Colour accord

NZ House & Garden, Resene / Colour expert

Creating balance between dominant and secondary colours is the key.

Renowned Wellington architect Roger Walker won a Resene Colour Award for the refresh of the 1973 Park Mews apartment complex in Hataitai which the judges described as “a castle of dreams with a modern twist” with “carefully placed touches of bold colour to draw attention to the idiosyncrasies of this home, inviting all to admire its charm”.

Why do you love working with Resene colour?

Resene has a great range of tasteful tones, the staff are very knowledgeable and the resources, like the swatch books, are very useful when I’m talking to clients.

How did that help when choosing colour for Park Mews?

It made it easy to convey the information to the building owner. With a building like Park Mews, with the dominant colour being white, the secondary accent colours should be small.

As Park Mews does not have a garden, its circular porthole windows are abstracted flowers, in a more subdued main background. If we take on board the lessons of mother nature, large surface areas such as the ground and the sky are background.

What advice would you give for creating an exterior colour scheme?

Choose a dominant colour with accent colours, not a smorgasbord of colours. Don’t forget the roof – it should harmonise with the rest of the exterior, and don’t just go for white guttering and downpipes. Also don’t use white on the soffits as they are always in shadow. Use colours that emphasise the elements of the building such as joinery and exterior doors and make sure the entry to the building is obvious.

Which three Resene colours are current favourites and why?

My favourite Resene colours are the ones that work together – subdued background colours with more intense and colourful secondary elements. There’s Resene Alabaster, a dense near-white, Resene San Marino, which is a sea blue, and Resene Monza, a bright sports car red – clean, fast and primary.