Avoiding the Clash of Colors
July 19, 2007 § 66 Comments
Every day I drive by this office building, a big brick square structure along a main road. And every day I wince when I see the annual flowers in the huge bed along the driveway. The brick building is, well, brick. It has rusts and browns and taupes and rusty reds and all earth tones. Not anywhere do I see raspberry pink. Call me neurotic about color, but with all the other choices of annuals — red, yellow, orange, purple, blue, cream, and white — they chose to plant a huge bed of hot pink flowers in front of a rusty red brick building. Sorry, but yuck.
It’s nice to consider the color of your home or building when decorating with plants and flowers. You can really enhance the curb appeal by landscaping with colors that coordinate with or compliment the building or house color. At least try to avoid colors that clash.
For that brick building, I would have planted either a big bed of cream and white flowers to add a little life to the dark brick or a bed of purple and blue flowers to give the space a little punch. As the complimentary colors to the orangey brick, the purply blues would make both building and garden look terrific.
Your Home & Color Coach 
Hi,
I just bought a Victorian which among other things, needs a new roof. Not only are the shingles and flat roof sections curled and deteriorated, some of the actual frame is rotten.
I am so busy dealing with the interior of the house that I won’t have time to plan out and fix the roof myself. What colour schemes would you suggest for the roof? I have included a link to a picture of the house. I don’t know how long the link will stay up though.
Notes: I will probably end up changing the fake facade around the front porch which doesn’t really go with the rest of the house. So I am only trying to find a good match for the bricks on the main body of the house. What colour are they? Probably one of these: Victoria, Applegate, Old Markham, St. James, or Williamsburg. Also, they are dirty and old and some are damaged. Should I paint or sandblast the bricks?
I did not pay the retail price, in case you’re wondering.
http://www.homesandland.com/Listing.cfm?ListingId=10326438
Hi Tom,
I would put a brown roof on your brick Victorian. Brown looks warm and interesting with the red — your neighbor has dark gray and the house color is similar so I would choose something different for your roof color.
As for the condition of the brick, it was hard to see in the photo. I would ask the advice of your local paint store regarding how best to proceed with the exterior.
It’s a cute house. Has great potential and I’m sure that’s why you bought it. Good luck with everything.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi.
I have a 1962 two story house with brick on the bottom and siding on the top. We replaced the roof last year – it is medium/dark gray; and we have black shutters
Here is my question. I don’t know what color to paint the siding The brick is kind of unusual. It has veriegated look to it. Up close you see that the based of the brick is light red – when you stand back you see that sporadically throughout the brick are patches of black and pale yellowish green. The morter is gray.
We were looking at a green/gray to make it feel warm but it seems to blend into the roof color
Help!
Hi Kathy,
You have a few choices for your siding color. You could go with a light gray, lighter than the roof, to pick up the grout color. Or you could pick up a version of one of the other brick colors, preferably an earth tone like the green (a gray green is a wonderful house color). The color that you choose will highlight the other brick colors (green will bring out the red since it’s a complimentary color, gray will allow all the brick colors to pop since it’s not competing with any of them).
Without seeing your house (feel free to send a photo), that’s the best advice I can give you. Just avoid picking a color that is not in any way represented (like blue). Brick and blue just don’t go.
Hope that helps a little.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
We will finally be having vinyl replacement windows and siding added to our home built in 1972. The old wood windows are not very economical 😦 and I am anticipating a reduction in energy costs with new windows. I have a one level home with a basement. There is orange/brown brick at the bottom of the house and an orange/brown roof. The new door is maroon with an oval glass in it. I have to choose a vinyl siding, shutter, and trim color that will complement the roof and brick. In addition, there is a detached two car garage that is an antique white (parchment) color with a gray/white roof. It sits to the side of the house and will need to complement the new house colors as it will not be getting new vinyl siding. There is also a storage house (15 x 18) with the same roof color as the house (orange) and is painted a tan color. This house sits to the back of the main house and is not visible from the curb, but I would like to complement all these colors together. I am getting overwhelmed with making a choice because there seems to be soooo many factors to consider. I know that I should choose a light color to help make the small house look bigger, but what would be the best color choice to complement the other colors of the brick, roof, garage and out house? Thank you in advance for your suggestions.
