Warm greys

I’m loving the colour scheme in this grand old colonial home we photographed for Home Beautiful recently (October issue). The exterior is a deep, muddy taupe, ‘Mondo’ by Resene – the formal living room a beautiful warm grey, Dulux ‘Grey Squirrel’ – and the bedrooms a soft grey, Resene ‘Eighth Bison Hide’. To add contrast all the cornices and other architectural details were painted white (as they were quite ornate and beautiful, this also served to highlighted their beauty).

It’s fairly unusual to find the exterior of a home painted in such a dark shade in Queensland – because of the heat –  but this home is fairly protected by the wrap-around wide verandas – you may not want to attempt if the sun was hitting a western wall all day! (The high ceilings in traditional Queensland homes also help to keep the heat above head height).

The warm greys really do create a peaceful, neutral backdrop. Perhaps a little moodier than white, but I think cosier too. Whilst a pure white backdrop works well with clear, fresh contrasting colours – a grey backdrop works best with vibrant but slightly greyed-off, or muted, hues.

The colour consultant on this project was Andrea Puller from Leighway Designs.

Photographs by John Downs