Nature rules

Architect Pat de Pont of SGA takes his lead from the natural world around him. He won a Resene Total Colour award for this villa renovation and extension project where he combined larch finished with Resene Woodsman Whitewash and Resene Siam on existing weatherboards.

How can colour be used to complement good architecture?

The idea of colour as one of the key tools in the box that appeals, like light, texture and materiality. Colour is quite versatile – it can be used equally as a hammer or a hand plane.

Do you have a preference for how to use colour in interiors?

The preference is to let the project determine how to approach colour – what is appropriate and/or possible will be coloured (forgive the pun) by the context, the site, the client and the resulting design idea.

Why do you think neutral colours are so often used for exteriors?

Our natural environment is quite muted with greens, browns and blacks in the native bush and birds, with the odd splash of colour such as pohutukawa and kowhai flowers and the like. I think that affects the way we respond to colour and that there’s probably still a natural conservatism in the Kiwi psyche too – a desire to not stand out too much.

What are three of your favourite current Resene colours?

Resene Ironsand which is pretty timeless and calls to mind Auckland’s west coast beaches and the native bush.

Resene Rusty Nail which is an earthy orange/red and a useful complement to brown and black.

Resene Fuel Yellow is a muddied happy yellow which is good for choreographing movement and lighting the way.