New Ideas, Old Fashion Service
The exterior of this home was still in good condition, but the owners wanted to change the colour of the outdated pink stucco. The house has a great curb appeal and interesting architectural lines, but somehow it doesn’t seem to be appreciated in the pink colour. To make the home look more modern we painted the stucco in a combination of light and mid-tone warm grey colours.
What a difference! The new colour scheme makes the house look sophisticated and current.
The stucco of this tudor style home was previously painted in a very light off white colour and the trim detail was a lighter brown with a red undertone. The owners wanted to add some warmth to the stucco by having it painted a buttercream colour. To add more depth to the trim and more contrast with the body of the house we darkened it to a deep chocolate brown.
It was easy to enjoy our work days on the property with its incredible setting and views. The new look suits the house well and the owners are very pleased.
Since this house was due for painting the owners decided to take the opportunity to change the look. The rock work at the sides of the overhead garage door and the patio stones at the front entry have red and brown in them. The downspouts and gutters are brown with a reddish undertone. These are fixed features on the house and are important to take into consideration when choosing new colours.
It was decided that the trim would stay brown to match the gutters and downspouts. The current brown was a bit lighter and had a reddish undertone. We decided to re-paint it with a darker chocolate brown. The body was changed from green to a brown with a warm undertone. It works well with the bricks and rock work. The doors and overhead garage door were repainted in a cream colour similar to what they were.
We had to do an extensive amount of scraping on this cedar siding home. A lot of the previous coating was flaking and peeling. We filled smaller cracks where we could, but some of the boards had large splits right through them. There were areas that were starting to rot and soften. The owner had the necessary boards replaced before we started painting. Areas with gaps like the garage door were caulked before we painted.
The owner didn’t want to vary too far from the current colour scheme, but wanted the new siding colour to have less of a yellow tone in it. They chose a light grey stone colour for the siding. The house has very little trim work and most of what it did have was painted the same as the siding. The only areas of contrast were the dark brown fascia boards and the trim around the overhead garage door. To give the house more character we painted out the corner pieces of trim in the same dark brown as the fascia boards.
We painted the exterior of this owners last house a few years ago and coincidently it was also stucco. They hired us again to paint the exterior of their newly purchased home. The stucco was the original light peach tone from when the house was first built. The owners had us paint it in a warm white. The overhead garage door, fascia boards and the small amount of trim work on the house were also done in white. It looks clean and refreshed.
This large Hardie Board siding house in Nanaimo was ready for its first repaint since being built. Over the years, the exterior surfaces—including the siding, wood trim, and especially the overhead garage doors—had become weathered and faded. In the before photo below, you can see that there is little distinction between the trim and siding, leaving the house looking dull and lackluster.
To give the house a fresh and modern look, we developed a new exterior colour palette. The body colour is Sherwin Williams Hardware, a sophisticated green-grey paired with Grecian Ivory a creamy, light taupe with green-gray undertones for the trim work. Multiple sets of French doors and other access doors were also painted in this light colour, creating harmony across all surfaces.
To add depth and visual interest, we used Sherwin Williams Chatroom a slightly lighter shade of green-grey on the board and batten gables. This creates subtle contrast while maintaining a cohesive and balanced appearance.
A major highlight of the project is the grand front entry. We painted the double doors and surrounding trim in a deep charcoal, Sherwin Williams Iron Ore, which in certain lighting shows a slight blue undertone. This bold choice adds dramatic impact and draws attention to the entrance, making a strong first impression.
The overhead garage doors were painted in the same green-grey Hardware colour with surrounding Grecian Ivory trim. This combination enhances the contrast without overpowering the rest of the house, resulting in a balanced and polished exterior.
Thinking about updating your own home exterior? Visit our Exterior Painting Services page to see how we can transform your house with expert preparation, premium paint, and long-lasting results. We are a husband and wife team that have been providing high-quality interior and exterior house painting in Nanaimo for over 20 years. We can offer colour advice to give your home a fresh new look. Contact us by email or phone to schedule free, no-obligation quote.
This is a modern farmhouse inspired home that we painted earlier in the exterior season and went back to take more photos after the landscaping was complete. It’s an interesting and unique design. The house wraps around a central courtyard with a garage and a small studio sitting at the front of the property.
Check out the patio with the outdoor fireplace and television! The designer requested that the entire house be painted in white. It works well with the stark contrast of the black windows and doors.
You can make even the smallest rooms feel open and inviting with the right paint colours, lighting, and décor choices. Here are some expert painting and design tips to help your home feel more spacious.
By painting the walls and trim in the same colour it eliminates the visual break up between the two elements. To give the trim work a bit of highlight and difference it is painted with satin sheen paint, the same colour on the walls is in a lower sheen eggshell.
If the baseboards in this room were white it would create a perimeter around the room and emphasize the small floor space. By having a consistent colour on the wall and baseboard it also minimizes the fact that the ceilings are only eight feet in height.
Parnell Painting is a small Nanaimo residential painting company that has gained an excellent reputation by providing consistent, high quality work. We offer a truly personal service as a husband and wife team that has been painting together for over twenty years. We can help you modernize your house interior with a new colour combination or do a refresh with the current colours. Examples of our work can be seen in our Portfolio of Interior Painting
Contact us by email or phone to schedule a free, no obligation quote.
Latex paint dries quickly, often within an hour at normal room temperature and humidity, but full curing take much longer. However, drying and curing are too different things. While the surface of the paint may feel dry, the finish is still soft and vulnerable. Most paint takes 2-4 weeks to fully cure and reach maximum hardness. Until it’s had some time to cure damage can occur from wiping the walls, brushing against them or hitting it with an object.
When having the exterior of your home painted, adjust sprinklers to prevent water from hitting fresh paint. It’s okay if it rains later that day, but it’s the pressure of sprinklers that could blemish the fresh paint. In general it’s best to have your sprinklers set so that they don’t spray your house altogether.
If at all possible wait 48–72 hours before showering or bathing in a freshly painted bathroom. Avoid placing damp towels where they can touch freshly painted surfaces. Turn on the bathroom fan after the painter is finished and leave it on for several hours or overnight to help withdraw humidity. If the room is not well ventilated and too much moisture or humidity is allowed to gather on the freshly painted surfaces it can cause issues in the finish.
Keep this in mind when having your bathrooms painted and think about what’s going to work for your family. Is there an alternative bathroom that’s not being painted that you can use for a couple of days while the freshly painted ones have a chance to start curing? If you’re having all the bathrooms in the house painted along with several other spaces or the entire house a professional painter will likely work on one bathroom at the start of the job and leave others until closer to the end to allow for alternating use of the bathrooms.
It’s good practice to keep a ventilation fan running during and after showers all of the time to prevent moisture damage. Proper ventilation is crucial to maintain a smooth, long-lasting paint finish and help to prevent mold and mildew in your bathroom.
It’s best to wait at least 48 hours before hanging photos, artwork and other decor items on the wall, otherwise you risk them sticking.
Avoid placing objects on freshly painted horizontal surfaces like fireplace mantels and window sills for about a week. The weight of objects pressing down into the paint finish increases the chance of it sticking. Items such as towel bars, door knobs, light switch and electrical outlet covers are generally safe to put back on after 24 hours.
We’re a local Nanaimo painting company with over 20 years of experience. As a husband-and-wife team, we take pride in providing personal service and exceptional craftsmanship.
Contact Parnell Painting today by email or phone to schedule a free, no-obligation estimate. We’ll help you bring fresh colour and lasting beauty to your home.
Painting the exterior of your home goes beyond aesthetics, paint is one of the layers of protection for your home. Unfortunately many homeowners wait far too long leaving their home until there’s an extensive amount of scraping, sanding and re-caulking to be done. The extra labour to do this preparation will add to the painting costs.
Neglecting the maintenance of a home’s exterior can result in wood rot, excessive mold or mildew build up or water ingress. Wood siding or trim work that is not kept well protected with paint can become prone to warping, cupping or cracking. Having to hire someone to replace damaged wood can be costly, especially if it’s on the higher levels of the house.
This bucket is full of peeling and flaking paint from the cedar siding shown on the house below.
Luckily this scenario was not as bad as it could have been. With the exception of about a dozen boards the siding on the house was still in relatively good shape. However, the cost and installation of the new cedar boards and extensive preparation added a significant cost to the painting of the house.
It’s a mistake to allow one portion of your house to deteriorate because the rest is not in need of painting. If one side of your house is exposed to harsh sunlight or elements of the weather it may require painting long before the rest of the house. Take care of it when it’s needed to avoid costly repairs down the road. Trim work and fascia boards are particularly prone to weathering, fading and discolouration while the body of the house may still be in good condition.
High-quality paint is essential for durability, however the preparation prior to its application is what ensures a long-lasting finish. Low-quality paint is prone to faster fading, accelerated mildew and algae growth and may scuff or stain easily.
Keep the number of colours to a minimum – Multiple colours increase the labour and paint costs.
Be mindful with accent or feature walls: One is fine; multiple can slow progress and increase labour and paint costs.
Skip unnecessary areas: Painting closets or pantries is labor-intensive with many of them containing complex hanging systems and shelving – omit them if they are in good condition and the colour doesn’t require changing.
Closet shelving can often be removed making it easier to paint. However, the mounting hardware has to stay in place which leave dozens of clips to cut-in and paint around.
Planning and proper scheduling can reduce painting costs and using proper preparation techniques and high-quality paint is the key to ensuring a professional, long-lasting finish. Regular maintenance and smart choices save both time and money.
We are a small Nanaimo painting company with over 20 years experience, we provide an excellent client experience from start to finish.
Contact us by email or phone to schedule a free, no obligation quote.
