Our 37sq Custom Hamptons Inspired Home:
http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=86931
exactly right. the second coat (and 3rd if its a dark room cinema colour) makes all the difference.
But seriously, the 2 things I learnt from this experience which might help others are:
1. Get a BIG sheet to paint a sample on, little 30cm offcuts of weatherboards like I did wont cut it to appreciate how dark things are
2. make sure your painter does a sample for you from HIS trade shop using HIS brands of paint. When painters do this, they dont get computer matched like at bunnings, they buy paint and tint separately and mix themselves. Its done by computer, but still creates human element. Also when they use different brands of paint it makes the colour different. So my Taupe Grey (taubmans colour) looks different in Dulux and Haymes.
Tonight I went to bunnings and mixed a "Taupe Grey" in both dulux and taubmans sample pots. Both colours look different! probably a shade between them!
My painter has now requested I give him a sample pot and painted sample of what I expect the colour to look like, so he can compare as he mixes it to guarantee its the same.