Spring fresh

While a change in seasons can offer a natural opportunity to declutter the interior of your home, spring is an especially ideal time to give the exterior of your property a good clean, a fresh lick of paint and a whole new look – and the wonderful thing about exterior surfaces is that there is always a Resene product that’s up to the task.

Painting the exterior of your home is a big undertaking, and not one that you will take on very often. It’s common to be drawn towards classic neutral colours that will be easy to love for a long time. Whatever hue you choose, it’s well worth the effort to ensure that the surface is properly prepped so that it keeps looking good for many years to come.

Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Triple Concrete leaves the weatherboard cladding on this house looking crisp and clean while the timber decking has been given a tint of colour and personality with Resene Woodsman Mid Greywash, which still allows the natural beauty of the wood grain. The long bench, painted in Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Tuna, provides a practical place to sit while unlacing shoes or removing soiled boots. To keep it from getting too hot when the sun shines in from under the awning, we opted for a Resene CoolColour version of Resene Tuna. Resene CoolColour technology makes painting exterior surfaces in dark colours both easier and safer. It can be used on all sorts of exterior materials and applications, from weatherboards and concrete to windowsills. A Resene CoolColour looks like a normal colour but thanks to special pigment technology it reflects more heat, so it doesn’t get as hot as a standard colour would.

Since house numbers can often be hard to see – especially in the dark – it’s a great idea to paint them a colour that contrasts sharply with the colour of your weatherboards. We painted ours in Resene Nocturnal so that it’s easy to read from the street. Be sure to sand them first lightly with some fine grade sandpaper, wipe them clean and prime them in Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer then use Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss or Resene Enamacryl gloss in the Resene paint colour of your choice for the topcoat.

A cheerful greeting to those who enter, the daffodil-coloured door is painted in Resene Turbo and trimmed in Resene Black White – a slightly greyed white that helps the colour pop even more. It’s a versatile alternative to common colours like black, grey or white, making your home easy for visitors to pick out in a sea of neutral-coloured villas – just tell your guests to look for the jovial yellow door!

If yellow isn’t a hue that makes you happy, try an equally vibrant orange, green, pink or aqua such as Resene Party Zone, Resene Away We Go, Resene Smitten or Resene She’ll Be Right. If a classic red is what you’re after, look to shades like Resene Poppy, Resene Havoc, Resene Roadster and Resene Code Red to get the same sort of pop. No matter what colour you pick, the best part is that if you get tired of it, it’s quick and easy to change it up.  Using a gloss finish, such as Resene Enamacryl, on your front door will help the colour pop.

The coir doormat has been customised with a stencil house pattern painted using a testpot of Resene Tuna to give this home even more personality. The shape of the light fixture not only echoes the shape of the door handle and the vertical lines of the door but its verticality also provides directional contrast from the horizontal weatherboards.

To finish it off, large plant pots painted in Resene Nocturnal and Resene Silver Chalice offer the opportunity to bring more colour by filling them with flowering annuals or pot-appropriate perennials while also contrasting with the colour of the cladding.

Accessories: Blonde Oak Awo 2 Door from Corinthian Doors, Up/down exterior light from Lighting Direct, Cushion is custom fabric designed and sewed by Nes Design, Metal numbers, plants and shoes are all stylist’s own.

Styling by Vanessa Nouwens. Photography by Bryce Carleton. 2019