Choosing Colors that “Pop”
June 6, 2011 § Leave a comment
It may seem obvious, but opposites attract. And when it comes to color, opposites attract attention! These bright orange pansies are the perfect complement to the rich azure blue ceramic basket on the front step of this home. Orange and blue are opposites on the color wheel and, because of that, they give each other a vibrant visual energy that draws your eye. Cheerful, welcoming, fun — everything you want your house to say.
The other opposites? Red with green and purple with yellow.
If you’re planning your garden, planting some annuals in pots, or painting some accent furniture for the yard or the porch, think about what colors will pop off each other. Talk about curb appeal… you’ll certainly attract some attention from the road.
Long-Distance Decorating! From the US to Iraq and Back!
February 15, 2011 § 2 Comments
It’s not every day I receive a phone call from Iraq to work on a house in Atlanta but last April I did. The guy on the other end of the line had started renovating a house for his mother and was making all the decisions long-distance. Imagine that! Working with a builder on a house renovation is a challenge when you’re on-site — but from thousands of miles away? And for his mother? I was intrigued.
After the builder chose an unapproved yellow for the new addition (see Before Photo on right), my “soldier friend” (as I call him) was not pleased and asked me to come up with a new color scheme for the exterior. And we did not stop there. By way of blog posts, emails, photos, and occasional phone calls, we moved on to porch, shutters, and even the garden shed. Then we moved inside to make paint color decisions, choose light fixtures, and decide how to update the kitchen and bathroom. He sent me photos of options he found online and I gave my advice.
From Iraq to Boston to Iraq and on to Atlanta. The power of the internet is making long-distance decorating possible.
P.S. His mom loves what we’ve done so far! And she loves her son! Success!
Choosing a Roof Color for a White House
May 7, 2010 § Leave a comment
Choosing a roof color these days can be overwhelming with all the choices available to us. We’ve gone from classic black and charcoal to every shade of brown, red, green, and even blue. This white house with navy blue shutters looks spectacular with its multi-hued, architectural style blue roof. It really stands out in the neighborhood lined with browns and charcoals. And with a white house, adding a little color to the roof (at least on this house) certainly adds interest without going overboard.
If you have a white colonial and want to replace your roof with a metal style, I suggest sticking to the darker, more traditional colors. A metal roof adds an air of informality (and a touch country) to the house itself so keep that in mind when you’re selecting a roof style. Nothing wrong with metal, but you won’t want to attract too much attention to it if you have a traditional metropolitan house. If you live in the country or the mountains, anything goes!
Choosing a Door Color for a Historic Home
May 6, 2010 § Leave a comment
Sometimes there’s absolutely nothing more dramatic than a bright, cherry-tomato-red front door. Instead of a more conservative black semi-gloss, the homeowners of this gray limestone with white window and door trim, wrought iron railings and lampposts, and concrete steps have punctuated their predictable historic facade with a splash of red right off the vine!
No need to wave a flag for guests to know where to ring the doorbell. The entry boldly exclaims, “Welcome Home!”
Nice choice!
Good Design Learns from History
February 4, 2010 § 2 Comments
This historic New England barn is original to the property, and its characteristic beauty helps to define the classic regional style. Owning an historic property can be a real joy for those whose passion is preserving the beauty of the past, but don’t think you have to own a historic treasure to enjoy the pleasures of a striking outbuilding.
If you need more space for a workroom or your vehicles, you can add a lot of character to your property by incorporating the unmatched elements, colors, and materials used in previous centuries to make your own history, whether it’s a barn, a large work shed, or simply your garage.
I get lots of questions about how to match exterior colors and blend materials between house and garage, but as you can see from this photo, there’s absolutely nothing matching between this barn and the accompanying house. From the unpainted board-and-batten style siding, brass lighting, and farm-style scale, this barn stands on its own. The colonial house has traditional, painted, horizontal lap siding and white windows. The bridge color between house and barn is black — the black windows on the barn carry over to the accent color on the house (note the black shutters and lighting as well as the black pergola and fence next to the driveway). By painting the wood accessories on the house black instead of leaving them natural, the unpainted barn takes center stage.
Even if you have no plans to build a major additional structure in your yard, keep this basic design principle in mind when you’re working on your exterior. Colors and materials do not have to match.
Garage Doors Have a New Look
February 13, 2008 § 41 Comments
Garage doors rival the front door for attention these days as the look of the garage door becomes increasingly sophisticated and worthy of notice. This particular garage door even has lights trained on it to show off its beauty at night. Who could imagine that the old standard garage doors whose plain and often tennis-ball-dented faces needed camouflaging would be replaced by such distinctive architectural specimens.
Having said all that, please note that if you have one of these carriage doors or plan to get one or two or three, go ahead and show them off. But if your garage still has the garden variety garage door, you are best to paint it the house color with trim color around the outside and refrain from highlighting it. Continue to focus all eyes on your front door.
Consider Your Home’s Roof Color: A Major Design Statement
May 31, 2007 § 385 Comments
Not too long ago, roof color was black — or a shade of black. Today, coordinating roof and house colors or choosing a new roof can be quite a project. So many choices and expensive ones at that. It is important to make a wise decision to avoid a long-term design disaster.
If you’re due for a new roof, congratulations! You now have a chance to select your roof color from the myriad choices that are available. Here are a few guidelines and considerations:
Traditional Shingle Roofs
- Gray or blue house. Stay with a traditional roof color like dark gray or black. That way your roof will blend with your house and make the whole structure seem bigger. Any other roof color will stand out too much and make the house look chopped up.
- Cream, tan, or light brown house. Consider the many brown roof options, some of them with a mixture of browns that really make the house look updated and terrific. A brown roof will blend with the cream or tan and make the house look bigger. Black and gray roofs just look ordinary. A brown roof looks like you actually planned out your entire color scheme.
- White house. Dark gray and black are traditional, but they work. Blue is also a terrific option. Red or green metal on a white farmhouse give a traditional country look. Bottom line on a white house: you have lots of options.
- Red, green, or yellow house. You can go either way, a brown or a gray/black roof. I prefer a brown roof for red and green house colors and a black roof for a yellow house.
Of course, the same suggestions apply if you are stuck with your roof color and are looking for a paint color for the house.
- Black/gray roof. The ideal house colors are gray, blue, white, and yellow.
- Brown roof. The ideal house colors are cream, tan, brown, red, green.
- Green roof and other colors. You can either use the roof as an accent color to the house or try to blend it by using a lighter tint of the roof color on the house itself.
Nontraditional Roofs
What about metal roofs? They’re all over Colorado, Upstate New York, and other areas of the world where snow on the roof is a major factor in the winter. Metal roofs come in a rainbow of colors, from red to green to brown to purple. If you have a metal roof, you are making a design statement (whether you mean to or not, of course) and you can treat it as an accent color, kind of like picking a front-door color. However, if you do not want to call attention to your metal roof, choose a natural roof color like dark charcoal, bronze, black, or brown instead of a color like blue.
What about terracotta roofs? These are traditionally seen on Mediterranean style homes and are a definite design feature. Keep the house color neutral to highlight the beautiful roof and the other architectural elements that are undoubtedly present.
Other nontraditional roof materials. Just like a thatched roof on an English cottage, a nontraditional roof is a design feature of the home. Hopefully, you want it that way. Choose a house color that makes the roof look like you planned it as a feature.
Regardless of what kind of roof you have, make sure you consider it when making house color decisions.
Your Home & Color Coach 
