Making an Entrance competition

Winner N^o 5

2025/26

If you look closely at the artwork between the two rabbit panels on this wonderful front door, you’ll see the face of a triceratops. Tracey-Lea Morgan added it to the design of her Carterton door at the last minute at the request of her dinosaur-mad grandson Brooks. The tones of the door, painted in Resene colours Resene Hot Chile, Resene Coast, Resene Fuel Yellow and a blend of Resene Bowie and Resene Breathless, were chosen to complement the colours of her home, Piwakawaka Cottage. Tracey-Lea, an artist in her spare time with a passion for pattern, sketched out the linework herself before hand-painting the door, “just the way I fancied... I wanted the front door to feel charming and friendly, and I must admit it always feels like a lovely welcome home,” she says. And Brooks is one of her most chuffed visitors.

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Winner N^o 4

2025/26

Peter and Rosie Fastier are not afraid to experiment with colour and the front door of their New Plymouth bungalow is a perfect example. The door, which has previously been pink, oil-stained and a deeper red with a brown edge, is now painted vibrant Resene Pohutukawa. “We wanted to go red again even though dark green or light grey was suggested to go with the main house colour – Resene Black White weatherboards, with the porch deck painted in Resene Flaxpod [matched to Colorsteel Flaxpod],” Rosie says. “I grew up in a similar bungalow in the country and my mum always had a red front door; being Swiss, the red was a favourite for me.” When the couple saw the first few paint strokes on the door, Rosie knew it was the one. “We feel our Resene Pohutukawa door has completed the look of our happy home.”

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Winner N^o 3

2025/26

Sarah Shanahan was so nervous about painting the front door of her renovated former courthouse home in pink that she almost wanted to do it in the middle of the night. But the response from the townspeople of Fairlie to the eye-catching shade has been overwhelmingly positive, she says, with plenty of compliments. She and husband Matthew, who moved from Australia 18 months ago, chose Resene Paper Doll to add “a bit of fun to an otherwise serious building,” Sarah explains, adding she has injected pink into the interiors too. “It was also a nod to when it was once painted pink after ceasing to be an official courthouse in the 1970s. I love finding out all I can about this building’s history and, well, pink just seemed a happy welcoming colour!”

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Winner N^o 2

2025/26

A striking new home in Auckland’s Mt Roskill had the neighbourhood following along with its progress, especially its colourful entrance. Wade Southgate and Stefanie Brett were inspired by the stoops of Brooklyn in New York, to “create a vibrant and welcoming entrance that also becomes a space for social interaction” – you’ll often find them sitting in the sun on the metal steps, coated in Resene Uracryl 402 in Resene Red Oxide, talking to friends and neighbours as they pass by. The porch walls are painted in Resene New York Pink, the first colour they chose for the house – the deciding factor was the name, perfect for the Brooklyn stoop inspiration. “At night, the porch glows with a peachy warmth that catches the eye as soon as you turn into the street,” Wade says. Inside, the hallway floor is painted with Resene Walk-On in Resene Apple Blossom while the walls are painted in Resene Spacecote in Resene Cashmere.

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Winner N^o 1

2025/26

A trip to Mexico last year inspired Greg and Emma to paint the entrance of their Christchurch home in cheerful colours, including the door in Resene Gorse, and bargeboards in Resene Hopbush and Resene Feijoa. The weatherboards are in Resene Milk White. “We loved the vibrant colours that are used everywhere, from homes to street art. We knew we wanted to bring that feeling into our own space,” Emma says. “The pink, green, and yellow we chose are the colours found in the original coloured glass in our windows, so it felt like a perfect way to tie the old and new together.” The couple’s love of colour continues inside, with the hallway painted in Resene Allports. “We just do whatever makes us happy.”

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Winner N^o 5

2024/25

June Kemp loved the quirky front door of her 1970s Whangamatā house the moment she saw it – an opinion that wasn’t shared by the tradespeople who helped her renovate the house and who thought it should go in the skip bin. “Someone had put a lot of work and effort into it and I thought it would be a shame to dispose of it,” says June, who sanded it down ready for painting and chose Resene Quarter Grey Friars to match her roof. Everyone now agrees that the door looks great, with its smart new paint job. June has complemented the colour by using Resene Half Truffle on the surrounding bricks and timber on the entrance ceiling.

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Winner N^o 4

2024/25

As part of a 10-year renovation of their Greytown home, Alisa and John Taylor had a magnificent stained glass artwork depicting a tūī, created by Lucy G Design, installed in a door they had painted in Resene Enamacryl Black. Alisa’s love of native birds took flight after following Lucy G on social media for some time and spotting the tūī design. Alisa wanted a traditional black door in the style of 10 Downing Street, the UK prime minister’s residence, a brief that was well-executed by local builders Ridgeline Construction. The door frame is painted in Resene Half Spanish White and the porch walls are in Resene Lemon Grass.

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Winner N^o 3

2024/25

Yeti Grant’s pretty front door, painted in Resene Kryptonite with flora and fauna motifs in Resene I Do, came about because she wanted to “brighten things up” after the loss of her husband of 46 years, Bruce. “I had already reupholstered my lounge furniture with a bright green fabric and also painted my dining table and chairs,” she says. “I could say that colour saved my life.” The third winner of our Making an Entrance competition painted the birds and cherry blossoms on her Taupo door herself using a silicon stencil to “tone down the green a bit”. Never one to follow trends, Yeti says as well as bringing her joy, the colourful entranceway is a hit with others. “People who come to my front door always have a smile on their face which makes me happy.”

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Winner N^o 2

2024/25

Renovating their quake-damaged Christchurch home was a daunting task for Elaine and David Baxter but luckily their neighbour, Jeanne Butler, is an interior designer so help was close at hand. The entranceway of the arts and crafts home, called Melrose and designed by Collins & Harman Architects, has beautiful leadlight windows so Jeanne and her colleague Lynne Cameron used these as inspiration for the colour of the front door, painted in Resene Pohutukawa. "We loved it from the get-go," says Elaine. "It is especially precious now that many of these beautiful houses have been lost." The exterior stucco walls are painted in Resene Half Tea. 

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Winner N^o 1

2024/25

Robyn George, the first winner of our Making an Entrance 2024 competition with Resene, says she's lost count of how many people have stopped during a stroll down her street in Auckland's Devonport to say how much they love her front door. Robyn, who has a Master of Fine Arts, says she has always been entranced by colour, and it took six tries before she settled on Resene Beauty Bush for the door of the late-1880s cottage she shares with her husband Dave. The colour pairs beautifully with weatherboards in Resene Half Robin Egg Blue. And if you look closely at the picture above, you'll see one picket paling in the fence painted the same colour, a quirky touch which often gets a chuckle from passersby.

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Winner N^o 5

2023/24

Giving their Whangārei home a more modern look was the impetus for Ferne and Ben Reimanis to paint their front door in Resene Sassy, with exterior walls in dramatic Resene Double Foundry. Ferne, the fifth winner of our Making an Entrance competition in conjunction with Resene, says she trialled swatches of greens, mustards and pinks on the door before choosing Resene Sassy – not that it was too out of character: "My 21st was a pink party, my daughter's feature wall was in Barbie pink and 32 years [since the 21st], that love for all shades of pink is still there." The reaction from visitors has been fun. "Because our house is not on a street front everyone gets a shock when they come down the driveway... a most pleasant surprise," Ferne says. 

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Winner N^o 4

2023/24

Andra Bayly, the fourth winner of our Making an Entrance competition in conjunction with Resene, says when she bought her Whanganui home she inherited "a tried and true Kiwi black front door" but "this never sat well with me," she says, opting to brighten her entranceway with Resene Sweet Corn: "We settled on yellow to bring out the gold hues in the stained glass windows at the front and the side of the house." Andra says she is a "big colour person" and has used it throughout her home to evoke feelings of joy. "It's very 'Pepsi', very 'up' and effervescent," she says of her colourful palette, which begins at that welcoming yellow door. "I love it. It lifts my spirits above the grey skies every time I come home," Andra says. "It's a burst of sunshine."

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Winner N^o 3

2023/24

Nikki McColl, the third winner of our Making an Entrance competition in conjunction with Resene, says her choice of Resene Pretty In Pink for the front door was in keeping with the Palm Springs vibe of the rest of her home – and pink is her favourite colour. "My two daughters, Ruby and Mila, were especially excited, and helped me choose which pink to paint it," Nikki says. All her friends love the colour choice, and she says, to her surprise, even her husband Phil loves the shade. "To be honest, I didn't think he would agree so when he said yes I was quite surprised!" She had already painted the door when she happened across the palm tree door knocker while on a girls' weekend away in Byron Bay, Australia, and "knew it would match perfectly". And it does.

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Winner N^o 2

2023/24

Maureen Allen, the second winner of our Making an Entrance competition in conjunction with Resene, says people thought she was mad choosing Resene Clockwork Orange for her striking front door in the Napier suburb of Taradale, but it was something she had always been keen to try.

"My inspiration for the door colour was in my head, something I always wanted," she explains. "It was many orange testpots later that Resene Clockwork Orange rang all the bells." Those initial doubters have been surprised to see how good the door looks, Maureen says. "As I am heading towards my 80s I thought, 'here goes nothing'.

"I love it and it makes me smile every day."

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Winner N^o 1

2023/24

A long-held enchantment with 10 Downing St, the home of Britain's Prime Minister, is the story behind the front door of Leanne Grinder's Thames house, which is painted in Resene Black. She vowed that one day she too would have a black door with gold hardware. The striking Resene colour "offsets the brass hardware and shows off the lovely floral details on the glass insets," Leanne explains, saying they get many compliments from passersby. It provides the perfect juxtaposition with the home's exterior in Resene Iron, a cool, understated grey, and its fence in Resene Half Sea Fog, a barely-there black- edged white. 

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