Find the perfect shade of grey

Photographs Francois Oberholster • Styling Marian van Wyk

Gone are the days of exterior walls being either beige or white. Whatever colour takes your fancy, it’s sure to be found in the extensive Dulux palette – and the good news is that Dulux Weatherguard, a tough, durable exterior paint, can be tinted with any of these hues to completely transform your home.

Sarah Curtis-Bowles chose a trendy dark grey for her Cape Town home.

“I always loved the white exterior of our Victorian house but I was in the mood for a more sophisticated look,” she says. “I was also looking for something that wouldn’t show dirt as easily and would maintain its appeal for a reasonable length of time. The natural choice, therefore, was a dark shade.

Before the transformation, Sarah’s house was a crisp white – look how the new colour has transformed the outdoor shower adjacent to the courtyard. Stunning!

“While my go-to preference when it comes to dark colours is charcoal, I wanted something different so I set my heart on a dark grey with a tinge of brown: Dulux Rum Caramel 1. It totally transformed the exterior of my house and inspired me to install a Moroccan-style water feature with elegant matching tiles that complement the hue.

“I just love how the plants are shown off to best effect against the dark walls and how the courtyard feels like a neatly contained space in the middle of the city. I adore the contrast with the white interior walls. I couldn’t have wished for a better result.”

Love the look? Consider these shades:

Colour references are as accurate as printing will allow. Please refer to the in-store stripe cards or on-shelf colour displays for an accurate representation of the colour.