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The living area of Michelle and Lance’s living room is a carefully curated balance of whites which highlight architectural details in the ceiling, soffits and beams. The ceiling is painted in flat Resene Ceiling Paint tinted to Resene Double Alabaster and the rafters and beams are painted in Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss to create dimension. The ceiling is supported by a steel frame and the rafters are for aesthetic reasons only. The wall colour is Resene Quarter Ecru White, the window trims are Resene Half Ecru White and the exterior weatherboards are Resene Foundry. The design won the Resene Total Colour Neutrals Colour Maestro Award in the 2021 Resene Total Colour Awards.
Darker grey in the kitchen creates moments of rest in the bright open plan space. The kitchen cabinets are in Resene Fuscous Grey, the wall colour is Resene Quarter Ecru White and the detailing in the soffit above the kitchen (and window through to the guest room and study) is in Resene Half Ecru White, painted with Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss to highlight the detailing. The flooring is oak. Use Resene Colorwood Deep Oak protected with Resene Qristal ClearFloor to darken wooden flooring.
The reading area is a popular spot in the home, particularly in the morning. The walls are painted in Resene Duck Egg Blue with trims in Resene Half Ecru White. Use Resene Colorwood Deep Oak protected with Resene Qristal ClearFloor for a dark natural look on timber ceilings and flooring.
Weatherboards on the inside of the home are designed to emulate the look of retro baches or boat sheds. Michelle got the idea from The Boatshed boutique hotel on Waiheke Island and she loves the casual relaxed style. They are painted in Resene Foggy Grey, the balustrades and trims are in Resene Half Ecru White and the upper level wall is in Resene Quarter Ecru White. The flooring and stairs are oak and continue the rustic look.
The tongue-and-groove walls and ceiling painted in Resene Quarter Ecru White in the pitched ceiling bedroom give the room texture and make the space snug and cosy. Vents in the ceiling make sure that any heat escapes in summer.
Resene Zylone Sheen tinted to Resene Duck Egg Blue creates a tranquil environment in the master bedroom which overlooks Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf. The ceiling is in Resene Double Alabaster, the trims are in Resene Half Ecru White and the home exterior is in Resene Foundry. Protect kwila decks with Resene Kwila Timber Stain.
Tongue-and-groove walls in the bathroom create further texture. This wet area is painted in Resene SpaceCote Flat Kitchen & Bathroom tinted to Resene Quarter Ecru White. The tiles are from European Ceramics & Stone. Michelle specified all the materials she wanted before the build to control costs.
The exterior weatherboards are in pre-primed Vulcan cladding from Abodo, which arrived on site primed ready for painting in Resene paints. The exterior colour is the same as the original bach, Resene Sonyx 101 tinted to Resene Foundry in a Resene CoolColour variant. The trims are in Resene Half Ecru White to coordinate with the joinery and the soffits are in Resene Double Alabaster. The deck is kwila which is best protected with Resene Kwila Timber Stain.
A coastal home with a creative neutral palette is renovated on time and under budget
There’s a pocket on the eastern-most coast of Auckland where the weather is a law unto itself. Rain can be pummelling the farmland two kilometres away, while these coastal residents eye their water tanks with worry, not having seen a raindrop for months. On some days in winter, the skies can turn darker than Mordor, and homeowners need to batten down the hatches when 30-knot nor’easterlies approach with a wind that cuts through to your bones.
This petulant microclimate is easily forgiven when you glimpse the deep blues of the Hauraki Gulf from the kitchen of Michelle and Lance’s newly built home. The colours of sea and sky ripple around the living room with splashes of Resene Duck Egg Blue and the soft cloudy shades of Resene Quarter Ecru White and Resene Double Alabaster, all framed to perfection by the pitched ceiling. It’s a sanctuary from the world, even on the stormiest of days.
Before the build, Michelle and Lance used to look out the windows of their old home on the same land, a rumpty bach perched precariously on the cliffside with trepidation. When they invited guests over, Michelle would eye up clouds in the distance, constantly holding her hand up to the sky to feel for specks of rain.
“The old house was so tiny, it used to be really stressful having people around because we always needed to sit outside, and the weather can change so quickly,” says Michelle.
“When weather systems come in, it can be hard to open the doors. At night, you’d listen to the weather and think, ‘Tonight’s the night the roof’s going to blow in.’
“These days, with the new house, we barely notice the weather until we step outside. We have the fire going only about six weeks of the year, it’s so warm.”
