Alabaster. If you would like the ceiling and walls to be a similar colour, I suggest you use either Resene Quarter Sea Fog or Resene Half Sea Fog for the ceilings. When you paint a colour above you – i.e. on a ceiling, the colour appears much darker than on the walls. So Resene Half Sea Fog on the ceiling, will look like Resene Sea Fog on the walls, and everything will match. This is particularly useful if you do not have any scotia around the top of the room to divide the ceiling and walls. As for the colour for your back veranda area, try these colours: Resene Half Atmosphere (this is a half version of the COLORBOND® Shale Grey), Resene Quarter Foggy Grey, Resene Triple Sea Fog or Resene Triple Black White. August 2017
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Q. I need to have a new colour in my kitchen, dining and lounge areas and the hallway main wall. We have warm textures and finishes. In the dining, lounge and kitchen I would like white ceiling and light grey. What do you recommend? A. To go with the warm textures and finishes these recommended colours are warmer grey options for you: Resene Double Sea Fog, Resene Quarter Truffle, Resene Eighth Tapa or Resene Quarter Foggy Grey.
August 2017
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Q. We have chosen Resene Karaka for our barn and need advice on a colour for the wooden joinery/window frames. The barn is monopitch so the roof will probably also be COLORSTEEL® Karaka. We like the idea of a light coloured joinery - maybe in off-white as the barn is in a bush setting. A. Perhaps you could check out these light off white types of colours – Resene Titania, Resene Bone White, Resene Double Sea Fog, Resene Quarter Atmosphere or Resene Triple Black White.
August 2017
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Q. I am considering a light warm aged white for my walls but am unsure of what the 'rules' are for the ceiling, doors and trim. Do I… Can you also please give me some examples of your aged whites. A. Generally, the ceiling is a lighter colour than the walls, this is because colours seen above us appear darker. If you had a 3 metre high ceiling and wanted the space to feel cosier, then you would paint it in a darker colour. So ceilings are normally white (or off-white like Resene Alabaster) which will give you the most amount of contrast with your walls. Or people choose a lighter strength of the wall colour (Resene Spanish White walls, Resene Eighth Spanish White ceilings) which gives you a soft look and feel to the room. Trim and door colour come down to the question of, how much contrast do you want to see between that and your wall colour? If you were using a colour such as Resene Sea Fog and wanted it to show up as a colour on the walls, you would use Resene White for the trim and doors, so that there was more to contrast and show it up as an actual colour. If you use the same colour for walls, trim and doors, you can end up with a ‘box’ effect, where everything around you is the same and therefore not exciting. One way to get around this is to use different gloss levels, so low sheen for the walls and either semi-gloss or full gloss for the trim and doors. If you have animals or small children in the house, perhaps white doors aren’t the best, unless you like to clean constantly. If you have a very light house, you could get away with darker doors, a deeper version of the wall colour or similar types of colours will work too. Examples of ‘aged whites’ may be: Resene Half Spanish White, Resene Solitaire, Resene Double Villa White or Resene Eighth Pavlova.
August 2017
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Q. Basically we are remodelling and we are looking at using Resene Alabaster as the trim and doors and possibly the kitchen walls. We have terracotta tiles that we are not wanting to have to change. We have wooden doors out from the dining area and lounge to the deck. We are looking at getting a mid grey coloured carpet to match the grout in the tiles but are wondering on a paint colour for the walls. We looked at Resene Black White but it comes out too grey. We need a bit of a warmer colour (we need something to ensure the kitchen would stand out). A. If the kitchen cabinets are painted Resene Alabaster (the same as the trims and doors) the work tops will appear more of an earthy yellow/beige colour and the terracotta tiled floor will look much deeper by comparison. A wall colour may have to be a quite a warmed off white in order to tie in these elements so they don't look isolated and unrelated. You might check out these colours for the walls to see if they associate well with the new mid grey toned carpet, the Resene Alabaster, the terracotta tiles etc – Resene Chalk Dust, Resene Quarter Spanish White, Resene Quarter Tea or Resene Half Albescent White.
August 2017
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Q. I am having two wicker chairs painted and looking for a contrasting colour to go with my bright yellow (Resene Gorse I think) table. It sits close to a pink Smeg fridge. The walls are Resene Double Alabaster, with a wooden floor and teal cushions. A. You might consider one of these colours to see if they appeal to you – Resene Smitten (a bold deeper pink than the Smeg fridge), Resene She’ll Be Right (a bold teal), Resene Double Alabaster (like the walls so they allow for any coloured seat cushions), Resene Black (black always works with any other colour) or Resene Pale Prim (a paler yellow to co-ordinate with the Resene Gorse.
August 2017
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Q. We are building at the moment and we have to tell the builder what colour we want for the outside the house but we cannot decide. We are building a mono pitch house with all black aluminium windows, roof and downpipes. We want the Axon to be a dark charcoal and the Stria to contrast that, but not a big contrast, as we want the house to be quite dark. We are having a red door. There are no other houses next to us and we are surrounded by hills. We want it dark but do not want it to look miserable and dull. We would like it to stand out and look rich in colour. A. You might check out these dark colours to see if they are rich enough for you – Resene Triple Dune on the Axon panels and Resene Gravel on the Stria panels. Or Resene Bokara Grey on the Axon panels and Resene Quarter Bokara Grey on the Stria. Or Resene Bastille on the Axon panels and Resene Half Shark on the Stria.
August 2017
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Q. We are painting the whole inside of our house and want to know if we paint the doors, trim and walls all the same, or just the doors and trim, or the walls and the trim? A. It is a personal choice. A lot of people paint the walls and all the wooden trims/doors the exact same colour - but in a semi-gloss enamel, not the low sheen acrylic that the walls are painted. That way, there is just a sheen level difference, not a colour difference. But other people like to see a contrast, and will paint the wooden trims and doors, a much lighter/whiter colour so the walls have more colour, and the woodwork less. Doors are often thought of, as needing a separate colour identity. I think this may be because they get a lot of touching, so having them a little more coloured (compared to the other woodwork) means that fingermarking isn't as noticeable. Rather than making the doors a 'special' different colour (compared to walls and woodwork) some people paint them to match the wall colour, or in a slightly deeper version of that colour, so they are highlighted by frames that are lighter. August 2017
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Q. I have been struggling with a kid’s room. I was keen on the combination of Resene Coast, Resene Hullabaloo and Resene Galliano but I was wondering if maybe, there was a more subtle option using three similar but not as bright colours? Alternatively, can you suggest anything with Resene Paradise and a mustard yellow and dark blue option (i.e. Resene Coast, Resene Zinzan and Resene Spinnaker)? A. Similar, but not as bright colour suggestions might be these ones - Resene Bellbottom Blue, Resene Such Fun and Resene Good Morning. A mustard colour that works well with Resene Paradise might be Resene Putty it looks very smart with Resene Zinzan.
August 2017
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Q. We are looking for a dark charcoal grey, something like Resene Double Cod Grey but we don't want the 'blue look' that it gives under daylight. A. All greys (from very pale to very dark charcoal) have undertones of colour within them. You might find that certain types of natural or artificial light draw attention to those (otherwise not noticeable) colour influences. You could check out the following, to see if they show other (less blue) undertones of colour - Resene Blackjack, Resene Double Foundry, Resene Gumboot or Resene Half Bokara Grey.
August 2017
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Q. We are trying to select colours for a kitchen renovation. The problem is that we have extensive tiling, which it would be too expensive to replace and matching the tiles is difficult. We need colour for the cabinets and the walls. We don't want the cabinets to be too white (Resene Alabaster was suggested), nor too deep in colour. An ideal colour scheme would be for the cabinets to be half strength of the wall colour and Resene Alabaster trim on the woodwork. Other elements chosen are brown stone benchtops, and some oak shelving. Both of these seem fairly forgiving, when trying to match colours. We have Resene Eighth Akaroa and Resene Eighth Sisal used elsewhere in our house. A. Resene Eighth Sisal has a little more yellow undertone and the Resene Eighth Akaroa a little warmer beige undertone. I am slightly more inclined toward the Resene Eighth Akaroa which may sit well with the tiles, the brown stone benchtops and oak shelving - but it is your choice to make. If you decided you wanted more depth for the wall colour and preferred to use one of those very pale colours you have mentioned as the cabinet colour, then the next level of colour (Resene Quarter Akaroa or Resene Quarter Sisal) may be deep enough to create that look for you. But please be aware, that colour in an interior can look far more intense that you might imagine it will do, when all walls are painted. It may look more like Resene Half Akaroa or Resene Half Sisal. Please test your colours carefully. By painting large card samples (A2 card which are available from Resene ColorShops) and pinning them up on the walls (please move the card from wall to wall and view in changing qualities of natural and artificial light) you will get a better idea if it works or not. August 2017
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Q. We have a Pale Eucalypt tiled roof, aluminium windows and we want to repaint our rendered house which is currently a horrible peachy colour. We want to repaint the house a shade of white and were thinking of Surf Mist. Could you recommend other colours to consider? A. Surf Mist is a good colour but you might also check out these ones to see if they appeal to you - Resene Rice Cake, Resene Thorndon Cream, Resene Double Barely There or Resene Triple Sea Fog.
August 2017
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Q. What is the best grey for a dark room that faces east and only gets morning sun? It is the main bedroom and was painted in Resene Triple White Pointer, which does not look great. I don't want any purple undertones and I am open to using either light or dark colours. However, the dark colours do look dark. I like the trend at the moment of navy but that could also be too dark. A. Deep colours will show their undertones first thing in the morning - this can look slightly green edged in an east facing room - and as the sun moves away that 'coloured' look will be replaced with more shadow and the colour will look much deeper. If you favour greys, then you might check out the following colours to see if they work in the unique quality of light you have in the room - Resene Quarter Baltic Sea, Resene Trojan, Resene Scarpa Flow, Resene Condor or Resene Shuttle Grey. These options aren't very dark but may look double their strength, when there is shadow in the room instead of bright light.
