Payment Options
Please click on the ‘Pay Now’ button directly below if you wish me to answer your question. I charge $30 to solve your color dilemma, like “What color should I paint my front door?” You can also hire me for multiple questions (many rooms or a whole house color scheme including the roof) and pay with one transaction. Email me if you would like to discuss your project in advance at yourcolorcoach@gmail.com.
After you click and are viewing the PayPal web site, enter the amount in the ‘Item Price’ field and click UPDATE.
Thank you for your payment and I look forward to helping you with your decorating questions.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
![[PayPal Transaction Web Site Button]](https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_paynow_SM.gif "Alternative PayPal Payment"){kind=small}
Hire Me For Multiple Questions
Your Home & Color Coach 
I thought I had nailed down the siding, trim, window and roof color for our new home but now I don’t like any of my choices. I want a craftsman look and am drawn to greens and reds. I’ll send a front view of the house and a photo of the land. I really want the house to fade into the landscape which is a farm in the mountains of southwest Virginia. I have ordered Pella casements in brown.
Hi Anne,
How about Ben Moore’s Tate Olive HC-112 for your siding color with Sailcloth (ext) for the trim. You have your brown windows. How about a brown roof and put the red on the front door (Georgian Brick HC-50 is a brown red — not too much– but a color picked right from the autumn foliage in your yard!). The trim could move either toward a warmer cream or a lighter coordinating green if you really want your house to melt into the trees.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
We would be grateful for help with my home in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We have just ordered our new windows, and I am happy with the way they will look (antique white simulated divided lights) but it is the front door, side light and porch interior, garage doors and mansard window cladding that is stumping me.
We have pink/grey brick. The front door has one side light. The window in the sidelight has been ordered the antique white, but because the antique white is not available in the screen door, we have ordered it a sophisticated dark brown/almost black. The supplier suggested the trim around the sidelight be done in the same dark brown, but I am not sure if this will look good. He suggested we paint the front door antique white, but it doesn’t sound inviting to me.Could the front door be a contrast of some sort, or should it be the dark brown of the screen door and sidelight?
Our front door is approached through a brick archway same brick as the rest of the house. Inside the porch there is wood board and batting. What color should this be? Also, I expect the trim on the garage doors should be the antique white, but what color should the garage doors be?
Our mansard roof has only been re roofed on the flat roof, not the sides. in harvard slate. Because it doesn’t really show from the street, when we complete the vertical part of the roof do you think we could get away with slightly changing the vertical roof color, or do you think the Harvard slate roofing material would go well with the dark brown screen door and trim detail? We also have evestroughing in brown at the moment, will this need painting or replacement?
Last, but not least, we have 3 upper windows across the front. The windows themselves will be in the Antique white, but what should the (rather large) window trim and window wells be?
Help!
I am very happy to pay for your services. I am just nervous about putting my credit card on line. With some re-assurance, I will proceed to pay.
Thank you very much!!
Heather
Hi Heather,
I am happy to help you. The PayPal site is secure, but if you would rather send a check, I totally understand. Just email me at bmeglis@yahoo.com and I will give you my mailing address.
Otherwise, just click on the button and PayPal will pop up — I do not see any credit card information but will get a notice if a payment comes through.
Thank you for posting. Also if you have a photo, just attach to an email (bmeglis@yahoo.com) or insert a photo site link into this Reply Box.
I will be back soon to answer your question.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Heather,
I suggest starting with the roof. I would bring the Harvard Slate down the vertical sides of the roof to complete the whole roof — all one color. I know you really cannot see the top part very well, but the photo I’m looking at shows just a sliver of roof above the garage. Nevertheless, I think the roof should all be the same.
With that in mind, I suggest pulling a color from that green-gray roof for your additional trim color (along with the antique white). Look at Ben Moore’s Copley Gray (HC-104) or the darker Cromwell Gray HC-103 — both a gray-olive color — or Amherst Gray HC-167 a darker gray green (very nice). Any of those colors will look great as your garage door color as well as the board and batting in the entry area and the trim around the roof windows. Then since you have a dark brown trim around the storm door, keep your gutters brown and use brown for your metal (light fixture, mailbox, etc) to tie the brown in. All the windows including the sidelight by the front door should be antique white.
As for the front door color, yes, you can accent that with a warm shade like Georgian Brick HC-50 or a pinker shade like Raisin Torte 2083-10.
See what you think of that palette — make sure the colors go with your brick as well — hard to see close-up in the photo. I’m just assuming it’s a pinky gray like you mentioned.
Thanks again for posting!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Wow!! What a great website that offers so, much information.… I love it. We recently had 3 large pine trees cut down in the front of our house which were concealing our plan white house and garage (to some degree). The exterior of the house needs some sprucing up and we were wondering if you could help us pick out some colors for the garage door, shutters and front door. We are having our drive way redone with exposed aggregate cement which is kind of brown / sand stone in color. So, we would like help with a color scheme that would pull those colors together in a uniform manner but pop and add some curb appeal.
