Papamoa Tavern

After 33 years of service, it was time to bring the Papamoa Beach Tavern back to life, with a vision to make it a new town centre for the Papamoa community.

Woods Painting had six weeks working alongside ME Building to make the project come to life. With no real plans but an inspirational vision from Laurie Steer, the challenge was to restore and decorate what was being built each day. The team worked tirelessly, putting in many 12 hour days.

The old bar was a drab darkened theme popular in the 1980s. The inspiration and idea to bring the Pap Tav back to life was to introduce a jaunty, beachy, nautical theme, brimming with freshness, light and colours.

Exterior weatherboards, joinery and brickwork were restored. The interior was fully revamped, from new toilets to bar tops, a new mezzanine area, exterior tables, bars, toilet blocks, stages and multiple dining areas.

As a public bar with constant foot traffic and wear and tear that has a lot of traffic, hardwearing Resene products were used throughout to keep the project looking good. Old restored surfaces were primed with premium sealers appropriate to each substrate, including Resene Wood Primer, Resene Galvo One and Resene Concrete Primer. All exterior surfaces were topcoated with Resene Lumbersider. Existing exterior joinery was stripped back to the original Rimu wood leaving flecks of paint for the rustic theme and then coated with Resene Furniture and Decking Oil to bring the wood back to life. The interior was finished in Resene Lumbersider, Resene Lusta-Glo, Resene Lustacryl and Resene SpaceCote, with bar tops and tables in either clear or tinted Resene Uracryl, for maximum protection.

Resene Quarter Solitaire and Resene Scandal welcome patrons in, joined by cheerily painted picnic tables in Resene Kitsch, Resene Poppy, Resene Material Girl and Resene Quarter Solitaire. These colours are repeated on the exterior stage, tower and toilets, joined by Resene Turbo, Resene Candy Floss and Resene Energy Yellow.

The interior palette follows a similar theme starting with Resene Quarter Solitaire and Resene Scandal, then the striking yellows of Resene Energy Yellow and Resene Turbo. Rustic tongue and groove is finished in Resene Castaway and Resene Quarter Solitaire. Doors are equally bold with Resene Turbo, Resene Energy Yellow, Resene Kumutoto, Resene Pelorous and Resene Cabaret.

The caravan/bar sitting area has a beach vibe with soft yellow creams of Resene Half Dutch White and Resene Quarter Solitaire joined with Resene Scandal, Resene Turbo, Resene Snowy Mint and bold Resene Material Girl.

The ceiling upgrade was one of the hardest jobs faced in their professional career – if you can imagine the interior ceiling of a pub in which cigarettes have been smoked by patrons for 20 odd years… challenge accepted!

Painting 30 picnic tables with four different colours in the time frame available seemed impossible. Luckily the astro turf hadn’t been laid in the outdoor area, so using the resources available (the six exterior lamps), Woods Painting created a temporary spray booth by wrapping builders’ wrap around the lamp posts. Thanks to this makeshift time saver, two days later the tables were fully painted, followed by brushing Resene Uracryl onto the top of each.

The ‘Pap Tav’ has now returned to be an integral part of the community. Business is booming, feedback is positive and the overall feel and energy of the colourful environment is contagious.

Building contractor: ME Building
Client: Papamoa Beach Tavern
Interior designer: Laurie Steer
Painting contractor: Woods Painting
Project: Resene Total Colour Awards 2017