We create overlays and detailed renders on architect plans to help owners visualise new colours – and choose colours they love.

It’s simple to get started, all we need is:

• Architect‘s drawing or plans
• Colours and materials

There are three levels of detail: basic, detailed and hyper realistic, depending on what the client needs to help them visualise new colours.

There are several reasons why clients might need visualisations of their new build or renovation, including:

• They need to submit their plans for DA approval
• Their build has been a long time in the planning and they need the visualisation to help stay inspired or reignite excitement
• They are having trouble imagining colours, but are visual people and need to ‘see’ it
• Perhaps there are several parties involved and they all need to get on the same wavelength

Bring architect drawings to life >> contact now

The post New Builds and Renovations appeared first on Digital Overlay.

This commercial marine strata property, sitting on a street of commercial marine properties, needed to stand out and look stylish.

The goal of the repaint was to turn the drab premises with a dated colour scheme into an energetic and masculine property, which also looked refined and upmarket.

The client wanted the large commercial estate to stand out from the crowd in its Coomera neighbourhood, tucked between Dreamworld and the Hope lsland canals.

Including blue in the scheme was a must, to link the property to the marine industry of the area, but the client most definitely did not want a cheesy tropical look.

How to stand out and look chic, when surrounded by properties housing the same types of marine-based businesses, became the question.

By the time I arrived on site, the clients already had a wall of paint samples and were close to wit’s end, because painting was due to start the following week!

We were lucky to have a situation where there was a majority shareholder, so the colour change did not need to go to a vote.

We searched through paint swatches and discussed the samples already applied.

Digital Overlays

We explored the idea of a pop of colour, and orange was one suggestion. We also played with different ratios of lighter and darker shades.

Digital overlays were instrumental in fine-tuning the colour scheme – so many colour samples had been painted, it was invaluable to use the digital colour mock-ups to shortlist the colour options.

The Colour Scheme

Once we knew the direction we were heading, we could fine-tune the colours.

I directed the client to a beautiful, strong dark muted blue, which paid homage to the marine industry of the area and gave depth and gravity to the scheme.

To this, I added a chic mid-tone cool griege, for a contemporary twist in harmony with the blue.

These were partnered with a crisp light not-quite-white grey that wouldn’t be too glarey or washed out in the blazing Gold Coast sun.

The painter, Higgins Coatings, applied several sample paints for the clients to examine as we sought the perfect shades of the chosen colours.

The client representatives were active participants as we refind the colour scheme, and it was their clear brief that helped us achieve a fantastic result.

What’s more, now that the property looks amazing, the tenants are now also taking better care of the appearance of their units, the client said.

The result is strong and upmarket; a chic-marine look.

So satisfying!

Email to learn more about colour help

The post Fresh colours transform commercial marine precinct appeared first on Digital Overlay.

The reason comes down to a small but significant distinction between property maintenance and improvement:

If a property is being repainted in the existing colour scheme, that’s considered maintenance.

But if a strata property is being painted in new colours, that’s considered an improvement.

That’s because the purpose of the change is not just to make repairs. It’s also, ideally, to increase the value of the property by using more contemporary colours.

Property improvements require a special resolution and must be voted on by the community of owners.

While rules vary slightly from state to state, general rule-of thumb is at least 75% of votes must be for the new colour scheme, or at least no more than 25% against it.

This process takes time, and sometimes no small amount of heartache depending on the rapport within the voting community.

How to make colour change easier

• Begin considering a colour change at the same time as deciding to repaint This saves a huge amount of time. Leaving it to the last minute creates an enormous headache for everyone involved, possible additional EGMs, and the stress of trying to get everything decided on in time for the painting start date.
• Work with a colour consultant at the same time as obtaining quotes from painters This allows multiple decisions to be made at each meeting, rather than having to call extra meetings to vote on colour.
• Committees often like to see a few options New colour schemes visualised via digital colour overlays allow committees to choose their preferred one or two options to take to the owners to vote on.
• Colour overlays assist owners to visualise new colours, and can be emailed or mailed to interstate owners, and help them see the value in selecting a contemporary, suitable colour scheme.
• Having actual paint colour samples available to view on the property helps owners understand how the colours appear on their property at different times of day.

Need help choosing colours? Contact now for colour consultation and colour overlays

For more details, read Hynes Legal article: A fresh coat of paint: Maintenance or improvement?

Need help visualising colours? Order overlays now!

The post Reduce the strata property colour-change headache appeared first on Digital Overlay.

I’m hearing people are say they’re getting tired of the grey trend and want to see a little more… wait for it… colour on their homes!

They’re also afraid of choosing a colour scheme that will look dated in years to come, like the way fake terracotta tiles and purple suede wall paint look to us now. (Sigh, did you love the 90s too?!)