Hi Mardee,
I suggest either a taupe that will blend nicely with your other buildings and compliment the brick and roof or an olivey green that will make the house stand out a bit more than the other two buildings but will look nice with the brick and roof. I wouldn’t worry too much about going with a light color to make the house look bigger. You’ll want something about the same color value as your brick to blend the two colors together and make the house look less chopped up. Either of those medium tones I mentioned should work.
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Great to find you! We are having our house painted and I am unsure of what color to paint the exterior. We have a light grey roof and a true red brick fireplace. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg183/lmtostberg/house/
As you can see we live in Oregon, so, depending on whether the sun is out or not dictates the color of the grey, blue or green house….
Hi Lisa,
Have a look at Ben Moore’s Louisburg Green (HC-113) for the body of the house and a nice creamy white (like navajo white) for the trim. The combination should soften the look of the house and compliment the roof nicely. For the door, I would stick with all navajo since your nice brick red chimney is right next to the door. But you could tie the two together by putting a wreath on the door that has some of the red chimney color in it. Also focus more on brick reds and creamy whites for your annuals.
Thanks for visiting. Hope this helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you so much for your suggestion. I love the color combination. I was wondering what you think about shutters for the front of the house. It is SO boring with the grey garage doors and wall color. The only thing that breaks it up is the picture window. And, would you keep the soffit color navajo white?
Thanks again for your help!
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Yes, the soffit color can be navajo white. Then regarding the garage door wall, as soon as you paint the trim around the picture window and garage doors navajo white , that wall won’t seem so monochromatic. Also you might want to beef up both the house numbers and the light by them to be more of a presence. Doing that will create a focal point on that wall.
As for shutters, your windows are all different and I don’t think shutters will have the desired effect. I like your house better without them.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks Barbara! Not that you will remember, but I’ll send a pic of the finished product. I appreciate your help.
Lisa
Lisa,
I’ll remember. Send photos!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We are about to have our 30-year old house re-sided, new roof, windows, garage door, front door – the whole bit. It really needs it. We have a small colonial that is painted dark brown with pale yellow trim and a medium brown roof. There are orangish-red bricks on the front of the house that stop half-way up the house and it matches well – selected by the previous owner.
I’m stumped as to what color siding, roof, etc. to choose, realizing that they must go with the brick – and we’d like a much lighter color to make the house look bigger. Any suggestions? Choosing colors and matching things is something I absolutely stink at. I put an expensive white floor in my kitchen and hall about 10 years ago that goes with nothing and which I curse everyday. I tried to redo my house a few years ago and nothing matches – my color sense is non-existent. Help!
Laura
Hi Laura,
Use the brick for inspiration. I suggest the grout color for your siding. It will probably be a taupy tan color, very easy on the eye and good for resale. Then stick with the dark brown or charcoal gray roof and cream trim and windows. White trim and windows will also work but white provides more contrast with the taupe — a personal choice. Cream blends better. For the front door, you can choose the brick red color or maybe a darker brown. Stick with the brick for your color palette and you’ll be all set.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We just purchased a house with great potential but it is SOOOO boring on the outside. It has NO curb appeal. I think it has outdoor potential but I need help with exterior color combinations. The house is stone with a mix of grays, brick that was painted off white, and the windows are white. What colors would contrast or complement this?
Hi Carla,
Warm grays will work really well with your mixture of gray stone, off-white brick, and white. Then you can paint the front door something warmer, like red, dark purple, or navy blue.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
Could you please coach me about what colors would contrast and compliment a grey-green?
Thank you very much,
Christine
Hi Christine,
I like dark rusty reds, chocolate browns, and even eggplant purples with grey-green. That shade of green is such a versatile color, almost everything looks good with it, but those are my favorites.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I’m a NewEnglander living in a small Garrisson colonial built in 1960’s with a first story front spotted-brick siding (mostly reds, with white and dark colored surfaces mixed in), and wood clapboard siding everywhere else. We’re about to re-side our home with cement board siding, and have been satisfied with the appearance of our white house with black shutter trim and door (given the brick first story front), but feel it may be time to “break out” of the old New England mold and try something different on our street. Trouble is, we’re struggling with other color combos which might accent (but not overwhelm) the brick front while simultaneously preserving a somewhat classic/clean appearance. Any thoughts for a better eye-catcher? Thank you!