Thanks,
Bobby
Hi Bobby,
To tie in the light gray roof but give you some contrast with the white siding, how about Ben Moore’s Kendall Charcoal HC-166 for your shutters. Then use a lighter green-gray HC-168 for garage doors and maybe even the front porch. To add your pop of color and incorporate the brick pillars, use something like Chestnut 2082-10 for your front door. The red should come right out of your brick so you might need to tweak the color a tad if the Chestnut is too brown. (it’s lovely working on-line…)
Hope that ties the whole look together for you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
We are in need of a new roof and not sure what color tile to pick. I thought weathered wood but not sure and would like to get your advice. We have a 3/4 brick house with wood siding on the back. The siding color is Benjamin Moore HC 101 and the trim is AC3. The front door is painted HC50. I will send pictures to your email. Thank you! Kim
Hi Kim,
I like IKO’s Dual Black and Heatherwood best because they each provide a contrast with both brick and house/trim colors. The lighter Weatherwood is okay, but at least under IKO, it’s a little busy in those medium tones. The darker roof colors are a little less busy.
I like your current garage door (not sure of the actual color) but you can paint the new one either siding or trim color to make it blend into the brick.
As for the front door, how about scrapping the red and moving toward a grape color like Chambourd AF-645 (Ben Moore). Looks (at least on my screen) like you have some wonderful purple shades in your brick. Those would be worth accenting.
See what you think!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi!
I just paid $20 on PayPal to get your opinion for house colors. I think I’m suppose to email you it here?
My husband and I just purchased our first home, which we are very excited about! We will be painting the exterior this weekend and I am still at a loss for what colors to do. The home is a 1965 ranch. We want to leave the brick color as is, but want to paint the siding on the front porch as well as siding in the back and garage. We also want to repaint the front door, pillars in the front, shutters and all the trim. I want our home to be one that stands out in the neighborhood in a good unique way, but nothing too outrageous. I’ve contemplated a sage-y green as well as a silvery blue for the siding, however I am up for what you think will look best.
I wanted to know what colors you think would be best for the wood siding (front porch, garage, back of house) as well as colors for the front door (I would like a unique door that pops against the house), shutters, pillars and trim. I would like the siding to be a different color from the trim on the house. If possible can you give me specific color names from paint companies.
Thank you so much for your help. I have attached a link to the pictures of our home to help with the decision. 🙂
Hi this is Erin P. again. Just one thing I wanted to include. Can you give recommendations from Sherwin Williams. That’s who our painter will be using. Thanks so much!!!! I am so glad I found this website. 🙂
Hi,
I have very big problem with matching my maroon roof coulour with any paint! As I mentioned before my roof is marron, it’s a pretty old house we have bought and renovaiting. Could you help me with choosing matching colour for my house. Thanks!
Hi Ewelina,
The best thing to do with your maroon roof color is not try to match it at all but rather to contrast with it. (I assume you are not trying to camouflage the roof — that’s a different story.) How about a nice rich medium taupe (a gray-beige) that will be neutral enough to coordinate well with the roof color. Let me know what paint company you use and I will recommend a specific color if I can. In the meantime, take a look at Benjamin Moore’s Grege Avenue 991. That color with white trim will look terrific with your roof color.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Please help. Im in the process of building a new home. Its in the dry and ready for drywall. Shingles are on. We have the bricks picked out but Im REALLY second guessing our exterior color combination, brown brick, white windows/trim and a sand/almond siding across the porch. Its a country style home with 3 dormers in the center section. Id like to send you several pictures of what I have and continue consulting thru email. Im sure what Im asking will cost more than a 20.00 cosult. Please email me so we can get started. Thank You
John Kolivas
Okay, John. Will do.
Hi Barbara, I emailed photos to you earlier today about trim paint suggestions for 1920’s Stucco house. Sorry for disjointed presentation. Let me know if I need to email them again. As I said, I need help repainting the trim,foundation and steps. The givens are the cream white stucco siding with embedded cream/rusty stones’ the out sized Chimney with four clay colored tiles, storm windows that remain on the house year round (actually seems to give a sort of shadow box effect so I’m ok with it). I tried some colors on back of house: velvety black for outside rim of window. Not sure I liked the cool effect with the beige but I thought that the touch of black would help tie in the roof color. I’m partial to soft olive greens, dusty blues etc. Would love your suggestions about reroofing color which is coming due too.
Hi Trish,
Just emailed you and then I saw this on the blog. I still like the Kendall Charcoal idea for the trim. It’s not as severe as black but it will offer a cool contrast to the beige/cream. But I mentioned Georgian Brick for your front door (all Ben Moore colors). What I would like to change that to is the color of the embedded tiles in the chimney. Pulling that color down onto the front door will pull the whole scheme together.