It’s not a trend specifically, but a noticeable number of people over the past several months have been asking for green-based colour schemes for their properties.

A whole range of muted green colours: beiges with khaki undertones, muted greens and green-blues, and greys with hints of sea-green.

Wondered I, is it due to environmental factors, like longing for greener days during a drought or being inspired by the bright new grass growing around the fire-blackened tree stumps of bushfire devastated forestry?

Probably not… but what I suspect is that property owners are branching out, looking beyond grey, but not too far beyond grey.

Which brings us to my crystal ball paint colour prediction, which is what I tell people when they ask me how long until grey’s over:

Trends in paint colours move sloooowly. That’s because it’s a long time between repaints of a building.

“Yes, and that’s why we don’t want to choose a bad colour scheme,” they say. And I agree.

No-one knows what the future holds. But we can make predictions based on the trajectory of what we’ve seen already, combined with general assumptions on human psychology and guesses about future technology.

And now, for my own humble predictions:

Greys, grey-beiges, and high-contrast black and white, will continue for some time into the future.

Black and white is gaining in popularity, and may well overtake grey as a dominating trend.

But property owners who are getting bored with these neutrals are looking for a scheme that will look different from (but not ghastly next to) the neighbours, are beginning to play with undertones, as in “a-neutral-with-an-undertone-of-my-favourite-colour-please”. 

I’m predicting we’ll see people getting slightly more adventurous with their colours, maybe even branching out into a full spectrum of muted hues, including barely-there greens and blues, along with dusty pinks and bright mustards.

We’ll see these as a colour pop against black and white, like a lapel pin on the tuxedo suit of colour schemes.

And I’d love to see these hues play a starring role as the key colour of a property.

We’ve already been seeing red, yellow and teal in statement front doors and feature walls for a while now, and I’ve been receiving requests for muted greens and green-blues in feature walls over the past 12 months.

I’ve been offering pinks and mustards occasionally, which have received varying levels of enthusiasm!

I think we’ll see colour creeping in around the edges of black and white, as we ease away from the grey trend.

Ultimately, when it comes to trends and choosing colours for your property, we need to hone in on what we know right now: the constraints of the property and which colour schemes you like.

With this information, an experienced colour consultant can help you choose a beautiful colour scheme for your home or property.

For help choosing colours, contact me via your preferred method of communication:

– Phone 1800 015 935 to book a time to meet

– Email projects@digitaloverlay.com.au and get your new colour scheme sorted

The post Paint colour trends got you confused? appeared first on Digital Overlay.

Helen knew which colours she and her fellow committee members were interested in, but needed help to communicate their ideas visually to the body corporate so they could decide to update their colour scheme.

That’s when she was referred to me by Leisuretex, who would go on to win the repaint contract.

The risk was real: if new colours were too difficult to decide on, the winning vote would have been the existing baby-poo brown.

And no one, almost, wants that.

By showing new colours on a photo, the overlays gave the body corporate the confidence to change.

Here’s what Helen said:
“Once the owners saw the overlays, there was no problem getting the colours through.
“If they didn’t have a visual, the majority wouldn’t have been able to picture it.
“Everyone loves it.
“The buildings are 16-years-old, but now they look new.
“I’m really glad we did that.”

Need help getting a body corporate to decide on a new colour scheme? Pop your details here and we’ll get in touch for a free chat about your project:

The post Suspect colour scheme appeared first on Digital Overlay.

The owner of this century-old timber home in Clayfield has style.

After completing a stunning renovation of the bathrooms, the owner turned her impeccable eye for design to the exterior – but it has not all been smooth sailing.

The client’s previous painter quoted – and delivered – a cheap job, which had to be cut short and underwent investigation by the Master Painters. This left her unhappy and seeking a professional service.

Brisbane’s Signature Painters came to the rescue and asked us to help the owner choose her new colour scheme.

Together we worked through dark grey-browns, but inspiration can in the form of a dark charcoal house in a nearby neighbourhood and Colorbond Monument was selected to be the wall colour.

The owner knew she wanted black and white for the trims, so we fine-tuned which would go where in a series of digital overlays to get the colour design just right.

The newly replaced gutters were already black, so that was a no-brainer.

We continued the black on the handrails, post knobs and finials.

The remaining trims, including post moulds, veranda brackets, balustrade, fascia and window hoods were chosen to be in Lexicon Quarter for high contrast.

We had originally selected Antique White USA for the white, which worked with the original dark grey-browns we were looking at, but it looked too creamy against the Monument walls so we had to switch whites.

Lexicon Quarter is just about as white as paint can be while still maintaining good colour coverage, so was the perfect choice for a super high contrast black and white colour scheme.

The result is a dynamic, head-turning colour design which will stand out in a neighbourhood of beautifully renovated houses.