Hi Ben,
If there’s any green in the brick at all, you might consider an earthy olive drab color for the siding (sounds awful but the color is fantastic with brick!!). Or if your brick has any brown in it, you can look into a taupe tan color for the siding. I would still stick with the black shutters — classic look — but try some different siding colors. Anything earth-tone will work (avoid blues if you can).
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
My husband and I need help deciding what color to side our house. We have orange/red/brownish brink on the bottom of the house. Our roof seems to be mostly brown. The grout of our brick is a dark dark gray. I have asked several people’s opinion, and everyone has a different one. My brick is very warm toned, and one person told me that I need a very cool brown (briarwood) to balance it out. My best friend and I came up with khaki siding with green trim (aspen green). I just need to make sure that whatever we choose, it will look good with our brick because we won’t be able to redo it. Help us please!! Thank you so much for any help you are able to give.
Diana
Hi Diana,
I would stick with a warm color (khaki sounds fine or a warm camel) for the top of your house. If you go with a contrasting cool color like the briarwood, it will cut your house in half visually. I think you should blend with the brick and roof to make your house appear bigger.
I’m not a big fan of green trim as it really calls attention to itself. I would stick with neutrals from your brick/grout or a slightly darker or lighter version of your house color. That way the edges will blend and, again, make the house seem bigger.
Stay warm and reserve the cool contrasting tones for accent colors (your metals and other accessories).
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hey, what an amazing stroke of luck this is. We are in desperate need of some help choosing a paint color for 3 of the 4 sides of our home. The front is a traditional colonial in red brick and the rest of the house is white, as in primer white. We have been anxious to paint, but we have NO idea what colors to choose. I have included my website my husband created and it actually has a picture of the exterior front of our home on it.
Thanks for your consideration!
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
I like your website! And your home is lovely!
It looks like the roof has some brown in it although it’s hard to tell from the photo. If that’s the case, you might consider painting the remainder of your walls in either a rich warm gold (like richmond gold -ben moore HC-41) or a deeper brown (like valley forge brown -ben moore HC-74). You didn’t mention whether the black shutters go all the way around the house, but you’d want some contrast with them, of course.
You have such a big house that it can support a lot of rich color and I would go in that direction and away from the white and light colors. The focus is on the front so highlighting the white trim at the gable peaks and around the front door should be the focus and you’ve certainly done that. I think going with a medium to dark color for the rest of the house will only make the white trim stand out more and you will have a smashing house!
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I have a house built in 1929. It has a brick foundation. The bricks are mostly reddish brown. My roof, gutters, and doors are dark brown. My house has yukky looking steel siding from 1985. It is light yellow in color.
I’d like to replace my siding. I am thinking of using a cement board siding. If I go this route what house color might look best with the dark brown roof and doors.
My house was originally brick foundation and stucco. This may be another possibility?
Your color/ finish advice is greatly appreciated!
Lisa
Hi Lisa Marie,
With your brick foundation and brown roof, you can go with either a medium tan/taupe or you can look at a medium green. If you want to blend the brick, there’s usually a nice brick red siding color as well. Just avoid all the blues.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi there,
We are hoping to change the colour of our front door, garage door, shutters and trim on our house. The roof is currently a grey shingle, the garage door, shutters and front door are all hunter green and the trim and siding are a grey (slightly darker than the grey siding). It looks very dull and I would like to brighten it up. I was thinking of a Black front door (and maybe shutters), and a very light grey for trim, (maybe shutters) and garage door. My sense of colours is not very good and would appreciate any suggestions you would have for colour combinations. The bottom half of the house is a dull grey brick and the top half is a lighter grey siding.
Regards,
Crispin
Hi Crispin,
Absolutely. It’s time to lighten and brighten. I suggest white trim. That will really set off the different grey shades on your house and make it look very sharp. Then you can definitely go with black shutters. I would do the garage doors in the same grey as your siding color. No need to highlight them.
As for the front door, this is your opportunity to really warm up this grey house. I love a shiny dark rose on a grey house. It looks absolutely smashing against the white trim and grey siding. Very inviting. And if you plant rose-colored shrubs in the yard, you’ll have the best house on the block.
A black door is okay as long as you put a brightly colored wreath on it and a pot of hot pink or bright yellow flowers beside it. Either way.
Hope this helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thank you so much for your reply. I like your ideas. When you say a dark rose for the front door, do you mean a deep red or a deep pinky colour? Are there any paint references you could give me just to give me an idea? Our siding has sort of a bluey tinge to the grey. Does this still work?
Thanks for the advice,
Crispin
Hi Crispin,
Have a look at Ben Moore’s Old Claret (2083-30) for a nice rosy red or Taste of Berry (2085-40) for a lighter rasperry. There’s also Rosewood (2082-40) for a dustier version.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I’d like to get your thoughts on some color ideas for the 4bdrm colonial I recently purchased (side entry 2 car garage). The front of the house is cedar shake (which needs a good cleaning), except for the lower right side which is brick. The sides and rear of the house are white, and I have white shutters. The window trim and front double doors are brown, which I do not care for. The roof is a light gray.
The landscaping is somewhat overgrown with holley and rhododendrun, and the house is somewhat set back into a wooded area.
Any suggestions? The white looks dingey and the house looks blah over all.
Thanks!
We just bought a home. It has white vinyl siding, shades of blue shingle roof, white trim , steps and railings unpainted. We will be living by a lake. It is very boring and almost invisible. There are three levels, basement, main floor, and second floor. The home is almost A-frame on the roof.
Please help me make my home a cozy nest.
Thank you
Ruth
Hi Nick,
How about changing the white siding to a nice earthy green, like Louisburg green (Ben Moore HC-113). That will coordinate well with both the cedar and the brick. As for trim color, I would use whatever your window color is. That will just unify those areas without introducing another color. My preferences would be cream or white.
As for the front door, why not pull some red from the brick and really add some punch to the front of the house. Just make sure the red you choose has enough brown in it to look like the brick red and not a hot-house tomato.
See what you think
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Ruth,
You said that your steps and railing are unpainted. Two options: either to stain the wood a nice cedar brown, which will warm up that area; or paint the wood a grey blue to pick up on the blue in the roof and add some color to that front area. I worry a little about painting the steps — you might better stain them so they’ll last longer without peeling.
So if you keep the brown steps and railing (or even if you do paint), now is the chance to add real color with your plantings around the house and pots of annuals.
With your white house, I would head off to the nursery and buy some beautiful colorful perennials and start planting. With your blue roof, make sure you pick up lots of blue/purple perennials and annuals. They will look smashing. Then throw in some pink or yellow. And don’t forget a couple of big pots of annuals on the porch.
Finally, get some wooden lawn furniture — big Adirondack chairs, for example — in blue and whatever other color you pick (like either pink or yellow).
Before long, you’ll have your cozy nest.
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello:
My parents were victim of a house fire and need to replace the vinyl siding. The house is round (perfectly round) so the exterior finishin options are limited. The siding is installed in a vertical fashion.
Pictures can be found here: http://www.ottawafirefighters.org/drupal/index.php?q=6152_samure_roadoctober_07/6152_samure_rdhotshots
(I know it’s depressing…image 5 of 40 shows the siding well)
They live in a wooded area and I feel like the house could blend in more than it does with the surroundings. They have grey stone and that’s going to stay so they feel limited in the choice of siding.
Any suggestions?
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
Wow, thank you for helping your parents. How devastating for them! I’m glad the fire fighters were able to save that uniquely shaped house. As for siding color, I suggest an earthy green. The grout in the brick looks like it would go well with something like Ben Moore’s Gettysburg gray (HC-107) or Sandy hook gray (HC-108). Those are both earthy greyed-down greens that will blend beautifully with the surroundings and bring out the brick as an architectural feature.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello:
Thanks for the quick suggestions! I think they will be pleasantly surprised with your suggestion. They were under the impression that they would need to stay in the blue/grey hues.
