Here's a taste of some of the Colour Expert questions and answers to help you with your own colour scheme.
If you would like more colour advice for your project, please ask our Colour Expert for help or come in and see our staff at your local Resene ColorShop or Reseller. Colours are a representation only.
Please refer to the actual paint or product sample. Resene colour charts, testpots and samples are available for ordering online.
Q. I am trying to create a French Provencal feel and want that clean white not yellow, pink or cream tint. A. You could try the following clean whites - Resene Double Alabaster, Resene Eighth Thorndon Cream or Resene Half Wan White. All 'whites' have colour in them and these ones definitely don't have any yellow, pink, or cream in them. If you check out the A4 drawdowns of these colours at your Resene ColorShop in the Colour Library and place a sheet of white printer paper between them you will see the underlying tints within them. It helps to see these larger samples as small chips on a fan deck or colour palette sheet may not be large enough to judge them. I would use Resene White (real white) for ceilings and any woodwork - this will give a clean crisp contrast. A word to the wise - the same colour in all rooms reacts differently to the changing qualities of light so it can look radically different. Trial colours carefully by using all of a testpot painted onto A2 card leaving a unpainted border all around the edges so that the existing wall colours don't unduly influence the colour sample and alter your perception of it and then move the sample onto all walls to see what the light does to it.
July 2013
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Q. We would like to paint our large light U shaped living/kitchen area. We have been given some Resene Blue Bayoux but are not sure if it will clash with our orange furniture/rug. I was thinking a nice grey colour for most walls, maybe a couple of feature walls, one in the blue if it matches? Possibly even one in wallpaper, maybe with orange accents. A. The best idea for the blue is to paint a large sample onto A2 card leaving a space around the edges so you can see how it will look with your carpet. Using a nice grey for most of the walls is a good idea and will be great with the kitchen – you could try Resene Mystic or Resene Hint Of Grey. For a wallpaper feature wall you could consider a wallpaper from the Schoner Wohner 2 wallpaper book. If the idea of wallpaper appeals to you but you have reservations in regards to the cost you could buy smaller sample pieces of wallpaper and cover boxed art frames and use the exciting trendy wallpaper as unique ‘art’ for your walls.
July 2013
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Q. We have an ex state house weatherboard house. We've settled on the colour we want for the outside (Resene Silver Chalice) - what white/light off white shade should we use for the windows? Please let us know as we can't decide and want a professional’s view. A. You might like either of these two whites - they look really good with Resene Silver Chalice - Resene Double Alabaster or Resene Half Black White. If you feel that they are too 'coloured' to use as a 'white' then there are lighter versions of both colours available.
July 2013
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Q. We have a laundry, workshop and games room - a semi open large area with a view to a Mexican style garden under a two storey home. Please suggest some warm colours, not cool, as the area is cold in the wintertime. A. A room that has this combination of uses can be tricky to get just the right look. Being brave with colour may be the answer - certainly quiet, meek and mild neutrals may make it feel indecisive and a bit unfriendly. You could try looking at the following colours, one for a main colour (3 walls) and another as a backdrop to the laundry area as a smaller feature colour – Resene Double Dutch White and Resene Forbidden or Resene Sebedee and Resene Origin. Yes they are happy, warm, bright and slightly Mexican in ambiance but they might just make this room a really joyous space. The flooring needs to be considered carefully - a few bright multi-coloured rugs may also be what is needed.
July 2013
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Q. I am considering ripping off the wallpaper and painting. What colour/s would you suggest for my sunny north facing lounge? If I was going to do a feature wall, which one would you suggest? And can you give me three colours that work well together that I can use in other rooms of the house and hallways. A range that allows for some rooms getting less or more light but in the same family of colours. A. If you were doing a feature wall it would probably be the wall behind the sofas as it seems to be the plainest wall with no windows and curtains on it. Generally a feature wall has no other 'features' on it. As for colours you might look at the following - listed in order of lightest for dim areas, slightly deeper for bright areas and a tonal touch of deep for other areas – Resene Half Rice Cake and Resene Thorndon Cream (or Resene Triple Rice Cake) and Resene Double Thorndon Cream (or Resene Half Grey Olive). These colours can be used with touches of a deep muted red (similar to Resene Red Earth), deep olive (similar to Resene Hibernate) and a rich whiskey gold (similar to Resene Hot Toddy) and warm charcoal (similar to Resene Foundry) will add a lush ambiance to the spaces.
July 2013
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Q. Off white walls at our school show too much dirt and scuff marks - is there a grey toned colour similar to Resene Triple Tea (this is working well at another school) that might work? A. You might like to try: Resene Truffle, Resene Quarter Foggy Grey or Resene Half Flotsam. All three colours are somewhat grey but are not too severe and industrial in mood. They work well with colour accents in the form of furniture, and carpets or hard flooring that you may already have.