Here are the original colours + overlay:

The post Black & White Wonder appeared first on Digital Overlay.

The Marine Cove body corporate needed help to choose colours for their fast-approaching repaint and we were appointed to assist.

The committee members involved in the choosing the scheme didn’t know which
colours they wanted – they knew the colours must match the decorative stone on
the building and wanted a feature colour, but one that was more
colourful than popular grey for their ocean-facing property.

Our intrepid colour consultant aided the members, honing in on their unrealised colour preference for a deep blue feature and refining two suitable colour scheme options which also looked great with the stone decoration on the balconies and front retaining wall.

With paint colour fandecks and a kit of colour samples, our intrepid colour
consultant aided the members, honing in on their unrealised colour preference
for a deep blue feature and refining two suitable colour scheme options which
also looked great with the stone decoration on the balconies and front
retaining wall.

Large colour samples were used to check the colours in different light and
against the stone features and existing frames which weren’t being painted, to
make sure they would look great on different parts of the building – we use
large colour samples, because small paint chips don’t give an accurate enough
idea of the colour for choosing which hue would look good on a building.

Both schemes featured a light neutral for the main walls, a darker neutral
hue for the retaining walls, a clean white for soffits and a stunning blue for
the feature wall.

We ended the colour consultation with the two schemes decided one – we always
aim to end the consultation with clarity on which colour schemes we’ll use for
overlays (and for members to choose between), because we realise time is of the
essence.

Occasionally a bit of additional work needs to be done, for example, if a
unique feature colour is required, in which case we continue to refine the
colour scheme to get it right.

The next step was to create the digital colour overlays, where we added the
colour schemes to a photo of the building.

Colour samples were also given to the owners to they could see the colours
and view them alongside the overlays, in case screens or lighting altered the
colours on the overlays.

With this comprehensive colour guide, the body corporate were able to vote
on which scheme they wanted, and the painting went ahead as scheduled.

The painting was delivered by Integrity Project Management, and the result
was fantastic.

Marine Cove looks amazing with a fresh, contemporary colour scheme, and the
body corporate is very pleased.

If you need help with selecting colours, our colour consultant and digital
overlay artists are ready to help.

We cover the Brisbane region, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.

We also link with best-of-the-best colour consultants in Sydney to deliver on-site consultations and digital overlays throughout Sydney.

And we also provide email-based colour consultations and overlays across Australia.

Email-based colour consultations take a little extra time, to allow for colour samples to be mailed, but it provides the convenience of working in around your other committments.

Contact us to discuss further.

Yours in colour visualisation,
Rachael Langford
Digital Overlay Australia.

The post Colour scheme for Redcliffe appeared first on Digital Overlay.

Statement doors work best in highly saturated colours, including glossy black, bold red or cheery yellow.

Pay attention to the whole colour scheme to ensure the colours match, especially if your statement door colour is muted or pastel.

More colour themes:

Colour Trend: Pink

2020 Colour Trends

The post Statement Doors appeared first on Digital Overlay.

Pair with cool blues and minty greens for an exciting edge, or match with warmer hues for a cosy feel.

Here are some fabulous pink colour schemes:

More colour themes:

Statement Doors

The post Colour trend: Pink appeared first on Digital Overlay.

The how, why and who of visualising new paint colours.

See new colour schemes on a picture of your place

Painting a property is an investment of time, effort and money – and depending on the size and substrate of your place, the investment may be a large one.

Property owners who come to us want to find a colour scheme that will look great for as long as the paintwork is expected to last.

Imagine arriving home to a place you love to be, pulling into the driveway, and seeing your house look magnificent, in a well-suited colour scheme.

Here’s why people choose Digital Overlays:

• We love to help! We are driven to provide excellent customer service and top communication.
• Our service is super quick.
• We understand how to maximise colour accuracy in a range of different lighting situations.
• Our overlay artists are experts in our field – we tidy up imperfections like flaking paint, so your place will look like it’s received a fresh coat of paint.
• We are experts in adding architectural features and 3D rendering, so we can digitally change your building and landscaping.
• We’re friendly and are here to support you in your colour decision.

Visualise with colour renderings

Colour mock-ups, renders and layovers all mean the same thing: images to help us see new colours on a building.

We create digital overlays based on photos and architect drawings, using colours specified by property owners, colour consultants, painters, and our own Colour Cru colour consultation service in Brisbane.

“Digital Overlay Australia stopped me making a HUGE mistake and painting my house colours that weren’t ‘Me’. The colourist’s three suggested colour palettes all appealed – how to decide? By seeing images of my ‘newly painted house’ Digital Overlay Australia removed the guesswork and I made an informed decision on the best colour for my home. Great communicators and speedy too.”