Olive green instead of the charcoal will also work but it’s not as “current” as the gray. Also the Kendall Charcoal has a green undertone to it. Check it out.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Our house has a brown tile roof with streaks of gray and terracotta. We want to paint the siding steel blue (Frazee CL 3093W – Galvanized) and the trim a creamy white. How do you think this color combination will look being that part of the front of the house and the chimney have red/orange brick and the roof is brown? Also, what color should the garage and front door be painted? We will also be installing a 91′ by 2.5′ retaining wall on the street side of the house. With the color combination that we are looking at what color concrete blocks should we use for the wall? We have been considering tan, off-white, and grey or charcoal? What colors do you think will look attractive?
Hi Adela,
Since the blue will be a contrasting (complementary) color with the orange of your brick, the house will have more “energy.” And the brick will stand out, of course, unlike now where everything blends. Having said that, you might consider a slightly darker and grayer blue — something like Ben Moore’s Templeton Gray HC-161. It’s a bit more green but the “value” goes well with your roof/brick. Another option is Philipsburg Blue HC-159, a rich gray-blue that will look terrific with the browns and grays of the roof and the oranges of your brick. The blue you mentioned (Galvanized) appears a tad light on the screen to balance the heavy roof and brick colors. I’m afraid too light a color will chop up the house with too much contrast making the house look smaller. See what you think about the BM colors — they can be matched (I don’t work for BM!).
For the garage door, you might want to pull in the roof again with something like Valley Forge Tan AC-35, a warm gray-tan (very sophisticated). The trim color idea is fine.
As for the concrete blocks, yes to all the colors you mentioned. They should pull in the whole palette.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We were hoping you could help us with color choice for our front door and shutters. Last October, we painted our Cape Cod in northern New Jersey boothbay gray with hale navy shutters (both Benjamin Moore historical collection colors). The trim is brilliant white, including the garage doors. The roof is black. The brick pavers in front and back are pale red with grays and blues. We used a gel stain for the new fiberglass front door in american walnut. We were going for a gray color with a touch of blue and got more blue than we bargained for. We’re not crazy about the navy blue shutters either, and the walnut door doesn’t look right.
While we have learned to live with the boothbay gray and can’t repaint the house, we were hoping to correct what we can, the color for the front door and potentially the shutter color. We used to have a yellow door on the house, which we miss, and were thinking might look good with the gray/blue house and navy shutters and pull all the colors together. We want to avoid more color mistakes. I have been researching the yellows, and they all look too warm or too pale. Can you recommend a yellow color for the front door (preferably Ben Moore) if you think this is a good color choice with the boothbay, navy and white, or do you have a recommendation for a different front door/shutter color combination that goes well with the boothbay gray and white? We are open to all suggestions.
We were also thinking of rehanging our old wooden shutters around the front door, which used to look quaint, and really highlighted the door, which is a prominent feature of the house because it juts out under a portico. This is another reason why we need to get the door color/shutter color right! We have a good picture of the house that we can send via e-mail. Don’t think we can attach it here. Thanks so much! We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Annette and Joe Trapanese
Hi Annette and Joe,
Very pretty house! You might consider switching the shutter color to a softer shade of gray-blue, something like either Charlotte Slate AC-24 or Hamilton Blue (Exterior). That way the shutters will not upstage the front door. Right now there is so much contrast between the shutters and siding that the front door gets a little lost. You might also paint the garage door the same shutter color or the Boothbay Gray– it will “ground” the garage and make it look finished. Keep the white trim around the door though.
Another idea might be to switch your pink/red annuals to purples/creams/whites that will contrast with the “yellow” of the front door. Right now the orangey yellow of the wood stain kind of clashes with the pinks/reds of the annuals in pots and window boxes. A small thing but it might help the door.
I do really like the stained door. I would keep it!
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
I have hired a painter to update the exterior. You recommended BM Edgecomb Gray which looks great on test area. I have purchased a new door in a darker red color. I need some last bit of advice for shutter colors. I am wimping out and buying some vinyl Raised Panel Shutters from Home Depot. They look updated and are a bargain compared to painting old broken down shutters. Would you recommend Tuxedo gray or Midnight blue? That is where I am torn. Please let me know what you think. Appreciate you help. I can resend pictures of our house if you need me to.
Thanks,
Cori
Hi Cori,
Hope you got my email okay. I’d say go with Midnight Blue. That color is terrific with your flagstone and is the closest to the paint color we talked about earlier for the shutters. The raised panel style is great and the vinyl shutters are so prevalent everywhere now that your curb appeal should not suffer.
Thanks for writing back. Can’t wait to see the After photos!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara – I just did paypal but on a differnet option cause I was asking a longer question – hope I did it right – i have done two other paypals this week prior to this one – my two other questions came through under house color – and I also emailed you –
Basic cape 4 rooms 1 bath on first floor – stairs in the middle
Kitchen cabinets amareto cream – granite Imperial Cafe – bar stools black and med oak wood
Only one wall in kitchen and its painted manchester tan like you suggested – that wall can only handle a picture or ?? nothing can stick out – the stools are to the left the wall to the right so its a walk thru – so just a big picture on that wall for color or ?? – the lights – clock – etc is the bronze brown color iron-
Dining room not formal is open from kitchen painted manchester tan
Table med oak top (actually called george washington cherry) but not your basic cherry – legs black – chairs the med oak seat and black backs and legs
Small wall has grandmothers hutch – odd color brown – was thinking to paint black?? or ??
Small wall with window a pretty buffett from home goods pretty brown wood and a shiny black top – paint on front cream and greens – on wall above that was a small wall curio that held demetasse 100 yr old cups I would like to display but the small curio came from bombay company and is blonde – doesnt match the room now – can I stain it paint it and what color? and should a small wall curio go over a buffett?
And again one full wall – table on left wall on right – its a walk thru so nothing on wall can stick out so again a large picture – mirror – mirror with plate holders on side – I love mediterranean – maybe picture scene from Italy or ??
Skinny wall has brown bronze iron wine rack with a brown bronze pendulum iron clock over it – a clock over the wine rack??????
Window treatment – 2 inch off white wood blinds – would like valances instead of curtains to keep open look – a solid color to bring in color a netural to keep it open — had 3 inch flat rods maybe change to the iron brown bronze rods – need help here
Living Room not formal more like a big nice den – Manchester tan looked to light in there – Took your advice using Shaker Beige – Again would like valances – stuck on color – fireplace you said Linen White by BM but I am thinking it may look to formal was thinking something to make it look warmer but not dark – fireplace door needs to be replaced or painted cause it is brass – room is dark – only two reg size windows – soft brown (hint or sinena to them) leather couches –
I like warm colors cream green orange gold – earthy Any iron in house is bronze brown some frames are dark brown some black – should I go all black or all brown or both or one color one room the other room another color I have alot of 5 x 7s on shelves on side of fire place all are different – better to go all black and shelves need to be painted – ?? black?? Its alot to do in such a small house but need it to be open and sophisticated with a fresh clean warm look – thank you – hard few months but have to get it done – house is pulled apart – painter back tomorrow to start in LR Thank you – really this is such a relieve to have someone to help out –
Cindy B
Hi Cindy,
Sorry for the delay. Glad I saw your email and thank you for the payment. Did I answer your previous questions okay? I hope so.
Anyway, let me go through this post and answer your questions.
I’m glad you painted Manchester Tan in the kitchen. That will look great. Yes, a piece of art (does not have to be expensive — TJMaxx is a great resource for accessories!)
Dining room: also Manchester Tan. Good flow. Painting the mismatched furniture is a great way to pull the room together. It seems like you have both warm woods and black. If you use black as your accent color for all the accessories, shelves,and frames for the pictures, that will tie things together. If you think the black is too much for the large furniture pieces, then paint them either cream or the wall color. That will make them go away and will add visual space to your room. We do that all the time. (use enamel for the furniture so it will hold up).
Living Room: Again take a look at Home Goods or TJMaxx for your art. You’ll find just what you’re looking for there.
I’m not a big trinket person. Large accessories make a bigger impact. So I suggest putting the antique cups in either the Grandmother’s hutch or on the curio shelf. That’s fine. But if you use the shelves, then move the clock and other small items out of the area. The focal point will be the teacups.
For valances, you can use a rod pocket off-the-shelf valance from Home Goods for your 3″ rod. OR take those down and put up dark brown metal rods with end-caps (or finials). You can run the rod-pocket valance right around the rod and it will look much more updated. Keeping the valances neutral will allow other colors in the room to stand out. But you can certainly use your warm earth tones if you find some valances you like. Your palette is very flexible. Just stick with the warm creams/greens/oranges/golds.
If you use black for your accent color, then use black frames for your photos if you plan on hanging them on the wall. That will unify them. Otherwise group them on a shelf with a variety of interesting frames. No problem. But try to minimize the little clutter. Group like objects wherever you can.
Living room. Shaker Beige. Look for a warm color for your valances. Rust/Gold/Purple/Green. That will perk up the room. They can be one of those colors or all of them. Up to you. The sofas are perfect. Paint the fireplace trim an accent color if you want to. (Black works or something like Davenport Tan HC-76. Or the lighter Alexandria Beige HC-77. Either of those should contrast against the warm woods and sofa but blend nicely with the Shaker Beige. See what you think. Much less formal than white.)
As for the book shelves with all the photos, you can paint the shelves black — your small accessory color — but the frames do not all have to match. Not unless they are arranged in a grouping on the wall in the living room.
Use your artwork for the rest of the color palette. From your art, pick a couple of colors and get pillows, candlesticks, and other accessories in that accent color. Same with the area rug. It can be from the artwork. That will pull together the whole look. Your neutral background will allow you to change accessories and decorations for the seasons if you want to without messing up the look of the house.
Hope that helps. Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi, Like many people writing to you we have a short amount of time to replace our roof before winter. We own a Modern Colonial with a nice facade and roof angles. We’ll be replacing the siding in spring and plan to paint it SW 6193 “Privledge Green”. It’s difficult to go from the look of a cedar shake roof that gave the home a lot of texture to an asphalt roof shingle. Liked the color of Malarkey “Storm Grey” but not the dimension of the roof shingle on homes similar in style to our home. Decided to go with a Ultra HD Timberline roof in Charcoal but a friend recently had this installed (after a waiting for it to arrive) and it definitely looks more black than dark gray. We want to keep and enhance the curb appeal our home once had. Many homes in our neighborhood are neutral in color and are not attractive in winter when we often have snow for at least six months of the year and receive a lot of sunshine. The house facade faces south and receives a lot of this beautiful winter light. Out home also has mature fairly lush and green landscaping for the area. We need to keep the exterior remodel simple with white trim the brighter green paint we’ve chosen (possibly with a little gray added to it and painting the door gray) in spring. Although many people prefer neutral and “earth tone” colors they are not always that lovely with so much snow on the ground. I’d like a dark to medium gray roof color or even a softer gray roof in Ultra HD to keep curl appeal and give our home a classic elegant roof with some dimension. We also looked at Certain teed “Georgetown Gray” but found it had too much green in it. Unfortunately, Timberline Ultra HD charcoal as mentioned looks more black than gray where we live and Pewter Gray or even Cobblestone gray may not be available in our region…we’re also hesitant to order it without seeing a sample in person. Knowing our time is quite short and exterior remodel budget is limited to new siding, roof and light fixtures what would you suggest please for a lovely, harmonious color that will add some texture and dimension to our roof. (There’s also a small chance we might paint the house a gray with a bit of blue in spring)…which might make an almost black roof work better….most importantly on such a big investment we want an elegant roof that will look good with the green paint we’ve most likely chosen in all seasons! Thanks so much!
Hi BA,
Have you considered Owens Corning Oakridge Estate Gray? It has a terrific mix of color undertones that include some of your green. Definitely get a large sample from your roofer, however, before making ANY roofing decision. Our computer screens can play tricks on us colorwise. Also look at Certainteed’s Colonial Slate as well as GAF Timberline’s Barkwood. The brown roof colors look very good with dark green homes. You don’t see a lot of that combination, but it’s such a natural pairing. But gray works well too.
See what you think of those options.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara:)
We currently live in our garage, made into a make shift house at the moment until our house is built…I’m thinking I need to send a pic, but my garage is cedar board and batten and cedar shakes and the shakes were kept natural. The board and batten is stained a deep deep blue. It’s the Ben Moore Hudson Bay swatch I believe, but deepened even more…I love the blue and that’s on the board and batten. Unfortunately I made a poor choice with the over use of cedar shakes. The gable ends, shed dormer and a little jut out on one wall has the shakes. We are thinking of tearing down the shakes on the gables and putting horizontal cedar of some type(whether it’s board or batten is yet to be determined…hopefully by you). But we feel something horizontal as the board and b is vertical. So, all this to say, I am wondering what color to stain the horizontal siding? Our roof is a metal roof and it’s Stone Grey(color). And perhaps anything you can suggest to make our “garage” have great curb appeal…Maybe doing the gables in vertical is the way to go, but please whatever you think, let me know! : )And maybe keeping the shakes natural to weather isn’t great either…Whatever we choose needs to match the house exterior too, which will be determined by how the garage looks. I am off to pay you now! Thanks very much!!
Kathleen
Also forgot to mention that the window trim etc is chocolate brown:) Thanks!
Hi Kathleen,
Okay, you have a lot of elements going on so here are a couple of options:
Although the blue is a gorgeous color, I’m not crazy about the chocolate trim with it. The chocolate goes great with the roof and shakes. Option one is to restain the siding a more neutral color that will coordinate with the shakes and trim and you won’t have to do anything else. Look at some of the browns and greens like Whitall Brown HC-69 or Gloucester Sage HC-100. (That works if you plan to preserve the natural cedar color and not let it go to grey.) Anyway, by uniting the palette into the earth tones, you pull all the colors and elements together. Option 1. (Paint the garage doors the chocolate brown trim color so there’s some contrast with the siding.)
Option 2: If you absolutely love the blue, then you might change the trim color to black. It’s a statement, for sure, but it allows you to have a little more contrast with the blue, coordinate with the grey roof, and let the shakes be the accent color. Yes, you have a lot of shakes, but I think the problem is more of a color problem than too many shakes. This also works if you let the shakes go naturally grey.
Option 3: Make the gable horizontal siding and stain it blue — same as the vertical. That isolates the shakes to only the cut-outs and makes both of those the feature. But again, I would paint the garage doors a medium brown (assuming you’re keeping the natural cedar color — otherwise a gray to go with the roof — anything but blue). I still have a little problem mixing the chocolate with the dark blue. But by carrying the blue up onto the gable, it spreads the blue around and makes it truly the house color with the natural shakes as the accent only!
