How to Pick a Heritage Villa Colour Scheme
Paint by numbers to make the most of New Zealand's favourite vintage house style
It’s as easy as one, two, three – creating a colour scheme for a heritage villa, that is. Colour-scheming a villa is just plain fun, because there are so many pretty bits to play with: there are the weatherboards (the first colour), the larger trims (the second colour) and the smaller trims (the third colour), then the fretwork, decorative mouldings, fancy bargeboards, sash windows and panelled front door. The best thing about villas is that you can keep on counting, using yet another colour for the roof and fences, and then something different for the front door.
Take it outside
One of the first rules of any exterior scheme is to test your paint colours. With New Zealand’s bright sunlight, paint colours look much lighter out in the open than they do inside. You may think you’re choosing a delicate, nuanced off-white but when you get it outside it will just be, well, plain old white.
Use a test pot of paint on a big (A2-sized) piece of cardboard, leaving a narrow unpainted border (this helps your eye see the true depth of colour and acts as a neutral barrier to the existing colour). Move the card around the house, on the sunny and shady sides. Tape it to the wall so you can view it from a distance. Go back to check it as the sun moves around the house.
One of the first rules of any exterior scheme is to test your paint colours. With New Zealand’s bright sunlight, paint colours look much lighter out in the open than they do inside. You may think you’re choosing a delicate, nuanced off-white but when you get it outside it will just be, well, plain old white.
Use a test pot of paint on a big (A2-sized) piece of cardboard, leaving a narrow unpainted border (this helps your eye see the true depth of colour and acts as a neutral barrier to the existing colour). Move the card around the house, on the sunny and shady sides. Tape it to the wall so you can view it from a distance. Go back to check it as the sun moves around the house.
Work with what you have
If there’s an element of the house you won’t be changing, such as the roof or paving, use this to kickstart your colour scheme. This roof colour is a current favourite; a classic smart charcoal that can be a good jumping-off point for many colour schemes – from white or grey to blue or green.
Browse more beautiful exteriors
If there’s an element of the house you won’t be changing, such as the roof or paving, use this to kickstart your colour scheme. This roof colour is a current favourite; a classic smart charcoal that can be a good jumping-off point for many colour schemes – from white or grey to blue or green.
Browse more beautiful exteriors
Rethink your roof
If you are repainting your roof, hold your paint sample at a 45-degree angle to the sun, as this is how the roof colour will be seen. Remember too that it will always look much lighter (sometimes half the tone) than you would imagine. If the roof is too light it will unbalance the look of the house.
If you are repainting your roof, hold your paint sample at a 45-degree angle to the sun, as this is how the roof colour will be seen. Remember too that it will always look much lighter (sometimes half the tone) than you would imagine. If the roof is too light it will unbalance the look of the house.
Consider your surroundings
Also consider your house’s setting – is it urban, suburban, coastal or rural? Mid-greys can suit an urban setting, but you could consider being braver with duck-egg blues if you live on the coast. Is the house surrounded by mature trees, or sitting on a small inner-city site with little greenery? If it is nestled in pretty gardens like this one, then the stony blue-green shade seen here complements the flowering shrubs. Much more exciting than a neutral.
5 Fabulous Exterior Paint Ideas (That Aren’t All About Grey)
Also consider your house’s setting – is it urban, suburban, coastal or rural? Mid-greys can suit an urban setting, but you could consider being braver with duck-egg blues if you live on the coast. Is the house surrounded by mature trees, or sitting on a small inner-city site with little greenery? If it is nestled in pretty gardens like this one, then the stony blue-green shade seen here complements the flowering shrubs. Much more exciting than a neutral.
5 Fabulous Exterior Paint Ideas (That Aren’t All About Grey)
Or the house might have a more majestic setting. Mid-toned French greys, such as Resene’s ‘Shady Lady’ seen here, always look great in a country like ours, surrounded by sea and dominated by big blue skies.
Be inspired by others
Go for a Sunday drive and check out other houses in the neighbourhood to see what colours work well. Knock on the door and ask for the paint colours – homeowners will usually take it as a huge compliment. Start an ideabook on Houzz with a collection of photos you love, then get staff at your local paint shop to help you match the colours.
Off-white and pale greys are popular at the moment. If you want to stay in that palette, then instead of picking out the fretwork and detailing in a different colour, keep them the same and let these decorative items be distinguished by their design and shape alone.
