Shutters Shatter Traditional Color Combinations
September 6, 2011 § 4 Comments
This house has a color combination I wanted to share with you. The taupe siding has the most interesting pink, almost purple, undertone that changes the way we see the house color depending on the light. The color can go from brown to mauve to gray over the course of the day. The trim is a combination of painted creams and vinyl off-whites (I wish they had picked one color or the other, honestly). But the real surprise (we’ll ignore the green front door) is the majestic blue shutter color. I would never think to pair the mauvey taupe with a royal blue but somehow it works. Black shutters would have been the easy choice, but someone had the bold idea to step out of the ordinary and into a new color combo. New to me anyway…
Shutters provide another opportunity, along with the front door, of course, to express some individuality for your home’s exterior. Although it is customary to work within the neighborhood in terms of palette, if you feel like breaking the mold, go for it. Just be sure that your home’s personality does not overpower your own. It’s no fun to make excuses for a paint job that went haywire. In other words, if you don’t like it, paint it over!
In the meantime, have another spin of the fandeck and see what paint color combinations work for you.
Your Home & Color Coach 
I love the blue and taupe together. But, I’m curious — what color would you make the front door? I’m having trouble picturing anything but off-white…
Hi Lynne,
Off-white would certainly work — but to highlight all that cream trim around the front door and portico, they might have gone with either the blue shutter color (maybe too obvious) or a dark charcoal/black that would tie in the roof and black metals and just look a little more historic than the blue. Anything but the current forest green. (huh??)
I’m building a house and was looking to use this color combination. I haven’t seen this on any of the other houses in the community. What color would you suggest for the garage?
Hi Christine! Thanks for posting. Unless you have a set of garage doors that you really want to highlight the same as the shutter color, I suggest painting them the same as the siding. That will let the accent color (shutters, front door) take center stage.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach