House Colors with Personality
November 20, 2014 § Leave a comment
Nothing shy about this pretty pink house. And instead of tempering it with neutral (black or gray for the shutters and door), the homeowners went Victorian bold with a rich blue like Ben Moore’s Blue Macaw 784.
When you have an old house, it’s fun to use old historic color schemes that make a statement. This one certainly does with its two-toned mustard/olive combo clarified with white trim and a traditional brick red door (Ben Moore Cottage Red).
I always love a tastefully done red-white-and-blue scheme, shown here with a blue garage attached to the red house. White (Ben Moore’s Brilliant White) as both trim and accent color pulls the look together.
This dark brown house is a classic New England Cape. Its simplicity is what captures the eye. No accent color needed on this traditional solid wood door with black hinges.
Make a statement in your neighborhood. Tastefully, of course.
Home-Staging Tips That Help You Sell
January 17, 2014 § Leave a comment
Tip 1: Make the Master Bedroom a cozy nest.
Remove outdated window treatments.
Dress the bed to look welcoming.
Add art above the headboard.
Make sure there is adequate lighting.
Tip 2: Clear the path to the room’s focal point.
Take away unnecessary furniture.
Remove dark window valances.
Rearrange furniture to feature focal area.
Tip 3: Remove styling that dates the house.
Less is more when you’re trying to attract young buyers.
Remove rugs to show off tile or hardwood floors.
Reorient furniture to add space.
Before shots:
Shutter Color Inspiration for Stone and Brick Houses
January 10, 2013 § 6 Comments
One approach to choosing an accent color for your stone or brick home is to let the stone or brickwork dictate the color. How easy is that. The stonework on this house and walkway revealed a whole palette of dusty blue-gray greens from which the shutter paint was then custom-mixed to a perfectly coordinated color.
In the brick example, this Old Town red brick contains a lot more colors than just red. Purple is what pops out and that gorgeous shade was the inspiration for a dark purple shutter color: Ben Moore’s Caponata AF-650. Dark purple shutters are a wonderful option for other homes as well, not just red brick.
Natural wood tones always work for shutters, especially on stone or brick and especially if the shutters are actually wood and not vinyl. Old World wonderful.
When selecting a shutter color, take your color cues from your house. Chances are pretty good that if you have a stone or brick house, you have quite a palette of colors to choose from already.
Before and After Ranch Re-do: Working with the Roof Color
September 4, 2012 § 4 Comments
Perplexed homeowners posted a dilemma on the blog. After deciding to keep the Desert Tan roof and aluminum windows on their newly remodeled 1960s atomic ranch, they struggled to come up with colors for the siding, trim and front door.
Making matters a little more complicated, they panicked (well, you know) when they saw the newly installed aluminum and glass garage doors they had selected and felt they overpowered the house.
Knowing the homeowners did not really like their roof (chosen by previous owners), I offered a couple of paint color options that would coordinate the siding with the roof. Contrasting the siding color with the roof would have made the roof pop off the house– not something the homeowners wanted. (When you’re trying to camouflage something, think blending.) I gave them Mayflower Red (Benjamin Moore HC-49) and Maryville Brown HC-75.
For trim, I suggested they match the paint color to the aluminum windows and garage door. The homeowners did the leg work — Metro Gray 1459. Then to draw the eye along the wonderful curved pathway and over to the front door, we needed color. I suggested something like Charlotte Slate AC-24
or Amethyst Shadow 1441? They went with the Amethyst. I don’t think you’ll see another house just like this one, and that, in the world of curb appeal, is refreshing!
Homeowner: The Mayflower Red pulls the red out of the roofing, makes the aluminum pop and has the added attraction of being different from anything else in the neighborhood without screaming “look at me.”
Outdoor Furniture — On a Quest for the Perfect Adirondack Chair
June 4, 2012 § 9 Comments
With renters arriving in a couple of weeks, I am on a hunt for Adirondack chairs that will replace the rickety old painted wooden ones we have currently at the cottage. There is such a difference in quality and price — I can’t seem to figure out what’s best.
The traditional wooden ones seem to last only a few years. Even reviewers at LLBean are sending theirs back for replacement chairs. After surveying the other offerings online, I went looking for Amish craftsmanship hoping to find something to last a decade or two. What did I find there? Plastic.
This white “poly” chair is made out of plastic bottles and it is guaranteed to last many years (the Amish guarantee is 50!), but I can’t seem to bond with a plastic facsimile of the hand-crafted old originals. Although the “poly” is not supposed to fade, I’ve heard that some colors do. White works for me so that’s not a big issue.
The price is extraordinary — twice or three times that of a wooden Adirondack chair. So that’s another sticking point. Is a plastic chair really worth almost (and in some cases over) $300?
If you have any experience with these Polywood chairs and would like to share that with me, feel free to comment. I’m kind of a purist when it comes to chairs, but they are comfortable. (My husband claims he can tell plastic from the road…). What to do…
Choosing House Colors: Turquoise?
January 3, 2012 § 2 Comments
Where on earth can you use turquoise for a house color? Answer: Where you see turquoise from your living room window.
In neighborhoods where rooftops are gray and the days are short, this rich blue-green color on a house sticks out like a bottle of mouthwash. But in the sunny Caribbean environment where the ocean is steps away, there is nothing more beautiful than the hue of the waves washing up on the beach. Splashing that color up on the house makes perfect sense as you want to spread the color around as much as possible. This house in Puerto Rico is a perfect example of how the homeowner chose a paint color from the environment’s luscious palette of blues and greens. Totally refreshing!
Note to Bloggers
December 10, 2011 § Leave a comment
The worst problem about being hooked up to the world wide web is when you’re NOT.
As of today, December 10th, my web-associated email is down. We are working on the problem.
To contact me: please use
bmeglis@yahoo.com
instead of bmeglis@yourhomeandcolorcoach.com.
I am continuing to answer questions, receive photos, make appointments, and help you with your color concerns. I am very sorry for the inconvenience.
-Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach
Homes Follow New American Lifestyle
November 2, 2011 § Leave a comment
The path of the new American home is moving away from 50s formality and into a more practical arrangement of space that functions for today’s busy lifestyles. New construction is replacing large two-story foyers with well-appointed “Drop Zones” for stowing gear and plugging in electronics. Formal living and dining room walls are coming down to make way for functional living, studying, and eating areas all in view from the kitchen. The bathroom soaker tub is being replaced by the steam shower. Breakfast nooks by outdoor spaces. And some homes are making way for elder parents by replacing back stairwells with elevators.
Well, it was bound to happen. How often have you used your formal dining room? It’s either too big for your family or too small for your big dinner gatherings. When was the last time you sat in your formal living room? It looks pretty perhaps but nobody sets foot in there, right? And then we have the front door with the grand entry. Perfect for that special occasion when the Queen pops by for a spot of tea…
Houses are becoming right-sized. Who can afford wasted space and even if you can afford it, who needs it! There are exceptions, of course, but builders are finding that most people are too busy to fuss with rooms and spaces that do not function for the family on a regular basis. Finally.
Here’s the link to the Wall Street Journal article for all the details… (photo by AJ Mast of the WSJ)
Choosing Dark Trim for your House
October 1, 2011 § Leave a comment
Contrast creates dramatic curb appeal. And on a house like this one with architectural features galore, dark trim accents all of them, from the gable trim, custom windows, and sculpted roofline to the stonework and doors.
Dark trim takes a really large, light-colored house and brings the scale down to normal by outlining the windows and doors and making them appear smaller. It’s what we call the “eyeliner effect.” It works great on large houses with big windows; however, small windows may look even smaller framed out in black.
No matter. If you are tired of white trim, consider a darker color. If you want maximum contrast, choose a really dark shade. If you want to minimize the contrast between house color and trim to avoid making your house look smaller, then choose a trim color whose “value” is no more than two shades darker than your house color on the paint strip. That will help the colors to blend thereby making the house appear less chopped up and visually bigger.
Kitchen Update to Sell
June 16, 2011 § Leave a comment
It’s all about the kitchen. No other room in the house gets more scrutiny during a home viewing than the place where the family hangs out the most. And savvy buyers know what they’re looking for:
- Granite counters (still — although that may change with more younger buyers wanting newer “green” materials);
- Stainless steel appliances (still — although appliances that at least match are a start);
- No faux and no wallpaper (neutral walls that are freshly painted with no-VOC paints give buyers a break when it comes to move-in time); and
- No vinyl (floors in tile or wood are preferred — although cork and other materials may come into their own, again with younger buyers).
This homeowner opted for new appliances — all stainless — to replace the ones original to the house. Then we replaced the white Formica countertop with Blue Pearl granite to coordinate with the blue tile floor (staying). The faux finish was primed over with a light yellow paint color that came from the background color on the fabric window panels. The cabinets got new nickel knobs to replace the brass. Countertop appliances and knick-knacks were stored to feature the new granite.
The result was an updated kitchen. No need to change the footprint, mess with the floor, or switch out cabinets. Move-in condition for the new buyers.
Your Home & Color Coach 
