When Roof Selection Becomes a Headache
October 18, 2009 § Leave a comment
Whoa! Does anybody else get a headache from this dizzying roof and brick combo? Although selected for the brochure of one of the major roof manufacturers, I find this photo to represent all too many not-so-great roof decisions. The brick in this home is very busy since it has a lot of color variation. Adding the color variation from the architectural shingles takes the house (and it’s big!) way over the top. An alternative might have been a more traditional roof with less color variation that would complement the brick and not clash with it. And that alternative would have been cheaper too!
If you have a brick home with a lot of color variation and you’re trying to decide on a roof, consider the whole look before making your selection. Avoid going with a trendy roof style just because the neighbors are doing it. Consider your house style and the effect that the new roof will have on it. If you need help, click on the If I Can Help You page and we’ll work on it together.
Sharing Responses
October 14, 2009 § Leave a comment
Hi Bloggers,
Thanks to many of you for your donations. I plan to share many of my responses on this blog.
More soon.
-Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach
Do My Windows Need Shutters? What color?
October 5, 2009 § Leave a comment
Most of our homes do not have as many windows as this beautiful historic Federal style house, but some windows just call out for shutters. If your house is a colonial or ranch style with double-hung windows (“six-over-six” panes of glass separated by “grids” or mullions), then you should consider investing in shutters to add a finishing touch to your house. Of course, if you live in an area threatened by periodic hurricanes, then shutters are required for protection. But I’m speaking to those of you who, just like putting up curtains in the living room, might add shutters to “dress” the windows.
If you have a modern or contemporary home with a variety of window styles, shapes, and sizes including casement (“open-out”) windows, then shutters might be more of a distraction than an asset to your curb appeal. Also, if there is no room to put in properly sized shutters, then forget it. Don’t opt for the mini-sized version just to cram the shutters into the facade. It’s not worth it.
As for color, white works in only limited palettes; it is best to pick an accent color. I prefer dark shutters with a dark roof; however, there’s more to dark than just your standard black shutters. Various shades of Midnight blue and 
Charleston green can add enough color to make the house interesting yet enough contrast to make the house stunning from the street. Adding dark shutters is like adding a touch of black to your interior palette. It just dresses up the house.
For those of you choosing from standard off-the-shelf shutter colors, your options are more limited, but remember that black always works. One note: if the shutter color is in your house somewhere (in the brick tones, for example), then that shutter color will work. However, if you have a rusty red brick, beware of clashing red-maroon shutters. I see them everywhere, just slightly off.
There are so many shutter styles to choose from these days that you can make a real design statement just by adding shutters. If you have a question about your own house and whether or not to add shutters (or what color), just click on the If I Can Help You page and we’ll work together.
Brick House Trim, Door, and Roof Colors: What works
October 2, 2009 § 16 Comments
The color scheme on this brick house started with, alas, the bricks (one of our bloggers sent this in). From the variegation in the pile of burgundy bricks, the homeowners picked a medium charcoal roof color (it’s in there), a burgundy front door color (it’s definitely in there), a bright white for trim to optimize the contrast against the brick and accentuate the beautiful architectural features, a coordinating specimen tree for the entryway (very nice touch), brass metal for the front door (it picks up the grout color and adds depth) and wrought iron for the lights (the dressy jewelry of the house).
If you have a brick house and are stumped by what colors to use for the trim, roof, front door, and any other siding around the house, start with your brick color(s). If you pull the color scheme out of the bricks, the whole house will come together.
A note of caution: Since many brick styles have a variety of colors in them, you may start with quite a large palette of colors. In that case, I suggest sticking only to that palette. But if your brick is monochromatic (for example, all the bricks are exactly the same one color), then you can introduce one or two other coordinating colors into your palette and avoid looking too busy. Click on the If I Can Help You page if you need help and we’ll work together.
Color Your Front Door
October 2, 2009 § Leave a comment
The front door is your opportunity to give your house some personality and with very little money. Especially if you have a neutral color scheme everywhere else, like we see in this photo from Country Living Magazine (www.countryliving.com/…/budget-makeover-0206).
This beige and brown ranch style home comes alive at the front entryway with a glossy orange door, pumpkin accessories, and wrought iron as the metal for the lights and planters. That’s exactly what I’ve been encouraging homeowners to do on this blog for years.
The front door area is (or should be at least) the real focal point that draws your visitors in. A stunning coordinating color will let your friends and family know which doorbell to ring. Orange is a fabulous accent color — you cannot help but feel happy when you see orange. But other coordinating colors will work just as well.
Take inspiration from the colors in your yard, particularly by the front door. Rich blueberry, eggplant purple, sunshine yellow, and rosy raspberry all make terrific front door colors if you have any of those colors in your garden plantings already. Take time to focus some attention on that front door. It’s the easiest change to make on your house and it will give you a huge impact. If you need some help choosing a front door color, I’m at your service. Just email me at bmeglis@yahoo.com and we’ll set something up.
Calling All Teachers
September 12, 2009 § 2 Comments
Stuck with cinder blocks, concrete, and linoleum in
your classroom?
One teacher revolted over the summer and asked me to make her classroom more fun. With dragonfly fabric and some ribbon, we made her new surroundings more pleasant. 
We even helped the principal renovate his office too. That project was a little more involved — with the purchase of new chairs, a paint job and new accessories. Both teacher and principal are ready to start the new year on a brighter note. My pleasure…
Here’s what we started with!
Changes to the Blog +++
August 29, 2009 § 7 Comments
Hi Bloggers:
My apologies to all of you who posted questions during August and are still waiting to see your posting and my response. I have devoted myself to answering your questions over the past two years because I recognized that many of you do not have access to a professional decorator. The Internet now makes that possible and I have enjoyed helping you. But as the popularity of my site increased, I became overwhelmed by the volume and time required to answer each of you individually.
I intend to maintain this blog so that the collective ideas will still be available. I will continue to post my own blog entries on decorating subjects and update the site regularly. But I am asking for a $20 donation which will cover questions on one room or one exterior.
I hope we can maintain the same level of community spirit that helped make this blog a success. Buy receiving donations for my time on the blog, I can integrate your questions and my responses into my work day so I can continue to help where I can. More importantly, though, I want to be able to sustain this effort over the long term. My husband and I have college costs looming.
Finally, I have a special note to those of you who wrote to me with challenging circumstances, like roof damage from a hurricane or tornado or problems associated with buying a home for the first time. Your notes were humbling to me and I am grateful for the opportunity to help you. Many of you returned the favor by helping someone else in need. I believe in devoting at least part of my time to ‘paying forward’ and I thank you truly for your efforts in carrying on this tradition. Given unlimited time and resources, I would continue helping all of you.
I am sorry if this sudden news is untimely. I assure you I am still engaged as a decorating professional and can be at your service if needed. Thank you for visiting Your Home & Color Coach.
Sincerely,
Barbara Meglis
Basement “Man Cave”
July 11, 2009 § 28 Comments
This basement renovation project started with a request for a palette of brown and purple. Coming from a couple with impeccable taste in furnishings upstairs, I knew this would be a fun challenge. We inserted some green into the mix along with a touch of copper and brushed nickel and ended up with more of an upscale version of the typical “man cave” (obviously there had to be two large TVs in the space along with exercise equipment, a bar, a kitchen, and a pool table).
We started with two support beams in the middle of a large space so we built a granite-topped bar between them and divided the space into a media area, a pool table area, and exercise gym.
Instead of putting the large TV on the focal point wall, we decided to build bookshelves flanking a gas fireplace with a metallic tile surround. The Monet print above the fireplace is a nod to “The Thomas Crown Affair,” the homeowners’ favorite movie and the movie of choice on “Opening Night.” The purple and brown leopard print on the little bulbous rocking/swivel chair is my favorite piece in the room. And it’s so comfortable!
It’s All About the Windows
May 7, 2009 § 14 Comments
Whether we’re all craving light or fresh air, who knows, but the focus these days is on windows. And we’re not talking about the old standard white replacement models anymore, that’s f
or sure. Now we have choices from black to almond to green and even red. And whatever the shape of your space, we have a window to fit into it. Awhile back the trend was to update the interior lighting plan with recessed cans and spotlights, uplights, downspots, and all the specialized lamps you could imagine for your space. Now we’ve moved on to creating unique window plans to suit the house: clerestory, stained glass, enormous picture windows, and different styles of window mullions to fit the style of your house, from Colonial to Victorian to Mission. Even new homes can be made to look old — well sort of.
Word of caution: If you have an historic home or a home with a very definite style, you should try to repair the original windows before resorting to a replacement. There’s very good information at the following link to help you with windows in historic homes. Or any window decisions, for that matter.
http://www.oldhouseguy.com/windows.php
If you have old wooden windows, paint the window sash and mullions a coordinating color (black looks spectacular) to add life to your home. Those of us stuck with white vinyl are jealous…
Back from the Birthday
April 3, 2009 § 6 Comments
Hi Bloggers,
It must be spring as everyone has home renovation projects to get started. Lots of 
blog posts to respond to. I’ll work my way through them and will answer EVERYBODY’S questions. If you don’t see your question posted yet, stop back again. I post them as I respond to them.
Thanks for visiting my site.
-Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach
Your Home & Color Coach 