Choosing House Colors: Pine-Green?
February 8, 2012 § Leave a comment
Dark blue-green pine needles and rich cedar mulch present a warm house color palette perfect for homes that want to sit quietly in a wooded environment or at least conjure up the same.
Although much of the leafy countryside in many landscapes is a mixture of greens, notice that most have a yellow undertone. But not pine green. It leans more toward blue and for that reason can really stand out in a grove of maple trees.
To warm up the cool green shade, add brown and no better place than the roof (a gray roof is fine too but it will keep the house cool). Creamy trim provides contrast between the two darker shades and serves to outline the architectural detail (dark trim will get lost but use it if you are seeking camouflage).
For the front door, why not splurge and get solid wood stained a darker version of the roof color or choose a similar paint hue like Maple Syrup (Ben Moore 1105). 
Black wrought iron is the best metal for hardware, lighting and accessories.
Once again, nature’s palette does all the work.
Choosing House Colors: Gray-Blue?
January 24, 2012 § Leave a comment
You do not have to look very far in nature to find a palette of coordinating colors from which to pluck your house paint chips. This time we’re looking at a glassy pond reflecting the blue of the sky. This blue, however, is not a primary saturated hue but rather a complex shade that has grays and greens in it as well.
So going to the paint store, you’ll want to move toward the muddy gray part of the fan deck and find your blue there. Stay away from the clear Crayola blues or you will end up with a house color that may in fact glow in the dark.
Look carefully at the colors around the pond and you will find your accent colors. Autumn red for the door, dark woody brown for the front step treads, crisp cloud white for the trim, and pops of golden yellow for your flower pots.
With nature as your color palette, you cannot make a mistake.
Choosing House Colors: Gray-Green?
January 20, 2012 § Leave a comment
Look all around your environment for color inspiration. Sometimes the most complex color palettes come from places we might least expect, like a kayaking trip, for example. Look at the different shades and tones in the water and sky. They evoke a calmness that’s relaxing to look at. Then the red kayak pops out of the photo — we know it doesn’t belong there but it grabs our attention.
What if we use this scenic palette for a house exterior! The gray-green of that 
water is not a color you would necessarily pick out of a paint store color chip lineup, but it’s a great house color. It’s muddy and dark and has a little bit of brown mixed with green and gray. Very complex — not a Crayola color, that’s for sure!! But paired with cream trim, a brown roof and pops of red accents, the combination fits right into its environment just like the house was plucked from the shores of Maine.
Choosing House Colors: Taupe?
January 10, 2012 § 3 Comments
When selecting the palette of colors for your exterior, use natural materials in the environment as your inspiration. This stonework has all the colors you need for your entire house, from the dark charcoal of the roof to the taupey gray siding and even the orangey brick walkway. 
Tying your house color in with its surroundings “grounds” the house — it looks like it belongs there. A house that strays too far from the natural palette looks more like a spaceship that has landed on a foreign planet. Don’t do that to your neighborhood. Save your taste-specific color applications for inside the house.
Updating a Porch with Columns
January 10, 2012 § Leave a comment
When it comes to exterior design elements, if it looks too big up close, it’s probably perfect. And that certainly applies to porch columns. Spindly toothpick posts do nothing for the overall curb appeal of a house except add busy detail (Victorian houses with turned porch columns are the reluctant exception).
If you are building a porch or modernizing the one you have, select a few oversized columns with substantial girth. Resist the well-meaning but uninformed little voice that says the columns are too big for the house. They’re not.
Choosing House Colors: Lavender?
January 6, 2012 § Leave a comment
Looking for a versatile neutral? Ever considered lavender? There’s something really appealing about this color as long as it has gray undertones. In different lights, the color can go from blues to grays and paired with cream trim and dark brown wood accents, it has a richness that is refreshingly unexpected.
In Old San Juan, we see this color in, of all places, the blue tile bricks on the streets. But of course lavenders are found in nature in most climates so I would feel free to add lavender to your crayon box of house color possibilities. Just keep the shade subdued (nothing too purple) and like many other complex hues, lavender will be a head-turner in your neighborhood.
Choosing House Colors: Lime Green?
January 3, 2012 § 2 Comments
In many neighborhoods, the homeowners who chose this house color might be run out of town but not in this neighborhood where the color is prevalent in nature. The lime green (bordering on neon) fits right in! We see it here in the rainforest of El Yunque in Puerto Rico. What a happy, stimulating hue! And how appropriate to borrow it for a house color on that island paradise. It helps to pair this strong acidic color with a coffee brown or even black just to balance out the palette. 
But it works.
Use your home’s environment as inspiration when choosing a house color. But if you do not see the color in nature’s palette, then reserve the color for inside. Otherwise, your home might become a lighthouse beacon in the neighborhood. Great for identifying your house in the dark, but that’s about it!
Who Says You Can’t Paint Your House Pink?
November 10, 2011 § Leave a comment
Pink can be a tasteful house color for old Victorian homes and even new-construction homes with made-to-look-old character. Ranging from bubblegum to rose to petal pink and even lavendar, you name it — we’ve seen it.
Although some homeowners may go a little over the top with the pink, here’s a house that I find to be really well done. The soft ballet-pink hue is paired with creamy white trim and topped with a medium gray roof. What works so beautifully for this property is that the gray is carried over to the garage outbuilding that stands alone completely in both style and color. By limiting the pink to the house only, the homeowners have balanced what might be considered a soft feminine palette with a dose of solid, neutral dark gray — a touch of masculinity, if you will. The design principle of balance, the yin and yang, is evident here. And it works!
Sporting a Patriotic Color Scheme
November 7, 2011 § Leave a comment
With all due respect to my international bloggers, this house sings America the Beautiful to me every time I drive by. This time, I stopped to capture its beauty and share it with you.
What makes this red, white, and blue color scheme work so perfectly is the balance of color between the candy-apple-red siding and the creamy white trim. Notice on the flag hanging on the door that, for the most part, neither the red nor the white stripes dominate. Both colors balance each other. That same effect is evident on this house — the exceptionally wide trim painted a soft cream keeps the red from overpowering the house. Just like the flag, the house is balanced.
Navy blue accents the doors — just like the small block of navy blue in the upper lefthand corner of the flag provides a contrasting backdrop to the white stars.
If you have an old farmhouse or an outbuilding on your property that you would love to feature, consider painting it red with creamy white trim and navy blue doors. Hang the flag out front. You’ll attract attention but go ahead. Be proud!
Color Your Windows
November 4, 2011 § Leave a comment
Although it’s a commitment, there’s a growing trend in windows to replace white with color — like these beautiful blue mullioned picture windows shown as a backdrop to outdoor furniture from the Ballard Designs catalogue (www.ballarddesigns.com). Red is another great window accent color as is the ever-present forest green.
When choosing a window color, decide whether you want your windows to stand out (white windows already do) or blend into the siding color. Choosing a color that is not in your house palette already except for maybe the front door will pop your windows right off the front of the house. Picking a window color that is already in the palette of your house (taupe, for example, to match stonework) will blend the windows. Particularly nice if you have a lot of little tiny windows and prefer a less busy look for the house.
As with all color selection, contrast or the lack of it will determine the end result. But don’t pick white just to be safe. Think color!
Your Home & Color Coach 