Blooming colour

Architecturally designed to embrace the rhythms and colours of nature, this stunning Heathcote Valley house is a finalist in the 39th annual Dulux Colour Awards.

Heathcote Valley House is the only Christchurch home to become a finalist in this year’s Dulux Colour Awards, which aim to “celebrate the most innovative and inspiring uses of colour in architecture and design across New Zealand and Australia”.

Designed by Auckland-based Pac Studio, Heathcote Valley House is a quiet yet expressive study in colour, where hue and materiality mark a response to the landscape’s seasonal cycles, allowing the home to become more deeply embedded in its setting.

“Many of the projects entered in this year’s Dulux Colour Awards used colour to connect strongly to context,” says Alex McLeod, New Zealand judge and co-founder of at.space. “Heathcote House mastered this approach sensitively with a soft palette of hues and materials that responded to the landscape’s seasonal cycles and provided a backdrop for the home’s crafted elements and the clients’ floral creations.”

This year’s finalists showcase a fearless approach to colour, and the New Zealand projects impressed judges with their confident and artful integration of bold hues. Heathcote Valley House’s muted, soft shades offer a soothing yet subtly energising ambience, balanced out with clean timber detailing.

“Warmth extends both inside the home and outside to its sunny courtyard and gardens,” Alex says.

Project lead and Director of Pac Studio, Sarosh Mulla, had this vision in mind from the start. “We’ve strategically used colour as a tool to blur the boundaries between indoors and out, and to create a warm, ever-changing environment.”

Is there a hack in determining which colours will have staying power in your home interiors? Experts suggest knowing yourself and your preferences first, and avoid acting on trends or a whim. Use a colour palette that is personal, adding shades in a sophisticated manner to avoid overdoing it.