August 2017
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Q. I have finally settled on Resene Anglaise for my dressing room. I have floor to ceiling bi-fold doors that run the full width of the room (about three metres across). What colour do you think would be the most complementary on the doors? I'm thinking Resene Half Spanish White or something similar and should I do the baseboard in the same colour? A. There are two distinct possibilities. Because you have a huge expanse of doors, you could minimise their impact and make the space seem larger if you were to paint them the same colour as the walls - perhaps in low sheen enamel Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen waterborne enamel - or in a semi-gloss enamel – Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel. Alternatively - and this will make a little more of a feature of them - you could paint them Resene Eighth Spanish White or Resene Quarter Solitaire. I would be inclined to paint the skirting boards to match the walls so they merged in. But if you did want to highlight them, then they could be painted to match the doors.
August 2017
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Q. I am doing my kitchen up and have Resene Geyser on the walls, the ceilings will be Resene Pearl Lusta and the tiles are a dark grey. What colour would you recommend for cabinets? A. You could merge them into the wall colour - Resene Geyser in a semi-gloss enamel finish but this would emphasise the lilac/blue undertones in the grey a lot and may be too grey overall for the room. Alternatively - and possibly the most flexible option - you could paint them Resene Pearl Lusta like the ceiling - but if this is too yellow toned a whiter/paler version might be considered - perhaps Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta or Resene Eighth Pearl Lusta.
August 2017
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Q. My walls are Resene Bavarian Cream and the ceiling is Resene Putty. What colour could I use on my cupboards? A. Is your home a Colonial Villa, with a very high ceiling? With a much deeper coloured ceiling (Resene Putty) than the wall colour (Resene Bavarian Cream) I am unsure what particular colour might be appropriate. Do you want to make a feature of the cupboards? Your two existing colours are very definite and the walls are bright, so perhaps a deep muted colour might work for you - Resene San Juan or alternatively a rich warm colour - Resene Burnt Crimson, or a deep neutral grey - Resene Zeus. Or if you wanted a very light bright colour on the cupboards you might use Resene Half Scotch Mist.
August 2017
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Q. I would like some advice on what colour to paint my kitchen. I have painted the hallway in Resene Rice Cake and have done a feature wall in the lounge and the hallway in Resene Half Innocence. I am now stuck with trying to pick a colour for the kitchen. We have a white stove, rangehood, a large, black fridge and timber framing around the house and doors. A. You could continue with Resene Rice Cake in the kitchen - that way it flows through in a harmonious way from the hallway. You mention having feature colours in the lounge and hallway - Resene Half Innocence - so you might consider using a 'feature' colour in the kitchen for the cabinets (or a wall). That way you would create a bit of eye interest. Sharp yellows that have a slight green undertone look good - Resene Mint Julep or Resene First Light. Alternatively a distinct warm red also works well - Resene Simply Red or a soft green - Resene Quarter Coriander, or an interesting soft muted duck egg blue/grey - Resene Duck Egg Blue.
August 2017
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Q. We are renovating our exterior and are looking for advice for colours for the roof paint for tiles, guttering, fascia, weatherboards, window frames and deck. Our fence is painted with Resene Ironsand and we don't want to repaint it, so we would prefer colours that work in with that and we would prefer a neutral tone. Our interior is Resene Black White and we would like the window frames to be that, or similar. We were looking at Resene Friar Greystone , Resene Eighth Arrowtown, Resene Stonehenge or Resene Tapa colour range for the weatherboards. We have painted some samples onto the house to try them out. A. Because of the existing house colour, samples painted directly onto the surface may be quite different to how they look (in reality) without that colour influencing how your eyes see the samples. If you do want to test colours - and I strongly advise you to, because getting it exactly how you want it is really important - then by painting all of the testpot (two coats) onto large white card and taping it to the weatherboards and then moving it to each side of the house, you would be better able to see the reality of the colour. It will take on quite a different look on each side of the house, according to the aspect of natural light. As you already have Resene Ironsand on the fences, then you might also use it on the roof and possibly the garage door - Resene Ironsand - as it would help tie in the fence colour to the house. If you wanted a deep colour on the fascia and guttering - but perhaps not as dark as the roof and the fence colour - then you could look at one of these options - Resene Quarter Ironsand, or a deeper variant of the house colour - Resene Triple Friar Greystone , Resene Double Arrowtown, Resene Triple Stonehenge or Resene Double Tapa. The window frames could have Resene Black White (the same as the interior colour) or alternatively a lighter variant - Resene Half Black White. Do you want to stain the deck or paint it? Some options to consider - Resene Woodsman stain in Resene Iroko or Resene Limed Gum. Or for paint, Resene Lumbersider in Resene Half Mondo or Resene Quarter Ironsand. August 2017
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Q. The exterior of my house is painted Resene Half Tea, Resene Quarter Tea, white and a dark brown (possibly Resene Oilskin). I would like to change the Resene Oilskin to a grey/blue colour. What would you recommend that would complement Resene Half Tea, Resene Quarter Tea and Resene White? A. These grey/blue colours are very nice with your existing house colours and may be worth checking out - Resene Rhino, Resene High Tide, Resene New Denim Blue, Resene Steam Roller, Resene Grey Friars or Resene Tuna.
August 2017
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Q. We have an upcoming build with an L shaped, open plan area. It has a galley kitchen, with a rectangular space for the dining/living. The dining, living area has a coved (stepped in and recessed 300mm) ceiling. The entrance to the kitchen will be tiled/laminate/bamboo. We have been advised Resene White Pointer for the walls and Resene Alabaster for the ceiling/skirting. Could you please throw some ideas our way for the whole lot? We have picked out a whitish stone benchtop and were thinking of having a darker, greige type carpet. A. Do you only have the option of the advised colours? If you are able to choose your own colours, then I do suggest that you view larger A4 real paint, colour samples in the Colour Library at your nearest Resene ColorShop, alongside your flooring samples and kitchen cabinet and benchtop samples, so you can see how they all look together. That way, you can compare them and see large enough samples to help with your decision making. They all have unique undertones of colour within them and they respond to other colours you have chosen (like the flooring) in either a good or not so good way. You could try Resene Half Truffle and Resene Half Black White, or Resene Quarter Cloudy and Resene Half Sea Fog, or Resene Eighth Napa and Resene Quarter Merino.
August 2017
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Q. I have a post-war home in Brisbane, which I am renovating and would like some advice on the exterior colours. The asbestos roof is to be replaced with natural Zincalume. I would like a soft grey to the body of the house, with sharp white on the windows, and a dark grey fence. Do you have any recommendations on the greys? A. You might like to try these colours for the weatherboards: Resene Mountain Mist, Resene Eighth Friar Greystone , Resene Eighth Tapa, Resene Quarter Delta or Resene Half Foggy Grey. For the fence try Resene Baltic Sea, Resene Tuna, Resene Quarter Ironsand or Resene Cape Cod. The barge boards/gutters could be painted in a grey to match the roof, or they could be white, to give you more contrast with the weatherboard. I would paint the gable ends in a colour darker than the weatherboards, but not as dark as the fences. Perhaps two or three times the depth of the weatherboards, with the same undertone. The timber foundation, along with the concrete blocks could be painted the same as the fence, so that everything at that eye level is the same colour. Just use plain Resene White for the windows. Soffits could be Resene White too. It’s best to view these colours before making a decision, every store carries A4 sizes of all of our colours and it can be very helpful to create the full colour scheme in front of you, viewing all colours together, to get an idea of what your house will look like.
August 2017
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Q. I'd really like some advice on a new external house colour. I'd like a more modern look that will tie in with our brown roof (close to Resene Brown Pod), the garage door (similar to Resene Fahrenheit but slightly more red-orange toned), the pavers and the brick fence. The joinery is White PVC-U. I'm thinking Resene Surrender but I am keen to get some other ideas. A. You might like to try these colours: Resene Delta, Resene Foggy Grey, Resene Eighth Tapa or Resene Eighth Friar Greystone . The colours I’ve chosen are warmer greys to go with the brown roof. Although modern, Resene Surrender is a blue/purple grey and may not work quite as well with the warmer accents you have. If possible, I would suggest changing the colour of the garage door to something like Resene Ironsand – a dark brown charcoal. If the door is powder coated, you can use an etching primer (Resene Vinyl Etch) as a primer, then apply a topcoat such as Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel. Colours outside will appear half a shade lighter once they go up on the house, particularly gloss or semi-gloss finishes.
August 2017
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Q. We are looking at lime colours for a glass splashback, to go with grey cabinets. Which colours do you recommend? A. The following are some lime colours that you might like to check out to see if they appeal to you and work with the grey cabinets - Resene Citron, Resene Limerick, Resene Kakapo, Resene Sushi, Resene Lima, Resene Christi or Resene Happy Hour.
August 2017
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Q. I currently have a red tile roof, brown guttering, and light brown brick home with a white pole veranda. We are painting the roof and thinking of a medium to dark grey. They said they can paint the poles as well, should I get them done the same colour? A. That might be a good idea - unless you want the poles to match the window joinery. Are you having the brown guttering done to match the new roof colour? That could be another good idea as well. August 2017
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Q. I have selected Resene Friar Greystone for the exterior of my house and want a nice, bright white to highlight it. Can you recommend a white to use? I was thinking Resene Quarter Black White or Resene White. A. Resene Friar Greystone would work well with either of the whites you have mentioned. Resene Friar Greystone is a warm grey and would also work with one of these slightly softer whites also - Resene Quarter Merino or Resene Alabaster.
August 2017
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Q. Can I please have some expert advice on recolouring my villa? I’m interested in a dark blue colour but I am not sure if it’s the right colour. A. If you have your heart set on a dark blue colour, I definitely recommend that you choose to use CoolColour™ formulated dark colours, to try and minimise (as much as is possible) the extreme heat problems associated with dark colours on timber houses. The north and west side of the house may show more fading quicker than the south and east side of the house, as they are the sides that receive more sun/heat. You might check out these colours to see if they appeal to you - Resene Dark Side, Resene Regatta, Resene Licorice, Resene Elephant or Resene Avalanche. Trims in a really crisp white - Resene White - will enhance the depth of the main colour and create a smartly contrasting look.
August 2017
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Q. We are building a GJ Gardner house. We are painting the exterior Resene Truffle and I want a crisp, white trim. Can you please give me a colour that would go with Resene Truffle? I would like to go with a beach theme. A. You could use either plain Resene White or something like Resene Double Alabaster for the trims/barge board/soffit etc. You might want to consider the colour of your windows and get a white that has the same kind of undertone. Resene Truffle is a yellow based brown grey, so will appear greyer in the morning light, but browner in the evening. It’s a beautiful, warm, grey colour, which works well with your beachy theme. If you wanted a slightly greyer colour you could look at Resene Foggy Grey which retains some of that warmth and is around the same depth of colour.
August 2017
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Q. We are painting the exterior of our new home white. We want a fresh, bright white but not one that is blinding. We are deciding between Resene Black White and Resene Sea Fog. A. Both of the whites you have mentioned are similar. All colours seen on the exterior of a house have the potential to look a lot brighter/lighter than you might imagine they will do (the opposite is true of colours viewed in the interior) so checking them carefully, is the only way to get a good judgment of what they are like. Resene Black White can look a little greyer/cooler than Resene Sea Fog, which may appear slightly less cool toned by comparison.
August 2017
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Q. We want to paint our house and garage. We have just painted the fence black. At the moment the house looks quite squat with a low looking roof; we would like to improve this look! The walls are a shingle which we believe has been stained. We can either restain or paint walls. Plants in front of windows will be removed and replaced by lower ones to expose the rock wall and help with the squat problem! The ranch slider at the front of the house is aluminium (Karaka) but all other windows in the house are wooden. The garage side ranchslider is Mist Green as well as the side door. We intend to eliminate the Mist Green colour! The house colour inside will all be Resene Half White Pointer (floors, walls, ceilings). Can you please advise us on what would look great for the house and garage, including walls, roof and windows? We were thinking of greys/charcoals but want some idea of what will look best? A. While it is possible to change from a stained finish to a painted finish it does tend to involve a lot more work. If you were to restain the shingled wooden exterior it might be a simpler and quicker choice. You might consider these earthy grey based stain colours - Resene Waterborne Woodsman Iroko or Resene Waterborne Woodsman Tiri. The roof could be painted to match the Karaka ranch slider - Resene Karaka - or a slightly lighter version - Resene Half Karaka. This would tie in one of the existing colours which might be a good idea. To repaint the powder coated Mist Green windows to a more neutral stone colour is a good idea and after preparation and etch priming the metal you might consider one of these colours to see if they appeal to you - Resene Atmosphere or Resene Quarter Taupe Grey. With these types of colours sitting comfortably in a tonally related palette I think the roof may not cut the house in half height-wise so it would look less squat. Certainly exposing attractive rock base walls will make the house take on a more elevated look.
August 2017
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Q. I want to paint the pebbledash exterior of our 1950s rental property so it's ready for sale. It's very dated looking and I'd like to go with a light to medium grey. Not too dark. And I’d like to paint the wood casing windows white to contrast and possibly paint the base sill a darker grey to contrast with the darker grey on the base of the house also. We painted the roof in Resene Nocturnal last year and replaced the spouting to match. I know the light is bright so don't want it washed out but not medium grey either. I tend to prefer greys that don’t have a green or beige base. A. Resene Nocturnal has a half tone version - Resene Half Nocturnal - which might be considered for the base of the house and the window sill also. This keeps the main darkest colour palette well balanced and nicely co-ordinated. You might check out these greys to see if they appeal to you - Resene Half Jumbo, Resene Jumbo, Resene Half Scarpa Flow, Resene Gunsmoke, Resene Trojan or Resene Quarter Baltic Sea. All colours on an exterior have the potential to look a little lighter than you might expect due to the bright natural light. It does pay to carefully test them - but not by applying the testpot onto the existing wall colour as it is the greater amount of this colour which makes you see the tester sample wrongly. I recommend that you paint up all of the Resene testpot (two coats) onto A2 card (available from Resene ColorShops). It is the perfect size to tape up on the house and view from close up and from further away. You can also move it all around the different sides of the house so you can see how it alters in changing natural light and on the different wall aspects.
August 2017
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Q. We are about to paint the interior of our Lockwood home and need advice on the right colours. We are painting the lounge, dining and kitchen area. I want a light white or cream but am worried that it will feel cold. Can you please advise on a colour to avoid this? I am also thinking of a feature wall in the lounge where the couch is, and inside the window seat. Can you suggest a nice grey that is also not cold? The ceiling is remaining wood. The trims are all to be painted and we would like this to be in a complementary colour. A. You might check out these warmer whites to see if they appeal to you - Resene Half Merino, Resene Rice Cake or Resene Bianca. They are all available as paler/whiter versions also if you feel you want to make the trims a contrast that stands out more when seen close to the wall colour. These nice greys should be checked out to see how they look with the warm light white/cream that you choose for the walls - Resene Quarter Cloudy, Resene Quarter Silver Chalice, Resene Quarter Delta or Resene Quarter Foggy Grey. All of the greys are also available as deeper versions if you want to make the grey feature a stronger statement.
August 2017
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Q. I'm having a two storey weatherboard house painted, and going for white on white. I'm thinking of Resene Half Sea Fog with Resene Alabaster for windows, but would these be too close? I don't want to go grey on the weather boards though. What white would stand out against Resene Half Sea Fog? Or should I try a slightly different white for the weatherboards, like Resene Half Black White or Resene Merino? A. The whites you mention are very closely related you may not see any difference at all in bright natural light. If you do want to see a contrast perhaps if you use real white Resene White for the windows and Resene Sea Fog or Resene Black White for the weatherboards it may be better. You could paint up large A2 samples with the testpots and place them on the exterior of the house alongside each other to see if you can notice the difference or not. Plus you can move the samples to different sides of the house and watch how the changing qualities of natural light on these aspects alter how you see the colours even real white can take on a different undertone - it can look almost greenish on the east side, yellow or peachy on the west side, grey on the south side etc during different parts of the day. But you could just embrace the white on white and do every single part of the house the same white - Yes it has been done in the past before there was such a rich and varied choice in whites to choose from - so you do have options.
August 2017
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Q. We are having Resene Double Black White as our interior colour Resene Double Black White with ceiling white. Would you suggest having our architraves, skirting, door jambs and doors in Resene Double Black White or Resene White? A. If you wanted to emphasise the wall colour then you might use a whiter contrast on the woodwork in the house - i.e. Resene White, Resene Quarter Black White, Resene Half Black White or even a little more toned up – Resene Black White. If you wanted to merge the woodwork in so it wasn't a contrasting feature then you might use exactly the same colour as the walls but in a semi-gloss enamel finish. This would rely on only the sheen difference not a colour difference to highlight the woodwork. Sometimes people choose to do this when the woodwork is very plain and minimal - not architecturally ornate or distinctive like it is in a period villa. Think through how you want the woodwork in the house to look - lighter/brighter and a feature or softer toned and merging into the wall colour in a simple modern way.
August 2017
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Q. We are renovating our existing house and adding a portion of new build. We have chosen LINEA® Oblique and Cedar for cladding (Cedar on the gable ends) and our roof is a 15 degree pitch. We would like to achieve a classic, timeless yet still modern feel and are liking the darker colours not black, but more warm charcoals, silver, greys (but not browny or greeny). We have been recommended Resene Double Foundry for the LINEA® Oblique Cladding, with the Cedar on gable ends allowed to silver/grey or stained this way. The joinery we are leaning towards is Silver Pearl Matt. I'd always envisaged a dark large garage door (this will have Cedar around it as it’s on a gable end) and a dark large front door (this will have glass on one side and above it, as well as one side wall being in the Cedar. We were thinking Resene Double Foundry for the garage door, with a Silver Pearl surround, and around the front door it will have the Silver Pearl and glass. The soffits could be Resene Quarter White Pointer. We would love some direction as to the roof colour, I was liking Sandstone Grey however my husband isn't so keen. He'd like to see a darker colour (so perhaps options dark and light), a Cedar stain colour, and/or any better options for colours already suggested above please. We feel the Silver Pearl will be a nice contrast to the dark, as we aren't keen on a total dark house. A. Are the garage door and the doors on the house plain wooden ones that require painting? If this is the case then the very dark colour on the timber will attract a lot of heat. Timber doesn't respond well to heat/UV damage etc. caused by direct sunlight on a very dark painted surface. If the doors were shielded from direct sun and you used Resene CoolColour™ re-formulated colours then this would add a lot of protection and would reflect the worst of the heat off the surface of the wood. It wouldn't solve all the heat associated problems but it would minimise the impact of dark colour/heat/UV on the timber. However if the doors were going to be metal ones then there isn't the same need to protect them from sunlight. You could have Grey Friars, which is very similar to Resene Double Foundry. You mention having Cedar on the gable ends of the house and if you wanted to control the silver/grey colour rather than let it do its own thing, which can be very random in the way it discolours, as it ages (to say the least) then you might stain it Resene Waterborne Woodsman Smokey Ash or Resene Waterborne Woodsman Limed Ash or (deeper) Resene Waterborne Woodsman Bleached Cedar this way you will know exactly what type of grey the cedar will look like. The roof colour - if it is a powder coated metal it is limited as there are only a few colours to choose from in a lighter grey or deeper charcoal. Perhaps you might check out real metal powder coated samples from the roofing people so you can see what options you have. Seeing the powder coated metal makes judging the colours easier. If the roof was to be painted then you do have slightly more in the way of greys or charcoals to choose from.
August 2017
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Q. My son is renovating a 1970s house and has painted the walls in the bathroom in Resene Quarter Joss which looks lovely. The floor tiles are of a sort of dark green colour which go really well. He is wondering what colour to do the woodwork instead of the usual white, although the white would contrast well with the darker tiles. Do you have any recommendations? A. You and your son may not agree with me because we are all different in how we respond to colours but I think a softly toned coloured white may look nice for the woodwork instead of a very crisp attention seeking true white. It would transition between the dark green tiles and the warm mid toned wall colour in a harmonious way. These colours look really nice with Resene Quarter Joss - Resene Chalk Dust, Resene Eighth Spanish White, Resene Half Albescent White, Resene Half Blanc or Resene Eighth Biscotti. Please do check them out - large A4 real painted samples can be viewed in the colour library at all Resene ColorShops. If you look at them in association with an A4 sample of Resene Quarter Joss it may help you see how they look together.
August 2017
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Q. I wish to repaint our walls and maybe kitchen but am not sure what colour would suit. The tiles on our floor are light terracotta. I thought maybe Resene Haystack or Resene Half Villa White. I really have no idea what would look good and if I only do one wall or all of them. Can you please make some recommendations for me? I like soft colours only. A. Colours in an interior have the potential to appear twice as strong (or deep or bright) as you may imagine they will do so I recommend that you test them carefully. If you apply all of the testpot (two coats) to a large white A2 card (available from Resene ColorShops). If you leave a narrow unpainted border all around the edges of the card it helps you focus on the tested colour. The card can be pinned onto the wall - and then moved around to other walls - so you can see what the colour is truly like and how it alters with changing natural and artificial light. And it does - often to a surprising degree. Resene Haystack may look a lot deeper and more yellow brown toned - like Resene Double Haystack and may overpower the room. Even the lighter versions of this colour are quite ochre/yellow/brown in tone. Resene Half Villa White is a nice pale cream with a lemon/green undertone. Neither colour is exactly right. You might check out the following pale but warm colours to see if they appeal to you - they may co-ordinate well with the flooring - Resene Quarter Solitaire, Resene Eighth Spanish White or Resene Bianca. I think painting all the walls will help the spaces appear. By painting just one wall may make your eye focus on it as a feature and then change how the spaces relate to each other.
August 2017
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Q. My daughter is picking colours for her room and has come up with Resene Java as a feature wall. We called in and were recommended Resene Rice Cake or Resene Alabaster but they both seem too white. Is there another colour that would go with the Resene Java? I should mention that the ceilings are Resene Half Blanc. A. I suppose you have already ruled out the idea of repainting the ceiling in a true white - Resene White - so you had total flexibility and a massive amount of possibilities for the wall colour? It is just a thought. Your ceiling colour (because it is so definite a colour compared to a white) controls what you might use on the walls. I think your best bet is to use exactly the same colour on the walls as you already have on the ceiling. That is the only way I can think of to stop the ceiling looking too coloured/pink beige toned compared to any other wall colour.
August 2017
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Q. We have Resene Eighth Surrender on our kitchen walls and black granite counter tops with Arctic Gloss colour cabinets. We are currently looking at splashback colour options and were wondering if you could suggest some colours that would work with our current kitchen colour? A. Do you want a simple theme following on from the other colours in the kitchen or a dynamic colour statement? You might consider Arctic Gloss to match the kitchen cabinets or a deeper version of the wall colour - i.e. Resene Surrender or even a black glass to link in the granite bench top. Yes, you can get black glass. If you are considering either of the first mentioned colours, then it would be wise to use crystal clear, low iron oxide glass as it shows the colour behind it totally true. The other type of glass that is used for splashbacks - standard float glass - has a green cast to it, so it makes the colour behind it look wrong. Alternatively, you could have a silvery grey or charcoal metallic colour - i.e. Resene Silver Steel or Resene Blast Grey for a bit of sparkle and glamour.
August 2017
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Q. We are building in Coromandel and the council want our colours to conform to their regulations. We have chosen Ironstone for roof and Dune for walls; they now say we need a colour less than 35% for the eaves! Can you please suggest a colour that complies with their request? A. There is sometimes confusion over how the Light Reflectance Values work in referral to colours. Less than 35% (from 34 down to 0) refers to deeper toned colours, as 0 is Black and 100 is White. Your COLORBOND® colour Dune, has a LRV of 41%. Perhaps you might look at these colours, as they look good with both the roof and the wall colour - Resene Half Sandstone, Resene Sandstone or Resene Americano.
August 2017
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Q. Which white shades would you recommend as a general ceiling colour? The wall colours are Resene Half Scotch Mist, Resene Half Halcyon, Resene Ebb, Resene Eighth Bison Hide and Resene Secrets. A. If you want one all-purpose white, to work with all of the wall colours, then you could check out these colours - Resene Quarter Alabaster, Resene Eighth Black White or Resene White (this is a standard white).
August 2017
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Q. We are building a house, out on the beach. I have chosen Resene Truffle for the main walls. The roof is tiled in Windsor Grey. Because I am limited in the ColorCote colours for the guttering and fascia, I have chosen Threadbow White. What white Resene paint would go with this colour for the trims, as I really want to keep it beachy as possible? A. I suggest you ask for the Resene colour match to ColorCote Threadbow White so that you can replicate the trims to match the powder coat colour. However, if you wanted a much whiter trim colour and it wasn't going to be close to the Threadbow White (where it might not look like a good co-ordinated match) then you might use Resene Half Sea Fog. There is a very interesting colour on the front door - are you contemplating using that sort of colour? It looks a little bit like Resene Unwind, which is a lovely aqua/grey/green.
August 2017
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Q. I am looking for an interior white that has blue undertones. Could you please give me some suggestions? A. I recommend Resene Half House White, Resene Half Athens Grey, Resene Half Iron, Resene Geyser or Resene Quarter Surrender. Resene ColorShops stock folders with A4 sizes of each of our colours and these are great to look at before deciding on your final colour. Ask one of our staff to show you the larger samples before purchasing a testpot or paint. You may need to carefully test colours to see how they respond to light and shadow.
