Dean of DH Painter & Decorator gives colour and finish advice in New Duston (NN5), on the north-west edge of Northampton. He helps owners choose colours that suit the old stone and red brick cottages, and fresher schemes for the estate houses, as part of a decorating quote.
Stone cottages and builder-grade estates need different answers
Colour questions in New Duston come in two broad kinds. Around the old centre, where Main Road, Port Road and Quarry Road meet, the task is choosing paint that sits comfortably next to natural stone and red brick. Out on the western estates, from Weggs Farm Road across to Rochelle Way, the task is usually replacing a colour scheme that has been on the walls since the house was built, or since the first redecoration.
The general principles, such as light direction, undertones and proper sample patches, are on our colour and finish advice page. Here is how they apply to New Duston’s houses.
Choosing colours to sit with natural stone and red brick
New Duston is one of the character areas in the Duston Neighbourhood Plan, and policy BE1 in that plan wants development to reflect the vernacular of older natural stone terraces and later red brick cottages, including their front boundary walls. That policy is aimed at development, not at the colour of your front door, but it describes what makes this corner of Duston look the way it does. A palette that respects the stone and brick keeps it that way.
In practice, that means:
- leaving bare red brick unpainted, and putting colour on the joinery, sills and gates instead
- judging every sample against the actual stone, outdoors, not against a paint chart indoors, because stone changes tone with weather and light
- using off-whites with a little warmth on window frames, as bright brilliant white can look stark against weathered stone
- keeping any painted stone in breathable mineral or silicate paint, which limits the choice of colours a little, so check availability before falling for a shade
Refreshing the 1980s-2000s houses off Rochelle Way
The detached houses on Avignon Close, Loire Close and their neighbours were built close together in a short period, so their front doors, garage doors and fascias tend to be of a similar age. Where the doors along a close still share one colour, a new one stands out. That can be good, but choose it while standing at the end of the close, not on the doorstep.
Indoors, many of these houses have hall, landing and stairwell open to each other, so one colour decision covers three spaces and two storeys of light. Dean usually suggests settling the stairwell colour first and building the rooms off it. Rooms that back onto tree cover near Harlestone Firs and the plantations get more shade and cooler light, and a grey that looks soft on a card can turn cold there.
Picking the right sheen for each kind of home
| Home type in New Duston | Colour priority | Finish we usually suggest |
|---|---|---|
| Stone or red brick cottage | Sit quietly with the masonry | Breathable paint on solid walls; eggshell on joinery |
| Purpose-built or council flat | Light, easy to match later | Washable matt that can be touched in |
| Detached estate house | One scheme across hall, landing and stairs | Durable matt on walls; satin or eggshell on woodwork |
| Frontage on Harlestone Road | Hide traffic grime | Washable exterior finish in a mid tone |
Landlords and housing providers with flats here usually want one standard colour across properties, so a void can be touched in rather than repainted. Homes facing the busy A428 benefit from slightly deeper exterior colours that don’t show road dirt within a season. You can find our other local services on the New Duston area page.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
