Getting paint projects approved by owners in a strata corporation can often be challenging. If special levies or funding from a corporation’s contingency fund is required it becomes even more of a process for a strata council.

It often requires an information session for owners to review the council’s plan and ask questions. I have sat through many meetings where battles over cost, value and necessity were dueled out.

If a council adds a colour change to the painting things become even more complicated. One of the best strategies for helping owners accept and agree to colour changes is to provide them with virtual mock-ups. Mock-ups help owners visualize colour changes and the impact it will have on the building or complex.

This large complex in New Westminster was repainted in 2012 and part of the repaint strategy included a complete colour change as well as change in colour placement.

We worked with the council to provide them options for various colour combinations. Virtual mock-ups helped them visual what the building could look like and choose two schemes to present to owners.

The image on the upper left corner of both of these sets of mock-ups was the original.

Once two schemes were finalized, we transferred the images to posters to present to residents and display in the common area. You can see from the posters that we kept the information simple. There was no need to list colour names, brands, or specific details in the information. We simply asked owners “which scheme do you prefer?”.

Mock-ups allowed owners to visualize the change and decide on a scheme with no need for committees or lengthy debate.

In addition to providing mock-ups for owners, we also painted large samples on the walls in the courtyard of the two proposed schemes. This gave owners a chance to see the colours accurately and help choose one scheme.

The results were more than 80% in favour of Scheme 1 and the council was able to make an easy decision on what scheme to move forward with.

The below images shows you how accurate a good set of mock-ups can be. While they do not give 100% accuracy of colour, they are very helpful in determining schemes and placement.

The final results speak for themselves. The building looks beautiful and fits in perfectly on the river boardwalk.

If you are a member of a strata council or a property manager and have a project with a colour change in mind, give us a call. We would be happy to discuss our strata colour services with you.