Does this help at all?? Hope so. Let me know if I need to clarify anything.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara, we are building a new home – 2 story colonial, 4000 sq ft, hipped roof, with 2 story entry. Front full brick with grey/buff split faced limestone on the porch columns, and brick halfway on other 3 sides. The roof has gone on and is Certainteed Georgetown Grey. We are trying to pick a brick that will go with the roof. We are looking for a contemporary look.
The 3 bricks we are considering are GlenGery Aberdeen, Glengery Adrian and Glengery Marquette (french country look.)
Also, the siding and trim is painted Tavern Taupe. I do not think the roof and siding match – but hoping my brick selection will pull it together.
Any help on picking brick would be appreciated. Also, I am thinking we may unfortunately end up paying to repaint the siding and trim another color……
Hoping to make brick selection in the next day, so any advise on brick and trim/siding color would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sam
Hi Sam,
I have the perfect brick that will pull together the gray roof, the taupe siding, and the contemporary look you’re going for:
Glengery Lorraine White
Using a light brick for your house will allow the roof and the limestone porch columns to provide contrast and interest. Plus I think the red bricks are just too traditional. But they do work if you decided to go in that direction. The look will not be contemporary.
Consider solid wood doors again for contrast.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara…HELP! 🙂
My husband and I purchased our home in a beautiful neighborhood in Massachusetts in 2008. Two years ago it was struck by two 100 ft. pine trees during a storm…thankfully, no one was seriously injured. Since then it has been undergoing a modest transformation (I am forwarding before and after photos) allowing for a brighter interior with lovely 2nd level views of the forest and architectural enhancements to the exterior. Now we are finally ready to paint and we are at a stand still!! I tend to lean more towards the warmer tones of green/olive/grays and my husband tends to lean towards to cooler blue/silver/grays. As you can see, we replaced all the windows with Marvin Aluminum Clad black windows…we really love the look of black windows as they seem to feel very traditional to New England homes. I love the look of a darker trim in contrast to the body of the house and believe that this will help the black windows “pop”…which is what we would like to emphasize on our new exterior. My fear is that the home may look to dark and bleak because of the black/gray roof…but maybe I’m wrong? Our hope is to do the home and it’s surroundings great justice without it looking like a “new construction” home…we’d like it to have the look and feel that it’s always been there. Also, I think we should paint the garage doors the same color as the body of the house? Adding a third bay was a necessity but I don’t want the garage to stand out more than the main house. Please note: Above the entry you’ll see bare wood…that will be painted the same as all the trim.
Your ideas, thoughts and opinions will be greatly appreciated!
I look forward to your response.
PS…One color I keep going back to is and exterior solid stain Behr DP-300 “Gray Seas”…my husband likes DP-518 “Pewter”…I do like that as well…I just like more “color”.
Thank you very much!
Elaine
Hi Elaine,
One way to think about which direction to go with the siding color is to stand back at the road and look at the roof. Yours is black but it has some other shades and tones in it. Do you see any warm brown as an undertone or do you see blue? So for example, if you see a hint of blue in the roof, it’s a really nice idea to pick a rich gray-blue for the siding color. Doing that will make your house look bigger. (If you chose yellow, for example, the color would go half-way up the house and the other half would be black roof — the effect would make the house appear smaller as if it is chopped in half.)
I couldn’t find your two stain colors online (for some reason) but I pulled up Cabot to see some other possibilities (see below).
I’m looking at Shale (gray-blue) and Pewter Gray (a warmer brown-gray). Not sure how they compare to the colors you mentioned from Behr. But it’s a starting point. Seacoast Gray is a possible trim color or the warmer Cape Cod Gray.
http://www.cabotstain.com/colors-and-finishes/families/Solids-Colors.html
You will accent the windows more if you choose a trim color that is a mid-tone (to light) as opposed to a dark trim color. You’ll want contrast with the black windows in order to make them stand out. If the dark color blends with the black windows, you won’t see the distinction.
You didn’t mention your front door and I see that it is a naturally stained door at the moment. To give you the warmth that you need, I suggest keeping it either a wood tone or a painted surface in a warm color. That should provide a welcoming entryway even if you go with the cool overall palette.
Having said all that, the combination you have painted on your window/siding in the photo looks pretty good! Whichever that is. I like the darker siding color with the lighter color on the trim.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you so much for your response!! The color I sampled on the home in the photo is Bher Ultra “Pier” (UL200-4) on the siding which is very similar to the warmer Cabot Pewter Gray that you recommended and “Silver Tinsel” (UL200-7) on the trim. If you have any other recommendations…we are open to all of them! We want to do it right the first time ;). Also, I would like to ask if you would be open to assist with interior paint colors. The entire interior has been renovated with every wall being new. I would love some assistance in making certain that all the rooms flow well. If this is a possibility…please let me know.
