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Australia's favourite colours: The impact a good paint job can have on the value of your home

When it comes to Aussies and paint colours, it would appear there a few fast favourites that seem to pop up again and again. With certain areas of the country favouring particular hues.

It goes without saying that painting is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to instantly spruce up your home. Not only that, but a colour palette really can make or break the mood and ambience you’re trying to create in a space.

“Colour, in particular, can be incredibly influential when it comes to our emotions and state of mind,” says Djordje Dikic, CEO & Co-founder of Tint.

Tint paint colours Bubble Bath with chair against wall

Paint colours can have a big impact on the feeling of your home. Picture: Tint


“Whether it’s a new coat of paint for the whole house or a simple feature wall to take one room from zero to hero — a fresh tint can go a long way. It also does wonders when it comes to adding value to the home.”

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Tint is a direct-to-consumer paint company that uses some pretty nifty technology, called Pico, which digitises colour and enables users to measure, match, visualise, and be inspired by colour everywhere. 

Djordje is director and co-founder of Palette, which developed the Pico tech. Using trend-driven insights that are captured via their Pico technology, Palette has curated a collection of 71 classic and on-trend hues. 

Each month through Palette devices, more than 100,000 data points are collected relating to colours scanned around the globe. 

Tint paint on wall colour Sunken Treasure

Now you can capture your favourite colours and have the paint custom made ready for your home. Picture: Tint


It was actually the data and insights capture from Palette, that led Djordje and co-founder, Rocky Liang to launch Tint.

“Colour also has the ability to really tie a whole space together,” says Djordje. 

Of course, we took the opportunity to get the inside scoop on what Australia’s favourite colour picks are across the states.

Australia’s most popular paint colours

In recent months, their most popular colours have been the aptly named “Inner Self”, a pale dusty green, and “Ol’ Blue Eyes”, a cool dusty blue.

“It seems now more than ever that people are keen to make their homes warm, calming and generally a nicer place to be,” says Djordje.

“It’s nice to see a lot of relaxing green-grey tones right across the east coast right now – who knew we had so much in common? Heading into the cooler months, we’re also noticing people moving towards greige (grey crossed with beige), dustier blues and darker olive colours.”

Here’s a breakdown of the colours across different cities:

Melbourne: Deep blue with a hint of green

In Melbourne, dark blue with a hint of green “After Dark” has emerged as a favourite.

It could be that Melburnians are embracing the moodiness of iso, or their passion for dark coloured threads (AKA the Melbourne ‘uniform’). Whatever the reason, they’re not afraid to make a statement.

Tint paint After Dark swatch

This rich deep green-tinged-blue is Melbourne’s favourite tone. Picture: Tint


Sydney: Sandy beige

For Sydney, tastes are trending towards colours like “Fika” that are inspired by natural elements like sand, clay and the ocean – hues that are super easy on the eye at any time of year, these colours sit perfectly in natural light.

Tint paint Fika swatch

This earthy sandy beige is Sydney’s favourite shade. Picture: Tint


Brisbane: Light blue

As we know, not all of Australia gets particularly cold during the winter, so for somewhere further north like Brisbane, colour trends keep spaces light and bright.

Cool greys and dusty blues like our ‘Ol Blue Eyes’, can provide a relaxed mood without getting too heavy.

Tint Ol Blue Eye paint swatch

This light greyish blue is Brisbane’s pick of the bunch. Picture: Tint


Three tips for picking the right paint colour

Given that a good paint colour has the power to change the whole feeling of your home and up your resale value – without breaking the bank – we asked Djordje how to get it right so that your space shows off a little personality, style and ultimately makes a good impact.

1. Try before you buy

For those who want to see the colour on their wall before dipping their brush in, the Tint app has an augmented reality feature that lets you “try on” colours and see how it will look in your home and on your walls.

This is a great place to start if you’re not feeling quite ready to start putting paint on the walls but want to know how the end result will look.

Tint paint

The Pico will let you read the colour of your walls before you paint over them. Picture: Tint


2. Break colour up with trims

If you’re thinking of incorporating more pastels in your space, saturating a space in a colour you love can create a really cool sensory experience that might be just what you’re looking for.

If you’re wanting to keep it light but still use colour, consider keeping trims white to help break up the colour and keep it easy on the eye.

Bolder, brighter colours, on the other hand, can work especially well for feature walls, coloured archways or half walls.

living room

When going bold, remember you can break it up by using an accent on the trims. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy


3. You can do no wrong

We always say that the first rule of colour is there are no rules about colour. If you’re worried about choosing a “wrong” colour — don’t be.

Paint isn’t as permanent as you might think and at the end of the day, if you love a colour and it feels right in your home, then you should trust your instincts.

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