How to Bring Your Front Fence Back to Life
Go for a Sunday drive and check out other houses in the neighbourhood to see what colours work well. Knock on the door and ask for the paint colours – homeowners will usually take it as a huge compliment. Start an ideabook on Houzz with a collection of photos you love, then get staff at your local paint shop to help you match the colours.
Off-white and pale greys are popular at the moment. If you want to stay in that palette, then instead of picking out the fretwork and detailing in a different colour, keep them the same and let these decorative items be distinguished by their design and shape alone.
How to Bring Your Front Fence Back to Life
If that’s not your style, try a modern take on a traditional scheme. Originally villas tended to be painted with green-tinged yellow weatherboards, off-white trims and forest green or oxide-red accents. Here, Resene’s ‘Caraway’ gives the weatherboards a contemporary look, with a darker shade of the same colour making a handsome painted front door, while a crisp white distinguishes the trims.
New Zealanders! Find the Paint Colour Seen in a Photo on Houzz
New Zealanders! Find the Paint Colour Seen in a Photo on Houzz
This tonal scheme of soft-grey weatherboards and darker grey trims shows that you can use strong colour on window frames, but highlight fretwork and trims for a crisp, contemporary look.
Make today good with yesterday
This house highlights a modern dilemma – how to visually integrate modern garage additions into an older house style. When the garage is set underneath the house, choose a dark earthy colour to visually anchor and recede the garage door.
This house highlights a modern dilemma – how to visually integrate modern garage additions into an older house style. When the garage is set underneath the house, choose a dark earthy colour to visually anchor and recede the garage door.
When the garage sits on the street front, masking part of the house, use the same weatherboard and trim colours so it blends in. Here, the owners have gone one step further by repeating the trim colour on the front fence and echoing the gable-end shape of the house on both the garage and an entry lichgate.
Venture to the dark side
In recent years black exteriors have become popular, but they may not always be suitable on older pine weatherboards, as dark colours absorb more of the sun’s heat and can put stress on the cladding. With any darker colour, consider using the Resene CoolColour range, formulated with special pigment technology to reflect more of the sun’s energy. This keeps the coating and substrate cooler, reducing the likelihood of heat damage such as warping.
In recent years black exteriors have become popular, but they may not always be suitable on older pine weatherboards, as dark colours absorb more of the sun’s heat and can put stress on the cladding. With any darker colour, consider using the Resene CoolColour range, formulated with special pigment technology to reflect more of the sun’s energy. This keeps the coating and substrate cooler, reducing the likelihood of heat damage such as warping.
Darker colours look superb with white trims, like the alabaster shade used here alongside the blue-grey weatherboards.
Have some fun
And then there are some homeowners who seize on the prettiness of the villa style and have fun with colour. This fairly unusual masonry villa has not only been given a delicious swirling landscape to sit within, it also got a cheery yellow paint job.
And then there are some homeowners who seize on the prettiness of the villa style and have fun with colour. This fairly unusual masonry villa has not only been given a delicious swirling landscape to sit within, it also got a cheery yellow paint job.
Finish with a flourish
The finishing touch of any exterior scheme is often the front door. The classic timber doors of old villas are the perfect recipient of bold, fun and welcoming colours. Red is a classic, while glossy black is a current favourite. Here, the tomato-red looks great with the pale gold weatherboards, alabaster trims and ocean-blue verandah boards.
Your turn
Which exterior colour scheme do you like best? Share your views in the Comments. And if you enjoyed this story, like it, save the photos and join the conversation.
More
Browse more heritage villas
The finishing touch of any exterior scheme is often the front door. The classic timber doors of old villas are the perfect recipient of bold, fun and welcoming colours. Red is a classic, while glossy black is a current favourite. Here, the tomato-red looks great with the pale gold weatherboards, alabaster trims and ocean-blue verandah boards.
Your turn
Which exterior colour scheme do you like best? Share your views in the Comments. And if you enjoyed this story, like it, save the photos and join the conversation.
More
Browse more heritage villas
The later transitional villas, from around World War I, take on characteristics more like bungalows, with square bays and casement windows. Whatever type you have, it pays to choose a paint scheme that highlights its best attributes.
Find a painter near you on Houzz to help you choose a heritage colour scheme for your exterior