what parts do you plan to paint shale grey? shale grey also has a blue tinge but does look good with white trims

currently the roof and trims are shale grey so looking to paint the weather boards a colour that compliments. the current wall colour gives off a cream colour which we dont like but i also dont want the house to look light blue. just tried silver tea set but think i need to change trims to white. also tried white beach and white exchange. nothing has been the wow factor

Colours are complex. We have to consider how our brain interprets them. Whites are rarely pure white. Like all colours They all have a mix of red green and blue. Our brain may look at a sample and not really pick up on the underlying colours. But say you out one with a slightly higher blue base against your garage and your brain may pull out the blue. Same with the green from your garden. Dulux Natural white is slightly warmer than most whites with a touch of red. This is less likely to pull yellow or blue from our brain and why it has become a popular neutral white.
Your current building is leaking oomph from your colours upstairs. Shale Grey is not really saying that. Your garage is popping more. Higher contrast, stronger colour

ThThanks for your time and comments Kate, can you suggest anything for upstairs or have any tips to make it modern and appealing

It’s all personal. If you like shale Grey. Maybe on walls and white trim. I’d love a timber rail

The buttery beige and brown were all the rage 50 years ago , and I suspect that was when your place was built ? If you are painting , modern it .

Personally , I'd go surfmist weatherboards , and either charcoal or crisp white for the trims , like the balustrades etc . The brown windbreak features I'd definitely go charcoal , as well as the deck ( just the 'top' ) and any fences that can be seen . The garage door looks like it is already a charcoal ?

But that is so boring . Off white , white and charcoal , with a shale grey roof . So the facing around the upstairs deck , the gutter , and the front door and screen door would be where I'd add the Wow -- the bit that sets your place apart . Personally , I'd go bright -- a bright red , orange or yellow , or a searing green . But a lot of people would go half that brightness . So a lighter orange , but not into the apricot spectrum ; or a 'metallic' Forest Green , or mid red maybe even a crisper burgundy .

If its near the beach , go to the sunnier red , orange , yellow ; otherwise a green will reference the plants and hedges .

But don't go grey , off-grey , light grey , and a bluish white .

Yes it was built 70/80’s. Thankyou for your comments. I sampled surfmist and found it almost muddy looking. The garage door and front door are a dark blue

That shades a bit dark -- looks like you'll have to do it again hahahaha . . . . . . . . . .

Just kidding !

That looks great Jodieclark. What colour is it?

It was worth the wait Jodie it looks great. Choosing an exterior colour that both hubby and i like has been the hardest part of our reno

it was worth the long wait for such a great result ...Jodie your house looks fabulous, well done!!

Love it

jump on to the Dulux website, you can buy A4 size stickers or swatches for $1.00 in a range of colours. The stickers come on and off so you can see the colour in all areas. Also think about doubling the strength of the colour to give it a deeper tone. colourshop.dulux.com.au/shop/colour-stickers it's all part of the fun of renovating. Good luck

Thanks Julie, ive had a couple swatches sent out but I find colour matching so hard, i find it hard to picture the whole house and i think changing the trims to white might help but than what white do i choose? Its all too confusing, maybe im looking to far into it and just need to choose one. white exchange is probably my pick at the moment. i do love this grey look though but i cant find a similar match

try shale grey double strength. all colours will look different in all settings. keep trying it's worth the wait :) definitely white trim/eaves

try Bright white/ Taubmans

here are 2 pics of shale grey double strength with bright white trim. front door is Woodland grey.

That all ties in really nice Julie. Do you recommend bright white for the trims or the weatherboard?

Bright white for the trim

Im fairly sure the weatherboard on your open room inspiration pic is either Miller Mood or Milton Moon, I can remember which, both Dulux.

Thank you, I thought Miller Mood was more blue. I will check out the other colour. Thank you

Miller Mood

Milton Mood

Would i do this colour upstairs and downstairs or a darker shade downstairs

I wouldn't paint 2 colours. Paint it all the same colour. Are you painting it yourself? you could ask your painter for advice. When in doubt, ask an expert.

ok thanks, we are doing it ourselves

Vote for all one colour from me too.

I used Silent Night Taubman's

That is a really nice coastal blue. we ended up going White Exchange, its ok but not the wow i wanted. It has a slight grey tinge. Now to decide if we should paint window trims white or shale grey.

White trims are always lovely.

Have a look further up the thread at my first post haha -- the one where I said don't paint it white , off white , grey and off-grey !

If it is an off-white with a grey tinge -- DO NOT do the trims in white or shale grey ! It will make it even worse , boredom with a tinge of I-don't-really-care ! Personally , I'd go a 'metallic' charcoal , or an almost purply blue -- a bit bluer than your front door and garage door ( or if budget allows , re-do the 2 doors that purply blue too ) -- the garage door at present looks to be a greyish blue -- if you did the trim in that , it would emphasis ( not in a good way ) the grey tone in your primary colour too .

You hit the nail on the head! Its more of - we give up - cant find the look we were t rying to achieve boring plain jane. We are not into bright colours want more of a subtle natural look. i will definitley look into the charcoal or dark blue trims. Thank you for your advice, I now wish i had taken it. The surfnist was like a muddy smear, but maybe if we persisted and did the front wall it would of looked good

As soon as I see greys and off-whites as main colours , without something to add that Wow , I sort of wonder Why , but thats just me . No-one is offended at Charcoal , it ties in with most colours , its safe , but it adds to most overall schemes . My only real worry with charcoal is that it may get to be what Mission Brown or Forest Green became -- so overdone and tacky that everyone hates it !

A violetty blue , or bright red , or sunshine yellow is more polarising , and natural timber or stacked stone are outside some peoples budgets , but I always like to add something that is just a bit upmarket or bright or unexpected .

Your place is sounding like 80% of new builds , whereas a bit of thought and $5k more could give it that extra attention IMO .

If i go for a violetty blue how does that work on the trim around a blue garage door

Please don't give up! Call a colour specialist if you need help. They are worth the fraction of the cost of painting your house. Every colour will give off some other colour depending on your light, garden, trim colour etc. Hang in there. I've just done the same thing with a house we are painting. Worth every cent of the $150.00 I spent

I wish i had of done this in the beginning

It's not too late to change it :) or get some advice. Always ask an expert!!