– Anastasia Blake, Brisbane digital overlay client

Choose the right colour scheme

Making mistakes with colour can be expensive – getting colours and colour placement wrong can stop workflow and create expense when repainting is required.

You may know which colours you like, but aren’t sure where to use them; maybe you are trying to decide between different schemes; or perhaps you are seeking visual confirmation you are making the right choice – these are all situations in which we have helped people solve their problems.

Overlays will show you what you are wondering about and can help answer many questions very quickly.

Body Corporate and Strata Property Paint Colours

Overlays are perfect for when several people and different parties must work together to decide on a colour scheme.

Our images are frequently used to help body corporates make an informed decision – by showing owners or committee members what the colour scheme options are expected to look like.

We help body corporate members get on the same page about colour and make an educated decision.

Imagine new colour schemes

Many people are visual – they need to see something to understand it, yet it is difficult to visualise new colour schemes when this is not something you are accustomed to doing.

We love helping people see how their place could look – and we would love to help you too.

The post Colour Clarity with Digital Overlays appeared first on Digital Overlay.

The dominant colour trend for grey houses often leaves owners of terracotta-roofed homes in a twist – but it is easy to get contemporary colour schemes right for this common colour problem.

But help is here: Colour consultant Jan Searle, who works out of the Porter’s Paints New Farm store in Brisbane, Queensland,and runs her colour consultancy Urban Colour, has come to the rescue with two beautiful colour schemes to match this tricky combination.

Her two colour selections feature both a warm scheme and cool scheme, both in contemporary greys and naturals, tipping her hat to the dominant colour trends, while complementing the hues of terracotta and cream.

These beautiful colours give a handy guide to follow when choosing colours for your project. Need help visualising how it could look? Click here to find out more about ordering digital overlays.

Colour Scheme 1

#TerracottaCream1

The first scheme selected by Jan features a green-based grey, which helps tone down the red of the terracotta tiles. This is paired with a lovely light grey-white with earthy undertones. Coconut Milk is a lovely clean creamy white for trims or soffits.

This scheme is perfect if you are searching for a mid-dark grey to suit terracotta and cream. On the other hand, if you want to embrace earthy tones, Colour Scheme 2 is for you.

Colour Scheme 2

#TerracottaCream2

Grey doesn’t do it for you? Earthy tones abound in this warm colour scheme to match your terracotta tiles and cream frames. Again, the undertones will help tone down the orange of terracotta, while remaining warm enough to match cream.

Want to try out new colour schemes on your property?

Order these schemes on your overlays: type #TerracottaCream1 and #TerracottaCream2 into the “Wall” fields of the order form and we’ll know to show you these schemes.

Here’s an interview we did to talk more about how digital overlays help people visualise new colour schemes:

Got a question? We would love to hear from you and will reply as soon as we can:

The post Colours that match terracotta and cream appeared first on Digital Overlay.

This soft, pastel brown supports bold colours, and packs a punch in some of the best colour schemes we’ve seen recently.

Beige can have undertones of pink, purple or orchre, or may be an undertone itself, warming up a grey or white.

Versatile, there are is a beige out there to work with almost any colour limitation – for example, if you are seeking a colour scheme to match blue gutters, or colours to tone down red brick.

While grey is the dominant trend, we’re seeing some beautiful beige-based schemes shine through!

Here are some of the best colour schemes we’ve seen lately, featuring beige:

This contemporary coastal home is softened with fleshy beige colour Dulux Finishing Touch and a darker pinky brown Dulux Toffee Fingers, which blend with the orange hues of the brick feature wall:

These townhouses look bold and chic in a beige and dark grey colour scheme of Dulux Self-Destruct and Dulux Raku. This colour scheme is an excellent choice if you are searching for colours to match a blue gutter, such as Colorbond Deep Ocean, or dark roof tiles:

Beige-greys are a warmer option to grey, and look fantastic with whites that have beige undertones and dark grey trims, like this scheme of Dulux Natural Flow, Dulux Whitsunday Island and Colorbond Ironstone:

Looking for something a bit bolder? This colour scheme on a coastal unit block includes a mocha feature wall of Dulux Baton, the warm white with beige undertones of Dulux Baltic Sand, and charcoal of Colorbond Monument:

If you are searching for colours that match and tone down red brick, these beige-leaning-tans, trimmed with cream and black, will complement the brick, while looking good in their own right. This chic scheme features Resene colours Triple Sisal, Pale Oyster, Half Spanish White and Ironsand, in both Half and Double.

Would you like to see one of these colour schemes on a photo of your home?

We create digital overlays to help you see new colours on your property – perfect if you are having trouble imagining how new colours could look.

Find out more here, or if you have a photo handy of your place, click this button to order a set of overlays:

The post Best of beige appeared first on Digital Overlay.