beachie beach house

Much time was spent with the architects adjusting the plans to make the most of the house. Lots of windows pepper the house as well as four large north facing skylights flood the house with light. As well as being practical to help warm the house it provides a beautiful change of light throughout the day.

The client wanted the house to have a beach house type feeling, light and relaxed. The house is built with CLT, cross laminated timber and this was a major influence on the colours.

It was important to only use waterborne paints. The clients did not want chemicals going into the ground because of its close proximity to the beach. Resene has a wide range of suitable Environmental Choice products to choose from.

The walls had to be sanded and then finished with Resene Colorwood Whitewash, just to lift the tone and to avoid yellowing. Window reveals and ceilings were finished in Resene Aquaclear waterborne urethanxe.

For the internal plasterboard walls Resene Vista White was chosen instead of a brighter white as the vast amounts of natural light could have made a whiter white too glary. One of the first things to get painted were the doors and once seen in direct sunlight the Resene Vista White was perfect as it is soft white, almost grey.

The interior is mainly wood and white walls, so the accent colours were chosen to inject some energy. Various colours were trialled throughout the house and viewed at different times of day in different lighting conditions using painted strips. These strips were also displayed on the stairs to work out the order of colours as you ascend. The skirting is the same approach, but care was made with the colour selections so the effect is not eye drawing, but rather something you notice subtly. Then a diagonal break between the colours is designed to break away from the conformity of the forms of the house. The bathroom window reveals are finished in Resene Riptide and Resene Cornflower, with the bathroom skylight reveal in Resene Kandinsky. Skirting boards are finished in Resene Daredevil and Resene Cornflower. The stairs are a colourful pick-me-up in Resene Cornflower, Resene Daredevil, Resene Broom, Resene Kandinsky, Resene Riptide, Resene Governor Bay and Resene Lola, all painted in Resene Lustacryl.

All the walls and ceilings had to be sanded before painting. The client, Virginie, spent many long days and nights in the house doing this work. This meant she had a tremendous understanding of the light and how it played across the surface in the house. This helped her to tune in the colours.

Architectural specifier: Makers of Architecture
Building contractor: Makers Fabrication
Client: Virginie Lin and Hamish Beachman
Photographer: Virginie Lin
Project: Resene Total Colour Awards 2020