Brick Historic House: Trim, Shutters, and Roof Made Easy
November 1, 2010 § Leave a comment
For those of you with historic brick homes, you cannot beat crisp white trim and charcoal black for your shutter color and roof. Forget about updating your shutters and installing a new multi-colored, dimensional roof. Basic black and white may seem blah, but honestly, good taste and traditional styling are never boring.
Express your own creativity in your landscaping. Keep the plantings symmetrical around the front door to coordinate with the symmetry of your formal house design, but add color and variety of shapes and sizes. Another tip: if you do not want to match all the window treatments on the inside of the house (even though it does look spectacular on a house like this), then at least have matching white lining on the curtains, white sheers, or plantation shutters. Mixing things up with a rainbow of window colors just ruins the formal look.
Living in a historic home is not for everybody. There’s a certain expectation — I’ll talk about informal living in another post… but for now, viva la tradition!
House and Trim Colors that Make a Statement
October 14, 2010 § 3 Comments
Every now and then I see an accent color that whacks me over the head, and this bold expression of lemon yellow really does it to me this time! Usually a color that does not translate well onto siding or other large surfaces because it’s just too intense, this clear saturated primary color on a shutter paired with black wrought iron hardware on a subdued and sophisticated dark, gray-blue siding is a knock-out! What a statement!
What makes this combination work is the sharp contrast between the gray tone in the siding color and the bright clear shutter. If the siding were another warm clear color, the combination would scream like a caution light. But the calm understated siding lets the yellow attract all the attention. There’s no competition between the colors, just sheer harmony.
Another key to this combination is the “bridge” color that pulls the look together: white. The white trim makes the colors pop — as they say — and it’s critical whenever you use bright colors, either inside or out. White also gives your eye a chance to rest from the intensity of the palette.
But just like other bold statements, be prepared to attract a lot of buzz. And keep the lawn mowed.
How Bold House Colors Can Work
September 30, 2010 § 2 Comments
What is more refreshing than a creamsicle — that delicious pairing of tangy orange with smooth creamy vanilla! That’s just how I would describe these two houses — absolutely luscious!
Although we don’t often see orange as a house color, the addition of creamy gray-white either as trim color or as part of the architecture makes the combo work. The result is warm and happy without going off the color charts of good taste.
The stucco example here is a house turned patisserie on the grounds of Versailles in France. The other example is a modern home, one of the creative designs by Victoria Mohar of MoharDesign in Somerville, Massachusetts. It is so refreshing to see creative color combinations that work and that push the house color envelope a bit.
If you’re introducing a bold color into your exterior color scheme, pair it with a well-respected neutral, like creamy vanilla. The result will be refreshment for your neighborhood.
Paint Color and Home Staging
September 7, 2010 § Leave a comment
Decorating a house and selling it are two different things. Although the original rich yellow paint color created a warm and cozy kitchen feeling, warm and cozy in real estate jargon translates into small. And when it comes to kitchens, it seems, the bigger the better.
To show this kitchen to better advantage, we chose a calmer paint color that created less contrast with the ceiling color. That little trick raised the ceiling in the room and created a more open feeling — translated: bigger. Other than removing a piece of art from the wall and replacing a couple of light bulbs, no additional changes were made to the room.
So although you may feel that the kitchen lost its personality when the paint was neutralized (and neutral doesn’t mean beige — more on that in another post), creating a neutral palette allowed the actual selling features of the room to come forward: shiny hardwood floors, solid wood cabinets, large decorative window, center island with cooktop, updated lighting. You get the picture…
Light and Color and Your House Paint
July 31, 2010 § 3 Comments
Sometimes color appears out of nowhere and dazzles you — even for only a few moments — like it did the day I snapped this photo in the late afternoon sun.
The yellow of this barn grabbed my attention and said, “Stop where you are and look at me — I am gorgeous!” A few moments later, the barn was in shadow and the intense color was gone for another day.
When you’re choosing a house color, be sure to paint some sample colors on the house and look at them in various lights — early morning, late afternoon — and on cloudy days as well. You may see the color change. That might be a good thing or maybe not. I once watched my living room color change from tan to gray to green to pink all in the course of a 12-hour period. To a color person like myself, that experience was horrendous. I had the primer out within the week. (The color I painted my living room was taupe — the mysterious color that accepts other hues around it and changes like a chameleon. Some people actually like that — I have clients who do — but not so much for me at least on the interior.)
Color depends on light. And light or the lack of it can change your perception of the color itself. What you thought was one color in the paint store or even when you opened up the can turns out to be quite something else once it’s applied to your wall, whether it’s inside or out. Use your sampling time to see how light affects not only the color you’ve chosen but also the “value” of the color (how intense it is). If the color attracts too much attention for your taste, move more toward the gray side of that particular hue. Dull it down a touch and you’ll get it right. Color will be more intense on a large area anyway, like the side of your house. Check it out first before the painters arrive.
A Window to Paris
July 12, 2010 § Leave a comment
The windows in Paris are almost as intriguing as the doors! First of all, the shutters actually work, the windows have no screens, and there are no bugs! Plus the shutters are fabulous soft colors of whites and taupes and light blues. The soft colors against the stucco and stone are simply spectacular. Not a black shutter anywhere to be found. I’m thinking that there may be room for more shutter colors in the palette — even on this side of the pond! Why limit ourselves to dark colors!
For stucco and stone homes, consider the subtle sensibilities of French architecture and the superb use of color on shutters. Tres bien!
The Doorways to Paris
July 11, 2010 § 1 Comment
Whether they’re painted a wonderful milk-paint blue or left a natural wood tone, the doors of Paris are spectacular. It helps, of course, that they’re attached to stunning historic residences that have been there hundreds of years. The scale of the doors is big to fit the scale of the buildings, and the embellishments are breathtaking (spoken like a true decorator). The doors stand out as they are truly meant to — as the focal point of the home or business. 
Blond Brick Siding Color and Trim
April 25, 2010 § Leave a comment
Blond brick and light-colored stone seem to pose challenges when it comes to picking coordinating paint colors for siding and trim. This house does it right. The taupe siding color comes right out of the aging blond brick, giving the house an updated look. Taupe allows the brick to show off its depth of color, including other shades of browns and peaches, without adding another hue to the mix. You cannot go wrong with neutrals, especially when you’re dealing with stone and brick.
White trim offers a crisp contrast between the siding and brick and ties in the white windows, also original to the house. The homeowners took what used to be a tired ordinary blond brick and made it look fresh and contemporary.
House Color, Trim, Shutters: Gold Medal Combo
April 7, 2010 § 2 Comments
The unexpected color combination on this historic home (now a B&B in Sackets Harbor, NY) really pops off the street. Whether it’s the hint of green in the gold siding, the Jamaican rum-like warmth of the shutters, or simply the combination, I’m not sure. But coupled with cream trim and accents of black, this combination is a winner.
The house color looks like Ben Moore’s Marblehead Gold (HC-11), and the shutters look like a slightly darker version of Copper Kettle (1218). I should have rung the doorbell to ask (I’ve been known to do that).
The stone steps unfold seamlessly from the foundation right onto the sidewalk and the delicate scrollwork in the iron railing ties in beautifully with the sign and even the shutter “dogs.” And for those of you who have asked about using cream window trim with white windows, here’s a great example of how nicely it works.
Choosing a Yellow for Your House Color
March 25, 2010 § 6 Comments
Yellow can be a tough color, ranging from almost orange to acidic green. This one, Traditional Yellow (170) by Benjamin Moore, gives the house a cheerful, welcoming look. It’s terrific with crisp white trim, a dark charcoal/black roof, wrought iron metal for lights, and a striking red door. The yellow has just enough orange in it to be warm without turning peach.
Yellows that have green undertones tend to look cold on traditional homes. What we commonly refer to as lemon yellow has a touch of green in it, enough to make you pucker when you see a big house that color. Having said that, if you love the green side of yellow, consider pairing it with dark eggplant purple. The combination is a bit edgey and modern but can work, again with a black roof and white trim.
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