Budget restraints mean working with what they have so their only option was a change in colour. They wanted to stamp their mark on it as the previous owner’s blue and yellow colour scheme was not to their tastes. However, the red patterned concrete stairs were their first problem and previous attempts at painting them resulted in peeling paint in three months. With some good advice from Resene Botany ColorShop, their paint, Resene Smooth Surface Sealer, undercoats and various topcoat colours of Resene Half Lemon Grass (house), Resene Quarter Masala (base, trim, stairs), Resene Ebony Clay (doors) and Resene White (windows), has now stayed still for 10 months and counting and held up to everything the kids have thrown at it.

The doors are old and are the original ones judging from the colours found when sanding them back. They also had lumpy and missing putty to be dealt with but now the newly painted doors 'finish' the colour scheme and the Nixons are hoping their neighbours don’t cotton on and all paint their houses the same!