Michelle, Lance and their kids lived in the original split-level weatherboard bach for eight years before rebuilding. Though they had bought it intending to build a new home eventually, they fell in love with the quirky charm of the old ‘dunga’ and its pokey floor plan. They contemplated a renovation instead of a new build. But Michelle, an experienced renovator with a background in financial services, said the numbers didn’t stack up, and there were too many design constraints and ‘unknowns’. They enlisted Lisa Day of Donnell Day Architects to design a multi-level home with a pitched roof in the style of Kiwi boatsheds such as the iconic red Glenorchy boat shed, with a dash of Michelle’s favourite Cape Cod coastal style.
The living area of Michelle and Lance’s living room is a carefully curated balance of whites which highlight architectural details in the ceiling, soffits and beams. The ceiling is painted in flat Resene Ceiling Paint tinted to Resene Double Alabaster and the rafters and beams are painted in Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss to create dimension. The ceiling is supported by a steel frame and the rafters are for aesthetic reasons only. The wall colour is Resene Quarter Ecru White, the window trims are Resene Half Ecru White and the exterior weatherboards are Resene Foundry. The design won the Resene Total Colour Neutrals Colour Maestro Award in the 2021 Resene Total Colour Awards.
Darker grey in the kitchen creates moments of rest in the bright open plan space. The kitchen cabinets are in Resene Fuscous Grey, the wall colour is Resene Quarter Ecru White and the detailing in the soffit above the kitchen (and window through to the guest room and study) is in Resene Half Ecru White, painted with Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss to highlight the detailing. The flooring is oak. Use Resene Colorwood Deep Oak protected with Resene Qristal ClearFloor to darken wooden flooring.
The reading area is a popular spot in the home, particularly in the morning. The walls are painted in Resene Duck Egg Blue with trims in Resene Half Ecru White. Use Resene Colorwood Deep Oak protected with Resene Qristal ClearFloor for a dark natural look on timber ceilings and flooring.
“We were really clear we didn’t want a minimalist, modern design – that’s not for us. We wanted something with character and lots of texture that had references to the past,” says Michelle.
The design echoes the original split-level bach but is larger and more connected to the sea. The seemingly simple design features two gable wings and centres around a pitched ceiling living area. The high ceiling is supported by a steel frame, a way of avoiding supporting trusses, which would interrupt views from other rooms in the multi-level house. “They didn’t want a home that was ‘rah-rah look at me’,” says Lisa. “They wanted something that suited the site and was lovely – cottagey, rustic and felt slightly familiar. We wanted it to feel like something that you know even though it’s new.”
That’s where the weatherboards on the inside of the home come in. The exterior cladding around the fireplace and stairway is a nostalgic nod to old DIY bach design, from an era when it was commonplace for the dad of the household to build an extra room onto the side of an exterior wall because Auntie Doris was coming to stay. Michelle and Lance saw this idea used on a new build at The Boatshed boutique hotel on Waiheke Island and pitched it to Lisa, who incorporated it into the design, choosing Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen tinted to Resene Foggy Grey on the weatherboards near the stairway. The colour signals a change in the home as it moves from the muted soft whites of Resene Quarter Ecru White, Resene Half Ecru White and Resene Double Alabaster in the living area to slightly darker and cooler neutrals.
“The inside is designed to take you on a journey. The house is choreographed in terms of colour and materials, which guide you up and down the levels in a way that’s quirky and interesting but is never confusing,” says Lisa. “The mix of whites in the main area isn’t showy, but it’s designed to help the details and character subtly reveal themselves over time.”
While it’s a very muted colour palette, Lisa put a lot of thought into how the neutral colours would make the family feel in their home. Colour adds a sense of discovery to the house, with contrasting areas of light and shade such as Resene Duck Egg Blue in the reading nook and Resene Half Fuscous Grey in the kitchen adding depth to the open living area. Colour also affects the way you move around the home.
“Light influences the speed in which people move in a house. Light and smooth surfaces make people move faster, whereas people move slower and more carefully through dark spaces,” says Lisa.
“The same rule applies with texture. People slow down around textured surfaces like the weatherboards because the body doesn’t want to come in contact with them.
Weatherboards on the inside of the home are designed to emulate the look of retro baches or boat sheds. Michelle got the idea from The Boatshed boutique hotel on Waiheke Island and she loves the casual relaxed style. They are painted in Resene Foggy Grey, the balustrades and trims are in Resene Half Ecru White and the upper level wall is in Resene Quarter Ecru White. The flooring and stairs are oak and continue the rustic look.