Do you have suggestions of other possibilities? Maybe something lighter? I know their tastes and I think they will like the colour range but might find it a bit dark.
A follow-up question:
If you look at picture 7 of the fire damage, you will see that they had black louvers. Their front and back doors are also grey. Do you think those should change too if they change the siding?
Thanks so much for your help. When I called them to tell them I would send them a sample and told them about you they were thrilled someone was out there handing out advice. 🙂
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
Here are a couple of other colors: Shenandoah taupe (Ben Moore: AC-36) which is a great contrast to the stone and would really show it off. The Valley forge tan (AC-35) may be too close in color to the stone (at least on my screen…). You do want some contrast with the stone. There’s also wedgewood gray HC-146, which is a nice soft blue similar to what they had before. I would encourage them to put a richer color on their house than they had before so there’s more contrast between the siding color and the stone.
As for shutters, I would just remove them. The house is so modern that it really doesn’t need shutters, which tend to go on more traditional houses. They may want to punch up the colors of their doors with something warmer, like cinnamon (2174-20).
See what they think of these ideas. Good luck!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
My husband and I just bought a 25 year old brick home that is in desperate need of being painted. The problem I’m having is our brick and mortar is a solid color, tan. First off, I’m not sure whether to paint the trim, garage door and shutters just one color or to use two. Then I’m not sure whether to use a chocolate brown, rusty brown or a darker version of the brick color (called “cargo”). I guess the other color would be a Navajo White or Oyster color? Then, if I go with two different colors, I’m not sure what to paint which colors. We have an “octagon room” that is wood that faces the street but it is very close to the garage (from the street they are next to each other). I wish I had a picture to submit because I’m sure I didn’t describe this well enough. Everyone is mentioning their roof color. The best way to describe it is a dark, grayish, blackish brown color.
We have a brick house, white vinyl windows and black shutters. We currently have a brown deck that is in desperate need of repainting/staining. The roof is also brown, but we were thinking of redoing it black next summer. I don’t like the reddish brown that the former owners of the house chose and wondered what colour you would suggest. I like earthy greens and noticed that you suggested it to others. I was also thinking of giving it a two-tone look? The floor and top of the railings one colour and the bars of the deck another. Again, what do you suggest.
Thanks,
Dragana
Hi Tracy,
The more contrasting colors you use on the home, the more features will stand out. The downside is that it tends to make the house look a bit smaller. So if size is an issue, stick with trim that’s close to the house color, just maybe a shade or two darker or lighter. Then you can use a separate color for your doors and shutters. Any of the browns you mentioned would look great.
If you want the brick to stand out more, you can use a cream trim (or white). That will frame the house and make the architecture a feature. Again, you can paint the shutters and doors a third color (or you can even paint the front door a warm rusty red while keeping the shutters and garage doors a more neutral brown).
In deciding how many colors to use and where to put them, first consider what you want to stand out about your house. Then go from there. Blend to hide. Contrast to feature.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Dorothy/Dragana (#42),
It depends on how much you want your deck and railing to stand out. You could do a dark earthy green for the floor and white for the entire railing including posts (traditional look). You could also do dark green for the floor and hand rail and black for the posts (this would blend the whole porch into the house. (You didn’t mention if you have white trim on the house other than the windows — I’m assuming so). To be practical, the horizontal surfaces (flooring and railing) get incredible abuse from the weather so pick colors/materials that are very durable or you’ll be doing it over in a year.
I would start with the floor color and get that painted or stained and then work up from there.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara; I’ve been desperately looking for advice on the exterior of our house and really hope you can help. We have a two storey walkout acreage home with white vinyl siding and a 5′ wide band of grey cultured castle stone on the bottom (a random arrangment of variably-sized rectagular stones). Right now the soffit, facia, gutters, and batten boards are a wedgewood blue that we want to paint a different colour (maybe black or dark grey). The rof os weathered cedar shakes. The problem area is on a turret-like area in the front of the house where the cultured stones on the bottom were removed to cut in some basement windows We cannot replace the stone as that type of stone is discontinued. We need to find some other type of siding to cover this especially prominent area of the house. We want it to be a feature therefore just siding it with the vinyl that’s on the rest of the house is not a good option. We were thinking something like a vinyl hand-split shake siding in a weathered grey might be ok. W are also trying to figure out what to do with the white (formerly blue) windows. I don’t like the boring white-on-white thing that’s currently going on. I was thinking of installing decorative frames in a black or dark grey colour around each window. Do you have any opinions or suggestions on colour choices or siding options?
Looking forward to your response!
Hi Sue (#45),
Since you have white vinyl and grey stone, I would also add a warm beige to the color palette. As for the turret area, I like the idea of the weathered grey shakes, but the beige would work equally well and would set off the grey stonework elsewhere. As for the windows, again, I would frame them in either the grey or the beige and not anything quite as prominent as black or dark grey as you will simply call attention to the size of each window — kind of like too much eyeliner.
The whole idea is to blend and coordinate and move the colors around the house to pull the whole look together. You can add a solid dose of color at the front door and with accessories (pots, benches, lawn chairs, etc).
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Will you please help me choose the colors best to go with my ranch style house it is white with red trim and in the front and chimmney the brick is two differnt colors or gold, taupe, and red. I will be getting new windows and siding, I cannot decide which to go with the white window or almond or taupe. I also will be having accent shake siding around the windows and above the porch on birdhouse, I have a white garage door. The main color of siding I have picked is a woodgrain called chestnut which is a light tan with cream and taupe mixed in it. My house is small so I need help in picking the best colors for the trim and raingutter. At the same time I want it to stand out .Please help Thank you Fieenia
I forgot to add that there is a third color of siding I am considering for the trim around the house called tuscan clay which is close to the same color as the taupe brick, I can paint my gargage door if needed but cannot get it the same as the wood grain siding but could paint it dark wood look and have a dark wood front door. I just do not know which color to do where and I cannot order my windows until I decide I would prefere to go with white or almond. Thank you again
Hi Fieenia (#47/48),
You didn’t mention where the brick is on the front of your house or your roof color, but I like the idea of a neutral house with a natural dark wood front door. Is it possible to get the tuscan clay trim around the perimeter of the house, almond windows and almond trim around the front door area? The almond would really set off the dark wood of the front door (better than the tuscan clay would).
As long as you choose colors that are in your brick, the whole house will look pulled together. Almond is a softer color than the white and will blend the windows in with the siding better. That way your house will look bigger.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I had a flood in my basement, where I previously had colors I was very happy with. I had berber broadloom which was very light grey mixed with white and my kitchen cupboards were light grey with white trim (and the countertop was a textured darker grey). After the flood , I had to replace everything. I ended up with darker grey cupboards and a black countertop. The walls are painted white. Unfortunately, the original broadloom I had is no longer available and all the grey broadloom I’ve seen in berber is too dark or has colours mixed into it like pink or purple. I was wondering if I can try a cream berber. Do you think cream and grey clash? I’ve looked through so many panels of broadloom and I just can’t find anything that I feel comfortable and confident with. I need professional help!
Hi Nancy (#50),
I would avoid cream for the annoyance factor of having to keep it clean. Try the gray/blue family of carpet options. There should be one or two that will work perfectly with your gray/white/black color palette.
Hope that works for you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We have a single story “rambler” with elk sablewood roof (Charcoal with shadowing). It is partially craftsman style home with cedar beams and columns on masonry base. The door is a natural finished fir door. Because we were not thinking at the time, we had white vinyl windows installed. Would have preferred tan but too late. The patio is brown tones. We live in the country with a lot of green grass and trees around. We want to stay earth tones but not green as we have so much natural green from the landscaping. We were thinking of a brown taupe with toney taupe (lighter) window trim and actually using a darker color for the gutters and gable trim. Kind of unusual but we are hoping to bridge the gap between black roof and white trim and give the home more subtle contrasts.
Any suggestions on paint colors that might look good with both natural wood and brown patio but also black roof/white windows?
