The difference this exterior colour makeover made to this Mid-Century Modern home in Sydney was extraordinary. I personally love mid-century design, so it was a joy to help bring this house back to its best. It had been the family home to four siblings, and we all worked together to select the new palette. The fact that they all loved the result made this a very special project.
The design looks for all the world like an iconic Beachcomber house (by architect Nino Sydney for Lend Lease in the 1960s), with the entire lower level enclosed in breeze block. Breeze block painted in a dark Brunswick Green (!) with the upper level in white.
Modernising the colour palette to have the widest possible appeal was important, as the house was to be sold. So we started by looking at images of restored and modernised mid-century style houses. A brightly coloured front door is an eye-catching feature on many mid-century homes (think iconic Palm Springs). You wouldn’t believe how many shades of tangerine are out there, but we found one. It makes all the external doors “pop” and also looked great as the feature colour in the (still original) kitchen.
Wanting an exterior scheme appealing to the widest range of potential buyers, we went for a neutral earthy tone for the breeze block. It was dark enough to “ground” the building, but not so dark as to be overwhelming. We also applied it to the beams on the upper balcony, which forms the front entrance. A dark charcoal on all the supporting beams and posts for the ramp and stairs made a great contrast to the white cladding and neutral breeze block colour.
Looking back at these photos I see how an updated exterior colour palette, along with a vibrant colour on all the doors, has transformed this Mid-Century Modern gem.
Further information
See further details of our Colour Consulting Services.
A Before and After page will be added soon.