One last questions…do you feel that we should paint the garage doors the same color as that siding? That is the direction we are headed.
Thanks again!
Elaine
Hi Elaine,
Another option is Pepperwood with Cape Cod Gray trim. A warmer combination but still good with the black windows/roof.
Just make sure you have contrast between your trim color and the black windows. That’s the critical factor. You want the windows to pop.
Then you can accent with doors and landscaping/accessories.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Our house is covered in cedar shingles and has a second-story porch and a slate roof.
The current color scheme is three colors:
Brown -shutters
Avacado – trim/bay window
Yellow (maize) – porch
We are getting ready to paint and are having a hard time trying to determine what colors to use. Although there is plenty of weathered gray in the shingles, many have a good deal of red in them.
Regarding the colors, should we use two, one for the trim and porch, and another for the shutters? What about a separate color for the front door?
Or do you think that keeping with the current three colors is best?
Thanks,
Elizabeth Malone
Hi Barbara,
I just posted 3 photos to your Facebook page. Hope that works! Looking forward to your reply!
Thanks,
Susan
Hi Susan,
I see your photos — that’s a great way to upload them. Instead of email. You’ll hear back from me by tomorrow morning.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I just found this web site. I have a question about my front porch rocking chairs. I’m wanting to paint them (they are now stained). Should I match them to my: house color (Pratt & Lambert, Sea Hawk 2278); trim color ( SW Navajo White); or front door color ( SW Red Miso 8383) . Shutters are door color.
I’ve considered painting them black, but I’m not sure I should bring in another color. I just added large black urns to my porch this week-end. Of course, they could be re-painted. Thanks for your help!
Shiny black to match the urns will be perfect (already have enough red and trim/house colors will get lost)
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks! That’s what I wanted to do! :).
I will be emailing you pictures of the front door I just recently purchased and my house plans….I am needing an overall taupe color (griege) that will look good with both dark brown and black (will be used throughout most of the open floor plan of my house)…I know what color I am painting my dining room (it is Smoked Oyster by Benjamin Moore)..and my dining room table is mirrored….so I will def need a color that will work well with the smoked oyster.
Another question I have is concerning color of brick for exterior part of my house. I am emailing a pic of the house that is across the street from my house. This is a new developing subdivision so I do not want to have the same brick but think it would be good to at least kindly coordinate 🙂 I do not like pink, peach, red etc brick seeping through the mortar…..I honestly want a taupe color…or putty color…not too gray bc my shutters and garage doors will be Ebony color….so would need it to be in the gray family but to have enough undertone within it to go well with really deep dark browns etc:)
Hi Leigh Anne,
I just emailed you a double response — with a couple of brick options for the exterior and an option for the open floor plan interior. See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I believe you have the wrong e-mail address. This is not Leigh Anne.
Sent from my iPad
>
oops. So sorry!!
Not sure if my last response went through – – we recently bought a 3 acre property and my photography studio (it’s a renovated barn) sits towards the front of the yard. It’s a light or periwinkle blue with white trim and grey roof. The house is behind it and is all white with a grey roof. I’m wondering what color to paint the accessories (garage doors, shutters, front doors) to tie the two together. thanks!
Hi Julie,
How about gray? That will tie everything together nicely. Pull a gray from your roof for the garage doors and shutters. You may want a blue front door on the house to tie in the studio in back but keep the door on the studio either white or a light gray.
Hope that helps. Send a photo to my email (bmeglis@yahoo.com) or attach a photo URL here and I’ll help you with a specific gray.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Would you consider a logo that allows your webpage to be pinned on Pinterest? I don’t need your help right now but would like to consult in the future. I use Pinterest to organize useful webpages.
Jean,
I will look into that. Thanks for the suggestion!!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I am sorry if this is posting multiple times! I just e-mailed you pictures of my home’s exterior. I need to replace my roof, so I have decided on the GAF Timberline HD shingles in Charcoal since all of the roofs in my neighborhood are either light gray or brown (like my current one), and I like the contrast to my red brick.
My dilemma now is needing to replace the trim and gutters to better work with the new roof, and repainting the vinyl siding on my gables to bring it all together. I’m also considering adding shutters to all the windows, but not sure what color they should be, and also switching out my front door — so it better stands out from the recess of the porch.
I’m also wondering what you think of painting the awning of my porch (if I can’t afford to have the roof extend over it and go with posts instead) the same color as the gutters/trim, and the railings white to soften it a bit. I’m open to all colors and wouldn’t mind little pops since I want an exterior I will really love.
Thanks in advance!!
Steph
Hi Steph,
Here are some colors to consider:
Trim (around windows and doors and on fascia boards):
Benjamin Moore steam AF-15
Siding:
Benjamin Moore weimaraner AF-155
Shutters and possibly the awning:
Benjamin Moore caponata AF-650
Front door:
Benjamin Moore firenze AF-225
The warm color on the door will brighten up the dark porch area under the awning.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
In my details, I have provided a website with the original exterior photos of our lake house. We would like to update the exterior. Sherwin Williams would be our paint of choice. As you can see by the photos, there are a lot of factors to consider before choosing color. I am interested in changing the main color, trim color, door color, and possibly adding some shutters to the front. We have removed the broken, ornamental window piece from the front of the house. Please review the exterior photos and give me your opinion. The current color reminds me of baby poo!
Hi Kristi,
Since there are a lot of colors on the house, between the different stones/bricks and the siding/trim, how about neutralizing the siding with something in the gray family, like Sherwin Williams’ Requisite Gray 7023?
https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7023#/7023/?s=colorDetails&p=PS0
Then, for whatever trim is painted currently (and not natural wood), consider the “white” version of the gray above: Simple White 7021
https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7021-simple-white#/7021/?s=colorDetails&p=PS0
For doors or other accent areas, I’d like to get away from the orangey (“baby poo”) browns. Take a look at Vintage Wine (Ben Moore 2116-20).
https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/2116-20/vintage-wine?color=2116-20
You could add shutters to the front for more contrast (in the same Vintage Wine). Note: I’m not sure if the stone pattern on the front is a style prevalent in your area (it is always great to use local materials), but if you are not a huge fan, one option is to stucco over the stonework. That would eliminate the outlining of the stone and make the house uniform in color. I would give that project a big thumbs up.
See what you think and thank you so much for posting!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
We need your help.
We have a color dilemma with the exterior of our house and roof.
We will send pictures to your email address.
We live in Chicagoland area and we like Modern, contemporary, Scandinavian, clean & crisp style.
Gutter, Downspout, Trim, Fascia and J Channel will be changed to White color.
We will change the siding style to Dutch lap siding pattern.
We will put the white gutter along the roof line.
We will remove the shutter.
We will also remove the column and downspout next to the garage that is on the walkway and put the stainless steel rain chain instead.(Please see a picture.)
We will put wooden house number sign board in front of the green ornament grass.(Please see a picture.). We also change the garage and front door wall-mounted light to stainless steel cylinder style light.(Please see a picture.)
We will do the landscaping next year.
We don’t prefer brown, beige, cookie color undertones for roof & siding, but if the colors with these undertones match to the front and garage door and entire house, we will go that colors.
My husband wants to put brick/stone panel front side of the garage instead of vinyl siding. If we put brick/stone panel, we will put the same style brick that our house already has. But we do not decide we should put brick panel or vinyl siding.
The below is my thoughts,
Garage color: Ply Gem Vortex – Deep Brunswick
House color: Royal building Products Woodland – Midnight Surf or Sterling
If we put the brick front side of garage, dark gray brick?
We think dark color looks good around garage door and front door but deep Brunswick vinyl siding is too dark for entire house, so we are thinking to use two colors of siding. If the same color for entire house looks more modernize than two colors, I will use one color for siding. If two colors of siding is better, please advise which parts of house should have what color.
Benjamin Moore – Gray Timber Wolf or Sherwin Williams – Morning fog
Please advise what color is good for brick.
GAF Timberline – Fox Hollow Gray, Birth Wood, Pewter Gray or Slate OR
Owens Corning Oakridge – Sierra Gray or Estate Gray
We think light roof color looks better than darker or the same color of house. But I am not
sure which one is better. darker, lighter or the same color of house?
Please advise which color is best.
Please advise the color scheme for the house and roof.
We are really appreciate if you could give us some combinations that would work.
We are open to anything that looks urban/modernized/sophisticated house.
Please feel free to use your own discretion for what you feel is best for this project.
Thank you.
Hiromi
I love all the creative work you’ve done already! I will look for your photos in my email: yourcolorcoach@gmail.com
Hi Hiromi,
Here’s an idea:
For the garage, I love the dark Midnight Surf but in a vertical Board & Batten siding. That way, the geometry of the siding does not compete with the horizontal garage door. I like gray stonework, but I would not add any more brick to your house (the garage face). I think the dark blue will be more dramatic anyway with all the white trim.
Then for the front of your house, go ahead and paint the brick. I like Metro Gray
https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/1459/metro-gray?color=1459
Then Sterling for your siding — Dutch lap is fine.
For the roof, I love the Oakridge Estate Gray as it has some color and is warmer than the other grays.
For the gables, I would switch to the Board & Batten as on your current house but keep the same Sterling color. That will look more modern. (You have a split — not exactly contemporary. I know you know that already!)
I like your front door style, but (and I hesitate because it looks brand new!) but the bow window in the front is not very modern. It would be better to replace with a picture window or at least a slider like on other parts of the house. Again, more modern. But you don’t have to take out a perfectly good window just for aesthetics — your decision. I just wanted to relay my thoughts to you.
I love the signage idea. And the lights! Beautiful. You have excellent taste and a great vision. Proceed!
And thank you for posting.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach