Mt Albert villa

The present owners bought the villa approximately 13 years ago and soon afterwards, gave it a welcome 100th birthday repaint with the help of interior designer Leonie von Sturmer. The grandeur of this villa has always attracted attention from the surrounding neighbourhood and even featured in the Resene magazine. While many would have said it didn’t require a repaint, the current owners feel it is important to upkeep this grand old lady, so 10 years on, they have again, employed Leonie to brighten and freshen the villa, with colours that would protect and enhance their investment. The initial thoughts were just to repaint using the existing colours of Resene Truffle with Resene Double Masala and Resene Friar Grey accents, however Leonie, being involved with colour and design of high end homes on a daily basis, felt a brighter, more vibrant selection of colours would keep it ‘current’ for the next 10 years to come. So, out came the Resene Whites and Neutrals fandeck again.

While there could have been a nod to its heritage in using the Resene Heritage colour palette, the owners felt they wanted a bright vibrancy, so took inspiration from some of the stylish villas within the leafy Auckland inner suburbs. They wanted style and elegance that would stand the test of time. The lighter colours from the Whites and Neutrals fandeck are interesting, whilst still providing the longevity required from the paint for a home of this scale. It is quite a mammoth task to scaffold and repaint the house and roof, so the colour palette needed to be right!

The weatherboards were painted in Resene Lumbersider low sheen waterborne paint in Resene Concrete teamed with deeper Resene Triple Concrete on decks and steps with windows in Resene Half Black White using Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel. Resene Black White was also continued onto trims, fascias and soffits. Resene Bokara Grey was used on the front pillars and detail using Resene Lumbersider and repeated on the doors and gates in Resene Enamacryl gloss waterborne enamel. The roof is Sandstone Grey.

The painting was in train when Covid-19 lockdown came upon us! Scaffold was still up and the skies were bright and clear, offering a perfect time to be completing this revamp, however… nothing could be done!

After lockdown, the rain arrived, and then stayed, making it difficult to complete the job quickly. It was completed a number of weeks later, so the painters could focus on the interior painting as the wetter winter months arrived.

Architectural specifier: Leonie von Sturmer
Painting contractor: GRB Painters Ltd
Photographer: Jono Parker
Project: Resene Total Colour Awards 2020