Exciting site visit this week with the first panels of plywood now installed to the upper floor external deck ceiling. The balance of colours is beginning to become apparent. Great attention to detail again from the carpenter this week. A real pleasure to work with…even bought me a coffee today!

I have been consulting with the client this week on colours and finishes now that we are starting to see the impact of the plywood external elements. The next big step before we attend to the painted surfaces will be to see the impact of the spotted gum (darker timber) trim elements to the columns and screens that will act as a nice natural finish colour and balance for the ply.

In our original thoughts we had specified a spotted gum garage door finish as well. Having now seen the scale of this door and the visual presence it will have I am considering moving away from the dark colour spotted gum will give us. This is on the basis that some attention may be taken away from the ceiling. In short, we want the eye to be drawn to the feature element being the ceiling, not the garage door. As lovely as spotted gum is it may be too much surface area for the project as a dark colour, given that the use of spotted gum elsewhere on the project is all in smaller trim and batten detail elements.

I am leaning more toward a more muted colour to match our FC finish. This will fit very well with the overall scheme and attract a little less attention to the door :). Now time to see if the client agrees.

My point here is, colours and finishes are very difficult to get 100% correct on paper. Give yourself the opportunity to think about these things as you see the build come together. Certain things will be become apparent that may have been less of a concern on paper or difficult to see at the time. Design is a process of constant flux with no one correct answer. Best to acknowledge this and go with it!

Image above of the ceiling as seen upon entry to the home.