From habitat highlights - issue 40, inspired exteriors
Colours inspired by the great outdoors elevate any home to best-dressed in the street.
An award winning courtyard
If the outside of your home is looking a little rough and in need of some love, there's no time like the present to give it a refresh. The cooler months are the best time to search out the latest looks and start planning your exterior makeover. You can then break your project into smaller parts that you can work through one by one.
When it comes to choosing finishes for your exteriors, Resene Paint Expert Bryce McDermott says a good place to start is with the material your home is made of.
"Darker colours are very popular and if you want to go dark over timber with existing paint coatings, it pays to do adhesion tests on the paint before you start. If the coatings are weak, putting a new coating over the top can cause the older coatings to blister. It's often best to strip old paint back to bare timber and start again to get the best life out of your paint job. Dark colours can cause movement of the timber as well.
"Resene CoolColour technology will help reduce movement and heat damage and keep the timber cooler than the normal colour.
"Take the time to do a yearly washdown with Resene Paint Prep and Housewash or Resene Bio-Cleaner – it will help your paint job last longer."
Wanting to inject some life into this award-winning courtyard, the design team at Lymesmith settled on a surprisingly impactful colour choice. The vibrant, earthy red, orange, pink and brown palette seems to wrap the garden in a warm embrace. This palette is a great option if you have an overshadowed or dark outdoor space that needs some warmth and energy. Paired with lush greenery, these sun-drenched shades create a personal retreat in your backyard. This home is finished in Resene Double Akaroa, Resene Poppy and Resene Triple Blanc. Warm up your backyard with a palette of Resene Double Akaroa with Resene Kalgoorie Sands, Resene Tango, Resene Mexican Red and Resene Space Shuttle, painted in Resene Lumbersider Low Sheen. "The wonderful thing about the coloured courtyard walls is how they are seen from inside the house, and how they produce interesting views and colour effects within the house," says Sonia from Lymesmith. "The colour shines and spills, changing with weather, time of day and season."
This home shows how a warm white like Resene Half Milk White can elevate your home exterior, enhancing features like weatherboards and brick, to give your home the ultimate street appeal, especially great in an urban setting. When choosing the right white, remember the look of whites and neutrals will be affected by other elements nearby, like the colour of your neighbour’s house or the types of greenery in your garden. The sheen level of your painted finish will also affect how the colour reflects light. A low sheen paint such as Resene Lumbersider Low Sheen will give off a denser, muddier look, while a higher gloss finish such as Resene Hi-Glo will make your exterior look cleaner and brighter.
build: Pritchard Building Ltd and Signature Homes colour selection: Kelly Wright Interiors
top tip The sun makes colours look lighter outside than you might expect. Make sure you test your colours with Resene testpots. It’s often best to choose the darker of your favourite options as it will look lighter used outside.
To ensure this dwelling had the same impact as its breathtaking views of Huia Bay, homeowners Christopher and Sarah worked with Artis by Box™ to choose a stunning blue-green, Resene Casal, to reflect the coastal scenery as well as their personal taste. Upon arriving at the property the vibrant colour evokes an immediate sense of tranquillity and relaxation that works in perfectly with the surrounding coastal landscape and native bush. As well as creating a contrast that beautifully showcases the wood cladding, the vibrant colour infuses the home with unique personality and serves as a vivid reminder that even with a modest budget, colour can bring any vision to design.
design: Artis by Box™ image: Sophie Heyworth
top tip When painting in coastal areas, windblown salt needs to be washed off each day before painting using Resene Paint Prep and Housewash or Resene Bio-Cleaner.
Advice from Resene Paint Expert Bryce McDermott:
Avoid painting in very cold conditions. A good rule is if your washing is not drying, your paint won’t either. Choose a day that has good clear weather conditions and a slight breeze.
Start later and finish earlier; 10am until 2pm is generally good in winter. You need to give the paint a chance to dry and cure before nightfall. In warmer weather you can start earlier and finish later.
Resene Wintergrade Additive provides extra protection when painting in colder temperatures. Add to selected Resene waterborne topcoats and you can paint down to a chilly 3℃.
Surfaces like concrete can take longer to warm up than the air so make sure you give them time to defrost first before you start painting.
Colours mentioned in this article
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Printed copies of habitat highlights are available from late March 2024 at Resene ColorShops and resellers, while stocks last. You can view back issues of habitat magazine online.
Specifiers:
If you have an idea, project or story that you think would suit habitat, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us an email with your details and include photos if submitting a project.
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