Choosing exterior paint colours for our villa

I thought that choosing exterior paint colours for our villa would be fun.

I was wrong.

I've already been to Resene at least 5 times for test points and advice, and we still haven't finalised our choices!

I'm finding that the paler colours look far darker on the villa weatherboards than they do on the paint chart; and the dark colours (for the trim) look paler in reality than on the paint charts. And not all the test pot colours resemble the colour charts. Grrrr!

Which explains why part of our house looks a bit rainbowtastic!

Above: trying paint test pot colours. (The photo shows just how badly our poor house is in need of a lick of paint!)

In fairness, Resene do have great resources available.

For starters, they've got a guide to Heritage paint colours, for people wanting to use authentic paint colours that were in use in the era when their house was built. The eras are:

• 1840 to 1870: Early Colonial
• 1870s to 1890s: Mid Victorian
• 1890 to 1914: Late Victorian and Edwardian
• 1914 to 1945: Dominion

More information on heritage colour schemes is on the Resene website.

A surveyor reckoned our house was built in 1916, making it "Dominion" era, but according to the Resene information it's more likely that our house is Late Victorian/Edwardian in style... maybe our surveyor was a couple of years out.

These heritage paint colours are, um, quite strong, and not to my taste.

So for us, that's nice information, but we'll be choosing something a little more contemporary!

Above: Resene's Heritage Colour Palette.

In one Resene store I also found this A4 sheet where you can colour in a villa piccie. (I've only seen this at one Resene shop - I've never spied it at any others, so if you're wanting one it might be worth your while phoning around.)

Resene have a similar tool on their website too, where you can use your computer to "paint" a picture of your house, but personally I find that one a bit too fiddly!

Above: "Create Your Own Colour Scheme" sheet from Resene.

Notes on NZ Paint for UK Expats

• Resene is arguably the most popular paint brand in New Zealand (not Dulux).
• Paint here seems VERY pricey compared to the UK: both exterior and interior paint.
• Paint in NZ has to be super durable to cope with the hard UV light conditions in this part of the world. Which probably explains why it's more expensive.
  
• Kiwis don't understand the British terminology of "emulsion" and "gloss". Instead of "emulsion" (water-based paint) they say "acrylic". And instead of "gloss" (oil-based paint) they call it "enamel" - which is available in a variety of finishes: gloss, semi-gloss, matte, etc.

I hope I've got that right... I'm still learning!

Oh, the number of times I've gotten strange looks by asking for "emulsion" paint etc... and the people employed in NZ DIY stores aren't that helpful to chicks who don't use the proper (NZ) terms for things! I hope to spare you that embarrassment and belittlement!