Orewa Beach House
Residential Exterior Category Finalist
Residential Interior Category Finalist
The 435 sq m home has been built on a waterfront property north
of Auckland that has been in the owner's family for 40 years.
The land presents 180 degree sea views, and the owners wanted the
house to compliment the location, not only in architectural style,
but also in the choice of colours.
Donna of Donna White Interior Design was asked to specify
colours that were different from the neighbouring properties,
whilst remaining sympathetic to them. The key to the colours
Donna specified lay in the ever changing natural environment.
The colour of the sea and the sky were the single most important
impacts of colour, and they changed constantly depending on the
weather. The blue-green hue of Pukaki (P30) painted on the
large expanse of plaster exterior reflects nature's whim.
This colour palette blends with the taupes and beiges of
neighbouring properties.
Rather than specifying a sofiet in predictable white, that may
have jarred the senses, Donna chose the deeper blue-green of
Waimarama (P45). The front door is the even deeper blue-green
of Titirangi (P45). The quiet strength of these colours is held
together with Silver Pearl Duralloy joinery, garage doors, and
louvered screens.
The interior colour palette continues to reflect the natural
environment, but also compliments the exterior palette. The
downstairs living area is open plan and includes the dining and
kitchen with butler's pantry. The colours selected in the
kitchen, pantry and dining space are painted in colours that even
in name alone, evoke the feeling of water and nature:
Sugarloaf Island, Ngataringa Bay, Tauherenikau and Cardrona.
Exterior Colours:
Dulux Double
Pukaki
Plaster
Dulux
Waimarama
Sofiet
Dulux
Titirangi
Front door
Dulux Duralloy Silver
Pearl
Joinery, garage and louvered Screens
Coloursteel Thunder
Grey
Roof and spouting

Interior Colours:
Dulux Ngataringa
Bay
Walls in open-plan kitchen, dining and living area
Dulux Sugarloaf Island
Quarter Lacquered
kitchen cabinets
Dulux
Tauherenikau
Lacquered cane dining chairs
Dulux
Cardrona Walls
in common areas, doors and all trims
Dulux Duralloy Silver
Pearl
Joinery and louvered screens
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Donna White

Donna has more than 10 years experience in Interior Design.
She launched her Interior Design career in earnest after
graduating from the prestigious Inchbald School of Interior Design
in London in 2002. Following graduation, Donna remained in
Europe working on a range of enviable interior design projects
including a 50-room Spanish hunting lodge owned by a British Duke,
the conversion of an 18th century church into a contemporary home,
and a play room for the child of a Saudi Arabian prince, before
returning to New Zealand to establish her own sole trader Interior
Design business.