Hi Molly (#52),
I love your idea of using a brown taupe with a lighter taupe trim around the windows. My only question is whether you really need to use a darker color for the gutters and gable trim. On a one-story rambler, that might bring the roof down even lower and make the house seem visually flatter. I would stick with the light trim around the gable and gutters and the house color for the downspouts. Just using the two tones of brown will bridge the gap between black and white. No problem. (A lot of us have white windows — not too worry.)
If you send a photo, I can help with actual house colors.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We are in the process of replacing our siding and roof. We have a brick front house with 3 sides of siding. We have black shutters and a black door, and the roof will stay charcoal. The trim and siding color are the same – a creamy color.
I’m having so much trouble trying to decide what color to paint the new siding and trim. Our brick is a warm red with orangish tones in it. I was thinking a camel color on the trim may be nice with the black shutters/door. What do you think?
I’m wondering if we should just do the same camel color for the siding. No one can see the siding unless they are standing in our backyard (which never happens!)
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Marci
Hi Marci (#54),
I like the idea of bumping up the siding color to a camel. You can keep the trim cream. That combination with the brick and the black shutters and door will look spectacular!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
My sister has come to me to help with the colors of the painting of the exterior and the new roof of her stone mission style house. The stone has the color of sand, but some of it has patches of dark grey, almost black. My sister has painted the windows and portions that are not stone, shades of pale to darker green with brown trim. I suggested that she pick up the darker shade in the stone for the roof color, which she did. It is a darker grey brown color. Now she has deceided that she likes my taste and wants advice on the color of her front door. My other sister has suggested a deep cherry color. Now there are two front doors as my sister’s house has a large enclosed front porch with huge arched stone windows. The doors line up one behind the other, but are not centered. They are on the far left of the porch and house. The door to the porch has a wood bottom and the top part is panel glass like an old farm door. The screen door needs to be replaced in my opinion…it is white metal with black accent pieces. The door to the house itself is massive and has all original hardware. There are four small hoizontal window panels along the top. You must step up to go into the house through the main door. There are about four steps leading to the enclosed porch. A landscaper will be coming tomorrow to plant vibernum winterthur all along the front of the house. We probably should keep this in mind when choosing the color. Also any ideas for the floor of the porch which is concrete and blends right into the front steps? One more thing ..the color of the inside porch trim and natural wood panel ceiling on the porch (which may have been painted off white).. should it all blend with the outside of the house? Her porch is like a room in itself complete with fireplace and mantel. Mostly with the stone arched windows taking up most of it, not too much to paint here except the front door,ceiling, floor and window trim and mantel. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Kathy
PS…I will give you the credit for this one.
Hi Kathy,
What nice sisters! It sounds like you have established a palette of sand, dark grey, grey-brown, brown, and different shades of green already. You are right to stick with a natural palette as the house style really calls for that. As for the porch, yes, it’s nice to coordinate the colors with the rest of the exterior. You might consider a dark brown floor to separate the steps from the floor. Then I would keep the same interior trim as used on the exterior. The mantle can stand alone in terms of color as it sounds like a focal point on the porch, but I would keep it as close to natural wood (color) as possible. The ceiling can stay light to maximize the reflected light coming into the porch from outside. As for the two front doors, it kind of depends on how busy the house looks in terms of colors. If what you have so far coordinates nicely with the stone (I’m thinking of the greens), then feel free to highlight both doors in a dark, rich red that picks up the viburnum leaf color. Your sister’s house will maintain its historic identity as long as you don’t introduce a color that you don’t see in the yard. With the three of you working on the color scheme, I’m sure it will end up absolutely gorgeous. Good luck!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
My wife and I are trying to spruce up the curb appeal of our home with some stone siding. Our house has white vinyl siding with black shutters, and black roof.
Here is a link to a photo: http://services.wakegov.com/realestate/Photo.asp?id=0308491&stype=addr&stnum=803&stname=Maurepas&locidList=&spg=1&cd=01&loc=803++MAUREPAS+DR&des=LO372+MINGO+CREEK+SUB+PH3+SE1+BM3-300&pin=1743385359
(Sorry for the long link, hopefully you can get it to work)
The stone would go around the garage and up to the window elsewhere on the front. What color stone would be best? We were thinking some shade of gray, but should we also mix in a bit of other color stone?