June 2013
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Q. We are looking for a duck egg blue for our interior. Any ideas? A. Often choosing a 'duck-egg' type colour happens more quickly because you have found something (duvet, curtain material etc) that you then match to so if these colours aren’t the duck egg blue that you are thinking of then seek out a 'something' that has the colour in it and use that to find the right 'duck-egg blue' for you. Colours you might like to try are: Resene Quarter or Half Periglacial Blue, Resene Half Robin Egg Blue, Resene Nebula, Resene Harp or Resene Zumthor.
June 2013
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Q. I used a colour called Resene Bandicoot a long time ago - do you still have it? A. Resene Bandicoot is definitely still available. We don’t get rid of colours - we just get lots more of them! While a colour may go off a colour chart we keep formulations of old colours at our stores so they can still be tinted. If you were wanting a very light colour (but not Resene White) to go with it I would suggest Resene Daydream and if you wanted a deeper colour then you might look at Resene Butterfly Creek. Another random thought is a less green/more brown toned colour - Resene Evolution.
June 2013
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Q. A colour choice for the ceilings to go with Resene Drought and Resene Half Bianca on the woodwork? What colour would you suggest? In the bedroom the ceilings are sloping initially to follow the roof line. A. If the upper portion of the wall and the ceiling read as one area (the angles as you so rightly comment on) and because it comes down to such a delicious strong colour as Resene Drought I suggest you use the same colour as the woodwork - Resene Half Bianca. It will still look ‘white’ but a much softer transition to the lower coloured walls.
June 2013
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Q. Please provide a colour suggestion to create a beach inspired palette of colour in a new ensuite. We have used Resene Quarter Spanish White in the bedroom. We tried Resene Quarter Powder Blue but it looks too grey. A. If you are choosing a new vanity in a laminate there are some that are in a washed pale wood effect which you might consider. If you had floor tiles that are similar in colour (but deeper) to the Resene Quarter Spanish White with warmer toned blues like Resene Breathless or Resene Oxygen it might be lovely - very watery and beach inspired. If the colours look too cool then you may need to trial blues with a little green in them as they are warmer, such as Resene Quarter Periglacial Blue. Take your time to trial colour in the room so that you can see how it changes in the light of that room. If the colour is a little too grey in undertone that will be emphasised by the quality of light - as you have found out with the Resene Quarter Powder Blue. You may possibly need to lighten your Resene Spanish White if the blue colour looks a bit insipid - perhaps to Resene Eighth Spanish White.
June 2013
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Q. I have a Karaka roof and Austral brick - colour Kingston - and am looking for colour suggestions for the Linea. I am thinking I made a mistake with the roof and brick colours. A. I am unsure why you are fearful that you have made a mistake with your choices for brick and roof. The Karaka roof is a very natural type of deep olive toned green, which is very popular, and works really well with a huge amount of colours as does the Kingston brick. Both of these elements are very nice. Firstly, the brick (if it is used on a greater amount of the house) will exert a dominant colour - if you can get a brick please check it out against the Resene The Range Whites & Neutrals colours on the latest fandeck. You will start to see colours that are similar (look for deeper colours not exact matches) and work out from the elevations how much Linea there is and whether they both appear close together at the front of the house. This is where your colours will be seen the most and where you want them to appear lovely together. You have the advantage in this instance as you have the elevations and (hopefully!) a sample of the brick and the sample of the roof colour. You could start by looking at colours like Resene Tapa or Resene Foggy Grey as a start point.
June 2013
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Q. I would like some colour suggestions to work with Resene Truffle and Resene Alabaster - in two adjacent rooms. One room is hot and bright and the other room feels cool all of the time. A. In the hot/bright room you might like to trial Resene Eighth Lemon Grass as it has a soft peaceful grey/green look and in the cooler room have a look at Resene Quarter Perfect Taupe which is a soft warm taupe with a hint of mushroom in it. When they are placed alongside Resene Truffle and Resene Alabaster they are charming and mellow.
June 2013
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Q. Please provide some advice on colours that might look good on a brick house that has roughcast stucco on it and wooden windows and trim. A. You are fortunate and have a huge amount of possible choices open to you but you might like to consider one of these three palettes. Colour seen on stucco roughcast may appear a bit deeper because of the shadow caused by the uneven texture. Some colours you might like to try are: Resene Double Ash (roughcast) and Resene Quarter Ash (other trim), Resene Villa White (roughcast) and Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta (other trim), or Resene Half Taupe Grey (roughcast) and Resene Merino (other trim).
June 2013
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Q. My daughter wants to add a few touches of pink in her room (the walls are Resene Corn Field and the quilted floral bedding is faded pink and green on a cream background - shabby chic look) and she wants a pretty pale pink that will go well with the Resene Corn Field. Any suggestions will be most welcome. A. I think you should look at Resene Ballerina and Resene Classic Rose or Resene Slipper or Resene Pretty In Pink. This gives you a selection of definite pinks, pastels and tints of pink to look at.
June 2013
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Q. In our Lockwood house interior we have new plasterboard walls between the lounge and bedroom to be painted. What colours would work with existing golden hued satin finished polyurethaned pine walls? A. These walls will now provide you with a lounge feature wall and a bedroom feature wall. Often feature wall colours relate to existing carpet, curtains, upholstery, duvet/bedspread colours. So that would be the start point for decisions. If you aren’t that fussed whether it works with existing elements in these rooms and just want a few suggestions then you might look at blue/greens as they provide the counter balance to the predominant wall colour. You could look at colours such as: Resene Undercover, Resene Kumutoto, Resene Serenity, Resene Hendrix or Resene Seachange.
June 2013
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Q. I currently have a colour scheme of black, white and grey with a pastel yellow coloured textured wallpaper that I would like to paint over. Can you please suggest a neutral colour match as I am wanting to do the full inside the same colour? A. You are really fortunate with a black, white and grey scheme as you can have many neutrals - but possibly not the creamy or yellow toned ones. You might like to try Resene Sea Fog, Resene White Pointer, Resene Soapstone, Resene Half Flotsam, Resene Wan White or Resene Half Bianca.
June 2013
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Q. I have a three bedroom north facing home and have decided to paint it Resene Double Concrete. What is the best white to use as a contrast? A. You might like to try Resene Half Sea Fog, Resene Alabaster or Reseme Quarter Black. These three colour options have lighter and deeper versions available also.
June 2013
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Q. Please suggest paint colours for the walls and ceilings of our extended family and dining room. The new kitchen is all white with white and greyish marble looking tiles. The carpet is a dark aubergine colour and curtains are dark with aubergine, goldy and greyish big squares and stripes in taffeta. At the moment we have Resene Quarter Tea ceilings and Resene Half Tea walls, and I think it looks a bit dirty with the new white kitchen. I like the Resene Alabaster white for the ceiling. A. You are right in regard to wanting to use Resene Alabaster for the ceiling - it will 'be a friend' to the white kitchen cabinetry and lift, freshen and lighten this space. Colours you might like to try on the walls are Resene Quarter Linen, Resene Joanna, Resene Thorndon Cream or Resene Double Rice Cake. What they have in common is a fresh light greeny edge which I am hoping will emphasis the new white kitchen and relate as a complement to the aubergine you have in the carpet and curtains.
June 2013
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Q. We have chosen three colours that are close to what was used on the house when it was built in 1914. It is lime washed. We are going to seal the walls and paint in either Resene Lime White or Resene Zinc White. We were planning the paint the window shades and eaves in a dark cream, ivy green for the eave fascias and the arms on shades. What colour do we paint the rendered features, i.e centre of arches? We did wonder about Resene Mediterranean Olive. A. How important is it that the colours used for the repaint match exactly? Is this building Heritage listed? Are you bound by Conservation guidelines in regard the repaint? If you can freely choose as long as it is sympathetic (to what was used before) then I suggest the following which are in line with what you have already come up but a bit more refined: Main colour - Resene Half Merino, which is very similar to Resene Zinc White; window surrounds/sashes/sills and under the eaves - Resene Spanish White - not as apricot/yellow as dark cream; roof line fascias, downpipes and decorative supports and edges of window hoods - Resene Ivy Green (or alternative Resene Earth Green) and rendered features Resene Bush. If you choose to use Resene Earth Green (instead of Resene Ivy Green) then a lighter but similar colour for the rendered features might be Resene Cabbage Pont. The barge boards, finials and decorative detail in the roofline gables - they could match the main colour or the window joinery colour. The only reason I have suggested relating the green colours is that one is blue toned (Resene Ivy Green) and one is olive toned (Resene Mediterranean Green) and when used together they create a discord which a similar (lighter version) of a chosen green might not do. Options of colours have increased over the years and it is possible to exactly replicate or alter subtly by annexing alternative colours and still achieve a 'heritage look'.
June 2013
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Q. We are redecorating and renovating our kitchen. We have chosen Resene Black White for walls, pure white for cabinets and a grey speckled benchtop. We are wondering if we keep to this colour for all our walls through our open plan town house. We have just purchased rich grey curtains that we love. If possible can you please come and help, we would welcome your advice. A. I think you should stay with the Resene Black White seeing you have a small open plan townhouse - this will enlarge spaces and keep the look simple but elegant. I would recommend keeping all ceilings and window surrounds Resene White to give crisp, light detail and to show the wall colour as 'different' and not just white everywhere all the same. If you have painted room doors you might consider using Resene Double Black White so there is some 'shadow' definition and also finger marking won't show too much. Resene does have colour consultants that can arrange to visit your home and provide colour advice - you can book that on our website or arrange it via your local Resene ColorShop.
June 2013
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Q. We are building a new house - the roof, garage and entrance door are Resene Grey Friars. We would like a nice warm grey tone not too dark for the plaster exterior. I was thinking on the lines of Resene Sea Fog, but it is probably too light outside. Your advice would be helpful. A. If you like Resene Sea Fog but feel it is too light (and it could be quite 'white' looking as colours do tend to look a lot lighter on the exterior) you might like to look at slightly deeper versions of this colour, such as Resene Double Sea Fog, Resene Triple Sea Fog or other options might be Resene Barely There or Resene Merino.
June 2013
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Q. I need to paint a dance studio in a shade of white. The ceiling is white and the floor will be a warm wood. The doors and frames are Resene Alabaster. I am looking for a white that has a warm base, with neutral, earthy tones, fresh, clean and light; not too yellow/creamy; not cold stark or clinical. The colours I have identified on the Resene website are colours such as Resene Bianca, Resene Albescent White, Resene Villa White, Resene Rice Cake, Resene Merino, Resene Milk White, etc. We made the mistake of painting the first coat Resene Half Dutch White but it is too creamy and yellow for what we are after. There is good natural light during the day and the lights, when on, will be fluorescent tubes. A. Firstly, as you have now found out - colour is deceptive - and no more so when you only see a little sample or you make your sole judgement about colour from the web which has definite shortcomings in regards to capturing the true essence of paint colours. If you trial colour by painting two coats (all of a Resene testpot) onto A2 card leaving a unpainted border all around the edges this will help you focus on the reality of the colour. You will see enough of it to judge it as the unpainted border stops it being unduly influenced by existing wall colour and by rolling the A2 card into a cone with the colour innermost you will better be able to gauge the strength of the colour when four walls are painted in it. Colour will always appear stronger around a reflecting source of natural light - i.e. windows or mirrors. Fluorescent light is difficult but can be modified - there is 'general' fluourescent lighting, which is usually found in offices, shops and factories but it is possible to get 'daylight' fluorescent tubes so that there is more clarity of colour. The colours you mention are listed in order of earthy/warm and fresh/light/not so earthy: I personally would trial Resene Bianca. It is the lightest of the colours you mentioned and as an alternatives I would suggest that you trial Resene Half Albescent White as it is warm but not too beige and possibly Resene Merino - you need to see what they will look like in the environment to judge how the light (natural and fluorescent) will affect them. The predominant colour of the wooden floor (yellow or red) will also influence how you see the wall colour as it is a large mass of deeper colour.
June 2013
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Q. Could you please recommend a COLORSTEEL®L roof colour to match Resene Fuscous Grey, our colour on the Linea. Our plaster is finished in Resene Concrete and our window joinery is Silver Pearl. A. There isn't an exact match in COLORSTEEL® to Resene Fuscous Grey but COLORSTEEL® Grey Friars is close and if you wanted darker then COLORSTEEL® Ebony would work well also.
June 2013
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Q. We have used Resene Tea on the walls in our house including the kitchen cabinets and have dark modern furniture in the family room and concrete floors. It is a lovely sunny house in summer but now after four years looks drab and needs lightening up. I thought of a cream or a white as we have a fawn leather lounge suite. Please can you advise. A. You might like to try slightly warm whites and almost beige/creams, such as: Resene Albescent White (and the lighter versions of this colour), Resene Bianca (and the lighter versions of this colour) or Resene Eighth Spanish White. These colours will still work with your dark modern furniture, concrete floors and the Resene Tea kitchen cabinets.
June 2013
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Q. I have bought a house that has mid blue carpet, cream walls with some rooms having a blue feature wall, and the kitchen bench and cupboards are mid blue. I like shabby chic and French country style. Can you give me colour suggestions to go with this blue please - I don't like blue! A. You could consider using some soft pale warm beige tones and some almost white (but not quite) tints - they will work well with your blues - and will allow you to venture into more French country style. If you use some milk chocolate and pale milo milky brown tones in soft furnishings you will achieve a lush look. Try using: Resene Albescent White, Resene Eighth Biscotti, Resene White Linen, Resene Quarter Bianca or Resene Double Alabaster.
June 2013
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Q. We are painting our rendered exterior walls using Resene Double Bison Hide, but it is looking too light and greyish. Do you have any suggestions? A. On an exterior, colours will often appear lighter. If Resene Double Bison Hide appears too light or muted then you might try a deeper version - Resene Triple Bison Hide as it carries a lot more yellow/green. Or other slightly deeper/full bodied colours that you might like to try are: Resene Double Napa, Resene Pravda, Resene Stonewall or Resene Arrowtown.
June 2013
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Q. Our designers have come up with a colour scheme of roof Resene Nero, walls Resene Alabaster and door and trim in Resene Double Sea Fog. Are you able to show me what it looks like? A. Your designers - or you - could import your building photo into the Resene EzyPaint virtual painting program and after 'pathing' - tracing around all elements of the building and saving them as named templates - it is relatively easy to drop/drag the colours to the required part of the building to get an idea of what it will look like. It is hard to get exactly perfect representations of colours in a computerised format and variations of these types of black, white and grey colours often look similar. It is often a good way to judge the balance of colours and then use Testpots to check the physical colour on your project.
June 2013
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Q. I find the current colour scheme in my lounge/dining confusing and disjointed. We live in an A frame house with exposed beams on the sloped walls. The existing yellow walls are too dark, the beams are a maroon-brown that doesn't seem to go and the sloped walls are stark white! I prefer a warm neutral and I plan to do away with the white on the sloped walls and make all the walls the same colour. Should I paint the wall beams the same colour as the rest of the walls? Or should I highlight them in some way - colour or gloss? Or is the fact they stick out highlighting enough? A. My best advice to you is to only ever highlight something that is truly gorgeous - if you don't like it and it isn't able to be removed the sensible thing is to paint it to match the wall colour. It will still be there but not in a bossy, attention seeking, highlighted way. Every dark highlighted piece of timber demands that you 'pay attention' (the eye is drawn to it again and again) to it which stops the spaces being tranquil and quietly lovely. Every dark highlighted piece of timber is like a bossy little fence around little spaces (like mini paddocks) making them seem even smaller or just plain annoying. Choose your new warm neutral carefully as colour often appears deeper in an interior because of the angles and shadow lines and simplify the space by only having two things happening - a white ceiling and new neutral coloured walls/woodwork/beams. �June 2013
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Q. I am doing a red and white room. The red is Resene Lipstick. What colour do I use on the walls? A. It may depend on any other coloured element that is in the room already - carpet, upholstery, curtains etc - but you have a huge range of options. These are a few that you might like to try: Resene Double Black White, Resene Half Villa White, Resene Merino or Resene Spanish White.
June 2013
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Q. We are painting our walls Resene Triple Sea Fog. What shade of Resene Sea Fog would we use on the ceiling and trims? Is it lighter on the ceilings, such as Resene Sea Fog, and then mid colour, such as Resene Double Sea Fog, for the trims and doors? A. I would definitely recommend lighter for ceilings - Resene Sea Fog. This could be used on the doors, wardrobes etc and window surrounds and if you didn't want to draw attention to the skirting boards and door frames they could be blended with the wall colour in Resene Triple Sea Fog, using a semi-gloss on the trim and joinery and a low sheen on the wall so just the sheen difference emphasises the difference. I suspect that Resene Double Sea Fog may not show up as different enough to the wall colour - it is too close a match to the wall colour.
June 2013
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Q. Currently our walls are painted in Resene Double Spanish White, and our doors are painted in Resene Barista. We are wanting to change the door colour and am unsure what to change it to. Is there a quadruple Resene Spanish White? A. There is a Resene Triple Spanish White but not a darker one than that in the Resene Spanish White palette. However you might like to look at the following colours to see if they would suit for the door colour: Resene Triple Parchment, Resene Half Craigieburn or Resene Doeskin. These options are similar (but different enough in depth) to work well with Resene Double Spanish White.
June 2013
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Q. I have a mid-sixties house partially brick. I need to repaint the non-brick parts of the house and need some help. I have recently had the roof and the gutters replaced. The roof is Gerrard Corona Shake in Charcoal colour and the gutters are in Grey Friars. What colours do I paint the basement, upper above brick level fibrolite, wood below gutters and the walkway up to the front door? A. If you were planning on repainting the garage door then you do have options of colour - same as the guttering - Resene Grey Friars or slightly lighter Resene Half Grey Friars. The basement of the house and ideally the concrete edging of the garden walls that abut the steps should be the same (as they are now) and possibly a little deeper in colour than the existing very light colour so that the building is grounded and the brick isn't 'hanging' in the middle. You might like to try: Resene Quarter Nullarbor and Resene Spanish White on all the areas above basement areas or Resene Double Fossil used with Resene Villa White on all the areas above the basement areas. The deeper colour could also be used in an enamel for the front entry door and a lighter version of the guttering colour could be used on the walkway up to the main door - Resene Quarter Grey Friars in Resene Waterborne Sidewalk with SRG Grit or Resene Non-Skid Deck & Path.
June 2013
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Q. I would like some advice about colour options for an area we are painting which links our main house and garage area. We are in the process of grinding and polishing the concrete floors and the next step is to repaint the walls and trims. We live in the country and the area is quite dark; it has doors at each end but only gets some late afternoon sun. Our house is a country style farmhouse and most of the interior is painted in quite neutral tones. The area is the main entrance to the house and gets used for storing coats, boots etc. It has a series of Matai tongue and groove doors and is about 11 metres long and about 2.5 metres wide. We are planning to furnish it with a seat/daybed with bright cushions and some other decorative items. We would love some advice about colours that might work for the walls, trim and ceiling (one end has a plasterboard ceiling, the other end is Clearlite plastic). A. The long/dim area/hard floor - it may need something to soften the polished concrete to make it appealing and comfortable underfoot - perhaps some mats would work. If it is to be an interior/exterior, almost, leisure area it may need a warm mid toned colour to make it feel less 'concrete/utilitarian' especially as you say there will be a seat with bright cushions and some other decorative items. The ceiling definitely needs to be light as this is what is missing from this area - but not a stark white. This colour could be carried over to the window and door joinery. The walls will always be shadowed but extra lighting with wall lights could soften and make it appear more intimate. You might like to try Resene Spanish White (walls) and Resene Bianca (ceilings and woodwork) or Resene Half Sisal (walls) and Resene Quarter Villa White (ceilings and woodwork). Or you could be quite radical and cheeky and use a bold green like Resene Koru with Resene Half Pearl Lusta for trim and ceiling and colours like Resene Kereru, Resene Dynamite and Resene Hive on a pure white background for some cushions etc. Sometimes it is great to let your inner Picasso out to play!
June 2013
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Q. I am trying to find a complementary deep grey to paint my house side walls and pool surround. I have painted doors and trim in Resene Nero and love the colour. I might even bag the old white bricks and paint them a complementary colour but darker than Resene Tea. What do you suggest? A. A thought would be to choose a colour for the bagged bricks and go to a deeper version of that on the side walls and pool surround and possibly use Resene Nero to paint some other things in this area, such as wooden bench seats or to have black ceramic planter pots with plants in around the pool area to provide an accent of Resene Nero type colour.
June 2013
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Q. My kitchen/dining/lounge is one big room in a monopitch house. The kitchen has grey/blue cupboards with a Mystique Marine bench and Resene Tuna splashback. The rest of the room is Resene Quarter Spanish White with a solid oak floor and mushroom carpet in the lounge bit. What colours can I use in the kitchen to warm it up please? A. You could paint the walls a richer/deeper neutral, such as Resene Spanish White, which will be a modest area of warm colour related to the others walls, or a much richer/definite colour Resene Soul, to pick up the tones of the flooring. Or for a bolder look, you could try Resene Paprika, Resene Sanguine Brown or Resene Ayers Rock - all of these are really warm colours that advance physically toward you making spaces feel richly warm and intimate. Because you have such a pale main colour and charcoal tonings you need a boost colourwise. An alternate idea instead of painting walls is to place a large red toned rug in the dining area or a huge artwork above the buffet/dresser featuring 'hot' colours or re-upholstering the dining room chairs in rich warm tones - or combine a few of these options.
June 2013
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Q. I have painted my home with Resene Half Secrets. I have a view of a sandy tidal estuary and mountains through the ranchsliders and want some ideas for drape colourings. Can you help please? A. Seeing as you have such an amazing aspect to look at the drapes may need to have a minimal impact so as not to take your attention from the views. Have you considered using neutral coloured voile sheer drapes over blinds or shutters? I suggest as a start point that you look at the sheer fabric in the Resene curtain range - Pause Voile - colour Earth. If you are into patterned drapes you might also look at Resene Curtain Collection - Garden Party in either the colours Stone or Flax. I feel you need subtlety and lightness and nothing heavy, deeply coloured or stiff and formal - but if you wanted to opt for a different look you could easily choose to go bolder or more dramatic.
June 2013
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Q. We are looking to update our master bedroom - making the wardrobe cupboard with sliding doors - possibly mirrored ones. We would like a feature wall behind the bed - but will this make the room too small? Keen on some red if possible but is this too harsh for a small room? A. I think you know the answer to your questions already - the bedroom isn't overly large and using mirrors on the wardrobe doors will make it seem lighter and larger by reflecting light and space. But this effect could be undone by the feature wall behind the bedhead. Of all colours reds are the most advancing colours - this means that reds advance physically toward you and alter your perception of space so a small room may appear smaller as that colour gobbles up space. The other thing is the little window will pop out more as a cyclops eye on a feature wall of any colour. Have you thought of reversing the feature - place large metal framed bevelled edge mirrors on the wall either side of the headboard - and painting the sliding doors a colour - though not necessarily red. Or alternatively - because you are longing for red - what about covering the headboard in the most gorgeous red fabric you can find and using some red lamp bases on the bedside cabinets - perhaps with glass crystals on the bottom of the shades so they glow and catch the light in a sparkly way - or drape the whole wall in a soft red/gold sheer fabric hung from the scotia in luscious folds to the floor so that it reflects in a sensuous way in the mirrored doors. |
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Q. I'm currently designing a piece of furniture for a home office and would like some advice on an appropriate woodstain product that will achieve the look we're after. Could you advise of a suitable red stain for pine plywood with either a semi-gloss or gloss finish for the cupboard fronts? A. We recommend trialling your colour on offcuts to get the look you want. Resene Colorwood interior wood stain comes in Testpots so this is able to be done as a trial quite easily. You could mix - 50/50 - two colours to see if you can replicate the colour your have in mind - e.g. blend Resene Colorwood Japanese Maple and Resene Colorwood Dark Oak as a start. There is a true red, Resene Colorwood Red Pepper, also in these interior wood stains but it is very primary in hue. You could also look at Resene Colorwood Mahogany, which might be dark enough to stop the red from being too bold. Staining is one of those arts that needs a skilled application in order to get it looking truly fabulous and the final colour and finish will be influenced by the application method and product and will appear different on different timbers - always test your colour before starting the main projects. The colour also appears radically different if the timber isn't exactly the same configuration of grain - as in a veneer. When the stain has dried a clear coat, such as Resene Aquaclear waterborne urethane, should be applied over the top to protect the stained finish. This comes in a range of sheen levels so you can choose the gloss level that suits. It’s worth reading the Resene Colorwood brochure for more information and application advice and also look at the Timber Finish display at your local Resene ColorShop to get a better idea of what the colours and wood look like.
June 2013
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Q. I am looking for a really soft grey for a bedroom. All the testpots of greys I have used thus far look right in the pot but very blue on the wall - any suggestions? A. I am wondering whether the colours that you have trialed have altered because the natural light in your bedroom comes from either the south or the east. That often significantly alters how you see the colour. Soft greys are not known for their warmth so if the natural light is cool (both the east and south light are cool) or another factor, such as carpet colour, is a cool bluish tone then that may be a reason for the colours changing to a blue tone when put on the wall. Another reason could be that you are painting the testpots directly onto an existing colour, which alters how you see the testpot sample and often not in a good way. I always suggest painting two coats (all of the testpot) onto A2 card, which you can get at Resene, leaving an unpainted border all around the edges so that the main wall colour doesn't corrupt the tested colour and affect how you see it. The A2 card is a great way of trialling colour as you can move it onto all of the walls and see how the change of light and angle alter the colour. You don't say what colours you have trialled but perhaps you could investigate the following: Resene Whiteout, Resene Half Rakaia or Resene Triple Sea Fog.
June 2013
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Q. I would like to paint my house interior in white with white window trims. Please can you suggest some whites for both walls and window trims? A. You don't say whether you want a cool 'white on white' look or a warm 'white on white' look or a sharp 'white on white' look. Are there any carpets, curtains, furniture or personal effects and accessories that need to be taken into account or are you getting all new furnishings? Flooring in particular has a very strong influence on how 'whites' will look. Size of rooms and natural light aspects also influence how the 'whites' look. You will need to trial the 'whites' carefully to see how natural and artificial light changes them. A few colours you might like to try are: Resene Sea Fog (walls) and Resene White (all ceilings and woodwork) or Resene Double Alabaster (walls) and Resene Half Alabaster (all ceilings and woodwork) or Resene Bianca (walls) and Resene Quarter Bianca (all ceilings and woodwork) or Resene Quarter Thorndon Cream (walls) and Resene Quarter Rice Cake. There are many, many other combinations also but these may get you started in your 'white' journey.
June 2013
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Q. We have bought a house which has all the interior walls painted white. I have painted the main bedroom and hall in Resene Quarter Bison Hide so far. The kitchen cabinetry is in a colour that matches Resene Half Putty and the benches and tiles match Resene Half Ironsand. Would it look ok to continue with the Resene Quarter Bison Hide over the white walls in the kitchen. It does go with the vinyl flooring and the three colours seem to me to go well when I put them side by side behind the grey square. The light is not particularly bright in the kitchen so I wonder if Resene Eighth Bison Hide would be better if you do consider that I am on the right track. Then I thought a highlight, big vase or something in a chilli colour (maybe like Resene Whizz Bang). A. I think that lighter for the kitchen may be better but the Resene Eighth Bison Hide may throw a little pink undertone. You might also like to try Resene Quarter Truffle and Resene White Pointer. The strong ochre tone of the cabinetry and the warm charcoal of the benches may require a slightly stone influenced pale grey tone for the walls. I love the idea of Resene Whizz Bang for highlights in the kitchen. So cheerful and vibrant!
June 2013
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Q. I am looking for a colour to paint my home office that is conducive to study and is calming. A. Soft tones of turquoise and coral are conducive to study. The turquoise is calming and heightens communication (in all its forms), sensitivity and creativity. It is also refreshing to mind and body and calming. Soft coral (muted red/orange) creates stimulation and is uplifting to the mind when inertia and tiredness threaten thought processes. Look at the following colours as examples only - the light, the spatial aspects, the quality of natural light within the room, the existing coloured elements of the room and what the nature of the study content is may well alter your perception of these colours: Resene Scandal, Resene Renew or Resene Gulf Stream. The following colours might be used as very small amounts of contrast only: Resene Adore, Resene Forbidden or Resene Mexican Red.
June 2013
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Q. I am building this speculative build and would like some colour inspiration for the exterior. I think the colours here are too grey. I am hoping to create a Hamptons theme with black roof tiles and light coloured walls plus feature column bases. You might like to try a slightly green based white as a main colour: Resene Half Joanna or (sharper) Resene Rice Cake or (slightly greyer) Resene Double Sea Fog. All of these colours look lovely with pure Resene white trims, such as on barge boards/fascias/battens/louvres/window joinery and create a classical Hamptons look. For the base of the pillars you could try Resene Half Taupe Grey (looks lovely with Resene Half Joanna), Resene Delta (looks lovely with Resene Rice Cake) or Resene Quarter Friar Greystone (looks lovely with Resene Double Sea Fog.
June 2013
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Q. What white should be used for doors and trim to tone with Resene Half Tea? A. I recommend using Resene Alabaster - this will keep the trim detail and doors crisp and clean. Alternatively if your painter feels it is too 'white' and has reservations about fingermarking showing up on the doors then you could use Resene Double Alabaster, which is slightly more shaded in tone but still looks 'white'.
June 2013
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Q. I have a small apartment that Ii will be looking to sell soon. The living area will have a wallpapered feature wall, with very light grey on the walls, white ceilings, same in the hallway, but I am stuck on the two bedrooms, both on the south side and quite small rooms. Any suggestions? I prefer neutral colours. A. Normally you would like to try for a sympathetic flow between rooms but I am very aware that south facing rooms are not known for their warm sweet light so I can't altogether feel good about using a lighter form of the grey that you plan to use in the main living areas as this may make the south facing rooms feel a little bleak and unfriendly. You might like to try the following colours to see if they work with the grey and white that you plan to use in the main living areas: Resene Bianca, Resene Half Joanna or Resene Half Milk White.
June 2013
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Q. I am about to paint the interior of our bach. I want to go for a country/shabby chic theme. I'm undecided on whether to go for white or a pale colour on the walls and if I went for colour whether to do different shades for each room. There are two bedrooms, a laundry leading to a bathroom and an open plan living/kitchen/dining area. In the kitchen I am planning on painting the wooden kitchen cupboards. I am also going to paint the Welsh dresser and dining table with a distressed wood finish. I am considering painting the floor white too but haven't decided yet. I'd love some ideas for wall colours. A. I suggest that you keep the look really simple - Resene Zylone Sheen low sheen waterborne paint for the main room walls, Resene Room Velvet for the bathroom/laundry and Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel for all painted woodwork, doors and cabinets. You might look at a warmed white - Resene Half Bianca or a cooler greyed white - Resene Half Black White. I suggest that you use a deeper version of whichever 'white' you choose for the floors if you decide to paint them. You may find that the paint in the most heavy traffic areas looks worn after it has been used for a while. Some rugs (perhaps sisal/sea grass or even painted oil cloth) would look nice on the floorboards. If you are very clever and crafty I would imagine the distressed wood finish for the furniture would look very good. I would recommend a plain painted cabinet look in the kitchen - this will balance the distressed paint finish on the furniture.
June 2013
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Q. I have a long narrow hallway that turns at a right angle to another equally long narrow hallway with very dark brown carpet and white walls. There are two small narrow long windows near the ceiling. How can I paint it to look warm and shorter please? A. Doors (if they are wood) break into the overall length of the hallways and make it appear shorter. If they are painted doors then I would suggest that they be a slightly deeper version of the wall colour to do what wooden doors would do in the space. With a really dark brown carpet I would suggest that you use colours that are warm and creamy and in a light tonal range. Colours you might like to try are: If you favoured keeping the doors the same colour as the walls (but in a semi-gloss enamel finish) then you might use photos or paintings on the larger walls (one side of hall only) and on the small end wall (if it doesn't have a door on it) to add eye interest and to give the hallways a 'role in life' as a gallery. Because there is something to look at the space seems not as long. Hallways are often dim as they usually not blessed with windows and darker carpets make them seem narrower again.
June 2013
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Q. We have an Edwardian home. The roof is red COLORBOND®, the weatherboards are a creamy colour. Currently the windows are light grey. We are wanting to change the light grey. A. Because your main house colour is a simple neutral and the red COLORBOND® roof etc is not going to be changed you might investigate the possibilities of the following colours to see if they inspire you - certainly because they are quite different variations of greens they will work with the red on the house: Resene Cutty Sark, Resene William, Resene Double Lemon Grass or Resene Green Spring.
June 2013
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Q. I'm painting our new home Resene Ironsand and I'd like a beige colour to coordinate with it - i.e. the window frames, under the soffits and the baseboards (the rest is Resene Ironsand painted Linea board). When I look at the different colours of aluminium joinery there's quite a few beige colours. A. With such a dark main colour on the Linea (which will make a lot of colours appear lighter than they might be in reality) you might like to investigate a few powdercoat colours, not just the beige ones because as you say they can look yellowy. These are a few - and Resene have paint colour matches so if you did decide to use one of them there will be paint to do the other bits on the house - COLORSTEEL® Sandstone Grey, Gull Grey, Stone, Bone White or Desert Sand. To help decide the best option, make sure you view actual powdercoat samples alongside a large sample of your main house colour so you can better imagine the relationship between them.
June 2013
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Q. Our walls are Resene Quarter Joss and we have just built a mantelpiece which will have a black fire with a black screen TV above. We have painted the chimney breast Resene Joss, but it looks more like untreated MDF. Can you advise a colour in a room that is mostly soft milky-browns? A. I think you may need a bit more depth of colour than Resene Joss. You could use the base colour of your drapes as a colour indicator. You might also like to try Resene Malta (slightly deeper than Resene Joss), Resene Eighth Oilskin (this is more grey/taupe) or Resene Perfect Taupe (warm grey/beige). If all else fails you could use the main wall colour - Resene Quarter Joss - so it blends in. June 2013
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