OUTDOOR REFRESH
Making over your home’s exterior
IF YOUR HOME’S exterior is looking on the tired side, or simply needs a lift, a new coat of paint might be just what the doctor ordered to boost your kerb appeal and freshen it up.
Start by looking at your home’s surroundings; are you in a coastal, urban or lush bush-like setting? Resene colour consultant Brenda Ngatai says the landscape can certainly influence your exterior colour choice, guiding you towards a shade that will work beautifully with what’s around you.
“If your home is in the bush or down the side of a hill, or if your neighbouring homes are new townhouses, this often means more shade with less sun, so can feel cooler,” Brenda says. “Therefore, a warmer exterior colour scheme could be the preference.”
While paying attention to your surroundings and your tastes when choosing your colour, it’s also worth making note of the current paint trends, especially for resale value.
“Twenty years ago, the exterior popular colour schemes were beige tones,” Brenda says. “Ten years ago, it moved to grey tones. Today, it is still grey tones but has moved again into the light greys and with some colour in the undertone.”
Brenda recommends Resene Iron, a cooled soft understated light, clear grey, Resene Eighth Lemon Grass, a peaceful silver/grey/green neutral and Resene Double Sea Fog, a classic greyed pavement white.”
Remember, you can add more than one colour to your exterior, opting for a complementary hue on your window frames and trims for visual interest. This could be done in a bright bold colour, but a subtle choice can be equally impressive.
“Complementary and accent colours give personality, balance and interest, to any colour scheme,” Brenda says. “Colour has an emotional impact, it can give inspiration, it can remind us of the good old days when things just felt so much simpler. The right colour scheme can bring so much joy to our lives; who doesn’t want that feeling!”
Two different types of cladding make it very easy to use a two-way colour scheme, Brenda says. “If there’s timber weatherboards, these can be painted in a light colour, and if there’s concrete brick/ block these can be painted in a complementary darker colour.
“If the cladding is all the same type, and you’re wanting to use a two-way colour scheme, establish a starting point and finishing point, of where each colour will go and it needs to be balanced in its appearance. Otherwise, it might be better and easier to consider using only one colour, which has depth and personally, such as Resene Half Inside Back or Resene Quarter Baltic Sea.”
If white is your preference take note that Resene Black White is at the top of Resene’s list of 20 most popular whites and neutrals. Dark colours might meet your taste more, however, in which case Brenda suggests finding out what your cladding type is, and whether it can handle dark colours.
“Some aren’t ideal, you can ask the manufacturer of the cladding whether there are any restrictions on colour. Resene has the CoolColour system for dark paint and stain colours for exteriors; this system helps hugely to reduce heat absorbed by dark colours.”
So when you’ve chosen your colour, what is the best way to check it visually suits your home and its environment? By looking at your colour at different times of the day as the natural light alters, you can get a true sense of the colour’s nature. “I always tell my customers to try a Resene testpot of the colour. You can paint it straight onto the cladding, but you would be more informed by painting the colour out on an A2 (large) piece of white