August 2017
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Q. We have painted our trims in our villa in Resene Eighth Rice Cake, which looks great. We chose it over Resene Alabaster because that tended to look a bit gloomy in the areas that don't get sun. Now we are trying to choose the wall colour and tossing up between Resene Quarter Rice Cake and Resene Half Sea Fog. We think Resene Half Rice Cake looks a bit pink and dated in some spaces. Will the Resene Quarter Rice Cake end up looking a bit cream? We have a mix of sunny and gloomy rooms, so we want a simple crisp white, that won't throw any particular colour but will look just the tiniest bit warm, but not cream or pink. A. Given you have used the Resene Eighth Rice Cake as your trim colour, I would use the Resene Quarter Rice Cake for the walls. It won’t be too creamy, as it has just a small hint of grey which makes it a murky colour rather than yellow – however, at the strength of ‘quarter’ you won’t see too much undertone. Switching to a different undertone for the walls (such as Resene Half Sea Fog) may end up looking a bit confusing for the eye. Resene Half Sea Fog is a grey colour and could feel gloomy in those southern rooms.
August 2017
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Q. Our new business has moved into offices that will be demolished in three years’ time. What colour could we paint the walls? Should a block wall be a feature colour? A. A warm neutral colour is a good idea for the main wall colour - you might check out these colours to see if they appeal to you - Resene Spanish White or Resene Half Wheatfield. These two colours may appeal, as they won't clash with either the old carpet or the existing office furniture. Yes, I do think it is a good idea to have a feature wall colour on the block wall. It can add a focal point to an otherwise simple office space. If you look at several quite different colours, it may offer you a little inspiration - the one thing they have in common is deep rich depth - Resene Sumptuous, Resene Atlas or Resene Zinzan.
August 2017
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Q. I want to paint the back half of our hallway behind the beautiful kauri arch. At the front is Resene Boulevard and the other two thirds of the hall are Resene Parchment. It is a dark hallway with stripped wood and a red Persian runner down the floor and I would like to brighten it up. I was thinking of going white or cream but there is too much choice. Could you please recommend a warm white that would suit the old house? A. These warm whites may appeal to you - Resene Rice Cake, Resene Quarter Spanish White, Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta or Resene Bianca. If you go whiter, the fact that the hallway is dark, may make the white look a bit grey or cool, so the colours I have suggested should provide light and a certain amount of warmth.
August 2017
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Q. I'm looking for a colour for our master bedroom, which is dark with long deep, red velvet curtains. I would like a warm, light coffee colour to brighten it up. Most colours I have tried look rather dreary, but I like Resene Doeskin and Resene Joss so far. Would you have any other suggestions of warm light colours please? A. You might check out these warm colours to see if they appeal to you - Resene Bone, Resene Nougat, Resene Biscotti, Resene Half Sandcastle or Resene Quarter Malta.
August 2017
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Q. We are building a new house, mono-pitched roof, with LINEA® and brick cladding. The house will have silver aluminium joinery and a combination of honed block, dressed sealed cedar, with grey brick and LINEA® weatherboard for the exterior claddings. I am trying to decide on a white for the weatherboards. The roof will be COLORSTEEL® Gull Grey. Honed block is used at the entrance and the brick around the side and back is Bowers Brick Pewter with white grout (closest Resene colour I could find is Resene Misty Lavender). I am trying to find a complementary white for the LINEA® weatherboard, but I also want it a bit more vibrant to the other greys we are using. I was thinking Resene Half Sea Fog or Resene Half Black White, what's your suggestion? A. Colours on an exterior often look a lot lighter/brighter in natural light, so you may need to carefully test the colours to make sure they aren't too stark or glaring. Perhaps one of these whites may provide you with some options - Resene Black White, Resene Half Vista White, Resene Half Soapstone or Resene Half Wan White.
August 2017
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Q. I like Resene Fuscous Grey but it is a little too dark and Resene Half Fuscous Grey is too light. What colour is between the two? A. It is possible sometimes to have a 'special ' colour formulated - you may need to approach your local Resene ColorShop to enquire about this. Special colour options can be arranged by them through our Colour Lab. If you just want an alternative option (similar but not as dark as Fuscous Grey or as light as versions of this particular colour) then you could check out one of these colours - Resene Baltic Sea or Resene Half Nocturnal.
August 2017
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Q. I would like to ask how I modernise our house for sale. I've been attacked by the beige and brown brigade it's so ugly. Besides white I have a whole house to do. It's all the same interior colour and the exterior centre blocks. I would like to paint the blocks on the bottom of the house not the bricks and the interior walls in all three bedrooms. I've painted all the interior doors white with silver handles. A. For your interior, you may want to consider colours such as: Resene Quarter Truffle, Resene White Pointer or Resene Sea Fog. These all have varying amounts of grey tone but are ‘off-white’ options. The trend at the moment, particularly for resale, is to make things as neutral and white as possible, so the Resene Sea Fog might be a good way to go. The only reason I would consider something with a little more colour (such as the Resene Quarter Truffle) is if your carpet is also a shade of brown and the kitchen/bathroom aren’t all white-on-white. For the exterior I’d probably go either off-white or a dark colour on those base blocks, something like: Resene Half Wheatfield, Resene Quarter Parchment, Resene Half Tuna or Resene Quarter Masala. I’d paint the handrail and balustrades in the opposite colour so you get some interest happening, or in a colour the same as the house. Colours outside will appear lighter once they have been applied to the house and in a gloss or semi-gloss finish.
August 2017
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