The tongue-and-groove walls and ceiling painted in Resene Quarter Ecru White in the pitched ceiling bedroom give the room texture and make the space snug and cosy. Vents in the ceiling make sure that any heat escapes in summer.
Resene Zylone Sheen tinted to Resene Duck Egg Blue creates a tranquil environment in the master bedroom which overlooks Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf. The ceiling is in Resene Double Alabaster, the trims are in Resene Half Ecru White and the home exterior is in Resene Foundry. Protect kwila decks with Resene Kwila Timber Stain.
Tongue-and-groove walls in the bathroom create further texture. This wet area is painted in Resene SpaceCote Flat Kitchen& Bathroom tinted to Resene Quarter Ecru White. The tiles are from European Ceramics & Stone. Michelle specified all the materials she wanted before the build to control costs.
Do the numbers
Michelle, a seasoned renovator with a background in financial services, runs courses worldwide, teaching people to be confident and proactive with their finances. Building and renovations are where she says people often lose track of money.
Michelle’s top five tips for sticking to budget on a build are:
Be very clear on your vision both regarding the look and feel of the house and the budget you have. Work with an architect and builder who share your vision and understand it.
During the design phase, decide on all the fixtures and fittings for the various parts of the house such as the flooring, door hinges and hardware – everything – so your builder can quote accordingly. Go through the costing the builder has given you in detail and work with them and the architect to get your plans to match your budget.
Avoid ‘PC sums’ or provisional costs by knowing what you want before you meet with the builder. An ‘I’ll decide later’ mindset leads to pressure down the track and ill-informed decisions, which might mean you are settling for something you don’t love or paying more for something you do love.
If possible, order and fix in the costs of any items you are supplying for the build and have them available before the builder needs them. Ask the builder to pre-order and lock in as many costs as they possibly can.
Be available to the builder to answer any questions promptly so they can continue working. Never have the builder waiting on you for an answer – time is money.
“You can find your body responding to those spaces and slowing down even if you’re not immediately aware that that’s what you’re doing.”
That’s certainly the case in the reading area painted in Resene Duck Egg Blue, a relaxing space Michelle says is “high-demand real estate” in the home, particularly in the morning. Last year, these pockets of calm were ideal in lockdown while the kids studied for exams and Michelle worked from home. The living area even doubled as a ballet studio for Michelle’s adult ballet classes over Zoom, with a chair substituting for a ballet barre.
The home’s exterior is a final salute to the original old bach painted in the same paint, Resene Sonyx 101 CoolColour tinted to Resene Foundry. “We loved the colour so much we painted the new house in the same colour,” says Michelle.
“We’ve had people walk past the house and ask us what the paint colour is. It just looks really smart and feels like it belongs.”
Michelle admits her house build did not have the drama of a great episode of Grand Designs New Zealand. The build and the design were a bit of a dream, running on time and under budget. Michelle is a stickler for details and pored over the plans and checked the building site each day to make sure she was involved in little decisions along the way.
“We had a really clear vision of what we wanted from the start and were able to make decisions quickly. I think it’s one of the reasons it’s all gone so well.”
When painting an exterior a dark colour, opt for a Resene CoolColour formula. The special heat-reflective technology helps keep the exterior surface cooler and protects the substrate.
The exterior weatherboards are in pre-primed Vulcan cladding from Abodo, which arrived on site primed ready for painting in Resene paints. The exterior colour is the same as the original bach, Resene Sonyx 101 tinted to Resene Foundry in a Resene CoolColour variant. The trims are in Resene Half Ecru White to coordinate with the joinery and the soffits are in Resene Double Alabaster. The deck is kwila which is best protected with Resene Kwila Timber Stain.
For more info on her financial coaching, contact
Michelle on [email protected].
design Lisa Day, Donnell Day Architects www.donnellday.co.nz
words Emma Rawson
images Jessica Chloe Gernat
Published: 19 Dec 2022
Do you have a home full of wonderful Resene paint and colour? Send us some snaps by emailing [email protected].
Resene Duck Egg Blue
Resene Duck Egg Blue
Resene Quarter Ecru White
Resene Quarter Ecru White
Resene Double Alabaster
Resene Double Alabaster
Resene Half Ecru White
Resene Half Ecru White
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Resene Duck Egg Blue
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the look
If you're stuck on what
colour to use or need colour
advice, try out the Resene
Ask a Colour Expert service.
