What Colour to Paint a House in Thailand: A Step-by-Step Method

What colour should you paint a house?

The short answer is that the right colour for a house is the colour that suits what cannot change on that house: the roof, the floors and paving, and the door and window frames. For most houses in Phuket and elsewhere in Thailand, a pale to mid main colour such as off-white, cream, beige or light grey is the safe choice, because such colours stay cooler, show fading slowly and are easy to pair. Add a second colour and a trim colour, then confirm the choice with sample patches on the real wall. This article is part of the house painting guides from Phuket Pro Painters.

Choosing a house colour does not take talent. A systematic method works in its place. The sections below follow the order in which the decisions should be made.

Where do you start when choosing a house colour?

Follow these six steps in order.

1. List what cannot change or is hard to change: the roof, floor tiles, decorative stone, aluminium frames and the existing boundary wall. Note whether those colours are warm or cool.
2. Consider the style of the house and the mood you want. Modern houses suit white, grey and a dark contrast colour. Tropical-style houses suit cream, beige and timber tones.
3. Look at the surroundings: the colours of neighbouring houses, the trees, and any colour rules set by the housing estate or the juristic person that manages the development.
4. Choose one main colour, one second colour and one trim colour. One house should not use more than three colours on its walls.
5. Shortlist two or three shades for each colour and paint sample patches on the real wall.
6. Look at the patches at several times of day, then decide.

Which colour group suits which kind of house?

The table sums up the colour groups most used on house walls, with the advantages of each and the points to watch in Phuket's climate.

Each group has its own pairing details. Grey, brown and cool tones each have a separate guide in our guide collection.

How should the main colour, second colour and trim be divided?

The usual principle is that the main colour covers most of the walls; the second colour covers a smaller area such as the ground floor, a projecting section or a feature wall; and the trim colour goes on mouldings, window surrounds, eaves soffits and columns. As a rough proportion, the main colour takes more than half, the second colour about a third and the trim the remainder. When a Thai painter or paint shop talks about a "two-tone" house, they mean this arrangement of a main and a second wall colour.

The main colour should be the palest shade, or the palest after the trim, because the largest area should stay coolest and be the easiest to maintain. The second colour should be at least two steps darker than the main colour so the difference shows. The front door is the place for a favourite colour, because a door is small and easy to repaint.

How does choosing interior colours differ from choosing exterior colours?

Interior colours are chosen by the use and the light of each room. Small rooms and rooms with little light should take pale shades to look wider and brighter. Bedrooms suit muted, calm shades. Living rooms take a neutral background with colour added through furniture. Carrying one background colour through several rooms makes a house look larger and more unified.

Interior colours also have to work with the floor, the curtains and the built-in furniture, all of which are harder to change than the walls. Owners planning to repaint rooms can read how the job runs on the interior painting service page.

How do strong sun and greenery change a colour?

Light is the variable that most often leads people to the wrong colour. Three things are worth knowing in Phuket.

• Midday sun is strong and white, and makes every shade on an exterior wall look paler than on the sample card. Very pale shades look almost white.
• Morning and evening light is orange-gold, which makes warm tones look deeper and cool tones look duller.
• Trees and lawn reflect green light onto the walls, and the sea and swimming pools reflect blue light. White and pale colours pick up these reflections most clearly.

Each side of one house therefore looks different, even in the same paint. A decision based on a single wall or a single time of day risks disappointment.

How do you paint sample patches that show the real result?

1. Buy sample-size cans or ask for samples of the shortlisted shades.
2. Paint a good-sized patch on the real wall, in two coats, so the full shade shows.
3. Paint patches on at least two sides of the house: one that takes strong sun and one in shade.
4. Put the main colour, second colour and trim colour close together to see whether they agree.
5. Let the paint dry fully, then look in the morning, at midday, in the evening and on an overcast day.
6. Look from the distance at which people normally see the house, such as from the gate or the road.

What are the limits of dark or bright colours in Phuket?

Dark colours absorb more heat, so the wall gets hot and the paint film expands and contracts a great deal each day. Dark and bright pigments also show fading clearly after continuous strong sun. A dark-painted house near the sea shows salt as a white haze more easily as well. Owners who like dark colours should use them where the eaves give shade or on small areas, and choose a paint grade that the manufacturer states is UV-resistant.

A change from an existing dark colour to a pale one, or from a pale colour to a bright one, usually needs extra coats to cover the old colour, which affects both the quantity of paint and the labour. Estimated rates are on the painting prices in Phuket page.

What should you plan once the colour is chosen?

With the colour settled, plan the timing. Interior work needs time for the smell to fade before anyone moves back into a room, as explained in the guide to waiting times after painting before moving in. Exterior work should take the season into account, because monsoon rain affects the job directly, as explained in the guide to painting a house in Phuket's rainy season.

Phuket Pro Painters surveys and measures the site free of charge and issues a written quotation before work starts, every time. With the labour-only option, the customer buys the chosen shade and we work out the quantity of paint. Details are on the house and villa painting service page.