Thanks!
Nick
Hi Nick,
Couldn’t see your house, but that’s okay. I would mix some warm colors in with your brick, even if it’s just a warmer gray along with other gray shades. You don’t have to add other colors, but just make sure you have a nice mix of cool and warm shades of gray. Warm shades have a little tan in them, more on the taupe side. Cool grays are battlelship color.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
HI,
I have a center entrance colonial with lower half front distressed muted red brick and taupe mortor. Shiny black shutters, glossy (Talbots)red front door, white clapboards. Roof shingles are dark gray. There is a curvy flagstone front walk with lovely muted shades of purple, red and gold and gray.
Can you suggest a color change? our traditional street cape cod lane is all white houses w/ 2 exceptions one gold w/green shutters and one light blue with rose front door and darker blue shutters and gray stone. other neighbors have pumpkin, red, white or black front doors, dark blue shutters.
What about a purple front door. Would I have to paint the house cream? What color shutters? Or, how about blue house but what color door and shutters? my husband likes the gold house which is 3 doors down. Could I do gold with Navy blue shutters, but what color door? Would the purple work?
thanks, Janet
Hi Janet,
How about using the taupe from the mortar as your siding color. Then you can use white trim and a really dark eggplant for the front door and maybe even the shutters if you’re feeling daring. As long as there is some precedent for purple (or your red brick has kind of a purplish cast to it), then dark purple looks great on a brick house.
Love it!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello,
I’m building my first home.
The bricks I have chosen are Boral’s “Victoria Blue”. My window trims are to be black. My driveway will be black exposed aggregate (so white stones inside black concrete), with large white stones all over the frontage and around the driveway. In the white stones I will be planting bright green agave plants.
The garage door, front door and a rendered feature wall on the front bedroom are to be a very pale grey.
I am going to have a colourbond roof and downpipes. Tiles are not an option.
My problem here, is what shade of colourbond to use. The rendered feature wall and the Victoria Blue bricks will be touching the roof so I need a colour that matches both. At this stage the best match I have is Colourbond’s “Monument” which is a dark grey. However, when holding this colour up to the brick, they are almost the same (minus the blue in the colourbond). I will be having light grey mortar between the bricks, so my question is, with the light grey mortar, the light grey feature wall, the light grey garage and front door, and the white stones, will a dark grey colourbond “Monument” roof make the house look too dark?
Thanks for any help!
Cheers,
Chris
Hi Chris,
As long as you have contrast between the light grey trim and roof, the dark grey should be fine. If you have the option, you might consider choosing a warm grey instead of a cool grey for your trim, etc. That will help to warm up the house.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello!
I just had our house resided and painted. The contractor made a mistake with the colors and they look terrible – a caramel brown w/yellow trim around the windows and the new screen porch. I’m hoping I can find a better color to match the yellow – Cabot stain Tuscan Yellow. I have a brown roof and the house is very small. The yellow trim is not my favorite, however it is more tolerable than the other color and I would prefer not to paint the trim as there is so much of it. Thanks so much for your help.
Hi Maggie,
Is it possible to use a lighter version of the yellow for your house color or is it not possible to go over the caramel with a lighter color? If you blend the siding and trim colors, your house will look bigger since you will not notice the outline of every window and door.
Hope that works for you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
That is very important section. Thanks.
Hi Barbara!!
My Fiance and I just bought a house a few months ago, and what my HUGE problem is that everything is PINK! I feel like I am swimming in a giant Pepto Bismal bottle!! My Living room, which is quite a fair sized room, up my stairs and in my upstairs hallways, all PINK! Even my fireplace is a pinkish red brick. So what i am wondering, if you could please, please, please help me….Is if I paint away all the pink. What colour would match my pinkish red fireplace. It would totally save me from buying a lot of paint and hating it or finding out it will not match something I can’t change for a while (fireplace).
Thank you so very much!
~Tanya & Tom
Hi Tanya and Tom,
One color that seems to work really well with pink is a warm gray. Have a look at Edgecomb Gray (HC-173) from Benjamin Moore. With dark wood and cream, the combination should work well with your remaining pink fireplace.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach