…House Color
Thanks for visiting my blog. I would love to help you. I answer questions about your home’s exterior (siding, trim, accent color) for $30 per color dilemma (roof selection is a separate $30 payment). Click on the secure PayPal button below for your convenience. After receiving payment, I will answer your question directly on the blog. Working together, we can save you from costly mistakes and unnecessary trips to the paint store. Let me help you with your color challenges. -Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you! Scroll to the bottom of this page and type your question in the box (include a photo link if you can or send a photo to yourcolorcoach@gmail.com). After I receive notification of payment, I will answer your question.
Dear Barbara,
I hope I’m using this website correctly (not much experience). Here is the problem: I live in Europe, while I have a home under construction in the States (Washington State, Olympic Peninsula). I have to choose virtually everything from afar and the exterior paint scheme seems the most difficult. The house is a story-and-a-half style, dormers in front, set amongst a few pines in an open field. The siding will be shingles of fiber cement (James Hardie). We have settled on a two-tone paint scheme, rich cream (primary) and light-medium sagey-grey-green (accent), plus the fascia will be in white along with the vinyl windows. But … what to paint green is the question. We will have a ‘belly band’ about one foot wide around the middle of the house, and are entertaining a few shutters on some of the windows and a couple of the patio doors. Would you stop at painting those accent areas, or paint the front porch (7′ x 10′) green as well? Would you paint any of the trim/casing around the windows as well? I’m attaching the latest (not so good) photo of the partially framed house courtesy of a future neighbor to give you a better feel.
Many, many thanks!
Hi again Michael,
Thanks for sending the photos. They’re very helpful.
Have you considered painting the whole house sagey grey green and using the rich cream as a trim color? Although it’s ideal to have the trim around the windows match the vinyl, it’s not absolutely critical.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a ‘belly band’ but I would recommend keeping it the house color to avoid cutting the house in half visually.
As for the front porch, have you considered just staining the wood and keeping the porch natural? It would fit your surroundings, certainly. Just an idea.
If you want to keep the green as a trim color, I would suggest bumping up the cream to more of a tan. That way there won’t be so much contrast between the body of the house and the trim. Darker trim around windows makes them look smaller and I’m a little afraid that the cream body and darker trim might do just that.
Hope that helps a little.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
I just discovered you site as I was looking for decorating ideas. I just purchases my first home and at a loss for what colors to paint it. It is a very small ranch with a finished basement and the only color I currently like is the basement color. The kitchen has a brown laminate(looks granite) with white tile fllor, white cabinets, and white backsplash. I want something that will bring color to the room but don’t want anything too loud or bold. Any suggestions? The living room(which is opposite the kitchen has dark hardwood floors. I am thinking of dark/slate grey microfiber furnitre, but not sure what to use on the walls or for a throw rug. The room is not very bid so I don’t want to make it too dark. Any suggestions. The hallway leads off the kttchen and living room so I would want to bring one of the colors down the hallway.
Very Much Appreciated!!
Hi Julie,
Try Ben Moore’s Buttermilk (919) in the kitchen to warm it up (also down the hallway) and then Gentle Gray (1626) — a soft light blue — in your family room. Both will look good with the dark woods.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello! We are getting ready to get new siding and gutters. We just had a pewter color roof put on and I’m trying to figure out if I should paint siding and gutters same color or a different color. I was wanting to do a greystone color. The house is a ranch mainly a light red brick with some stone. The only part that has siding is above the garage and on the sides of house. My windows are white trimmed. I do have a picture of the house but not sure how to add it on here.
Thanks for your time,
Danyelle
Hi Danyelle,
Thank you for the payment. Just send your photo to my email at bmeglis@yahoo.com. I’ll be sure to see it there and can get you a siding color.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I sent them to you. Thank you. I sent them from my email instead of my husbands. its drsharp instead of mlsharp.
Hi Danyelle,
Since you have both stone and brick, how about making the siding, trim, and gutters all the same color so we unify the house and make the stone facade by the front door stand out as the focal area. Take a look at Ben Moore’s Edgecomb Gray HC-173. It should come right out of your stonework and contrast nicely with the new roof.
See what you think of that idea.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Thanks so much for your opinion. Thats what I was thinking as well! The siding and gutters will already be painted so I was going to go with the grey but its a little darker then the color from Benjamin Moore. Do you think that would still be ok? Thank you so much for your time, its so hard to figure out colors from a little color sample they give you. But it looks like we are thinking the same thing!!
Barbara,
We have just put on a new charcoal gray roof. We have decided on BM Briarwood for the house body and BM Sail Cloth for the trim. Do you have a suggestion for the doors (front center and one on the porch)? How about the porch (and back deck) floors? Thanks. I am emailing a photo of the house before the roof was done.
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
The floors should be gray — that will tie in the roof color. As for the doors, I like Golden Mist 2158-40 — it’s fresh and sunny and inviting. An alternative might be Gossamer Blue 2123-40. A more traditional look would be Country Redwood (exterior). But the lighter colored doors are quite popular now. People are getting tired of black and red. But traditional color schemes never go out of style.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
We ended up with Espresso for the doors. So far we love all the colors. We are still stumped on a deck and porch floor color. You mentioned gray. Do you have any suggestions of specific colors? I am running out in the morning to the paint store yet again.
Thank you.
Debbie
Barbara,
The door color is Espresso Bean (not just Espresso). It’s a dark black/brown. House is Briarwood and trim is Sailcloth.
Hi Debbie,
Not sure if I’m too late, but how about Annapolis Gray (exterior) for the deck?
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara–
My husband and I have just about had enough of paint samples and tools on the internet that are suppose to help you pick the “perfect” paint color for your house–We have given up!!! All I can say is thank god I found you–I would love to send you a picture and get your opinion–Because we will take it!! Thanks so much for your time and I will wait to hear from you!! Thanks again we are very, very excited!!!
Hey, Barbara
Me and my husband have just purchased a home! I am not crazy about the color of vinyl siding but for now we are going to work with it till we have to replace it. The vinyl is a light shade of blue. The previous owner never put any shutters on it. Do you have any suggestions on the color of shutters you would use? I have seen a lot of homes around that have white, but I am wanting something that stands out a little bit more than white. Our house sits on 3 acres and is far off the road. What color would you recommend with light blue siding?
Hi Heather,
If you have white trim, black shutters will dress up the house and add some contrast with the light blue siding. Another option is navy blue.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks! It looks great with black shutters
Dear Barbara,
Amazing! I Googled ‘what color with a green roof,’ and there you are! I’m stuck on a color scheme for our 1920 Craftsman one and a half storey bungalow with all the trimmings: corbels, rafter tails, wide window casings, etc. We have a new green shingle roof (and a lot of it-steep sloped) and, the problem child: red brick skirt and chimney and very red at that! I’ve seen advice about pulling out a lighter green color with creamy white trim. But my interior colors are browns, golds, dark green and brown reds. If I pick too neutral a green it will clash with the roof. What about a burnt gold color on the siding? Any help you can give will be much appreciated. I can send photos. Your blog is wonderful!
Hi Kathy,
Think Autumn for your exterior color scheme (sounds like you already have them inside too!). I think a burnt gold will look spectacular with your green roof and brick. Cream trim will tie the whole palette together. You can add more of the red brick color in accent areas (or pull the green down from the roof — either way).
Enjoy!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
My husband and I have a cute one-story bungalow that was rendered not-so-cute by a very pesky tree situation (see picture below). We are currently in the process of renovating the house and are taking the opportunity to add on a front porch. I love the color that our house was prior to the incident and plan on repainting it the same color (I believe it is Anchor Gray, Benjamin Moore). I liked the black shutters as well and we had a red door that I really liked. I’m having a hard time deciding on a brick color for the columns for the new front porch (the design is also on the link below). Do you have any suggestions the would go with my current color scheme? We will also have a chimney that will be the same color brick that we choose. I can’t decide on plain red brick, painted brick, or some other fancy brick color. Any suggestions?
http://picasaweb.google.com/melroseb/House?feat=directlink
Thanks,
Melanie Backer
Hi Melanie,
I checked out http://www.glengerybrick.com for some color ideas and really liked both the burgundy bricks (Merlot Full Range and Danbury) as well as the “white” bricks, some with purple undertones (Staplehill, Devon, Waverly, and Lorraine White). If you have white trim and a red door planned, I think I would opt for one of the burgundy bricks that would tie in the house color and the door color and really look sharp against the white.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi, Barbara!
What a great site you have!
I’ve sent you an email picture of my house. Here’s my questions:
We want to repaint our house and are unsure of what colour to choose. As you can see, the brick is tan and we’re having trouble coming up with a colour to go with it. What would you suggest? The roof shingles are green and the ends and the back of the house are white colour-lock siding which we plan to paint the same colour as the front. Also, what colour would you suggest for the front door (now green) and the garage door?
Thanks in advance!
Laura Matheson
Hi Laura,
I suggest sticking to earth tones for the paint on your house to blend in
with the brick a bit more and make the house more unified and bigger.
Right now it’s a bit chopped up. Have a look at the taupes and tans in the
Ben Moore Historical Color section — any of those rich neutrals would
look good on your house. Then you can use a couple of shades lighter or
darker for the trim. (White will also work.)
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I am building a new home and plan to use Hardie Board plank siding. I am leaning towards a traditional look: heathered moss (green type color), white window trim and white alum clad windows.
However, I am drawn to the idea of using dark bronze or black alum clad windows. I don’t think it will look right though to have dark windows, white trim and heathered moss.
You can see the facade here and my dilemma: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GuSDzD-XJQ9CbvIXwjKfxA?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6O9dGKqv6WvwE&feat=directlink
Would love your thoughts. THanks,
Garret
Hi Garret,
I love the idea of dark bronze windows on your house. Cream trim (instead of white) would be a nice bridge between the windows and the house color. A little less stark of a contrast. But the bronze tied into the roof and metal colors (lights, etc) would be spectacular! Go for it.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Again, you have great ideas and suggestions maybe you can help me with my “yellow house” dilemma. We just moved back to my childhood home and need to update it. We live in San Diego and the home has a red tile roof and a horrible yellow mustard color all over ! The garage doors are a taupey color with a stamped concrete driveway with a reddish terracotta color along with a brick facade of the same reddish color. I have sent you a picture maybe it would better describe it, I want to get away from the mustard and update my beloved house.
Thank you for any suggestions
Kelly G
Hi Kelly G,
The photo didn’t come through, but I think I get the picture anyway. I would bring your house color down to a sand color to feature the red tile roof and the other red accents. Check out Ben Moore’s Yosemite Sand AC-4 and see if that calms the house down just a touch.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara. I have a contemporary house now stained a rust/brown color. I’m desparate for a change. I finally settled on a sagey green stain with white trim and black doors. I have many shrubs and trees and am concerned that a green house might get lost with all the natural green shrubery, etc. Is is true that I might just blend into the background? Our painter comes next week and now I’m not sure what to do. I’m definitely looking for the house to be noticed from the street….it is set back about 100 feet from the street. I’d appreciate your input. Thanks!
Hi Christine,
You’re instincts are correct. Green is probably not THE best color for making a house stand out among all the greenery of the shrubs and trees. Just about any other color will work, though. You might consider a silvery blue (Ben Moore’s Gentle Gray) which is great with nickel accents, white trim, and a vibrant door color — lemon yellow and orange work). Black doors will also work, as will using the house color for trim.
Lots of options, but I would save green for a house you want to blend into its environment.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I have a 30yr old basic colonial with harvest gold siding. I cannot afford to redo or paint the aluminum the siding at this time but just had the house pressure washed and would like to make a change with shutters and paint the doors. What color shutters and doors (a front door and a side porch door) would you recommend? The trim is white. My roof is new and looks like brownish shake shingles. Thanks!
Hi Pat,
How about Ben Moore’s Gloucester Sage (HC-100)? Or if you’d like something warmer, there’s Georgian Brick (HC-50). See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We just purchased a home built in 1961 that needs updating and I have no sense of color and style! HELP! Could you give me some advice on the outside of the house.
http://www.shorewest.com/vp/ListingServlet?SITE=SHOREW&ScreenID=LISTING_DETAIL_P&EXCEEDLIMIT=null&totalFound=0&cd_MLS=1227681#
Neither my husband nor I like the color of the brick, but we go back and forth on the pros and cons of painting. Do you have any opinions on painting brick?
If we stayed with the brick color would you have any suggestions to help the house not look so drab? I got the feeling from your website that black shutters was best with yellow brick which is what it already has. We do plan on removing the bushes and trees from the front and I’d like to remove the wrought iron. We also will need to be getting a new roof in the next few years – would you suggest staying with a black roof with the yellowish brick? The front doors are currently painted black and need to be replaced, what color would you suggest?
I saw you offer online consultations, do you also do phone consultations? How can I learn more about your fees?
Thank you!
Lauren
Hi Lauren,
I don’t mind your brick color, but it could use some white trim. How about replacing the wrought iron with white square columns. That would really perk up the entryway. Also if the window trim is painted, you could refresh with white trim paint. That again would give the house a fresh feel.
As for the landscaping, a variety of colors and shapes will modernize the foundation plantings. Right now everything is the same height and color. A big pot of flowers on the front step, and you’re good. I don’t mind the black doors although they’re really black up on the porch (in the shadow). Maybe you could leave the black storm door and paint the inner door a warmer color (Georgian Brick might work — Ben Moore).
See what you think.
Yes, I do online consultations — they’re easier than arranging a specific time to be on the phone. But not impossible, of course. Most people prefer to make a donation (through the blog) — but we can discuss via email (off the blog). bmeglis@yahoo.com (the most reliable for photos)
Thanks for your interest. Hope I’ve helped.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you so much Barbara!! One thing I wanted to clarify. If the trim was painted white, would the shutters also be white?
Lauren
Hi Barbara,
I re-painted my guest bedroom (90 sq ft) and bathroom (48 sq ft). The ceiling are 8 ft. There is a private entrance to the bathroom from the guest bedroom. My walls and ceiling have the same medium “knock-down” texture. There is crown moulding in bedroom. All trim is painted in a high gloss white. I painted the bathroom walls and ceiling a taupe color in a satin finish. I painted the bedroom walls the taupe color but left the ceiling with the original paint job. The bedroom ceiling is painted a weathered sandstone flat paint (two shades lighter).
I am doubting my decision regarding the bedroom ceiling color and flat finish choices. I would appreciate your input. Thanks!
Hi Cherrie,
It is perfectly natural to paint the ceiling a flat finish unless there is no light in the room and you need to reflect more from the ceiling. But I think what you’re seeing is the contrast between your newly painted bathroom ceiling (in satin and a darker tone) and the bedroom ceiling (in flat with two tones lighter). You can certainly paint the bedroom ceiling something completely different and match the finish with the bathroom, but it’s okay to use a flat finish on the ceiling in the bedroom. We often use more washable paint finishes in the bathroom anyway so I would leave the bathroom ceiling as is. Not quite sure what else to tell you. It’s just paint so keep at it until you love the finished product.
Good luck. Your color choices are nice!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Long time lurker, first time poster here…
We are prepping our house to sell in a few months, and we are about to start the exterior work. I am trying to find some coordinating colors for everything but the door (we love the navy/blueberry, and since I painted it, I’m biased lol).
My idea is to continue the blue on the shutters (we plan to add shutters to the large front window), use a light creamy yellow for the garage door/wall/eaves/soffits/fascia and white for the window and door trim.
Please help/fix me!
Hi Lisa,
I love your plan. The only slight change I would suggest is painting the window trim on the little paladian window in the front door the same color as the door, that gorgeous blueberry. That way, people will not focus on the little window, but rather on the door itself and the color. That’s it. Good luck selling your house.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you very much for the response! We are in the process of painting it now, and I will send you some after-shots to let you see how it played out.
Interesting that you suggest that about the front door. I originally did paint the entire door blueberry, but my husband insists that the door looks “better” with that white window. He also wants me to go back and paint the edges of the panels white. I think it will make the door fancier than is appropriate for the style of house.
Hi Lisa,
See if you can hold out for the whole door being blue. I see the patchwork quilt paint technique a lot, but I have to tell you, it’s not the most tasteful. Nothing personal to your beloved husband. The idea around the door is to see the whole door and not just the little details. Just too much.
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Just moved my questions to the appropriate section. So happy to have found this site! I need some serious help with changing our house color. Unfortunately, I chose a bright blue with a darker blue trim on a Victorian when I was 8 months pregnant (and that was 6 years ago). Our 1880 house has a lovely garden and looks very nice and updated on the inside but the outside is not subtle…especially in our historic neighborhood (ps my husband loves it). We live in Newton, MA and I was hoping you could contact me about setting up and appointment. Thank you very much! Rebecca
Hi Barbara,
I like the idea of buttermilk in the kitchen with the brown and countertops and white everything else. I have know decided against the blue grey furniture in the living room and am leading towards a color called thistel which takes on a light sage color in the light but a tan shade without light. Suggestions for wall colors in the living room?
Thanks,
Julie
Before posting a comment,
+++PLEASE READ LATEST POST+++
AUGUST 29th, for changes to blog
Hey Color Coach,
I will be replacing the roof and painting the siding on a duplex I just purchased and am a little stumped.
I’m trying to go for cute/inviting/homie and would like to go with a roof color that is called “Shasta White” (http://roofing.owenscorning.com/professional/shingles/classic.aspx) because there is a tax credit available for it and because hopefully it can help with the energy efficiency as I’m in Dallas Texas and our summers can get pretty hot. I will also be putting in a front porch with the same shingles on top of that as well.
I found a house nearby that has a nice look to it that I’m thinking about mimicking which has a light grey roof (which I think shasta white could sub in for), and a great color for the trim; but, the grey siding looks a little institutional so I’m trying to find some ideas on a siding color that is more “earthy” and inviting, that also matches with the brick.
I have pictures of both my duplex as well as the “model” duplex at kodak gallery -( http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=666416910310%3A1714884470). The entire building is going to be updated with color, and I’m thinking the inside is going to be light colored (maybe a litte butter color with white trim).
Thanks in advance for your help.
Patrick
Hi Patrick,
I’m giving you four colors from the Ben Moore Historical Collection. Since you have white trim (and a white roof), I tend to lean toward the medium tones like Shelburne Buff (HC-28) and the slightly more khaki Yorkshire Tan (HC-23) to coordinate with your brick and balance the house in terms of color “value.” However, since you live in Dallas, you might rather go with a lighter tone, something like the warmer Monroe Bisque (HC-26) or the cooler, grayer Shaker Beige (HC-45). If you want me to just zero in and pick one, let me know. But I thought you should see a few options — you’ll like some more than others.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara
Im in the process of buying my parents home but can’t move in until the renters move out. So while I have some time on my hands I’ve been trying to come up with some color ideas for the front door and vinyl siding, but I’m stumped. The home is curently part brick and white vinyl siding (see link below). The room that is to the left of the picture used to be a porch that has been closed in. It is painted white. I do not like the color white, so my question to you is what colors would go with the brick. I need a color for the front door and a color for the vinyl siding. Should I paint the enclosed porch or add siding to it also? Thanks in advance for any suggestions you have. I have included a link to a picture of the house and also a close up of the brick color.
Thanks
Tonya
Hi Tonya,
Congratulations on your (almost) new house! The brick is a very pretty burgundy but you’re right, the white just doesn’t help the overall look. You have a couple of options: 1) if you’re painting the vinyl siding, you might consider unifying the house with a red from your brick, something like Ben Moore’s Garrison Red (HC-66). Making the whole house red will make it look less chopped up and bigger. Keep the white trim since you have white storm doors and windows and consider painting the two front doors a dark purpley burgundy like Townsend Harbor Brown (HC-64). That combination, although monochromatic, will look terrific with your roof color.
OR if you plan to put on new vinyl siding, you can go with a taupey gray, almost the color of your grout. I would definitely stick with the dark burgundy for the door color and white for the trim. Although the house will look a little divided still, the warmer medium tone will blend better than the stark white and pull the whole house together. You can certainly use taupe as a paint color for the vinyl instead of the red, but I probably wouldn’t put red vinyl on the house — you’ll never get it to match the brick.
Hope that helps you get started. Good luck with the move-in.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara! I need some help (or assurance) for a few exterior areas and general curb appeal help. I just took some pictures — may I email them to you as attachments?
We live in a 1947 red brick home. I think it’s colonial but not a very traditional kind — I’ve never seen another house the same shape. In my opinion, it has a touch of tudor and a touch of cottage. The brick is a straight red brick without color variation. We need to keep the shingled roof, which is a myriad of colors (red, brown, tan, black and blue-gray flecks). Most of the trim is covered by a gray metal covering, which stays. We have black shutters and a black front storm door (which is mostly a pane of glass).
So my questions are as follows:
1) What color front door? Right now it’s a navy blue. I’m not totally against it, but the problem is in the evening when the sun’s behind the house, it’s impossible to see — just looks like a black hole. So I either need assurance that it actually looks fine, or another idea. 🙂
2) Not all of the trim is covered by the gray metal. There is metal covering the far outer perimeter of the windows, but the windows themselves are still white. Should I leave them white or paint them gray or another color? This also goes for the front door frame. Surrounding the black storm door is old beat-down wood painted white. So should I go with gray or black?
3) What color should I paint the side door and walk-in garage door opposite it (both now creamy white)?
4) I’m about to buy a storm door for the side door. What color?
5) The concrete breezeway connecting the side door and garage is messy looking. I’d like to paint it. Should I go with gray? And also for the front concrete steps — gray or another color?
6) There are decorative wrought-iron pillars on the front porch. Right now they’re rusted and white. Should I go gray or black?
7) What color flowers do you suggest?
8) Do you think the garage doors look ok gray, or should I paint over them?
9) Finally, the lights on either side of the front door are very old and no longer work. I’m not sure what style and color of new lights to buy. Can you suggest any?
10) Do you have any other suggestions that will enhance the curb appeal? I already have a professional landscaping design laid out — but anything else regarding hardware or lighting or window decorations or whatever? We need to rip up the brick path leading to the front door. Any suggestions on what materials to use instead? We’re thinking plain concrete would be easiest.
As you can tell, my husband and I are very lost when it comes to all of this. I also need some interior help, so I’m about to post my questions in another section too!
Thank you so much for your help! If I asked more than I paid for, just let me know!
Take care,
Jo
Hi Jo,
Thanks for your detailed note. I’ll try to answer all the questions and hope I touch on everything.
1) As for your front door, I suggest a dark brick like Ben Moore’s Georgian Brick (HC- 50) which will warm up the entry (instead of the blue) and look very nice with the gray trim and black storm door. There’s just enough separation between the brick and door to make it work.
2) As for the white windows and other areas painted white. I like the contrast, but you might consider a slightly grayer white, like China White, which will look a little softer around the windows and the front door frame. Also there seems to be a band of white along the porch roof line. Is that a gutter (I see the downspout). I would paint that gray like the trim along the fascia.
3, 8) For the side and garage doors, you might paint the side door the Georgian Brick since you cannot see it from the front and there will be no confusion as to which door is the front. The garage door (actually both side and large front garage doors) might be a beefed up version of what’s there now, almost the same as your overall roof color. Have a look at Briarwood (Ben Moore Exterior Color) and see
how that looks with the gray trim. If there’s enough of a difference, it will work. If it looks like it’s trying to match, then forget it. The Briarwood is a warm, taupey gray. Very sophisticated.
4) I would stick with black for your storm door again. Consistency is good.
5,6) As for the concrete breezeway and front steps, I suggest replacing the wrought-iron pillars with square, china white, wooden pillars and do the same over in the breezeway. I noticed a pressure-treated wood railing. That could be replaced with a china white rail as well. (Not sure if you’re planning that much renovation, but wanted to give you that idea anyway.) Replacing the white metal on the front step area will make a HUGE change. Very updated. As for the color of the concrete, it doesn’t bother me at all. I like natural concrete color and it doesn’t peel!
7) For flowers, I suggest whites, creams, yellows, and reds. (actually almost anything except purply pink as you have a lot of orange in your brick)
9) I like the black wrought iron as it goes well with your shutters, but they’re a little small. Even the ones on the garage could stand to be a bit larger. Black/nickel/pewter — or a combination — will look terrific. The style is traditional (not modern or mission).
10) You might consider flagstone instead of concrete (expensive, I know), but it would pick up on the grays in your color scheme and look a little dressier than straight concrete since you have that on your porches already.
If I think of anything else when I’m looking at your next question, I’ll add it there. I think this will get you started.
Thanks, Jo. Good luck with your project! I’ll answer your other question by tomorrow morning. I’ve lost all my natural light!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you SO MUCH Barbara! You can’t imagine how much of a help this is! I’ve been known to repaint areas 3-4 times because I can never get the right color on the first try.
I’m going to run out and get those colors tomorrow and will send you after pics asap.
Also, I just looked up shutters and found that they aren’t as expensive as I thought, so I might be able to replace them. What do you think — stick with the black, or try another color or style?
Thanks again,
jo ellen
Hi Barbara! Here goes my second question:
I’m lost on what to do with our foyer/hallway (please see pics I’m sending to your email). Right now there’s no color coordination at all. We have off white (creamy) walls, mostly white trim – but the moulding on top is a soft blue green color – and a darker blue front door (no lites). The ceiling is white, floors are wide pine boards stained light walnut. The stain is uneven so I’d love to cover it. The closet and bathroom doors are oak colored, but the bedroom door that leads off the hall is white. Then, there’s the stairway: oak treads, with very soft blue rises and balusters, and white stringer. The handrail is painted a dark wood brown color (looks like a blend of mahogany and espresso).
So we definitely need some coordination.
I already sought help from another color consultant. She recommended I either keep the off white walls but paint the trim and front door black and ceiling red, or paint the walls an orange-red with a red ceiling and white trim and door. She didn’t say anything about the stairway. I have experience refinishing floors, so I could refinish the stairway, though I also have a 9-month old son so I’m looking for the easiest fix.
I’m terrified to paint the trim black, and our front door might just look gothic instead of cozy when it’s black. I’m also not so sure of the orange-red (my sister once painted her bedroom this color and my dad called it “orange barf.”)
If you think one of those suggestions would look great, I’ll have the guts to go for it. If you have another more traditional suggestion, I’m all for it! I could also use suggestions on how to decorate the hall. If you think frames, what color? Any ideas for an entryway rug?
Finally, the dining room next to the hall has white trim, sage walls and gray-blue and red accents. Across the way is our living room, which has gray-blue furniture and will be repainted (color tbd).
Thank you again!
jo ellen
Hi Jo Ellen,
Sometimes, it’s good to take a deep breath and just do nothing! Or at least get another opinion. Here’s my advice.
Your wood floors are wonderful. If you spend any money at all, I would focus on the floors and get them in tip-top shape. The front door area looks fine, but I can see what you mean about the uneven staining back by the bedroom door. It’s not terrible though.
Now, as for your walls and trim, I like the light wall color in that foyer/hallway area. Adding too rich a color on the walls will only make it seem like a cave since there’s very little natural light. You can certainly bump up the shade a notch if you’d like a little more warmth, but frankly, I like it the way it is now. But, I would change all your trim, including the crown moulding and the balusters, to white. The light blue just gets lost. Keep the bedroom door white and if you can replace that other door from a hollow-core door to a raised panel (like the bedroom) that will unify the area. Paint that door white too. If the ceiling is a confined space, you can paint the ceiling the same color as the walls. It will look nice with the white crown moulding going along the edge. But a white ceiling bounces available light around the space so there’s nothing wrong with a white ceiling especially in an area with minimal light.
To add color, I suggest painting the back of the front door Georgian Brick (same as the front if that turns out to be the right color). The red door on the inside will be a real focal point and bring you the color you need in that area. Then find a rug for the entryway that has both red and sage and other neutrals in it — not hard to find. That will pull together your dining room and the foyer. (Add some red accents to the living room too!) Add framed artwork or photos to the walls along the hallways, keeping similar colored frames for unity or mixing them all up for a more homey, country feel.
As you can see, my ideas are way more traditional, but I think they will work well for your traditional-looking home. Black trim can work in some houses, but it’s ultra-dramatic and you really have to be ready for the contrast. Not sure it’s best for your more delicate palette. And I would reserve the orange-red for perhaps a small half bath that can take a lot of saturated color in a small space. Anything goes in a guest bathroom…
I hope that helps.
Thank you again for visiting my blog. Let me know if I can help you further.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Great eye, Barbara! I’ve honestly been happier with our house since acting on your advice than I’ve been since we moved in. I love love love the door color! There have been times that I considered a red shade, but then thought it wouldn’t work with our brick. But it works perfectly! My husband is out of town with the camera, so I’ll send pics as soon as I can (and I can’t wait for him to see it!).
Also, as you advised, I used the Georgian Brick on the inside, too, and am delighted. I always liked the idea of a simple off-white wall color in the hall, but was discouraged because I couldn’t figure out what to do with the door. It didn’t seem to work with the walls no matter what color I painted it — but this color does the trick! Now I like the door, the walls, and the staircase is even looking better even though I haven’t touched it yet!
So with all this happiness, and a few things left to do at home, I’m hoping to stick around here a bit longer. Actually, do you offer decorating-related advice? Right now, my family and I are eating everywhere /but/ the dining room. Could you help me identify which wall color, window treatments, and light fixture/s would pull it together (on a budget)? I had a plan, but in the middle of executing it, realized it wouldn’t work.
I have no experience decorating anything and could really use your help! Please let me know if you do this on-line and if so, what you charge. Since this room really pulls the house together, I’m more than willing to pay more to get it right.
Thanks again,
jo ellen
p.s. Did you receive the second payment? It should have gone through long before I posted, but let me know if you didn’t see anything.
Hi Jo,
So glad you like the changes so far! Thanks for the kudos!
I am happy to work with you on a more detailed project and offer my services at a flat rate that includes all the back-and-forth questions that you might have about the room itself and my specific suggestions. I’ll also spend more time looking at your photos and giving you actual paint colors and suggestions for coordinating your room with the rest of the house. I’ll email you so we can make arrangements to continue working together.
Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
My husband and I are trying to decide on colors to paint our house and at our wits end. I think our problem is that we aren’t crazy with the yellow/tan brick but we don’t want to paint over it. We are trying to come up with colors for the trim, front door, garage door, shutters, soffit and siding color for the house. Currently the house is painted all one color, dark green, the brick is a yellow/tan and the grout color is gray. Your website seemed very helpful to others! Hopefully you can help us too. Thanks in advance!!
Oh and I have a picture of the front facade that I can send you. Again Thank you,
Hi Theresa,
How about a palette of Revere Pewter HC-172 for all the wood siding as well as the soffits and gutters, China White for the window trim (and trim around front door and window in the entry area), and something like Duxbury Gray HC-163 for the shutters (which should tie in with the green/gray in your roof as well as the landscape).
The neutral pewter color will unify the house and make it less chopped up. As you know, the pine green is a bit dated and there’s just way too much contrast with the brick. The China white trim has a touch of gray in it which will soften the windows and blend them a bit. Right now they look really white. The Duxbury Gray is essentially green (with a lot of gray in it) and it is a nod to your roof color which looks quite green on my screen. If it in fact is a clear medium gray with no green in it, then your options for shutters are more numerous.
As for the front and garage doors, you can either go with the Duxbury Gray if you like it or another warm color, something like Richmond Gold (HC-41), which will pick up the brick color, contrast with the white trim, and be warmer than the Gray.
I also suggest using dark brown pine mulch instead of the red cedar. I think you’ll be really pleased with the color difference and how all the elements begin to blend and coordinate.
Hopefully, that will work for you. See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We just bought our first house and we love the interior and back yard but want to improve the curb appeal.
It’s a two story house with primarly stucco with some vertical wood siding on the front of the 2nd story. We want to replace the siding with horizontal vinyl siding but are having a hard time figuring out a color scheme.
The challenge is finding a color scheme that goes well with the redish orange brick running up both sides of the front of the garage. Others in our area go with cream or beige walls with white trim but we want something a little different.
Also, our shingle roof has orangish/brown specles (almost like the color of rust). Previous owner must have thought it went well with the brick…
I will email you a picture. We’re really having a hard time figuring out the color for the siding, trim, and shutters that will go with the brick.
Thanks for your help!
Hi David,
Have you considered a green for your siding and garage? Something like Ben Moore’s Nantucket Gray HC-111? (There are vinyl shades of green similar to this color.) Then you could do the trim in a cream like Antique White. It’s a soft, earthy look that should go well with the rusts/browns/orangey tones of the brick and roof and get away from the beige/white in the rest of the neighborhood. For the door, you can paint the sidelights cream and the door a brick color, like Georgian brick (HC-50). Instead of putting shutters back up, I suggest beefing up the window trim (which will be painted the Antique White). The style of window doesn’t really call for shutters, but it would be nice to have some trim between wall and window. Make sure you switch out the numbers to iron or bronze so they show up okay.
See what you think.
Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Those are great suggestions Barbara! I really like how all the details tie together with the brick and roof…especially with the color choice for the door.
I do have one other question. We are also considering a bigger change by replacing the brick all together with stacked stone but can’t figure out what colors to go with for everything considering the color of the roof (e.g. stone, siding, trim, door).
Thanks!!
Hi David,
Use a mixture of earth tones including brown/rust to tie in the roof and gray
to tie in the concrete walkway and the gray/green of the siding. This is your
opportunity to tie the whole look together with the stone. A mixture of colors
will be best if that’s available in your area. Should be.
Stone is the new brick. I love it! Good luck with your renovation!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We are remodeling our 1945 Cape Cod home in Nashville. Our brick house is currently painted white with black shutters/black shingle roof. I will email an architect plan of our home. The only new addition to our home on the front exterior is the cedar shake and the front stoop. The roof is new, and we were hoping that we would not have to invest money into re-roofing the house because of a color change. However, we feel that the very white/black possibly dates the house, and we are considering a change in tone. I do not like yellow or cream colors as exterior colors. How do you feel about a very slight off-white?
Also, does the interior colors have to coordinate with exterior?? The interior is going to be an espresso wood floor throughout and off-white trim.
Our door is a steel door currently painted black with glass.
What are your thoughts on cedar shake color, roof color, door color, brick color, and trim?? One more thing, our garage will be painted to coordinate with home. What color does the garage door need to be?
Totally clueless!!!
Thanks!
Hi Sherry,
Here are some colors to check out for the painted brick: Revere Pewter (Ben Moore HC-172), Edgecoomb Gray (HC-173), or Stonington Gray (HC-170). Gray is very typical for a cape. Then you could keep the black garage doors, shutters, and roof. Use either China white (with a hint of gray) or White dove (a creamier off-white) for trim including the columns. (Note: you mentioned using an off-white for the brick color — that’s fine too but you’ll have to use a whiter white for the trim in order to have adequate contrast). If you go with one of these grays, you can either stain the cedar shakes a coordinating gray or keep them a natural cedar color with a clear stain. For the front door, you might try Hamilton Blue (Ben Moore exterior color).
See what you think. And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
What a great website!
We are building a new country styled home. It will have a silver metel roof. Question: What color brick would look best with the silver roof? Thanks so much for your help!!!
Hi Barbara,
I am frustrated trying to find the right color of red for our home’s exterior. It is wood siding and was previously stain a very nice redwood color (more cherrywood red than orange) but we are looking to paint it now rather than re-new stain every few years. It has been pressure washed and so far just front of garage painted. We used Dark Rookwood Red by Sherwin Williams first but seems a ittle purpley to me. Looked at Roycroft Copper Red also by Sherwin Williams but seems too orange. Any favorites you could suggest? Trim is white and house has a North Carolina Maritime – Cape Cod style to it overall.
I realize red can be a tough color especially in large amounts but I do like it when it is right!
Thanks for any suggestions!
Hi Beverly,
Try Country Redwood by Benjamin Moore. I think you’ll like it.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks so much! That looks like it will be perfect; looks similar to the Falun Red seen in Scandinavian house photos! What a relief.
One last question about this. Our trim must pretty much stay white due to the white aluminum clad windows; what would you suggest for the front door, either white or black, something else?? The front door is multi-paned glass with wide painted mullions from nearly top to bottom and a brass handle.
Hi Beverly,
Black or even a rich navy blue would look terrific.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
Boy are you a beacon of light for me in the sea of a million colors! I’m so excited and thankful to have found you. Here’s my dilemma (please excuse the long description):
My husband and I are building a new home in the Chicago suburbs. We designed it ourselves and it is under roof. We’re on a 1 acre lot with a fair amount of mature trees, and the look we’re going for is more of a rustic Arts & Crafts Cabin. The inside will have rustic walnut cabinetry and Australian Cypress hardwood floors, as well as knotty pine trim. I am emailing the plans of all 4 sides of the home, as well as a photo of what’s completed to date. The roof is Hickory, which is a brown with shades of black and almost a reddish/orange tint. The windows are white and the trim is cream. The front door is stained mahogany, and we are planning to paint the garage doors a similar color. The stone accent is called Canyon Creek, which has rich colors ranging from chocolate brown, tans and blue/gray tones. The main siding of the home will be Hardie fiber cement board (I’m thinking cedar lap siding on the main and straight edged shingle siding for the gables, but am open to suggestions as to where to put the shingle siding). Originally, I chose Sherwin Williams Craftsman Brown (SW 2835) for the main and Quartersawn Oak (SW 2836) for the gables. But when I got the samples back, I was concerned that it wouldn’t match the roof and that it seemed to bland and even a bit yellowish. Then I started looking at other browns, namely Dutch Boy Canoe (C13-1), Papoose (B9-1), and Nutwood (B8-1), and Behr’s Burnt Terra (UL130-3), Clay Pot (UL130-20), Riviera Clay (UL130-8), Mesa Taupe (UL130-16) and Tribal Pottery (UL130-18). Now I’m really confused. I don’t want the house too dark of a brown on the main. But I really liked the contemporary color scheme on your home page. The chestnut brown was excellent, but then I don’t know how that would look on our house, and if any of the browns I picked looked like it. Or should I stay with a lighter color on the main, like a taupe or a lighter brown of some kind? Now to add more confusion, where do I put the second color? Just on the gables? On the gables of part or all of the garage? On one side of the garage or both(there are 2 gables – 1 over the 2 car garage door and 1 over the single garage door)? How far down the gables do I go? Next, what do I paint the front wraparound porch? The more I think about it, the crazier I get! Help!
Thank you!
Pamela
Hi Pamela,
Sounds like a great project! I’ve got your photo and plans.
More soon.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Pamela,
Since your roof is so prominent, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick a house color that is actually in the roof. A dark, rich color will balance the roof and make it a little less of the focal point. I don’t have the Dutch Boy fan deck so I’ll use Ben Moore to give you some ideas. How about Georgian Brick HC-50 to pick up the roof color and use a taupe for the gable areas, something like either Lenox Tan HC-44 or Tyler Taupe HC-43. The taupe color should really come from your stonework — a darker or lighter version of one of the stone colors. Then with your cream trim outlining the house and separating the roof from the siding colors, you’ve got a very pulled-together look.
If the Georgian Brick is too red (hard to tell on the screen), look at Burnt Sienna 1196.
As far as the gable siding style is concerned, just remember that the roof is very busy visually so it will clash a little bit with the shingle siding in terms of scale. All the more reason to choose a neutral for that treatment and reserve the richer shade for the horizontal siding on the rest of the house.
Let me know what you think about that idea — I have to dash off to buy new ski poles before my son’s race this afternoon — but I will be back and can address your questions about the garage, etc.
Hope this helps you get started.
Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
Those are wonderful suggestions! I see your point in putting a more neutral color on the gables. In your opinion, is it too busy using shingle siding on the gables? Would it be better to have them also be lap siding? I am going to check out your color suggestions tomorrow at the store and let you know my thoughts.
What kind of racing does your son do? Hope he did well today with those new poles! We just had a foot of snow here last week and my sons have been in heaven.
Thank you very much for taking the time to look everything over and for your valuable input.
Pamela
Hi Pamela,
I think it’s fine to do shingle siding on the gables. Your style of house can certainly have several textures (and colors) and the stone will be gorgeous too. But I like the neutral color idea for the shingle siding between the roof and the other rich color. That should solve any issues of “busy”-ness.
The race (nordic skate skiing) was cold and we had lots of frostbite and wheezing problems with the kids (high school). No major problems, however, and Grant finished in the top 10. Decent! Thanks for asking!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
Glad to hear your son did well! Hope you’re all thawed out.
I looked at all the Ben Moore’s colors you suggested. The Lenox Tan seems to go very well with the stone – thanks for the suggestion! Now, when my husband and I put both the Georgian Brick and the Burnt Sienna up against our roofing shingle sample, they didn’t match very well. The shingle is definitely more brown. The colors both seemed too red and really didn’t match anything in the shingle. If you have any other color suggestions, that would be great. Thank you so much for all your help!
Pamela
Hi Pamela,
Okay, have a look at Toasted Pecan 1209 and Ten Gallon Hat 1210. What I’m looking for (via my computer screen) is a medium warm brown that will both complement the cool colors in your stone and shingle siding as well as coordinate well with the roof. Picking a rich warm orangey brown color for the siding instead of a light neutral will balance the roof and add stature to your house. A light color may make the roof a little top-heavy. Hopefully one of those browns will be closer to what’s in your roof and not too dark for your taste.
Let me know…
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thank you so much for those color suggestions. I really like them and they go very well with the roof shingle sample! What are your thoughts on brentwood (1223) and coyote trail (1224)? If I’m asking too many questions, just let me know. Thank you again!
Pamela
Hi Pamela,
I like both of those too! A little less red than the other colors we discussed. But whatever seems to work best with both roof and stonework. I think you’ll really like having the rich color on the siding!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
Thank you so much for your color suggestions! We are getting 3 samples of Hardie board siding – Lenox Tan, Brentwood and Coyote Trail. We’re leaning towards Coyote Trail with Lenox Tan – I’m just a little nervous that it could be too dark, but it’s such a beautiful color! Whenever you can, I’d love to get your suggestions on which parts of the house specifically to use the Lenox Tan on, and also what color you suggest we paint the wraparound porch. Also, tell me your thoughts of a little blue-gray in the mix, i.e. a couple of adirondack chairs on the front porch.
By the way, I have a suggestion for you. You should create a Facebook Fan link on your website. I would definitely join and would recommend you to everyone I know!
Pamela
Hi Pamela,
The colors look great on paper (as they say). I hope they look just as terrific on your Hardie board samples!
As for the Lenox Tan, how about up under all the gable peaks (using the small gables as a guide for how deep to make the shingle siding elsewhere)? And how about Lenox Tan on the posts and rails of the wraparound porch? The stone column pillars will be cream (I assume) and the trim around everything else is cream. The porch will blend a little with the stonework but should make the cream/stone columns stand out and that’s what you really want to accent. Blue-gray Adirondack chairs or rocking chairs on the porch will look spectacular! Pull that color from the stonework and maybe pump a little more blue into it for contrast. You might even move toward teal for the chairs. A fantastic color against the warm brown!!
You didn’t mention the porch floor, but you might use Lenox Tan for the stair risers on the steps leading up to the front porch (assuming you have a natural wood –or Trex–porch floor). Painting the risers something other than white/cream makes sense if you have a lot of foot traffic going up and down those stairs. The toe marks show up much less on a darker surface.
You can also use the Lenox Tan on the garage doors if you decide that more brown is too much for that area. The doors will be framed out in cream. Just another opportunity to use that other color.
See what you think. And thank you for the Facebook Fan tip. I will definitely look into that!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
You know, once we’re done with all this, I’m going to miss “talking” to you! : ) Thanks for all the advice on where to put the Lenox Tan! It sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to see it all pull together.
Can you recommend a blue/teal color where I can start looking? Thank you! Also, I should have mentioned that the front porch floor and stairs will be concrete, but we can have it “stamped” and colored to look like wood or bricks or whatever. I’m thinking a wood look would be best. It’s 9 feet wide and will be used quite a bit, so I’d rather not use cream. Do you still recommend the Lenox Tan on the floor and stairs, or more of a natural wood color?
After we’re finished with the house, you’ll have to come in town for a visit! Thanks again.
Pamela
Hi Pamela,
Take a look at Fiji AF-525 from the Ben Moore Affinity Collection or Rendezvous Bay 726 from the Classic Collection. Luscious with rich brown! Love it!
Concrete will be fine for the front steps/porch floor. After you finalize all the other colors, you can think about coloring the concreted. Yes, a natural wood tone would look great, but since you have gray in your stonework, gray wouldn’t look bad either.
And thanks for the kudos!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara: I just bought a sweet cottage style home. Unfortunately, the outside brick has been painted a bluish gray. (more gray undertones though) I intend to replace the wood trim with siding. and I think if I had the right color of siding it might help to break up the monotony. The sides of the house will have larger sections of the siding than the front and back of the house. HELP! What color will bring this sweet place to life – instead of looking so mournful. I could use help also in choosing a paint color for the front door to accent the gray and whatever color you suggest for siding. (By the way the detached garage will be completely done in the siding color and it is very close to the house. Thank you so much. Emily
Paypal Transaction #XXXXXXX2830
Hi Emily,
I think we can really make your house look cheerful, even with the mournful blue-gray, a color I actually like quite a bit. Here’s the plan.
Have a look at Boothbay Blue at this James Hardie link: http://www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/colorplus-palette.shtml
It’s a medium dusty blue that should blend really well with the painted brick. If you’re using vinyl, pick a gray that is a shade darker or lighter than your brick color. Then use white for your trim (I assume you have white windows anyway). What you’ll end up with is a cottage worthy of a Nantucket beach and how can you beat that!
Then put your yearning for bright colors to work and select a front door color that is warm and bright or soft and soothing, whatever appeals to you. Have a look at yellow (Ben Moore’s Concord Ivory HC-12), orange (Harvest moon 2167-30), coral (Autumn cover 2170-30), and even greens like lime (Dill pickle 2147-40) or the soft and blending Georgian green (HC-115). Use your landscape plantings as a guide or start with the door and pick flowering shrubs to complement. And don’t forget the two Adirondack chairs (painted the same color as the door) for your front yard.
You will end up loving your house!! Guanteed!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
At long last, I’m getting around to trying to spruce up our living room and dining room a bit! They’re basically one continuous rectangle, with a couple of little mini-walls jutting out between them to create some sense of them being separate rooms. Right now the walls are “linen” (almost white) and the ceilings are white. The furnishings and decorations are all blue (indigo) and green with a little red.
I took four pictures of the space (two of the dining area, two of the living room) to show you. I just ordered crown moulding for the room(s), which will change the look a bit — it should be installed in a week or two.
I’ll email the photos to you in a minute.
Talk to you soon!
Lori
Hi Lori,
Here are a couple of ideas to get you started. Since you have a lot of rich color (blues and greens) in the room already and your window treatments are a delicate blue and white small pattern, I suggest you warm up the walls with a candlelit glow from something like either Ben Moore’s Honey Harbour (920) or the less yellow Papaya (957). Either of those colors paired with White Dove semi-gloss trim will accent your new crown moulding and fireplace surround, as well as the wainscoting in the dining area. The colors will also look fantastic with your wood floors.
If you feel like you have just too much yellow (I see the porch as well as the kitchen areas), you might take a look at a light gray-blue, something like Gentle Gray (1626), which will make the white trimwork look fantastic, complement your window treatments, and keep the color palette down to blues and greens with a small hit of red from the pillows.
See what you think. And thank you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I just bought a Victorian house. I am trying to restore it to its original state, but I do not have any old pictures. All I know is that the shutters (broken and stored in the basement) are teal green. I am installing new aluminum clad wood windows and I have the opportunity to select an exterior window color.
As you can see from the e-mailed pictures, the exterior is an orange-ish brick. The roof is gray slate. The gables are gray slate with olive green and pink diamond-shaped slate on both sides of the windows on the top floor (the diamond shaped slate is probably faded). The porch paint is a cream color. There is an addition on the back of the house that has blue-gray vinyl siding.
I have white aluminum trim (gutters, gable trim and flashing). I did not want to have to replace them, since they are in good condition and my budget is limited. When I replace the windows, the wood trim will remain above the window. What color windows should I get if I have to keep the white aluminum trim? What are your exterior color recommendations if I could change (maybe paint) the white trim? What colors will make my house have curb appeal?
Thanks,
Rhonda
Hi Ronda,
Since I assume you are keeping all of those white porch windows and doors, I suggest you keep the white exterior window color throughout. That will allow you to keep the white trim that you already have (gable, gutters, etc.) and there are plenty of Victorian homes with white windows and trim. But, what you can do (hopefully) is paint the porch area above the windows an olive green to pick up the diamonds on the gable and add another color to your Victorian scheme. There’s Sherwin Williams’ Renwick Olive (SW 2815) or perhaps the slightly more taupe Alexandria Beige (Ben Moore HC-77), depending on just how olive/faded olive that area is up on the gable. The green will also contrast with the orange brick and green was definitely a prominent Victorian color. Use that color on the porch area wherever there’s no actual trim or column. Then instead of cream for your columns and windows, I suggest white to really accent the mouldings and other trim, very big on Victorian homes.
I’m not sure what that area is on the second floor (a repair?) but make sure it’s brick or brick colored so it doesn’t stand out.
Another idea is to trim back the bushes on either side of the front step area and add more variety (flowering shrubs) to the beds on either side of the walk. That will lead the eye to the front entry. A couple of large Victorian style pots with oranges and yellow-greens (one pot on each side of the steps) will look great.
I’m not sure you even need shutters, but if you want to put them back up, then use the gray from the gable area. I think that will distribute the color enough to make a really interesting Victorian with as much restored colorwise as possible.
See what you think…
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you for your recommendations Barbara! I look forward to working with them.
Rhonda
Greetings! My husband and I have just purchased our new home in Annapolis, MD. We love the neighborhood and the tree-lined streets of our neighborhood, but we really dislike the color scheme of our split-level home. White painted brick face and chimney, yellow siding, forest green shutters and door. Husband and I both design challenged, but we would like something classic and probably fairly neutral (he likes blues, I tend to like browns & grays). Only exception is that I always love those homes that have a bright red door. Don’t know if we could get away with that or not! Would love your recommendations.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78622066@N00/sets/72157623295472154/
Hi Sarah,
Let’s start with the front door color. Since your front steps are an orangey brick, we have to pick a red that will go with that color and not clash horribly, making the entryway a disaster (I see it all the time!). So if you’d like a red door, how about Georgian Brick (Ben Moore HC-50) or maybe Caliente (AF-290) or Dinner Party (AF-300). Once you settle on the front door color, then the rest is easy.
If you cannot paint the siding, then here’s my best suggestion: Paint the white brick the same color as the siding. Look at Ben Moore’s Greenmount Silk HC-3 or Weston Flax HC-5 for starters. You can’t match the siding color (probably) so a shade or two in either direction (darker or lighter) will work. Then with the white trim and black shutters, you have a bigger-looking house from the street and a more unified, traditional curb appeal.
If you CAN paint the siding, then you have a lot more options. There’s blue like the very tasteful medium Hamilton Blue (Ext), which would look great with your gray roof; the light blue-gray of Solitude AF-545; Briarwood (Ext), a taupey gray, again really nice with your roof and crisp white trim/black shutters. The “red” door will still work with all of these.
Bringing out the white moulding around your door will set off the entryway and give your home a much more stately look. See what you think.
And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you so much for your advice, Barbara! I should have mentioned that we CAN paint the siding. I love Hamilton Blue based on what I see online. If we go with this for the siding and the red for the door, would you recommend also painting the brick? If so, should we stick with blue?
Really appreciate your help!
Hi Sarah,
Yes, I would go ahead and paint the whole house blue. You’ll love how it makes the house look bigger and more unified (less chopped up). If you had a modern house design, you could fool around with “color blocking” but it won’t work so well with a 60’s split. Painting the house all one color will really make a difference in your curb appeal.
Good luck with your project.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara
My husband and I purchased our home about 9 months ago knowing that both the interior and exterior would require major updates. To-date, most of our renovations have taken place inside, however, our first project for spring is to paint the exterior and remove or replace the white aluminum shutters.
Our house is surrounded by a number of lovely colonial-style homes in neutral colors, so the green and white color combination sticks out like a sore thumb. I also wanted to point out that we plan to replace all of the windows within the next few years with a more traditional grid pattern and are undecided as to whether or not to replace the shutters or just add some decorative trim once the windows are replaced. We also aren’t in love with the brick color surrounding the large living room window and are undecided as to whether or not to paint this as well.
Your blog is so helpful and I would love to hear any advice you have on how we can get the outside of our home to look as classy as the rest of the neighborhood. I have sent shots of the exterior to you via e-mail.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
Taryn B.
Hi Taryn,
It sounds like you’re in the middle of quite a traditional neighborhood so here’s an idea for helping your house fit right in. Your roof is brown and sounds like it’s staying. That’s fine. And I don’t really have any problem with your brick in the front as it’s such a limited section and it’s a warm color that seems (on my screen) to go with the roof color. If that’s so, you can keep it. But I suggest Lenox Tan (Ben Moore’s HC-44) for the body of your house with white trim, and black shutters. And most importantly, paint your foundation and your garage doors a light coordinating neutral like Shaker Beige (HC-45) that will blend that lower area into the hardscape surrounding your house.
If you want a slightly warmer tone than the Lenox Tan, there’s also Decatur Buff (HC-38), which has a touch of green in it and would go very well with your front railing and grout color. Putnam Ivory HC-39 would replace the Shaker Beige for the foundation and garage doors. Either way…
Although your house does not have to have shutters, the touch of black will dress up the house and bring it up to those surrounding colonials that undoubtedly have shutters on all their windows. I think your house will feel quite at home in the neighborhood with these changes.
Thanks, Taryn, and good luck with the transformation. You’ll love the end result!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi, I currently live in a small ranch style home. It has White trim, with white shutters, pale blue siding and the foundation color is a grayish blue. I desperately need something to brighten it up and make it look newer again. I was thinking maybe a navy blue foundation with navy shutters and white trim but i’m not sure how this would look. Any ideas would be of great help. Thanks
Hi Stephanie,
Keep the white trim, paint the foundation a natural concrete gray, make your white shutters black and paint your front door something like Ben Moore’s Sweet Butter 171, a gorgeous yellow that will perk up your house and maybe even the whole neighborhood.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I live in S. Florida. I have midnight blue Gerard stone-coated tile metal roofing. I have accenting blue shutters. My front step is a light gray tile. My front double doors are white and have gray steel that runs through it for design. My window casing are white around the sides (PGT Winguard). Can you help me figure out the right color paint for the exterior, please? I thought maybe white, and that would match the front door and windows but not tie in the gray step with the blue roof and accent shutters. Right? Gray-blue, maybe? I don’t know. Please help! Thanks.
Hi Lynda,
Go with a gray-blue for your house color. That will tie everything together.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbra, I just made a 20.00 payment through paypayl. I was wanting your advice on what color I should paint the trim/siding and garage doors on my new home. The link below is a front and rear view of the house…I was thinking of maybe a creamy muted white for the trim and possibly a taupe color for the siding…what do you think? The link below should take you to the pics of the house.
Front View
Back View
Thanks
Veronica B
thatch83vb@msn.com
Hi Barbara,
I’m so excited about you site and hoping you can help us with an exterior color for our home. Your payment has already been sent too!
It’s a custom built split level with brick and redwood siding that’s 101′ long and 34′ deep. As you’ll see from the pictures the brick is an orange tone with some brown bricks with a hint of dark purple. The roof, which we want to change, is a light brown with orange. We don’t want to get into the expense of painting the brick so that has to stay. We’re also getting ready, in a week or so, to have the backyard retaining wall and pool deck redone. The retaining wall and brick steps will be bluestone tread with stacked stone riser. The wall will match. The stacked stone is a mix of cream, brown, gold and blue tones. The pool deck pavers we’re leaning toward a mix of natural (light gray) and charcoal.
We are hoping to get advice on what color to paint the exterior of the house which includes the redwood siding, window trim, doors, gutters and soffits. I have been trying samples over the past year and have not liked any of them. My colors to date have been brown (which you’ll see there are 3 shades of brown on the house now), slate blue (which is still by the front door), deep purple and gray. I’m at a loss. Looking forward to you advice and color expertise!
Thanks,
Michele
I made a share site for you on Shutterfly…hopefully you can access it!
http://mdietrichhouse.shutterfly.com/
Hi Michele,
You have been busy trying to figure out which colors are best for your house. Now let me take a stab at it.
Have you tried some of the complex earth tones like Ben Moore’s Alexandria Beige HC-77 for your siding? It’s a color that seems to pick up many of the earth tones in the brick and really make it look spectacular. There’s also Wheeling Neutral HC-92, a tan with some green in it that might coordinate well with your grout. You might put the Alexandria Beige on the siding and the Wheeling Neutral on the soffits and gutters. A darker shade like Davenport Tan HC-76 would look great around the windows (or pick up the dark purple around the windows with Townsend Harbor Brown HC-64 — looks good on my screen!!).
Since you have solid wood doors, you might want to just refinish them with a dark mahogany and use the lighter Wheeling Neutral by the front entry for contrast. But the Alexandria Beige should work there too if the door is dark enough.
See what you think of those colors. I just used your brick — not the new stonework — for the palette since the colors will go right on the house.
Hope that helps. And thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
HI Barbara
I have a tannish house with cream trim and I am about to have it painted. There is some stonework on the house, earthy colors with a little gold. I dislike the tan, but need to keep the cream trim. Can you suggest a deeper cream (not too yellow) that will freshen it up without being fleshy. I have a dark brown -grey sweeping roof and a front porch. I tried blues and sage, do not work with stonework. Want to keep it light and airy. No shutters. Thanks.
karen
Hi Karen,
If you want to lighten up the house color, how about Standish White HC-32? It’s creamy without being too yellow and it’s rich enough to contrast with your trim color (OC-120). I tried Rich Cream 2153-60 also but I didn’t really like it against the trim. The clarity of the cream color (and a little bit of peach) just didn’t do justice to the trim. Another option is Nantucket Gray HC-111 — it goes great with your trim color and your stonework. But it’s not exactly light and airy, like you requested. Thought I’d suggest it, though, as you mentioned sage not going with the stone. The grayed down green in Nantucket Gray is very soothing and goes with just about everything. Works terrific in New England.
If you’d like me to drive over to Lexington for an at-home consultation, just email me. I’d be happy to do that if it would help. But I think one of the colors above will work great.
Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We are building a contemporary house on an acreage, lots of huge evergreens surrounding it. The house has 9 low slope roofs and is 2 storey (bungalow with loft). Lots of architectural ‘jogs’ and windows. Exterior window trim is chocolate brown. The front door is beautiful, golden oak with stainless steel. We are going to install a metal roof (tile red) to tie in the house colors with existing red rail fencing. The exterior will be 3 products – stucco, some stonework and wood trim on posts. The stucco color is the problem – I am considering green (Imasco Eucalyptus). What are your thoughts on this – red and green. I don’t know if I need another color for trim. I don’t know what to do about the soffits – should they be red metal like the roof, or am considering wood.
Hi Belva,
I couldn’t find a photo of Eucalyptus online but read that it’s dark green. That color will surely blend with your evergreens surrounding the house and will pop the red roof and fence. (The brown windows will blend in with the dark green, from the road at least). I’m not sure if you want that look for your contemporary house. In essence, what will show up is the roof and the fence, being contrasting colors with the house (green) and surrounding trees. It’s an interesting approach to highlighting the various roof slopes and jogs in the architecture, but here’s another idea.
Since I don’t think you’re trying to hide the house (with the red roof), how about a different shade for the stucco, one that will highlight both the roof and the windows. A lighter yellower green will get away from the Christmasy look and still contrast with the red and brown features. That’s if you still want green.
Another color that will work is gray, either warm or cool. The gray (neutral) will highlight both the roof/fence and windows (lots of contrast) without introducing another color into the palette. That frees you up to pick an accent color that really drives home the contemporary feel of your house. It could be anything from orange to purple to lime green for things like planters, chairs in the yard, pots, flower gardens, you know, the rest of the accessories and details.
My vote would be to pick a neutral for the stucco color. Hope that helps. Send a photo if you can and we can nail down the palette.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We are adding on to the second story of our 1 1/2 story orangey brick house and are going for a tudor or french country look. We will be using James Hardie stucco board siding with batten trim for the new addition. The original brick peak will be removed and made larger and there will be a smaller bump-out across the front of the house externding out from the peak. There will be a band of trim to separate the first floor orignal orange brick and the new second story stucco board. Wondering what colors would look best with and maybe tone down the orangey brick (which I have never liked but my husband refuses to let me paint!)? Need to figure out the stucco board color, batten color and window trim color (exterior). The actual windows on the second story will need to be the same color as the first floor windows (similar to the color of the current front door surround). The current door surround will be going and we are trying to do a stone surround. Front door will be a very dark brown wood tone in a cottage/tudor style. Not sure what we are doing about shutters yet? Window boxes will stay but not sure if they will be painted a new color? Would like to keep them black. Getting 2 new light fixtures on either side of door which will be black and in a cottage/tudor style. Roof will stay dark gray/black. Trying to add as much character/curb appeal as possible and deathly afraid of making a mistake with the exterior colors! Will email you photos. Thanks so much for your help!
Hi Elizabeth,
I like all your ideas! Here are my thoughts:
I suggest picking a color for the stucco that will balance the value of the orange brick (ie, not too light). That way, the addition will look like part of the original house and not an add-on. The orange brick is pretty recognizable so blending it with a similarly valued color above will unify the entire house. So at least on my screen, I like both Woodstock Brown and Timber Bark. I definitely prefer the earth tones to any contrasting colors (like green). The various taupes/browns/tans in the brick will come out if you stick with one of those colors on the addition. Green will cut the house in half.
Then for the batten and window trim color (the same), I would go with either Navajo or Cobblestone, whichever goes better with your cream window color and hopefully picks up some of the colors in the stone surround around the front door.
I like the black metal choice and the black window boxes, but I suggest leaving off the shutters altogether. The batten trim above will interfere with any shutters up there (potentially) and having just one set of shutters on the first floor (on either side of the door) just makes the house look small. Leaving them off everywhere will make the house look bigger and again, more unified.
Having said that, I know you’re going for more of a French Country look and it’s fine to add black shutters if you want to finish out the look, but I don’t think you will need them to make the house look good. And you’ll have lots of detail with the batten trim and the front door area. Bottom line: wait until the whole house is done before deciding whether or not to put on shutters. It may be visual overkill or the finishing touch — too soon to tell.
Hope that helps. And thank you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Barbara –
First, thanks SO MUCH for the lighnting fast response! Wow! Really appreciate it! Your ideas are great!
We spent a good part of a rainy day yesterday trying to figure this all out. The Cobblestone is our pick for the trim but the Timber Bark and Woodstock Brown seem too dark using the Hardie paint samples against the brick. What do you think of Monterey Taupe instead (from what you can tell on the computer screen)? Also – we are having a change of heart on the stucco boards/batten look. Instead may go with the HardieShingle Straight Edge Notched Panel (so, a shingle look). We are thinking the house may be too small and the boards and batten too busy and too “vertical.” So I’m thinking it will be more cottage vs. tudor. With the shingle/cottage idea, do you still recommend the same color scheme? And would you make any other alterations to our exterior plan in general? Thanks again for your coaching!
Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth,
I do like your idea to go with more of a cottage look with the shingles instead of stucco. I think that will be perfect for the size of your house.
And Monterey Taupe should be fine too. Just put the three samples, the taupe and the two dark ones, up against the brick and go to the curb and look back at the house. You’ll get a more accurate view of the colors against the brick.
Also just make sure that whatever color you pick is in the brick somewhere. The taupe should be there (although the brick is warm overall).
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I need help on how to paint the exterior shutters and doors and walls of my brick home..Can i email you a photo of my house..and could you help me pick out some colors to brighten up the exterior.
thanks
Hi Wayne,
I’m going to give you two Ben Moore colors to match at any of the stores you mentioned. Especially easy at Sherwin Williams (they want your business) and they probably have a Ben Moore fandeck right under the counter 😉
If you run into trouble, write me back and I’ll pick new colors for a specific paint line.
I suggest Bone White for your carport. That will keep it light and blend in with your grout color.
Then for the doors and shutters, how about a nice warm caramel, like Roxbury Caramel (HC-42) — that color will go really well with your brick and will warm up the entire house.
When the budget allows, you might consider wrapping your poles and making them real columns, either round or square. That will dress up the house. You’ll love the result.
I think that’s it. Hopefully you’ll have no problem matching the colors at your local store. Try Sherwin Williams first — they’re usually really good about that.
And thanks, Wayne.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
I just purchased a home and would like to make changes to the paint on the outside of the house. It has a multicolored roof in the brown tones, light tan stucco, used brink on the lower portion of the house. The house has dark tan shutters, and the windows have a white frame around them. There are double doors in the entry, with columns as you walk up to the entry. My ideas are to bring color to the house, but I don’t know if the door, shutters and columns should be the same color or should the door be a separate color. I would like to attach a photo of the front of the house, but I am unsure how to send you photos, if you could let me know. I appreciate your input.
P.S. I did PayPal yesterday, then my internet went down, so I am just now submitting my question
Thank you Duane
Hi Duane,
You can paste a photo link into this post or you can attach photos to an email and send them to me at bmeglis@yahoo.com. That account has plenty of space for photos.
Looking forward to seeing your house. I’m sure we can add some color to the house!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
I am sending photos of my house to your email. My internet is still down, so I will be using my daughters. Her email is kls60@frontiernet.net
Thank you
Duane
Hi Duane,
I suggest painting the panels beneath the windows the same color as the shutters. The tan is a bit distracting. Then paint the columns the tan siding color as well as the trim around the front door. That will lighten up and feature the entryway. For the front door, you might consider the classic Georgian Brick. It will go great with your beautiful used brick and warm up the entryway as well.
I do like the shutter color. That’s fine as is. Wonderful with the brick and the roof.
Your house just needs a few touch-ups to rearrange the existing colors. Everything else looks great!
Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara…Thank you so much for your help in my color selection. Not being in the house as yet I have not be able to test the colors. I think it will be great. Thank you again. Duane
Dear Barbara,
I am writing for help in choosing the color of my house. (I’ll send the pictures from my regular email as can’t seem to do it from this site.) It’s an old farmhouse, with wooden siding, added on to several times by previous owners. It’s always been white but I find that boring. This is probably the last time I’ll have it repainted before I retire in 10 years and I’d really like it to look wonderful.
My late husband wanted white because he thought it was classic and beautiful. My kids agree.
I’d like a color like Valspar Lemon Sorbet — a creamy yellow that will hint at spring and sunshine and just be cheerful (but not too bright) to look at. The house is set at the end of a long winding driveway in the middle of 5 acres of woods and I’ve just always had this vision of the house popping out of the green background and looking friendly and welcoming and happy. My kids say Lemon Sorbet looks tan to them. Also, some friends say yellows will fade.
There’s a big brick chimney on the front of the house: if I do go with yellow, should I paint the chimney white to match the trim? My kids say it will look like an elephant’s snout, especially with the two triangular windows on the second floor as “eyes.” (I tend to agree.) But if I paint it yellow, will it look like a huge yellow chimney??
There’s also a tool shed and carriage house (full sized building currently used for storage) that are now white. I can’t afford to have them repainted right now but when I do, would three yellow buildings be too much? But if I keep them white, will the yellow house look like odd man out?
So — white? yellow? or some other color? Thanks for any advice! With best wishes, Carol, Alexandria VA
Just to add to the pot — some other friends just suggested a light spruce green with cream trim, and a barn red front door. They swear it’s a gorgeous combination. Help! Overwhelmed in VA, Carol 🙂
Hi Carol,
I do like the creamy yellow idea. I picked out Montgomery White (Ext.) from Ben Moore as an option. See how it compares to the Valspar color (I MUST get their fandeck). If you like the Montgomery White, Lowe’s will match all Ben Moore colors so that’s not a problem. For a little more lemony yellow, look at Weston Flax. I have no experience of the yellows fading (they’re light already) but you have to be careful of them looking dirty over time. But they’re so cheerful!!
I suggest leaving the chimneys exactly as they are with the paint peeling and brick exposed. They have all the character of an old farmhouse and I think the elephant effect will go away with the chimey the same as the trim color (white). The white will also tie in your out-buildings. No need to rush into painting them.
You might consider warming up the doors to a terracotta (something like Ben Moore’s Sedona Clay 2174-30). Black metal (lights, etc) will dress everything up. I think you have black already.
See what you think.
And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I sent you an email with my question….and a few pictures. Pleas let me know if you didn’t receive it…
Thanks,
Bethany S
Hi Bethany,
Got it! Thank you.
Since your addition includes your front door, leaving some of the original brick exposed over in the corner area only and out of the focal point, I suggest painting that remaining brick the new camel house color to blend it in with the rest of the house. That will unify the front of the house and allow you to paint the front door and shutters the roof color as you mentioned.
One other suggestion: Since the new addition windows are trimmed in white and the old windows are not, I suggest painting over the white trim in the house color. That will again unify the house by making all the windows match (old and new). You can leave the rest of the trim along the roof line white. That’s fine as is.
Does that help? I think you’re almost there. I do like the camel with the red shades in the roof. Not a problem.
Thanks again, Bethany.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We have a traditional tudor style home. (Pics have been sent to your email address.) We are planning to do a number of projects this year. They include a new roof, garage door, and front door. I am not at all happy with the standard brown and off-white that we currently have and am looking for ideas. We want to start with the roof and find a colour that will work with whatever we decide to do with the garage door, front door and house exterior trimmings.
Please have a look at the pics and let me know what you think in terms of a colour combination that could work instead of the brown and off-white.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Horace,
Here’s an idea: I know you have a traditional tudor, but you’re not crazy about the traditional color scheme. How about painting the stucco Bennington Gray (Ben Moore HC-82), which is a very soft creamy green — not a HUGE departure from the current color — and paint the “sticks” Kingsport Gray (HC-86), an olivey gray-green that would coordinate well with your brick. (Note: if you live in a historic neighborhood where historic color schemes matter, then this won’t work, but if it’s just a Tudor-style home, then it’s okay.)
For the roof, take a look at Weathered Wood (GAF Timberline) for something other than the same old brown — although brown is good with your brick. I know you’re sick of it.
The garage door would be Kingsport Gray too. For the front door, I might stick with brown/solid wood or you can always paint it the Bennington Gray with Kingsport trim.
See what you think of that idea. If it’s too radical for your Tudor, you can paint the stucco and leave the brown wood “sticks” as is for the traditional styling. Then simply paint your garage door and front door Kingsport Gray.
How’s that?
And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello
I will be painting our small cottage in cape Cod and need a body and trim color. Currently it is white. I was thinking of painting it a sky-ish blue color but have no idea what to pick. I really like the blue cottage at the Cottages at Cabot Cove.. which can be seen at http://www.cabotcovecottages.com/the-buzz/photo-gallery/ . The other option is to keep it white. I also like the creamy colored cottage at cabot cove on the same web page. I open to any suggestions and would prefer to use Ben Moore paint. I am going to find a pic of our cottage to email you.
Thank you and look forward to hearing from you.
Amy
Hi Amy,
I was inspired by your party/wedding? photo in the backyard.
How about Riviera Azure 822 (Ben Moore) for the siding with white trim and French Violet 1427 for doors and window boxes?
It’s bold, but it’s a cottage! See what you think.
The white siding idea is okay, but with the gray roof and foundation, it’s a bit dull for a fun cottage. Not sure what your neighbors have, but I’m not sure it matters in this case either. But if everyone else’s cottage is subdued, let me know. I’ll put some more gray in the colors.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara – I live in a straight ranch style home that is red brick halfway up the front (brick has a bit of white in it as well). Roof is a golden cedar color (varigated browns) –
http://www.gaf.com/Roofing/Residential-Roofing/Roofing-Products/Shingles-Styles-Shingle-Colors/3-Tab-Shingles/Marquis-WeatherMax-Shingles/Marquis-WeatherMax-Shingles.asp
I have a golden oak front door with stained glass. Current home color is a cream with tan trim and shutters and garage door.
Getting house painted and not sure to stay with the same colors or you can help me figure out what to change it to.
Thanks.
Hi Sharon,
How about a soft green, something like Ben Moore’s Providence Olive (HC-98) or Nantucket Gray (HC-111) with cream trim? That color scheme will balance the brick a little better than the cream siding and should look spectacular with both the roof color and the golden oak door. The olive is better with red brick than a sage — more earthy.
Nothing wrong with your current color scheme but this is just something different to consider.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I just emailed you pictures of our brick-front house which we will soon have painted. Most colors on the street are very light, and we were looking to go dark. We are assuming the trim stays white since the columns are white and it seems most houses with columns keep to the trim color. Also our roof is white, steps are bluestone. Should the overhang be painted the trim color as well? For the sides and back of the house, we were thinking something of a grey tone, like Ben Moore Old Pewter, or we also like taupe/brownish colors as well. Would you match the shutters to the trim or house color, or just take them off completely? We would appreciate any ideas on colors for: front door, gutters/downspouts, side wooden deck and garage door. Also, is it a good idea to paint the cement foundation? Thanks so much, I’m a first-timer!
Elaine
Hi Elaine,
How about Davenport Tan HC-76 for the shutter color and the siding color on the sides and back. Then keep the white trim for the windows and fascia/soffits (to maximize light) and pick up Litchfield Gray (HC-78) for the garage doors/other doors — something other than white but not the brown.
It’s bold and dark and will be different from the rest of the neighbors on the street. The colors should go very well with your brick!
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I believe Davenport Tan would look beautiful but I would love your ideas on grey tones just to compare. I saw a house stained with Old Pewter. What do you think?
Hi Elaine,
How about Galveston Gray AC-27? I think that would look terrific too.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I recently purchased a ranch-style home with white (cream color) brick. The house was built in the late ’70s. It has terra cotta clay tiles on the roof and also has black wrought iron around the front courtyard. I would like to know two things: 1. what color trim would be best for the wood trim on the house including the garage doors? And 2. What can I do to update the look of the wrought iron?
I am considering adding a curvy red brick walkway that extends from the side of the driveway and that enters through the large opening (would require that wrought iron be removed.) And then adding a row of red brick pavers to create a flower bed across the front of the house.
The first picture is of the main house, then the garage, and then of the courtyard area which is inside the wrought iron gate. I need an email address to send the pictures.
Hi Pat,
You can send the photos to bmeglis@yahoo.com. Sometimes the other email address listed on the blog gets full. The yahoo one is unlimited.
Looking forward to seeing your photos.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Pat,
Thanks for the photos. Very helpful. I’m going to give you three trim options. The first one, Ben Moore’s Charleston Brown (Ext), is the traditional option. Reminiscent of solid wood garage doors and trim — can’t go wrong, really. The second and third ideas are for more contemporary color palettes: Truffle (AF-130) is a tan that would neutralize your garage doors (get away from the peach tone) and allow the terra cotta to take center stage on the house. The other is a little more trendy in that it has gray in it and contrasts with the terra cotta and the brick: Briarwood (Ext). It’s taupe. And those gray tones are in at the moment and offer you a “stone” look that again lets the warm colors pop.
As for the wrought iron, I suggest removing it completely from the large archway leading to the courtyard. That is your opportunity to landscape both in the courtyard and around the outside and really create a fabulous focal point from the street. Hardscape is the key to that area (you mentioned a curvy brick walkway). I suggest a combination of bricks and other natural stone and curves are best — avoid making straight lines — they’re too hard to perfect anyway.
In terms of plantings, I suggest varieties that are native to your area with minimal flowers except in big terra cotta pots scattered around. Dessert plants are best for the environment anyway as they do not require much watering. Plant purple flowers in pots for contrast. A large palm on either side of the archway will help to frame it. Think big scale to avoid a busy look.
The wrought iron on the windows and your gate looks fine — but if you do not need the privacy, you can remove all of it and still have a great look to the house.
How’s that? I’ve always loved your style of house — particularly the courtyard. Enjoy! And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I stumbled upon your blog today and I am eating it up – thank you so much!
We are in the midst of choosing a new siding color for our home and I’m stuck! I’m leaning toward the main color to match the color of the mortar in the brick (‘Pebblestone Clay’), and doing the trim, porch, soffits and fascia in an off-white (we will also be replacing the windows, which will be white – is that okay or should we leave it all just white?).
My big question is whether I can pull off a brick red front door and matching shutters. The color I have picked out is basically the reddest part of the brick, but this is a color combo that will be with us for years and I don’t want to mess it up! If you have other siding color/combo suggestions instead, I’d be thrilled to hear them. We just don’t want to go too dark.
Photo here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31375661@N06/4521706111/
Thank you so much!
Kate
Hi Kate,
The Pebblestone Clay will be fine as long as it’s your mortar color. Good strategy. It’s okay to change the trim to off-white — not perfect, since your windows will be white and there are a lot of them — but I have that same issue on my house and I’m living with it too). The off-white is softer looking.
As for the shutters, I really like the black you have now because it picks up the black in your brick and it dresses up the house. I’m a little afraid you might get tired of the brick red shutters. But you can certainly have a brick red door. It’s dark under the porch roof, but any red will be warm and inviting, even if it’s in the shadows.
Hope that helps with your decisions. And thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Do you think that white all over would be better than off-white? We can go that route, too. I think you’re right about leaving the shutters black. I’ll do the front door red and call it good. Do you think a color lighter than the mortar (but in the same family/tone) for the siding would be better? I’ve been driving around looking at other homes with similar brick and now I’m second guessing myself. This is so much harder than painting a room!
Thanks again, I really, really appreciate this blog!!
Kate
Hi Barbara,
I missed the part where I was supposed to ask for help on the Paypal form. Sorry about that; hope this works, if not please let me know what I can do to contact you as requested.
We’re hoping you can help us with the exterior of our home. We’re going to change everything: paint, roof, gutters. Our primary concern seems to be finding a color that will work with our older brick. We really like the idea of using brown for the main and secondary colors, and are wondering if this would work, and if we should use the darker shade for the main or secondary color. Also wondering how much – if any – white to leave on the house (the vinyl window trim has to stay white), and if brown is used on the house, what color(s) would complement on the roof and gutters. I’ve attached a few pictures for you to look at. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Frank in Kamloops
Hi Frank,
Start by selecting your new roof. One option is Weathered Wood, medium earth-tones, that would go well with a siding color of Texas Leather (AC-3 Ben Moore) and a trim color of Bleeker Beige (HC-80). Those two colors have a bit of green in them but would coordinate well with your earthy bricks. Another roof option is Barkwood with a siding color of Davenport Tan (HC-76) and a trim color of Shaker Beige (HC-45). That palette should pick up the brown in your brick.
You can use either the siding color or the trim color on the garage door and pick another color for the front door (see Dinner Party AF-300).
Although the photos were a little dark, see if either of those palettes will work well with your brick.
The white windows are fine.
And thank you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I have just sent a picture of my home to you. I have also set up payment. I’m wanting to ask what would be a great dark green/blue color that I could paint my shutters if I chose to do something different than black. The roof of the portico is copper painted black. My husband is painting the house, as I write this, white again. He promised to paint the trim a more bright white in a higher gloss.
Do you have any advise/ideas for me?
thanks, Julie
Hi Julie,
How about something like Ben Moore’s Narragansett Green HC-157 (or the lighter Newburg Green HC-158)? Those are wonderful on a white house. Then there’s also Gentleman’s Gray 2062-20, a rich navy, also terrific on a white colonial like yours. You can either keep the same shutter color for your front door, if you like a dark door, or mix it up a bit with something else. (White houses are perfect for adding color.) If you go with navy for the shutters, consider a dark red like Country Redwood for the front door. I know it’s patriotic, but you have a wonderfully traditional white colonial so why not…
Just a thought.
Thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara
Love your site. Have followed it on an off for a few years.
We are repainting our cottage and bunkhouse which is located on a small lake. Our cottage is one of the focal points of this lake since most homes/cottages are either behind trees or up on the hill. We are the closest and most visible from the water.
We are re-roofing and painting and replacing a window with an old classic french door I found. We are struggling with paint colors, body, trim and accents. The only thing we have decided on at this point is a black steel roof which we have ordered.
Here is a link to view the original cottage and some of the colors we have messed with. I am leaning towards classic white or a brighter color.
http://www.twobitpro.com/cottage.asp
Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks
Dave & Becky
Hi Dave,
Wow, you’ve certainly made MY job easy. You are either an architect or a very talented engineer.
I like options 5 (and 11?) and 6 best. The blue body with cream trim and brown accent color is very dramatic and a wonderful combination for a summer cottage. I also like the green combination (with white trim and brown accents). I do know how difficult it is to keep the spider spots off of white trim on a cottage so if that is a consideration, then eliminate the white. But if you spray and have no issue there, then white trim is crisp and appealing for making the colors pop. Some of the other combinations, although trendy, may get old after awhile — I like classic for old cottages.
Although white is certainly an option for your cottage, I think color will decrease the maintenance (see above). But you had a white cottage before… so maybe that’s fine. I do like the white option 4 with the gray trim. Very nice with the black roof.
If you’d like additional combinations, I’m happy to add a couple, but honestly, I think you have winners right here in your list of options. But let me know. You might consider painting the French doors the same brown as the side door to equalize the emphasis. Right now the eye goes to the color on the side door and not the French doors. Making that change on the blue and green options would finish them off, in my opinion.
See what you think.
And thank you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We are getting our house painted in several weeks. We recently got a new roof that is a light brown color. I am thinking of a light beige or tan color, but then I don’t know what color to paint the trim and garage and front door. We just had new windows installed and they have white trim inside the window. My husband doesn’t want to paint that, but there is a trim just outside the window that will need to be painted. What color??? Also we will be replacing the shutters with new ones. Probrably faux wood ones. What color for them???Would black match with the roof?? Dark forest green??? I would like for the house to have some character, but we definitely want to stay with a fairly neutral color. Please, I need some suggestions. HELP!! I am sending photos to your e-mail. Let me know if you get them. Thanks, Karen
Hi Karen,
Have a look at either Springfield Tan AC-5 or Alexandria Beige HC-77 (both Ben Moore) for your siding color. They’re both medium tan/browns with the Alexandria Beige being a touch on the taupey/green side. Then you can try Swiss Coffee OC-45 for the trim — it’s a creamy white — not too chalky. Then for your garage door, pick either the siding color or the next darker color (New Chestnut AC-6) or Davenport Tan HC-76. You can use black for your shutters since your front entrance appears to have a black outer door and your lights are black. That combo should look great with your roof.
If you decide, with your sandy driveway, that you have just way too much brown, then consider an Historic Green, something like Hampshire Gray HC-101, a very nice medium-tone green that would look great with your roof, white trim and black shutters. Keep the garage door the same as the siding in this case.
See what you think of these ideas for your house.
Thanks for visiting the blog, Karen.
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
My wife and I are in the process of building a house and we would like your thoughts on our color scheme so far. I will send you a front view from our architectural plans. The house has a brick first story and sliding on the second. I would like to use a medium to dark red brick with some variation in it (I will attach an example picture too). I would like for the siding to be a medium gray and the roof to be charcoal. My main question is will almond color windows work with this scheme or should we go with a true white? The builder just placed an order for the almond/off-white color. He says that it will go with almost any scheme we choose. Also, what color would you paint the garage doors. I really like dark color doors, but would that be out of the question with these colors? We are open to overall suggestions regarding the entire scheme. Thanks.
Hi Michael,
Yes, the almond/off-white windows (and I assume the rest of the trim) will look terrific with both brick and your medium gray siding if the siding has a touch of green or brown in it. In other words, not a cold battleship gray but a warmer taupey gray. Have a look at Ben Moore’s Chelsea Gray HC-168 — very nice with almond if you like . A cold gray looks better with crisp white.
As for the garage doors, since they are embedded in the brick (with almond trim surrounding them), I suggest the siding color for the doors. Unless you plan to have black shutters — then black is also an option for your garage doors.
But go right ahead with the almond windows. Good luck with your project! And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I am in need of some assistance in choosing colours for my home. We just bought our house last summer and it is in desperate need of a new roof, new windows, eaves etc…. Basically everything outside. I am trying to decide on a colour scheme for the house and am finding it difficult because it is a VERY red/orange brick. Currently everything is white and I would like to change that. I wanted to modernize the look of the home without going over the top and making the house something it’s not. If I had the budget – I would love to get rid of the brick (it’s my least favourite brick colour) but that’s not an option so I am going to have to work with it. I was thinking of going more towards the charcoal grey with the windows but need to make sure I tie everything else in.
I need colours suggestions for :
– Roof
– Windows (do I do the grids in the windows or not)
– Eaves
– soffit / facia
– front door (I am getting a new door – do I do wood?)
– garage doors
– the portico & pillars
We have since removed the portico and pillars (this is an old picture) but we are replacing it with a slightly larger more modern one. It will be higher and have a hanging light in the middle of it and will include our house number/address in scroll along the face of it to give it a more modern feel.
I love to use Benjamine Moore colours.
Looking forward to your suggestions!
Denise
Hi Denise,
First of all, I love your red-orange brick! It’s a very cheerful-looking house! But to cool it down just a little, I suggest a dark charcoal roof, a little darker than you have currently. Then for the trim, you can use China White (Ben Moore) which has a touch of gray in it. If you’re replacing the windows, frankly, I’d stick with white or off-white if that’s close to the China White trim color. You can use an accent color for your windows if you plan to go all the way around the house with them.
For the garage doors, you might consider a gray-green like Ashley Gray HC-87 with a Fairview Taupe HC-85 for the front door. If that’s too green for the doors, look at Revere Pewter (HC-172) for a gray-tan or Stonington Gray (HC-170) which is a little cooler, and use one of those on the garage doors. If it’s in the budget, consider a nice dark mahogany solid-wood door. That would really make a statement at the entryway.
With neutral garage doors, you can paint your front door just about anything to modernize the overall look if you would prefer to paint rather than go with solid wood. But stick with nature’s colors on your stately traditional house style.
And if you’re really craving a more contemporary look, replace the black/bronze lighting with pewter or brushed nickel. Stick with bronze for a more traditional metal.
Hope that helps. Good luck with your new home. And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Pulling down old stucco and replacing bottom lower story with Nova Brick (sable), and have existing sandy beige siding on upper story. Will it be too beige? Wondering what color to change the siding to make the sable Nova Brick pop. Or, if I keep the beige siding, what color brick would be good. House 60 years, new windows with white trim. Garage has the beige siding as well. I was thinking a nice light green siding? What do you think. Thank you.
Yes, I think either a taupey tan (from your brick) or a medium-light olive (see Ben Moore’s Historical colors) would make your Nova Brick pop. But if you keep the beige siding (it’s okay), then just paint your door a contrasting color.
If you find this suggestion helpful and would like the opportunity for follow-up questions, I have provided a payment link below for your convenience.
https://yourcolorcoach.wordpress.com/
Thank you again for visiting my blog.
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara I thought I was going to send you a hard copy photo but I have now enclosed a digital photo attachment.
We just had a new roof installed and are now looking for a siding color and trim color for the house. We presently have a tavern brown but wish to possibly have a red door to bring out the red in the bricks, which with the present color siding/shutters looks more pink. We love the historic colors and are open to your professional advice.
Thanks for your assistance.
Donna
Hi Donna,
Here’s an idea for rearranging the palette on your house. How about putting the trim/shutter color on the siding of the house, balancing the color value with that of the darker brick. Then use the current siding color (light tan) as a trim color around the front door and along the roof line — that dental moulding up there is getting lost. Then instead of the current shutter color (taupe), how about a nice dark taupey green (Fairview Taupe HC-85 by Ben Moore). That will bring out some of the green in both brick and roof. For the front door, I suggest trying Dinner Party (AF-300). It’s red but on the burgundy side, a color that’s very prominent in your brick.
See what you think of that rearrangement. If you really want something completely different for the siding and trim, let me know, but I like the colors with your brick — just not where they are now.
Hope that helps. And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Babara,
This site is a God send. Three trips to BM and spots all over my house………I can’t wait to hear back from you.
We live in S. Florida in a ranch style stucco home. I was leaning toward the soft gold exterior/ black pineapple cut out shutters and red door. Then I found this site and w/ our lite grey roof……..its NOT happening. I have no clue as to what color would look good. Right now the color seems to be in the HC149- previous owners. The house across from us is about the same color trimmed in white. I’d like to go a little bolder and maybe even a different scheme all together but not sure what to do at this point. Our roof is a very light and the house is trimmed in white with double glass front doors.
I really like color and not afraid to mix things up as long as it not too bright. I was thinking something “rich”and the shutters lighter maybe? Our living room is the “traditional yellow” w/ a lt orange accent wall (mexican tile floor) and leading into the kitchen…..is HC146. I love the way the colors add some pop but seem to flow nicely with the floors and our denium sectional.
I’d like to creat a very welcoming atmosphere. More along the lines of beachy.warm, fun, easy going, laid back with some southern charm. Im from Carolina and would like to add a little hospitality too ( ie pineapple cut out shutters).
We’re also putting in white plantation shutters in the windows. NOt sure if that changes things.
I cant wait to hear back from you. Countless hours of driving around- checking out other homes and lots of samples. I ready to get this project taken completed. Thanks so much for you time.
Stephanie Hebard
Hi Stephanie,
The way to tie in your light gray roof is with the shutters and the metal color (lights, etc.). So here’s an idea that I think would look absolutely luscious on your house. Take a look at Golden Lab (178) — it’s yellow with a touch of orange (very sunny but not harsh) and a very nice color with gray. Then you definitely need shutters. The pineapple cut-outs are fine but I like a traditional plantation shutter in White Heron (OC-57). The white plantation shutters would balance the roof/trim and make your house look like it’s right on the beach. If you’ve already installed the inside plantation shutters and you think it will look too busy to have them on the outside of the house, then go with the solid white with pineapple cut-out. That’s okay.
Then as your accent color, pick up the terracotta from your pots (you could use a nice big one by the front door!). Audubon Russet HC-51 is terrific, maybe a little more rusty orange than brown but a great color with the Golden Lab and white.
For your metal, use silver (chrome or brushed nickel) to again tie in the roof and add some sparkle.
That color scheme should lead nicely into your house and get you out of the exterior blues. Your house will have tons of charm and you’ll be ready to invite friends and family over.
See what you think. And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi barbara,
Im sorry I couldnt attach a photo of our FL home. If possible….could I email it to you? We have since put in a flower bed….but we could really use some “curb appeal”.
Thanks again for your time.
Stephanie Hebard
Hi Stephanie,
Sure, you can send the photo to my email at bmeglis@yahoo.com. I’ll get to your question in the morning.
Thanks again for your payment and for posting your question. More soon.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara, we are working on the front of our house and I would like advice on colour scheme. I will send reference photos to your eMail address. I’ve been scrolling through all your website and have been impressed with your suggestions. I’m looking foward to hearing advice specific for us. Our home is a post-war, semi-detached 2 storey brick. I would describe the colour as light yellow with browns and the roof is also brown. We are replacing the windows (white with white trim, similar to the left hand side of the house), replacing the front door, repainting the entrance and installing a new roof. Can you advise on a colour scheme? I have the Benjamin Moore colour pallette and would like to be able to use that for reference if you are able to suggest some of their colours. I am partial to the glossy black finish of a Georgian looking front door and black roof however, suspect that the roof will be redone in a similar brown (we have to compromise with the owner of the other half of the house). I also have two other detail questions; what colour is the back of the door /interior side painted and based on the colour scheme, what type of finish do you suggest for the front door hardware? I am finding this an overwhelming project and thank you in advance for your help!
Hi Shannon,
If you get an opportunity to pick your own roof, have a look at GAF Barkwood — very nice with your brick and a good blend with the neighbor’s. Then for your paint trim, use China White. It’s a little bit gray so it should blend with your windows okay. Use the white for the entry area trim. Then fill in the triangle above the door with Sag Harbor Gray (HC-95). Although we usually paint the entire portico trim color, using two tones gives you an opportunity to add a little more color to the entryway instead of all white. Then for the front door, how about Van Buren Brown (HC-70). Using a dark brown will help to give you that dressed up Georgian look while staying in your color palette. Since you have a black wrought iron railing, you can paint the door black, but I prefer the brown door with the black accents.
The inner side of the door can coordinate with your inside color scheme — it does not have to be the outdoor color or the inside trim color.
As for metal, you have wrought iron so black is good. Bronze will also work (you could paint the wrought iron bronze). I notice your bronze planter. Very nice. You could really use a porch light to the left of the front door. That would dress up the house as well. Stick to whichever metal you choose, black or bronze.
Don’t forget to stain your concrete steps. Natural “concrete” color is fine (kind of a gray-tan). But that will even the steps out and make them look a bit more welcoming.
I think that’s it. See what you think. And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
What a great site! I’ve made my donation, and am hoping that you can offer some insight into our current dilemma as we are trying to choose a color for new siding.
I’ve emailed you a picture of the house. As you can see, the house is currently covered with an odd variety of materials (wood, wood siding, cedar shakes, brick). We are planning to replace all of the non-brick materials with cedar-impression siding (http://www.certainteed.com/products/vinyl-siding/shake—shingle-siding/310282), but are having a difficult time deciding what to do with the brick. We’re not sure what color would work with the brick on our house. Or we’re considering removing the brick and replacing it with siding.
One particular ‘trouble spot’ is the large brick area to the left of the front door, which visually seems to break-up the 2nd story from the left side of the house.
We would greatly appreciate any suggestions you might have.
Regards,
Joel
Hi Joel,
With your roof color, I suggest a green like Spruce (from the Certainteed link). I would hesitate to go with some of the other medium toned neutrals because the roof would blend in too much. You’ll need some contrast — the light neutrals like Savannah Wicker will also work. As for the brick, it does have a slightly odd asymmetry to the left of the front door but you could always fix that by planting another large decorative tree in front of it. I would recommend removing the shutters from the front door area and beefing up the trim around the door instead (when you get ready to make your changes). Also, although the shutters look like true shutters in that they would cover the window completely if you closed them, they look a bit large for the size of your house. I would scale them back or remove them completely.
When you do reside, make sure to paint the downspouts the same color as the house — that will make them disappear completely.
In terms of removing brick, you might not have to remove any of it but rather just cover the part that’s under the slanted roof. In other words, you would square-out your main house and cover the remaining brick to the left of the house with siding that would continue on to the garage. There’s nothing wrong with the brick color itself. Does that make some sense? Covering the brick instead of removing it would save tons of money and would eliminate that odd triangle that attracts so much attention.
Feel free to paint the garage doors either a tan like the roof color or the house color. No need to keep white.
See what you think. And thank you again. Sorry for the delay…
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara, We are trying to totally remodel a 30 yr old home via long distance and are trying to figure out what to do with the exterior to update the look.
Inside, we are going with similar colors to Olympic’s Snowy Mount for trim, Weeping willow, secret passage, silver charm, and Innuendo for the rooms, light hard wood, a light neutral tile, medium dark maple cabinets, with black (or rubbed bronze) plumbing and lighting fixtures as well as door knobs.
I like the new black fixtures and trim and was thinking about going with a black front door with a narrow glass insert but don’t know how to coordinate the outside of the house. I am going to email you some of the old pictures as well as some pictures of the houses in my neighborhood that I really like but don’t know if I could mimick.
The shutters have been removed and not sure what color to go there. I would like to try to go with the brick color and maybe replace the siding with a more current wider hardy board or cedar shingle look but am unsure what color to use. The roof is staying the same but everything else is up for grabs. The replacement windows will be white with no panes.
I do like the look of the houses near me that have painted their existing brick the same color as their siding with white trim, but I don’t know how that would look with this carport and the brick there. Those brick posts wouldn’t look good painted white like posts would they? Thank you so much for helping!
Sincerely,
Meredith
Hi Meredith,
You have a lot of brick so my first choice would be to avoid painting it. Instead, let’s see if we can come up with a color that will coordinate better with it and make the house look more unified. Take a look at Jackson Tan HC-46 for your siding. It should pick up some of the darker tones in your brick and really make the house look terrific. Then you could use a soft white like Ballet White (OC-9) for your trim. Make sure to paint the downspouts the house color to make them go away into the brick.
I do like your black shutters with the black porch light even though the roof color blends with the brick. That’s perfectly fine.
My sense of what you like about the other houses you showed me is that they coordinate well. The roof color goes well with the siding and the trim pops. The brick adds color and texture.
See what you think of the Jackson Tan. I think it will make a huge difference!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Meredith,
Those are Benjamin Moore colors. You can have them matched to Olympic if that’s your paint of choice. No problem.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara, We’ll be using Porter paints (just don’t have a store near me so we’ll match colors with the Olympic) and I looked up the tan and ballet white and do like those and think they blend well with the brick. Does it matter that the top of the house will be darker than brick? The old shutters in the photos were dark chocolate. Do you have another suggestion for shutter color or do you think black will be ok with so much brown? What trim exactly should be white? Thanks so much! Meredith
Hi Meredith,
Having the top part of the house darker than the brick will actually make your house look more updated and I know that’s what you want. And yes, the dark chocolate is fine to keep on the shutters (check out Black Bean Soup — Ben Moore 2130-10). As far as painting the white? Anywhere that’s trim and paintable — soffits, fascia, door trim and doors, window trim.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara, We have a 10 year old natural shake home with white trim and white shutters. The roof is textured grays (maybe with a hint of green in the textures). The finish on the shake is not holding up so we are going to paint it a solid body stain (similar to a paint look). The front of the home is one level sprawling ranch look and is very symmetrical since the garage doors are around the side. There are 2 false dormers in the front and the front doors are double glass doors with white trim. The back of the house is huge 2 level with a wrap around porch with white trim since we live on a hill. I hope that gives you a visual. My question is what color to paint. We are leaning towards a darker gray but I’m afraid of it matching the roof too much.
Do you have any ideas? We were planning on repainting the trim white but that can change.
Not sure how to send a photo.
thanks! Cathy
Hi Cathy,
Since you have some green in your roof color, how about a gray-green for the siding? Take a look at Ben Moore’s Louisburg Green HC-113 or Copley Gray HC-104? Another option might be Philipsburg Blue HC-159, a rich gray-blue. Any of those colorw would look spectacular with both the white trim and the gray roof. One more: Try Templeton Gray HC-161 — it’s gray but with green undertones. That too will look great with your roof.
Hope that gives you some options to consider. Thanks again for visiting my site.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
What a great service you offer! We just bought a “fixer-upper” that came with a brand new roof (great!) in a pretty hard to deal with color (not so great). The color is a greyish green with variations among the shingles so there is a patchwork look to it. I am sending you an email with a photo so you can see the color of the roof. Here are the questions:
1. What paint colors do you recommend for the siding, trim, and door for a green roofed house?
2. In the picture, the second story has a green color painted on it and the first story is white. Would you recommend doing two different paint colors to add some interest to the architecture of the house, or going with all one color?
3. And can we get away with doing a colored door that pops, even though the door is located in an odd place?
Thank you!
Vanessa
Hi Vanessa,
Thanks for emailing the photos. Since your house is so big, it can take a richer color on the siding than the light green that’s there currently. How about something like Ben Moore’s Philipsburg Blue (HC-159), a really luscious slate that’s rich and looks terrific with white trim. To tie in the green roof, paint your front door green, either Prescott Green (HC-140) or Wythe Blue (HC-143), more of a blue-green, depending on which goes better with your roof color.
I think the combination would look just great with your green roof.
As for the two-tone, I would paint the whole house one color. You can add interest with your landscaping and porch, but the second color is not necessary on your house.
See what you think. And thank you for visiting my blog!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
My husband I bought a fixer up and want to remodel the exterior of an addition on our house. It is currently ceader siding. We are unsure if we should make it brick or white stucco. Two contractors we had on site recommended stucco due to the age of the brick being very hard to match and the fact that the brick would not be flush to the rest of the house. It would stick out about 2 inches. For that reason, we are leaning towards doing white stucco. We are thinking of doing a earthen red color for the shutters, similar to the color we stained our deck. (I’ll send pictures). Would this combo look ok? We will be purchasing a new garage door and are leaning towards a cariage style door and thinking about painting it the same redish color, but are not sure if that would work? Having a white garage door on the white stucco seems too boring. We also are not sure what colors to paint the two doors on the front of the house? Since we have two, should they be the exact same? I was thinking a red storm door with a white door behind it or vice versa? What do you recommend? Also, we will be needing a new roof in the next few years. It is currently a dark charcol gray, but looks lighter in the pictures due to the rain. What color roof would you recomend? I will attach several pictures. Thank you so much for your help! We have been having a very hard time deciding what to do and any direction or guidance would be greatly appreicated. I also gave a photoshopped picture that my husband did to give a very rough idea of what we were thinking. Thanks so much!
http://s762.photobucket.com/albums/xx265/lsereditch/
I like the white stucco idea and go ahead and paint the new carriage garage door red. It will look terrific with black hardware! I usually don’t recommend so much color on functional areas but with white stucco, color is a must! I think the red looks great — as long as the red is a brown-red that goes with the brick. The front door will be right up next to the brick and it needs to go perfectly. The best way to tell is to paint a test area and go to the street and look back at the house. If the red paint pops out too much to your eye, then it doesn’t match.
I also like your idea of a red storm door and a white inner door for the garage. Then paint the front door completely red. There will be some distinction between the two “front” doors, giving a little more weight to the one guests are supposed to enter.
As for the roof, a darker charcoal would work best to give some contrast with the white. Brown would be okay, but it doesn’t look as good with white. Go for charcoal.
I think that’s it. Hope I’ve sealed the deal for you. Thanks very much for visiting my blog!!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara. you were such a big help to me two years ago picking the roof color for my 1956 rambler which is a charcoal gray/black. I am now trying to pick some paint colors for my doors, trim for doors and windows and garage door to create a more updated look. I am emailing you some pics.
This is my plan:
front door: martha Stewarts Ohio Buckeye
side door: MS’s Potters Clay (the lighter) or Squirrel Gray
iron doors: they will remain black
trim around doors: either Squirrel Gray or Potters Clay
garage door: Squirrel Gray or Potters Clay.
It all really depends on whether you prefer the darker over the lighter. The darker, Squirrel Gray would be more contrasting. Both of these colors have a grayish green tint to them and are both wonderful. Potters Clay is amazing but less dramatic.
I am also wondering about painting the cement front and side porch. Any comment on that would be appreciated.
I am looking for some “pop”.
I will appreciate your help and I am open to a whole new plan.
Thanks,
Cathy S
Hi Cathy,
Since your soffits/gutters are white and your windows are white, I suggest keeping the door trim bright white too! The reason is that if you darken the trim elsewhere, the windows and gutters will pop out like the only architectural feature — and you have other things to look at! So why not keep door trim white. I would also keep your front door bright shiny white too so there is maximum contrast with your black iron outer door. That contrast will be striking (it is now!). Then for the garage door and side door, you can paint them a softer color that blends with the brick a bit more. Either the Squirrel Gray or maybe even Ben Moore’s Affinity Collection’s Chambourd AF-645, a rich eggplant purple. The darker colors on the garage will blend with the brick and highlight the white on the front door.
Also, I suggest removing the black shutters altogether (I know I probably told you to paint your shutters black with a pink brick house…). Yours are just a bit big for the scale of your house (it’s a lot of black) especially with the other black elements like the light post and railing/columns on the porch.
See what you think. If you plan to paint windows and other trim/gutters, then write me back and we’ll do Plan B, which would include the Potters Clay around windows/trim/etc and more color on doors. But keeping windows/gutters white, then I would stick with white trim everywhere else too.
Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Correction for above post…. My house is pink brick, not charcoal/black. My roof is charcoal/black.
I emailed you some photos.
Just wanted to clarify this for others reading these posts. It seemed a bit confusing.
Thanks,
Cathy
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your quick response. I just wanted to ask you one other thing. You mentioned that we could paint the main front door under the porch entirely red to differenitate it from the other “front door” near the garage. We were wondering if it would pop more if we painted it entirely white since it is against the brick and under the porch roof? And if so, what color would you then recommend painting the door near the garage? Or do you think the red front door will look better?
Also, what is a good paint sheen to use for the doors and shutters? The stucco is painted a flat white.
Thank you so much for your help!!
Hi Lori,
Let me take another look — I’ll get back to you in the morning.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Lori,
Okay, I’m breaking all my own rules here, but let’s do it anyway. I like your idea of making the front door completely white since there’s not a lot of trim around the door and it’s surrounded by red brick (and in the shadow of the porch). But let’s also make the garage door red since it’s against the new white stucco and will look smashing.
One rule I’m breaking is: Your eye goes to color! It is possible that your guests may be knocking on the red door to your garage instead of the white front door (well, not really because everybody can see which door leads where, but you get my point).
In your case with your house, I like the “color blocking” effect of the sharp red and white contrast since the house is mixed (brick and stucco) anyway. It gives the house kind of a modern feel!
The other rule I’m breaking is: Don’t highlight your garage door! But in your case, since the garage addition is so prominent and it’s balanced by the second story stucco (with red shutters on the window), I think a red garage door works.
Bottom line: I think you’re both on the right track. Your placement of color is working to take an “ordinary” white/brick house and make it special. Keep going!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Lori,
Forgot to mention that the paint sheen should be a semi-gloss to contrast with the flat white of the stucco.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I don’t know where to start! The home is a 1923 craftsman. A major remodel in the late 50s (I’m assuming) resulted in enclosing the covered porch, and adding the planter boxes and brick facade. We can’t decide what to do with it. As you can see in the closeups, the brick is damaged in places, and discolored. There are a few spots where someone tried pressure washing the brick, and it looks to me like the grout has some pink tones. Everything’s on the table here. The planter boxes, the rot iron, the trim, etc. I can’t spend a million on materials, but I’ll be doing the work myself. The file “paintedbrick2.jpg” has an example of something my wife thought might look nice, which is a white-washed brick. We are in our early 30s and our tastes are more clean and modern. We are more fond of black rot iron than white for instance… The window grids could be painted (they’re genuine grids).
Thanks,
Chris and Jenna
Hi Chris and Jenna,
What to do about your brick is a tough question because of how irregular it is. First of all, I might suggest getting a professional in to take a look at the brick itself and get their opinion about either repairing it or… just what they would suggest. I think that painting it as is will only call attention to it and that is not your desired effect. Even whitewashing it is not a great idea because it will call attention to it but more importantly whitewashing it will make your whole house white except for the gable. And with a white roof, that’s not terrific.
Other than the chipped grout and broken bricks, I don’t mind the look of the brick from the street and it might be one idea to just camouflage it by painting the rest of your house a dark brown from the brick. Whitall Brown (Ben Moore’s HC-69) would blend the brick in to the rest of the house and highlight the architecture and windows, the real feature of your house.
Then I would move on to the front steps. I think the red brick facing is a little distracting (I think the color is just not quite right) so addressing that issue would be first. Refacing the steps in a dark neutral flagstone would again blend the front porch area into the rest of the house. Then you can focus on removing white ironwork and replacing it (don’t forget the carport) with a traditional Arts & Crafts style capped post and railing (white). The new railing will add weight to the front steps and give that area the prominence that it deserves.
You’ll also want to replace your porch light with a larger version — again Arts & Crafts style, maybe in oil-rubbed bronze instead of black.
You can also replace the numbers with, again, larger ones in bronze. Even the big boxy numbers might add a touch of modern to your craftsman home.
I hope that gives you a possible solution.
Thanks for visiting my blog!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I have a house that has brick on the bottom level and
old shake siding. I need your help choosing the colors on all items to be redone. Roof, siding, facia, window colors and possible shutters. The entry doors a white I can’t change them.
I don’t have a website so please email me so I can reply with attached pictures. Carol Green greenrentals@
Verizon.net
Okay, Carol.
I emailed you from bmeglis@yahoo.com. Go ahead and send the photos there and I’ll take a look.
Thanks for posting!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thanks again for all your help. I have just one last question to help me clarify the door color choices.
Both of our front doors have a screen door over them.
If we paint the door near the garage red, and the front door against the brick white, what colors should we paint the screen doors over each? Do you recommend painting each screen door the same color as the actual door? Red on red and white on white? Or do you recommend painting them the opposite color, white on red and red on white door? Or should the screen doors be the same color for some unity?
Deciding what to do with the doors has been hard for us since there are two….And we actually wouldnt mind drawing attention to the door nearest to the garage, since it leads into our addition which is actually a nicer entrance since it has cathedral ceilings. Its kinda of a unique layout.
Thanks again for all your help. I really appreciate it!!
Hi Lori,
I vote for matching the screen door to the door behind it for maximum color impact. So you’ll have a red screen with the red door and white screen with the white door. That will be less busy visually as well. And great effect from the curb.
Good luck with your project!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi, Barbara
Thanks your advice. I must admit, I had to sit on it for awhile but darn it, you are right! I was just hoping to add some pizazz. But white it is because I am not going to paint the facia and gutters at this time. I have future plans to redo the facade. I just need something to get me by for now.
I’m sure there will be some added lustre because the trim and doors are actually a cream color now which I have never liked next to the white trim. Question…. should I use white semigloss?
I am having a landscape designer draw plans for the landscape. Is this where I should get my color from?
I have considered taking off the shutters. When I do, I will just have more empty space. Any ideas? Big pots? I have struggled with patio furniture. I live in an area where hore pastures are plentiful. In fact, there is one seen from my backyard patio. The black pots in front of main door are filled with purple fountain grass which will grow tall.
Would you also take off the planter boxes? I think they may be a bit small although they will appear larger as the plantings grow.
If the shutters are taken off should I then get larger light fixtures for the porch? I had already considered that for the side entry door.
Thanks,
Cathy S
Hi Cathy S,
You have a lot of color on your house already. The white and black will really bring that color out. All those various shades of pinks and mauves and purples and grays will start to pop with more white. Then, yes, I suggest larger porch lights. You can even consider silver toned metal to add some sparkle instead of black. The landscaping will again make a huge statement. Right now the plantings are all at similar heights, short on the left side and all tall (the bush) on the right side. Mixing that all up will really help the curb appeal. Especially trimming back or taking out the privet hedge under the window on the right.
For the landscaping, make sure they add various shades of green — not all one color — and lots of white as well. Then you can add in burgundy/purple/light pink. But I would focus on a variety of greenery (your tall grasses are great!!).
Add colorful larger pots by the doors. The pots don’t have to be black. Mix it up. It’s okay. Same with the hanging planters. They can be white or a different color if you want them to be featured.
Don’t worry about taking off the shutters. I think you’ll really like the curb appeal when all is done.
Send photos when you’re done!
And thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello,
Its time to paint the house and having trouble decideing the colors for the house. Karen says any thing is aoption but BLUE. the house is a 2 story with a white brick. we sit back from the road a bit and basic live in a oak forest. I an in the process of clearing some trees so you can actually the house now. Please let me know how to upload the pictures.
Thanks
KMccarty
Thanks, Barbara.
I will definitely send you some pictures!
Thanks again for your help!
I would have certainly made a mess of things without you!
Cathy S
Hi Barbara
I need some color suggestions for the exterior of my house. I just moved into our home a year ago and are now ready to update the color to the exterior doors, wrap around deck, and a color scheme for the landscaping. Our house’s siding is cedar shakes painted blue and the roof is a brown mix. I will also send some pictures so that you can get a clearer picture of the current colors. The exterior doors are painted yellow right now but I am unsure whether this is the best color choice.
Kelly B.
Hi Kelly,
Did you send photos to my email (bmeglis@yahoo.com or bmeglis@yourhomeandcolorcoach.com)? I cannot find them (??).
Would love to see the yellow door!! And were you planning to keet the blue on the cedar shakes?
If you’ve already sent photos, I’ll go back through and look again. Sorry about that…
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara
I sent it to the yahoo.com account. I only sent 1 picture but can send more if needed. We wanted to keep the color of the blue siding bur wanted to change to door color, decking color and get ideas for landscaping.
Kelly
Hi Kelly,
For some reason, I don’t see the photo. All I got at Yahoo was notification that you paid. Would you mind sending it again? I’m sitting right here and will look for it when it comes through. Sorry about that…
Thank you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara
Let me know if you get them. I sent some to each of your email addresses.
Kelly
Hi Barbara
Update…I tried to send to yourhomeandcolorcoach.com and they keep being returned to me. I did sent them to the yahoo one so hopefully that will work. Let me know if there is still problems.
Kelly
Hi Kelly,
Yes, my color coach mailbox gets stuffed but I did receive the photos at Yahoo. Thank you!! I’ll get right on it!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Kelly,
I love the dark blue on your house. Here’s one idea for the trim. How about using Cottage Red (Ext. from Ben Moore) for your door color– if it’s too Americana for your taste, we can go with something different. But I just see a dark red on those doors. Then paint the fascia white instead of current creamy yellow. For your deck, I like the current brown — very natural and keeps the deck from overwhelming the house (that would happen if you painted it a contrasting color). But I suggest painting the deck fascia and pillars the house color if that’s possible or brown like the railing. Then those structural areas won’t stand out as much.
For landscaping, I suggest breaking up the horizontal lines with a variety of shrubs in different colors. Since the house is more of a chalet style than formal, you don’t need symmetry. a mixture of burgundies/rose/pinks and greenery will coordinate with the burgundy red doors (if you go that route). Orange will work as well. So for the landscape, mix the greenery by picking different sizes and shapes and then pick an accent color that will go with your doors. Adding more shrubs will soften the look of the deck and make it look more integrated into the house (hide the stilts in other words…).
Hope that helps.
And thanks for sending the photos. Sorry for the delay!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks Barbara. I think I will really like the red doors. I went right out to my local Benjamin Moore paint supplier. They told me though that Cottage Red is recently discontinued. She suggested Chesnut-2082-10. What do you think about this color?
For the deck, would you think I should stay in the same tone of brown or should I go with a darker brown?
Should I put some planters or something near the door and the lower landing at the bottom of the stairs.
I also am getting ready to put patio furniture on the deck and I am just thinking about cushion color. Any thoughts?
Kelly
Hi Kelly,
Gee, thanks for telling me about Cottage Red! I need to check in with Ben Moore and get an update.
Yes the Chestnut will work great — also AF-300 Dinner Party (Ben Moore’s Affinity Collection).
As for the deck, a darker brown will make the deck blend in with the darker blue house color — and that’s not a bad thing. It’s a big deck!
Large planters at the bottom of the stairs would be terrific! White flowers/reds/oranges will work.
The patio furniture can be brown if you’d like it to blend and balance the deck or reds/oranges/whites for a dramatic attention-getter!
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
We are having some trouble picking the paint colors for the exterior of our orangey brick house. We need to use sherwin Williams paint colors, and are tentatively considering wool skein for all the trim and basket beige for the siding elements and garage door. There is a lot of contrast between these two colors, which we like. Currently our house has very little contrast between trim and flats. We would like to do the door and shutters in gale force or inkwell, which are medium or dark navy bluish. The grout is mud colored, roughly the same as basket beige or it’s one shade darker sister, dapper tan on the chip strip. I am not sure if I want basket beige to be so prevalent on the house front…it’s muddy and yellowy. I think it is going on the paneled box surrounding the second floor bedroom window….it might be a little much. Do you have any alternative ideas for a color palette that will give us the contrast we want, but less muddy yellowish tones?
We were also considering reversing the contrast to have darker trim and light siding elements, but we thought the architectural features would be lost in this case, and that might detract from curb appeal. Do you have an opinion on that, too?
Thanks so much for your help…btw, we need to pick paint by the 14th!
Helen
Not sure how to do photo attachment, will email separately
Hi Helen,
How about Weathered Shingle SW 2841 for the body and Kilim Beige SW 6106 for the trim. The beige doesn’t have any yellow in it — so it would be a different look from what you have currently. The Inkwell is fine as it’s very traditional and brings in the roof. You can paint the garage door Weathered Shingle and the front door Inkwell to carry out the look. You might consider removing the shutters from the large Palladian window on the right — although the color is balanced the way it is now, the shutters themselves look a tad odd on that style window.
You have to share the blue that you’re currently using for your shutters and door!! It’s gorgeous! And may I put your before photo on the blog — it’s really quite stunning as it is!
Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We recently moved into a ranch house in the mountains. The interior is great, but the exterior is looking worn down and dated. We are planning to build a new larger cedar-frame entry gable towards the right end of the house, and would like to repaint as well. In other posts, I’ve seen you recommend using the mortar color to complement the brick– I’ve emailed you an upclose picture of our bricks and am hoping you can recommend some specific colors, both for the siding and trim. We might also re-roof because we can’t find shingles for the new entry gable that match the existing roof– what color would you suggest? And finally, do you have any suggestions for hardscape materials? We are planning to put in a new patio & path to the new entry, and I’m wondering if it should be brick, or if that would be too much brick?
Thanks for your help!
Kate
Hi Kate,
Have you seen Barkwood for your roof color? Looks terrific online! And for your siding, you might consider Richmond Gold Ben Moore HC-41 with Annapolis Gray (Ext Rm) trim. As for the patio and pay, I would go with something other than brick since you have a lot of that already and your new portico will be brick too. How about gray/tan flagstones or composite patio blocks of various large sizes? Bringing in some gray will cool the brick/house down a bit and tie the whole look together.
Of course, the possibilities are endless so if you’d like to send some photos of several favorite stones in the running, I would be happy to weight in on them.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Thank you so much for your advice! We have been agonizing over this for many days….I like the colors you suggested–I pulled them up on the SW website and tried to do the virtual color visualizer, without success. The main issue is that my neighbor to the left has the very same palette on her brick house. Her home is designed differently, but still has a mixture of brick, siding and trim on front. I would like our house to stand out, but not in an obvious way. My neighbor to the other side also has a brick home and his trim/siding is all one color–an ugly yellow beige about two shades darker than our current color.
Right now we have changed the trim to Softer Tan and kept the Basket Beige on the siding, around the front door and window box and garage door. The Softer Tan is just about the same color that’s currently on the trim, but ever so slightly less yellow. This combination gives some contrast, but it’s not very exciting to basically paint your house the same color it already is…If you have another idea for us, let me know!
You may certainly use our photo on your blog…thanks for the compliment! (And I’m sorry, I don’t know what color our door/shuttters are–it was painted by the builder…)
Thanks again,
Helen
Hi again Helen,
How about Library Pewter SW 0038 for the siding and Craftsman Brown SW 2835 for the trim? Although the white windows will show up more than they do now, the color scheme is more contemporary than it is currently and maybe a shade or two different from your neighbors’.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks Barbara!
The painters come today, so we might have to go with what we have….I like the basket beige, but might prefer a creamier off white on the trim versus the softer tan. Do you have a cream/off white shade that you like? There are so many and it’s hard to distinguish among them all..(a lot of them look the same to me!)
Thanks for your help though….
Helen
I need your help for the exterior of my house. As you can see in the pictures, it look very flat and boring. In the front, the width is almost double the height so the house look very short.
I have read many of your articles and come up with some ideas. I write them down here so you can guide me to the right direction.
– Should I paint the top – white triangle part of the front wall ( the gable? ) to a color which blend to the brick wall?
– Should I put more white into the brick wall (columns, shutters, trim, etc.) so that the brick wall will blend to to white gable?
– What kind of front porch will look good in my house?
I also include some porch pictures I found online just hope that you can easily point out which porch is good for my house. I know you often answer questions on color but from reading your articles, I think that you can also help me with porch.
I am not good in design. All the above ideas just came after reading your articles so I am really appreciate any
suggestion from you.
I think your work will worth a lot for my house so I send you another “Donate” just a way to appreciate your help. I hope you accept it.
Thanks,
Pl
Hi Phu Le,
Take a look at Ben Moore’s Hadley Red HC-65 for the siding in the gable of your house. It should go well with the brick and make the house look less chopped in half. Then you can keep the white trim everywhere and add shutters (black) to dress up the house. As for the porch, I like photo “Porch4” as it looks about the right size for your house. The others are a bit big. The main idea is to enlarge what you currently have — making more of a “portico” than a full porch. White pillars will look very nice!
You’ll want to paint your garage too.
Hope that helps. And thank you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
I have recently purchased this 1970’s (??style) home and I am stumped as to what to do to update and give better curb appeal to the exterior. The unattractive roof has to stay along with the almond colored vinyl window. I do plan to have a new garage door installed. I would love recommendations on paint colors, garage door style, shutters (yes or no) and if enclosing the front side yard to the front door is a good idea.
Thanks for your help. Photo attached in earlier e-mail.
Ginger
Hi Ginger,
I do like the dark taupe siding color but I would continue it all the way up the front of the house. The current two-toned look just chops the house in half. Then I suggest using the almond window color for a trim color around the garage door and anywhere else there’s trim. The new garage door might include windows along the top to lighten the overall look from the curb. Right now, there’s only one window on the front of the house. The garage door can stay siding color to enlarge the house.
I would not enclose the side yard (unless there’s a privacy or safety issue) but I would add landscaping in the front that will lead visitors along the sidewalk and around the house to the main entrance. Pots and maybe even lighting along the sidewalk will make a big difference.
I don’t mind the roof at all. It does look good with the taupe color. No need to replace on my account…
Hope I’ve helped. Good luck with your project!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your reply. I do not know the color of paint currently on the house and have not had luck trying to match; either too pink or peachy…..can you recommend an exact color and style for garage door? I like the carriage doors and have also considered a flush door with windows (more contemporary) but not sure what style would suit the house. Also, what is your opinion on shutters (if so, color?) eventhough I would have to cut into the siding.
Thanks,
Ginger
Hi Ginger,
Here’s a link to a garage door option. Take a look at Pismo Dunes AC-32 (Ben Moore) or Mesa Verde Tan AC-33 for your house color. Since you only have one window on the front of the house, I don’t think a set of shutters will make much impact. I would skip them.
http://www.clopaydoor.com/printvis.aspx?savetovis=1&d1=Size:9'7‘;Type:Grand%20Harbor;Model:Design11;Windows:Faux-Square;Hardware:Strap%20Hinge,%20Spade%20Lift%20Handle,%20Spade%20Step%20Plate;Color:Sandtone&doorimage=49400b7a6de044eca79c800c28f39276.jpg&fromdealer=no
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Ginger,
I just put the link to the photo on the blog. Scroll down and find your original reply and mine should be with it. If you can’t find it, I’ll attach it here.
-Barbara Your Home & Color Coach
> New comment on your post “…House Color” > Author : Ginger (IP: 68.231.194.89 , ip68-231-194-89.oc.oc.cox.net) > E-mail : gazar@cox.net > URL : > Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=68.231.194.89
Hi, Barbara,
Sent pictures via e-mail and made a paypal payment.
We have a “Cedar” roof and are trying to pick siding and trim other than the usual cream and yellows.
We would like a light siding and dark trim.
Would a light green siding and dark green trim work? We concerned it may not.
Your help is appreciated.
Hi Linda & Mike,
Green is fine for the siding color, but the trouble with using a dark green for the trim is that your windows are bright white and they will really stick out if you do not have any other white on the house. White trim would blend your windows into the overall scheme and frame the house nicely. Perhaps not exactly what you wanted to hear.
How about a rich historic green, something like Kennebunkport Green HC-123 from Ben Moore? Any medium-toned green would work, even more of an olive.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks for the answer, Barbara
W are disagreeing over the green.
Do you have another suggestion? We would hate to give up and use the usual beige or cream.
Thanks for your help
Hi Barbara,
We are painting our primary residence in Kansas. Three pictures are attached.
The brick is only on the front, except for a chimney on the back.
Not sure what other information would be helpful.
Photo link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxyd/?savedsettings=4735973320#photo4735973320
Thank you!
Jackson
jaxd1234@aol.com
Hi Jackson,
Thanks for sending the photos. Perfect!
I suggest a color like Ben Moore’s Texas Leather (AC-3) for your siding. It would look spectacular with your beautiful brick. Then use the current tan siding color, which nicely matches your grout, for the trim color. The garage doors can be the Texas Leather too with the tan trim around the doors.
There’s also Alexandria Beige (HC-77) which is a little lighter but would also pick up the variegation in your brick.
See what you think. And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I’m getting ready to paint the exterior of my beach house – this is a vacation rental that I market on the internet so it needs to convey the idea of the renter’s dream beach vacation. The house was a bright pink when I bought it and really cute but has faded to a hot dull pale pink (almost white) with white trim. I don’t see a way to attached photos but I will email them to you – you can also see photos on the website above. The house is called Periwinkle Cottage and I’m considering a periwinkle blue with white trim and possibly some other accent color, or possibly a rich earthy tan with white trim. The cottage has few interesting details – there are 2 sets of French doors in front and the beach side has old-fashioned metal awnings which I would like to repaint or change out to the wooden Bermuda awnings. The large house next to the cottage is a light tan and house on the other side is large, yellow, and white. I’m not sure I should paint the cottage an intense color and make it stand out sharply against the neighboring houses as all three may not look great together. The roof of my cottage is a light gray – almost white. The interior of the cottage is done in blue, yellow and white. The patio bricks in front are a pink color. I want to do another seating area in back and need recommendations on color of stone pavers for that also. Overall the place looks hot and tired. Can you help? Thanks!
Tharon
Hi Tharon,
How about a soothing violet blue like Sherwin Williams’ Solitude SW 6535? With white trim, it would certainly fit the name of your little cottage! If that’s too purple, try Notable Hue SW 6521, more of a medium denim. The cooler tones on the cottage should make it look less “hot.”
I thought of a light lemon like the living room color but your neighbor has that tone so I jumped to blue. But the light yellow would also work (not as cool-looking though…).
See what you think.
And thank you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We live in a 50’s ranch home with the old asbestos siding which gives it a certain old fashioned look that we love. However, we are updating the property and want the look to be pulled together. We are also installing new landscaping.
You should also know that we are living in a wooded suburban area, so our neighborhood has lots of natural trees and shrubs-very green. So we are seeking a paint scheme reminiscent of the past in some ways when many people has this siding and more up to date in others (retro and yet modern). Also, the north side of our house tends to grow greenish mold/moss? which would be quickly visible on a white or beige color scheme.
Our givens-we have a tan asphalt shingle roof and all our windows are wrapped in white vinyl.
Here are our questions:
What color would you paint the siding to coordinate with those two existing colors?
We also want to put stone facing in two areas and will be constructing a paver walkway to the drive. We would like suggestions for stone facing and sidewalk paver colors.
Two last questions-what colors do you recommend in the garden plantings and if we install canvas awnings, what color should those be? Thanks Jane and Bob
We’ll send picture via email
Hi Jane and Bob,
Since your roof is quite prominent on the house, my suggestion is to blend the house color with the roof. The result will be that the house will look taller — not quite as long and flat as it does now with the tan roof/white siding sharp contrast. Have a look at Ben Moore’s Maryville Brown HC-75. It’s a rich medium brown tone that should coordinate with the orangier tan of the roof. Davenpport Tan HC-76 is not as gold — that will work too. Then the white trim will provide the contrast and the separation between the roof and siding colors.
As for stone, I would get a mix of tans/rusts/grays for the stone on the house. The grays will tie in the white windows and trim and cool the house down a bit. Grays should work well for the driveway/walkway pavers.
As for landscaping, the burning bushes are pretty but they’re a bit overpowering. I would thin them out to a large bush on either side of the porch and then put in a variety of other species, including white (azaleas or white perennials) again to contrast with the rich autumn house colors. Warm pinks and purples will also work with white during the summer but not overlapping the burning bush in the fall. Stick with dark purple and reds for autumn.
The only color you don’t need more of is orange since the roof provides a big dose of that. Creams/whites with accents of purple/pink/lime green (hosta) in the summer and reds/rusts/purple in the fall should do it. Just provide a variety and you’ll update the landscaping instantly. We’ve gotten away from the massive hedge look in favor of more of an English garden look with variety.
For the awnings, I suggest keeping them fairly neutral (or neutral stripe) to avoid overpowering the house.
Hope that helps. And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I’m so overwhelmed! We’re replacing the siding on our house, but not the roof, gutters, fascia, or soffit, so I’m trying to figure out what color siding and trim, as well as garage door and shutters, will go best with the existing reddish brown. I know you recommend paint colors, but if I can’t match your recommended paint shade to an existing siding shade, I can order a custom color.
My favorites siding colors are the dark, rich colors, but my primary concern is that the house looks nice overall. Perhaps I should be go with a light or neutral color for the siding and then paint the garage door and shutters a darker color? But right now, the garage door seems like the most prominent (and least lovely) feature. I’m really lost here! Especially since none of the siding colors seems to have the right tone to match the roof.
Here are pictures of the house as is as well as some of the color options with the siding: http://picasaweb.google.com/catedean/NewSidingChoices?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6m8qjvgdX2Rw&feat=directlink
The manufacturer has the siding colors here: http://www.mastic.com/products/Siding/Carvedwood%E2%80%A244%E2%84%A2.aspx (Click See Available Colors for Double 4″ Woodgrain, Double 5″ Woodgrain, or Triple 3″ Smooth.)
– The roof, fascia, soffit, and gutters will remain brown.
– The downspouts for the gutters are currently brown but are being replaced so they can be changed to match the new siding or be another color.
– The windows frames will remain white but the window trim, which is currently white, can be changed.
1 What color siding would you recommend?
2 Should the cornerposts, trim around the garage door, and downspouts for the gutters match or contrast the siding?
3 Should the shutters, garage door, and front door match each other? Any color suggestions? Should the garage door be more neutral and the shutter color more prominent?
Thanks so much!
Caitlin
Hi Caitlin,
Well, I narrowed the siding colors down to two: Rugged Canyon and Pebblestone Clay. They’re hard to distinguish on-screen, but either should complement the roof. The Montanna Suede was a little dark, and I thought the other green/blue/gray tones accented the roof color too much. This way the roof and siding will blend and not call attention to the roof. Then use the same siding color for the house cornerposts, but I suggest white around the garage door. For the door itself you can pick a paint color a shade darker, lighter, or even the same as the house color. Again, we’re not trying to call attention to the garage door. The downspouts should match the siding.
White window trim is fine. I suggest black for the shutters and maybe even the door to go with the black lighting. That will also neutralize the warm colors on the rest of the house. You can pick up the red roof colors with your plantings, but I probably would not introduce a different door color on your home as there’s a lot of color already. The black will dress up the entryway.
See what you think. And thank you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Wow, thanks so much, Barbara!
I am shocked by the recommendation of black shutters and black front door with all the brown. I’ve been so focused on the roof color that I forgot about those black fixtures. Would it be better to replace them in a different color? If not, I’ll definitely try the black to dress it up as you suggested, as the entryway is really bland. Painting the door and shutters is easy; It’s the siding that I really don’t want to make the color mistake on!
On the siding, is it better to err on the side of dark (Rugged Canyon) or light (Pebblestone Clay)?
Thanks again!
Cait
Hi Caitlin,
I think black will be fine but if you feel like replacing the lighting, oil-rubbed bronze will work and so will nickel/pewter. If you do replace the lighting, write me back and we’ll rethink the shutter color.
As for the siding, it really boils down to which color looks best with the roof. If you can get a large sample to prop up next to the roof (much like you held the smaller ones), and stand back and take a look, you’ll be better able to visualize. Wish I were there to see the undertones, etc. But I tend to like the richer colors (myself) so if you asked me to pick one, I might go with the darker one. The roof will be less of a feature if it’s blended in with the house color more than it is currently. (Not that it’s bad — but it does stand out as the feature you see first when you look at the house — with a darker house color, that won’t happen.)
One final note: make sure you check with the dealer about fading. That might influence you one way or the other.
Hope that helps a little more.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I contacted you in April about this house. I have removed all of the black wrought iron. Put in a curved walkway with sedona pavers (gray and terra cotta) and the table mesa brown rock edging. The pavers pick up the color of the tile roof and the Briarwood taupe that I painted the garage doors. I also repainted the front door red. I put in small palms on either side of the archway. As you see, I have not painted the trim on the house yet. Also, note that the windows are the dark brown aluminum.
The trim is still the light peachy color. To me, things still look blah. You suggested the Briarwood for the trim. Do you still think that is good? Would love to get your ideas now that some changes have taken place. I will send pictures to your yahoo email. Thanks.
Hi Pat,
I love the curved front walkway to your arched entry! And I think the Briarwood garage doors blend nicely. Now, as you say, we need some pop. I really like what I see around the front door. It looks like white and it really makes the brick look creamy and the tile roof look great! So instead of staying earth-neutral with the rest of the trim, how about white? I think that will create the contrast that’s needed now that the ironwork is gone.
Other suggestions: Two giant pots, one on either side of the small palms, with color and greenery would really draw the eye to the arched entry. The small palms are fine where they are, but another 3 feet of color/greenery on either side of them would frame out that doorway more dramatically. If not pots (and they would need to be big!), then a flowering shrub on either side with a variety of other plantings.
Now that you have the walkway, you can begin to fill in on either side with additional color and greenery. You also might consider something tall in your front yard (I know palms are expensive but one would look terrific on the street side of the walkway). It’s quite an expanse of grass at the moment. One final suggestion is to replace the lighting with larger fixtures in oil-rubbed bronze (without the yellow clear glass this time). Larger lights again will help to frame out that entryway and make it look more dramatic.
I hope that helps. See what you think. We’re moving away from Mexican style and moving a little more toward Mediterranean — okay with you? I think it works!
And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Please explain to me how to attach a picture to my question
Hi Bill,
You can put a link to a photo album in this reply box or attach a photo to an email and send to bmeglis@yahoo.com. My color coach email gets bogged down so the yahoo account is a sure thing.
Thank you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara, I e-mailed you a lengthy, confusing cry for help concerning the exterior of my house. I have reached the Point of No Return (29 stain colors and counting!) and desperately need your expert advice. Pictures are also attached.
Thanks so much for your help,
Amy
Hi Amy,
Actually I do love the color of your house (very similar to my own) but I understand how you can get tired of it after awhile.
How about picking up some of the more sophisticated grayer tones in your stone? Take a look at Ben Moore’s Shenandoah Taupe AC-36, a medium taupe that would look terrific with both the stone and the cream trim, and Equestrian Gray 1553, a greener taupe that might give a little more contrast with your windows. Hard to tell exactly on the screen.
Either way, I suggest moving toward the cooler tones for your home. They will accent the wonderful cream trim as well as the warmer tones in the stonework and make the house look freshly updated and new.
Hope that gets you started.
Again, so sorry for the long delay. Jet lag…
And thanks for visiting my website. Good luck with your project.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I have a brick house and am trying to decide on a new front door color. We have already decided on the type of door (link included) but have to decide on a stain. On the recommendation of the painter/door company we are choosing a Minwax Gel Stain. We are trying to decide between 1)Mahogany, 2)Red Elm, 3) Brazilian Rosewood, and 4)Chestnut. We want a darker color but not too dark or too red. We also will be putting new shutters on (link below). The door is fiberglass (Thermatru) but the goal is to make it look as much like a wood door as possible.
Thanks Frank
Gel Colors
http://www.minwax.com/products/stains/gel_stain.html#Colors
House:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kT07z4nR7rN-rv_djqeXlA?feat=directlink
Old Door: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QfpV_e0R95QnInJLw3svVQ?feat=directlink
New Door (for style)
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JuL5MGmD_7n83uqfqt8a8g?feat=directlink
New Shutters
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1TjfMb7Dcz6oMCClSPGdIA?feat=directlink
Hi Frank,
The one I can eliminate right away is the Chestnut — I think it will be too orange for your brick. The Rosewood tends to be quite intense — very burgundy — but would probably work. The Red Elm looks like a sure thing, and everyone seems to love the Mahogany stain because it just looks rich!
So I’m not sure I’ve helped. What I suggest is that you at least take scrap wood (I know it’s not the same as your fiberglass door, but it will give you an idea of what the stain can look like) and do a sample of the three I mentioned. Or maybe you can narrow it down to two based on my description. Then put the sample up agains the brick, not against the green door because that color is going away. It’s the brick you need to be concerned about and the trim color will be fine too. Prop the sample against the brick and then walk to the street and look back. Even though it’s a small sample, you’ll be able to tell instantly which color you prefer with your brick.
Although the color on the fiberglass will be different because of the base material, the overall color that comes through will be the same. It’s a good test and you’ll save the time and trouble of staining the whole door and not liking it!
Hope that seems reasonable.
And again, sorry for the long delay!
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I wanted to your professional opinion regarding house color. Our house is a lovely mustard color (yuck) that I absolutely despise. We live in San Diego, CA and wanted to bring light to the house. I wanted to paint the stucco a beige/creamy color, the part that confuses me is that we have stucco, wood and brick. The garage doors are beige, we aren’t opposed to painting them but if we could get away with it I would love to use brown tones and no greens or blues, that seems everyone suggests to go with beigey color.
Also if you could recommend a color for the cement pillars and the cinderblock wall around and the cement around the pool area.
Hi Kelly,
Yes, your current house is hot — especially for San Diego! I like your idea of cooling it down with a nice neutral siding color (same for both stucco and wood) to counterbalance the warmth of the brick and the back pool tile area.
Have a look at Ben Moore’s Antique Parchment 959 as a possibility — it’s a creamy tan without being too yellow (Ocean Beach also works). And I would definitely use dark brown as your trim color, again to cool the brick down. (Greens and blues will only make the brick look warmer so no need to worry about going in that direction.)
Another idea is to REALLY cool the house down with a gray-tan like Ashen Tan 996. No yellow in that color at all but the only possibility is that it might take on the pink tones in your brick (taupes tend to do that) and you might not like that. But it’s worth a try as it’s quite a sophisticated color and would contrast nicely with your warm tones. White trim would be best for that color but you could still use the dark bronze for your ironwork. There’s enough brown in the brick for that to work.
Either way (cream/brown or gray-tan/white), your house will be transformed with the paint job. You will be shocked and pleased at the end result.
As for your pool area, I strongly suggest a neutral tan/gray (either one) for the hardscape around the pool to contrast with the reds/oranges of the beautiful tile.
Providing some cool contrast to your brick and tile will make your house a real knock-out! Good luck with the project!
Thanks for visiting my blog — and again, so sorry you had to wait so long for a response.
All the best,
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi
Glad to have found you. I’m going for the ugliest house in the neighborhood. It’s orange!! ok, peach with a yellow cream trim. Please pick us colors. We’ve already paid a stager and they came up with battleship gray.
I have commented under each picture at ladesign.shutterfly.com . I did not mean to make a website but, oh well, whatever works.
My favorite is the first picture of Paris you have on your site. Something I’ve always wanted. And I saw a garage door with a stain over the paint with the pretend iron hinges.
We have been debating on painting the brick since it’s only prominent on one wall but the vast majority of the neighborhood is brick. We are in Georgia with mostly traditional houses.
Ours is the only one with so much siding on the front unless it’s a total siding house. We’ve even considered cedar instead of siding but can’t find any examples. We’re lost.
Got a painter picked out and he wants to use Porter Paints. ?? would like a comment on that paint company and sheen too for each color.
House: red/orange mixed brick with brown and dark gray, yellowish cream trim/windows/garage, aluminum storm windows, natural wood front door, covered by the ugly brown storm door.
The sad note, we want to sell the house but want to be happy and proud of it while we’re here.
Payment was from Ray Young but please use my email.
can’t wait to make this beautiful
Lee Ann
Hi Lee Ann,
I too love the subtleties of the soft creams, but I think with your brick and the prominent blue-gray roof, the creams might get overpowered. See what you think of this idea: Consider Lenox Tan (Ben Moore HC-44) for the siding color. It’s a neutral — certainly not as peachy as what you have currently. Then for the trim, you could use almost any cream but Sail Cloth (Ext) works well. Not too yellow.
The shutters are the real challenge. You can certainly go with black, but the roof is very blue. We can either play off of that with dark blue-gray shutters (Abyss 2128-20) for a blended look or use an additional accent color like Caponata (AF-650), a dark eggplant that would look spectacular with your brick as well as the front door brown and the siding. Something a little different from your neighbors, perhaps.
See what you think.
And thank you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
My husband and I have been searching for the right color to paint our house. It is a traditional style colonial home. Last year, we replaced our old cedar roof with an architectual roof in the brown family to try to create the same cedar look without the maintanence.
After reading many of your comments, we realize that we have to paint our house brown, tan, green, yellow or red to coordinate with the new roof. The house is currently a light taupe which doesn’t really pop-out. The trim work is currently painted white to match the window encasements/grids. The door is currently a deep red. The old fasioned shutters are black.
We are not committed to anything but the new brown roof and the white trim due to the existing windows. Since it is a tradtional flat front home, the color scheme needs to be pulled together and be distinct. What color scheme would your recommend? Is red too much on this size house? Are there any helpful websites which you would also recommend that may give visuals for the color scheme?
Please advise us if you wish us to forward to you a picture of our house. If so, please notify us of the proper email address for the possible photograph.
We would appreciate any direction which you can offer to us. Thank you!
Hi Marissa,
I would love to see a photo of your house with the new brown roof. You can forward a photo to me at bmeglis@yahoo.com and I’ll get right back to you with some color palette options.
Thanks for posting!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Marissa,
Take a look at Jackson Tan HC-46 (Ben Moore) — a rich cocoa that should coordinate beautifully with your roof and really pop off the white trim. For greens, look at Wethersfield Moss HC-10 — an earthy medium olivey green that again should work well with the new roof color. Both of those colors also should work with the rustic siding texture that you have. We’ll want to blend a little with the roof and not stand out too much.
The black shutters are classic, but if you’re planning to replace them in the near future, a narrow version would be preferable so the shutters do not touch. Black is still good for a true New England look.
See what you think of those colors. And thank you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello, my name is Sandra and I live in Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. We purchased a house about 11years ago and had to do a lot of renos to it inside. It is about 55 years old (the same age as me, haha). It has many beautiful warm features about it with big windows and the layout is welcoming and flows from one room to another nicely.
Unfortunately, last winter we had a severe storm on New Years Day. Part of our roof blue off (lost hundreds of shingles, right down to the bear boards) along with a lot of water damge to our living room and upstairs guest room.
We recently had the roof patched up until we decide what colour we want.
Our house’s siding is a very faded blue/gray in colour. The siding colour has lightened alot of the past 10 years (it was not a colour we would have chose, but it was almost new on the house when we bought it).
I would love to put a deep red roof on it because we have red brick fireplace. It currently has white shutters and a WHITE steel front door (with sidelights and oval middle cut class/with brass handles, etc.) I would also love to change the front door colour (perhaps to match the deep red roof?) How would that look with the light blue/gray siding and white shutters?
Thank you for your help in this matter.
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for sending the photos — they helped a lot. Your house truly is on the gray side of blue and although I understand how you’d like to coordinate the roof color with your red brick chimney, I’m afraid the red roof might overpower your more delicate blue-gray palette on the house. Red is a very dominant color and red roofs really make a huge statement. They are best paired with completely neutral, creamy siding colors so the roof is allowed to take center stage. That’s not to say you cannot use brick red as an accent color and I love the idea of painting the front door a brick color like Ben Moore’s Boston Brick 2092-30 or even the redder Maple Leaf Red 2084-20. Either of those colors would look terrific on your blue-gray house.
As for roof alternatives, take a look at Pewter Gray from GAF Timberline Natural Shadow Shingles. I think it would look smashing with your house color and would make the house look bigger too. Also, keeping the roof in the same color family as the house color will allow you to take full advantage of your accent color (brick red) without overpowering the overall look of the house. You can have brick red doors, lawn furniture, flowers without becoming chained to a brick red roof for the next 20 years.
The foundation color is fine with your house. No need to change.
Special note: If you do go with a brick red door, you’ll want to change out the pink annuals for white/orange/yellow/purple/red next summer. That’s a pretty easy fix.
Hope that helps you with your roof color decisions. And thank you again for your nice note.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We are looking for paint colors for our split level home. The brick has a lot of orange tones in it and I’m not sure how to match the siding color. I’ve been looking at taupe or a tan with olive tone but need some guidance. Thank you and I look forward to your advice.
Hi Joni,
Have you looked at blending the brick and siding to make the house look bigger? Check out Ben Moore’s Tuscany 1208, Nugget AC-9 and Butte Rock AC-8 and and see if one of those is a good fit with the terra cotta tones in your brick. Then you could pull in the roof by using Kendall Charcoal HC-166 for the shutters and front door. Add some cream and dark purple to your landscaping (white hydrangeas in front would be luscious with dark purple pansies for your annuals).
See what you think. And thank you for posting!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara, thanks so much for your suggestions. I tried out the 3 siding colors and liked Butte Rock the best. I am less sure about the Kendall Charcoal for the shutters – it looks like it has green in it? But I’m no decorator! I like a dark grey or black for the shutters but is there another darker grey that might look good? Tell me what you think, or if you think Kendall charcoal would be the best choice. thanks so much for your help, it’s great. Joni
Hi Joni,
Glad you liked the Butte Rock — it looks great with your brick. Yes, the Kendall Charcoal has green undertones so have a look at Raccoon Fur 2126-20. That one looks like a deep charcoal gray — should go with your roof as well as the brick and dress up the house nicely. Any charcoal (just on the gray side of black — black is too harsh for your delicate roof color) should work.
Thanks for letting me know that you reposted. I scroll through but do not get notices. Thank you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara, I posted last August about house paint color, and love your suggestions for Butte Rock and Kendall Charcoal for the shutters. We are just starting to paint and I’m excited to get the new colors up. I wanted to ask about the front door – with my house, is it best to stick with the same color as the shutters, or is there another color I could choose that would be a good complement? What about a color like Onondaga Clay? Also, I can resend the photo of the house if it no longer shows up on your blog. thanks so much for your help, it’s been great.
Hi!
I’m having my house painted and need some professional help! We have chosen BM Gloucester Sage for the body, as I wanted a deep, rich color for my old weather home. I’m having second thoughts, however, it’s too late to change my mind, so I’m just going to run with it. Maybe I’m just adjusting to going from red to this gray/brown/green that we have chosen.
I’m looking for advice on trim color that would liven things up a bit. We’re looking at BM Monterey White for trim, as it has some yellow tones that I thought might make things brighter, but I’m not sure if that’s the way to go.
I may add shutters, and don’t know if the shutters should coordinate with the trim, or if I should use that opportunity to bring in some color? I’m leaning towards a barely off white foundation.
We will be painting the front porch, should that be the trim color? And what about the house wall within the porch? I’m thinking something lighter then the body of the house, but what? And the porch and basement door! Help!
Hope you can help soon, as the painters will be getting to work as soon as is safe to (it’s raining right now).
I will attempt to post a picture, hope it works! If not, maybe I can email it?
Thank you ever so much!
Amy
Hi Amy,
Yes, I would love to see a photo if you can email it to me at bmeglis@yahoo.com. I couldn’t get into your photobucket account. Sorry about that.
You’re right, there is that initial shock of changing the color from a hot red to a cool gray-green, but don’t panic. I’m sure it will be fine as soon as the whole house is painted. I do like the idea of warming up the trim color, but have a look at Bone White with your Gloucester Sage. The Bone White is a very soft neutral and not as yellow so the overall look is well coordinated with less sharp contrast.
Although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend painting the inside wall of the porch a different color — I’ll take a look at your photo — if you feel the sage is just way too dark, move to Clarksville Gray HC-102 for the porch wall. Yes, the porch trim should be the trim color.
You didn’t mention your window color, but I assume they’re white? The bone will be fine around the windows.
As for doors, wait until the whole house is painted, then decide on the door color. You might want to go with a Georgian Brick HC-50 — that would be really nice! — or something like Shelburne Buff HC-28.
See if that gets you started. And thank you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara, I have emailed a house photo. It’s not a very large photo, but hopefully it will give you an idea of what I’m working with. Any further tweeks on your color suggestions for porch wall, trim, shutters (and recommendations of where to put shutters if at all) would be terrific! I forgot that I should consider the color of the retaining wall!
PS I really like the Georgian Brick suggestion!
Thanks again,
Amy
Hi,
I am looking for a color for my 1930’s colonial…my roof is light grey. Right now the house is a blue grey with back shutters. I do not know the color grey….I am considering keeping the house grey/blue but am having a hard time picking the grey?
I did find a green house with white trim/black shutters that is louisburg green hc 113..but that house had a black roof??…would that color work with a light grey roof?
Thanks for any help you can provide
Hi Mary,
Just emailed you back with a couple of ideas. You can certainly stay with the blue-grey but I thought you might like a change. The taupes, Briarwood (Ext) and Berkshire Beige (AC-2), would work with your light gray roof but would add some warmth to the house. Either would also go with your stone wall in the front as well as the white trim and black accents. The Louisburg Green does look better with either a dark charcoal or brown roof, but take a look at Brewster Gray HC-162. It’s gray with a little bit of green– a very nice combo with your roof.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
I hope you received the donation.
I have a 50’s vintage natural cedar sided home. The cedar tone ranges from
orange to dark brown. The trim is a medium-dark, somewhat bright green.
Recently we replaced the garage doors. I had intended to paint the doors
green like before, but my wife really liked the stock white color of the
doors. I admit I like the color too. Further, the old door was a simple
panel and stile frame door, while the new door has a carriage house look. I
think changes are needed to integrate this new look into the rest of the
house. I want to replace the front door but have realized that the style
and finish of the door I choose is dependent on resolving the color scheme
of the house. Your help it that regard would be greatly appreciated.
Some further background. The garage door is the most visible aspect of the
house from the street. The front door is not visible from the street,
obscured by a hedge and large tree. The door is visible from the driveway
which is where the gate entrance is located. The timber-frame style fence
and gate should also be considered in these choices. Our far northern
location means snow cover for six months out of the year with long hours of
darkness and twilight; therefore colors should take that into
consideration. The house seems to me a mix of rustic timber-frame and
English country cottage.
For trim, I had thought to paint the windows white and leave the trim
green. Other options might be to replace the brick mold with cedar trim for
a more rustic look. I’m not sure I like the idea of replacing the green
trim with white, but that is a possibility. The windows are sash style. We
have dividers and they look great, but are a maintenance hassle and break
the view, so we removed them.
For the front door, we are leaning towards a ¼ window style or retain the
current small peep hole stained glass eight panel colonial molded door
style. We like the craftsman style door with art deco window, but not sure
the style would work. The simple recessed panel style would probably go
with the exterior siding but may clash with our existing six panel colonial
molded interior doors and trim. Not sure if art deco stained glass works
with the divider windows on the garage.
Another option is to go with ¼ window style and three panel colonial (goes
with interior) with either art deco glass or six pane dividers. The six
pane dividers would tie in well with the garage door and move us more into
an English country cottage look, especially if we painted the windows and
door white… and put the accursed window dividers back up. However the glass
is transparent and we are not sure if we like the loss of privacy. Further
the white could be a little monotonous through our long winters.
A slightly interesting option is a rustic vertical panel door with no
window. It would accent the rustic look, be weather-efficient, and I think
go with the exterior, but would clash with the interior and not provide a
peep window or light.
The final option I know of is to stick with our current door style. It is
weather efficient, provides privacy and ability to see someone at the door,
lets a little light in and seems to go with anything. However it is a
little boring and makes no real statement about the house.
The door color choices I know of are white, green, or stained wood. My
artist friend suggested a red orange color in which my wife and I both like
the idea of.
We are open to ideas and would appreciate some suggestions to help us make
some decisions. I can send photos if helpful.
Thanks
Hi Dennis,
I know exactly what kind of garage door you have, but I would love to see a photo of your house. If you could drop a link into this reply box or attach a photo to an email and send to bmeglis@yahoo.com, I’ll be sure to take a look. I’m sure we can incorporate the white garage door into the overall scheme but would love to see a photo before giving you a suggestion.
Thanks, Dennis!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Love your website. I paid thru PayPal. Also submitted 2 photos of my house to your email address. We need help in selecting paint colors for our 1968 ranch style house. We have white vinyl windows and light gray roof. The previous owner painted the house a beige which has a lot of pink undertones. From reading your blog we liked the Nantucket gray/Elephant Tusk combo with Sedona clay door. Don’t know if that would work for this house though. White, light blue, grey, or yellow are all pleasing colors but we just can’t out it all together! Thank you for any ideas you can provide us!!
Gerry
Hi Gerry,
With your gray roof, the Nantucket Gray will work, but frankly I’d rather see you use a gray like Coventry Gray HC-169 which will look spectacular with your roof and white trim. White Heron OC-57 would be nice for the trim as long as it goes okay with your white vinyl windows. Then how about a sunny yellow like York Harbor Yellow 2154-40 for the front door and accents? A fabulous combination!!
Hope that helps get you started.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We have a brick house with a white front door and white garage door. I have e-mailed pictures and made a donation. I would like to paint the front door and garage door, leaving the white trim. The roof is Barkwood (dark brown), and the bricks multi-colored. I am attaching a picture of the house and a close-up of the bricks. I am open to painting the front door and garage door a different color. I am thinking maybe a burgandy for the front door and a lighter color for the garage door, but am not sure.
Andy
Hi Andy,
One option would be to use Yosemite Sand AC-4 for your garage door, picking up on the sandy tones in your brick, and then a richer version, New Chestnut AC-6, for your front door. It ties in with the roof color but adds a little more body to that entry area. I like the white trim.
Another idea is to go a little less conventional/predictable and pick a light warm gray for your garage door (Revere Pewter HC-172)– that color cools the house down while picking up on the grout color. Then you could still use a warm brown for the front door, the same light gray, or a cool taupey brown like Berkshire Beige AC-2 (a little more sophisticated palette, perhaps).
Since your brick is so orange and I don’t see any burgundy in it (could be my screen), I would not use a burgundy or dark purple for your front door. But if there is burgundy in the brick, try Townsend Harbor Brown HC-64 for your door color. It’s a nice rich shade that usually goes quite well with multi-colored brick.
See what you think. And thanks again.
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Babarba,
I just paid the donation and have a question for you regarding my house. I have had trouble selling the house and feel it’s due to curb appeal. I had the house painted a “chocolate” brown as it had been in the past and the painters walked away and never did any of the trim. I am left then with the house painted brown but with no trim. I need ideas on trim choices as well of anything else you might think of that will help me to grab a buyers attention. I have beautiful flower gardens and a gold fish pond off to one side of the house. This house sits at the top of the hill as you drive into our subdivision and has ~ 1 acre of lawn as you come up the hill. 1/2 mine and 1/2 neighbors who plan on leaving it lawn. I am comfortable in re inventing the deck on the front or the back of the house. I just don’t have any more thoughts. I live 45 minutes from my work place and am going back to school for my DNP otherwise I wouldn’t even think of selling the house. Thanks so much in advance for your wonderful help. please forward me an email as to where you would like the pics sent.
Hi Carol,
Right now you have a massive expanse of dark brown and the blue door is a little too cool as well. I think the brown is overwhelming the house and the buyers. Have a look at these colors as possible trim colors for your house. Trimming out the house in one of these dark but warm colors will add back the architectural detail to your house (it will also blend better with the colonials around you) and will make the house more inviting from the road.
Georgian Brick (Ben Moore HC-50)
Copper Mountain (AC-12)
A third color is a possibility for accent although it provides a lot more contrast than the other two so you might not want it for all the trim: Springfield Tan AC-5
Test them out first — you’ll see a huge difference in the house with another color added. Use the brick foundation as your palette to test out the colors. Must go with that.
Another suggestion is to add more landscaping. The house looks a bit bare with the small plantings in front of the wall and deck. Several taller shrubs will break up the wall of brown and add interest. I know it’s late in the season but those gorgeous white/cream hydrangeas would be really nice in front of your house. Creams will provide the biggest dramatic impact because of the contrast. Also some lime green hostas (if you have any shade??) would be a great contrasting color. Especially with the white/cream shrubs. Then plant some evergreens that will keep their color all year.
Adding a warm color to your house palette and a few well-placed plantings especially along that front wall will help the curb appeal.
I didn’t notice a walkway to the front door. That might be a bit “off-putting” as well. Flagstones or even a pea-gravel walkway will at least show prospective buyers where the front door is. Plantings, of course, on either side will help lead the way.
And that’s it. The house looks like it’s in excellent condition and it shouldn’t be a hard sell at all. Just some cosmetic additions and you’re good to go!
Hope that helps. And thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
My wife and I are looking for some exterior color advice for a 1900 Victorian farmhouse (Queen Anne inspired) we are restoring here in New England. We’ve been challenged by choosing colors that would ‘work’ best with those that we really like.
As you can see from the pictures, the lower front section is covered with slate (which used to be on the roof?) and the roof is now a dark gray shingle (it has light grey and brown flecks up close). I’m not fond of the slate on the front, but due to the number of projects we have going on, it is going to stay for now. In addition, the original clapboard on the lower sections of the house have been covered by cedar shingles, which removes a lot of trim work that should be there for color accents (and to visually ‘break’ it up).
We are hoping to find a color scheme that remains true to the historical properties of the house/region, one that will tie everything together, and, of course, one we really like!
*All early signs have pointed to gray/blue, but my wife is hoping there are other options!
http://s983.photobucket.com/albums/ae320/hollo93/
We look forward to your comments!
Regards,
Brian and Jessica Holloway
Hi Brian and Jessica,
I noticed that your neighbors one one side have a green house and the ones on the other side have a gray house. So, with that in mind, I’ve taken a look at the slate on the front of your house, the brick steps, and the roof. And in true Victorian fashion, I’ve come up with a couple of different color palettes that include about five colors each. I know some of your detail has been removed, but I still see corbels and other architectural embellishments along the roof line and on your front porch. Plus you have the carriage house as well with different siding materials there. I’m not sure if you want to paint your windows since some of them look new (along the sunporch?) but that may also be an option for adding color.
You’re right, blue is a great color with your blue-green slate but I would go darker and richer with Ben Moore’s Philipsburg Blue HC-159. Then for your possible accent colors, how about brick (Georgian Brick HC-50 or Audubon Russet HC-51), Bone White (in place of your current white), Springfield Tan (AC-5 or Yosemite Sand AC-4), and the current slate-like color on the porch bannister.
Another palette might include a rich camel/tan for the body (Butte Rock AC-8) and a slate green (Duxbury Gray) for trim as well as Georgian Brick and even the eggplant Caponata (AF-650) for accent colors. With this combo, you could leave windows white.
Distributing the color around the house and carriage house, varying the color with each change in materials will create a very interesting and historic-looking house.
See what you think. The color combos are endless, of course, but use what’s there and not going anywhere (your roof, slate, brick and grout) as the foundation for your color scheme. As long as the colors in your palette are either in those materials or complement/accent them (the blue/white), then the palette will work.
Hope that helps. And thank you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Help!! I have a few days to decide on our exterior colors. We have a 1978 two-story “colonial”. The front bottom half is brick, and the rest is siding. We’re getting new white vinyl windows, gutters, soffits, garage door, and we’re trying to pick siding, shutters, and roof colors to match. Our roof choices are from the IKO, Cambridge selection, and our siding choices are from the Mastic/Quest3 series. We live in Downingtown, Chester county. Our property is shaded, and the front of our house faces South/Southeast.
The shutter and door colors I like are deep, brick red or a “Hazelwood” green (not hunter green or olive green, but a grey-undertoned green). Our neighbors on both sides have black shutters, which look great, but I’d like to be different. I’ve been trying to match the siding to the brick and mortar, as well as deciding what shutters would look great. Sometimes it’s a matter of blending the shutters with the siding (like “pebblestone clay” with darker shutters) or making the shutters “pop” (like “Desert Sand” or “Sandtone” with darker shutters) The “Wicker” siding looks good with the brick, but it has a green undertone, and I don’t know if I could also go with the green shutters with that. Ahhh! I’m open to any suggestions. I took pictures, and I’m trying to figure out how to send them. Thank you so very much for having this site, and for helping me.
Stacey
Hi Stacey,
I like Wicker siding with your brick — the green undertones really bring out the depth in your brick colors. For your roofing choices, frankly I like the dark charcoal of the dual black. The other choices, browns/grays/weathered wood are not just right with your brick colors — at least on my screen. You can’t really go wrong with a dark charcoal — there’s a nice contrast between that and the siding and trim. Having said that, if the weathered wood works with your brick, I do like the medium tones for making a house look updated. But if you go with a medium tone like weathered wood, you’d need to lighten the siding color to maintain a contrast. White trim will work for either color scheme.
As for the shutters, I would wait until the roof is on and the siding is on before deciding about the door and shutters. I do like the dark brick red as long as it goes with your brick. If you paint, Boston Brick (Ben Moore) might work. For vinyl, be sure to check the reds against your brick. And remember there are lots of shutters so you would have to love the red. Any color in your brick (the darker gray-green shades) should be fine. I’m not sure if any of the vinyl colors work. I would opt for paint so you can be sure of a good match.
Hope this helps. Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I sent my pictures to your email. Thank you.
stacey
Me again…just to clarify, we’re getting everything new. The brick is the only thing staying, so I can work with any color combinations.
Hi Barbara,
I am so glad I found your website because I need your help. We are trying to pick a color to paint the outside of our house. We are in the process of getting all of our windows replaced with white vinyl windows. You will see in the picture(I will email to your address above) that all of them are done except the front box window. That will be completed later this week. Our roof is rustic cedar in color. We have a small amount of brick on either side of our front door. Looking forward to your suggestions.
Thanks, Janine
Hi Janine,
With your rustic cedar roof, how about Yosemite Sand AC-4 for the body with the unexpected Chambourd AF-645 (an eggplant color) for shutters. White dove will work for trim since you have white windows. You could use the same Chambourd for the doors.
See what you think of that color combination.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Those colors are which brand of paint? I would love to take a look but don’t know where to go to get samples
-Janine
Hi Janine,
Both colors are Benjamin Moore, the AF is the Affinity Collection, and the AC is the America’s Colors Collection. They should have both at a Ben Moore store or even online.
Hope that clarifies.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I like the idea of a tan for the siding and the white trim. I bought a quart of the Yosemite tan and it seems too pink toned for me when I put a larger sample out on the house. We have looked at Crewel Tan (more green in that one) Any other ideas for tans? I will send another picture to you.
Hi Janine,
If the Yesemite Sand has too much of a pink tone, try either Manchester Tan HC-81 or Monroe Bisque HC-26. The Manchester has a little more gray in it — no pink — so it will contrast with your roof. The Bisque has a touch more yellow in it — still tan. One of those will work perfectly. Thanks for checking back in!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We are doing a new roof first and new exterior paint.We like SW 6187 rosemary or SW 6208 pewter green.What color roof would you suggest? I was thinking a grey.We will be doing a white trim for windows. We need a new front door and garage door also.We live in California and our house has very clean lines we would like to do a teak or natural stained fence also.I would love your thoughts.
Donna
Hi Donna,
Check out Certainteed’s Driftwood for your roof color. Weathered wood might also work especially if you’re using a teak fence. Both of these colors have a touch of brown in them. For, gray there’s Georgetown Gray. It will work but it’s a little cool for the gray-green house color. I do like the idea of using teak for your wood color — it will warm up the house.
See what you think of those choices.
And thank you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Donna,
Can you get Mountain Timber in your area? I plugged in your zip code and it did pop up. That might work just as well as Driftwood. Check it out…
Weathered Wood will definitely go too.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Certainteed no longer has a driftwood,is there a similar color to it that Certainteed has?We do like the Weathered wood.Thanks so much for your input.The roofer was here tonight and we were able to tell him the samples we were interested in.
Donna
Greetings Barbara,
We are writing to see if you have any suggestions for a roof and house color combination. We live in the south, so we would like a lighter roof and we are thinking a true light gray for the house color. We have white trim, and would like to keep that crispness. Our close neighbors have a light green house, another has a blue gray house. We are open for suggestions and would like a tried and true combination. Attempting to find a unique (not 100% bland) combination but one that has curb appeal since we plan to move in 7-8 years. We are picking from the GAF Timberline 30 year Architectural shingles. There is a tax deduction for white shingles but these may be too light for our taste. We are getting the roof done then will paint sometime after.
Thanks for your help.
Sincerely,
Robert & Reba
Hi Robert & Reba,
With a Fox Hollow Gray roof, you could go with a Stonington Gray HC-170 (Ben Moore) house color and maintain that crispness with the white trim. But have you considered a warm yellow with your light gray roof? Something like Hawthorne Yellow HC-4? With new nickel lighting/metal everywhere, the combo would be fresh yet traditional and would certainly appeal to buyers in the future. Also, a warm color between your two neighbors will definitely attract attention!
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I’ve been a long time lurker and am excited to finally be able to ask questions about the exterior of our reno.
We’ll be moving in soon and want to get rid of the jail-like look to the exterior. We’ve got a peach and tan color brick 60’s ranch. We’ve added a dormer and larger porch overhang to break up some of the flatness of the house.
We’re looking for help with the trim, garage doors, front door, siding, gutters, and down spout colors to tone down the brick. The house is very long, so the brick kind of overpowers everything. We thought of adding shudders and landscaping to compliment and contrast it, but are kind of out of our league here.
We installed a new dark roof. I wish I had saw the blog sooner now after reading posts where you suggest not to have multi color shingles on multi-color brick, because it can look too busy. I hope the pictures I emailed you don’t give you a migraine. 😦
Let me know if you’d like to see any other angles, or materials planned. Thanks so much for your help!
Hi Sheed and Bran,
First of all your roof is just fine. No problem with that investment at all. But, I think I know why you are struggling with curb appeal from the street. At least on my screen, the arrangement of bricks creates a zig-zag effect that is a touch dizzying and it has nothing at all to do with the roof. So, although you clearly stated that painting is not an option at this time (and I do understand it is a big commitment), I am very positive that you should paint at your earliest convenience. A wonderful Ashley Gray HC-87 with white trim would look spectacular with your roof. Or a Rockport Gray HC-105. Both have just a touch of green so there’s also the taupey Mt. Rushmore Rock AC-39 or Mesa Verde Tan (AC-33). Either of those would also work well with your roof. Blending a bit with the roof color will make your house look more grand and less horizontal.
Having said that, if you are truly not able to paint anytime soon, focus on creating lots of opportunities to use trim and use it liberally. Sounds like you’re doing that with the enhanced entry and gable. Very nice. Bone White (if you can paint what is currently white) will blend in with the brick a bit and then the gray tone of Mt. Rushmore Rock AC-39 on the gable and garage door should tone the brick down. The idea is to blend the brick in with the rest of the house. Try a little sample of that or the other taupe and see if you like the effect of blending the taupe with the orange brick.
See what you think. The landscaping, of course, will make a huge difference as will your accessories. But first, the siding…
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We are currently updating this tri-level home and want a soft contemporary look. The roof has been replaced with a “weathered wood” color architectural shingle (I think it should have been Barkwood, but…too late now) since this photo was taken. The double front doors are being replaced with a centered, single, 36″ door flanked by 20″ sidelights, both door and sidelights will be glass top to bottom with just the trim color showing. My question(s):
What color should we paint the siding?
What color should we use for the door and window trim (this will be done in stages, for now all lower level windows and front door, others next spring).
Should we paint the orange brick too?
We are using Marvin windows and I love their “Bronze” cladding for windows, but do you think “Pebble Gray” would be better since it’s neutral?
We are planning to change the wrought iron on the front porch to square columns. Landscaping will also be rehabilitated this fall and next spring.
Thank you for your help!!!
Wendy O
Hi there! I am so glad to have found your site. We are looking to purchase a 1978 home that is desperated need of a makeover inside and out, but we first want to focus on the exterior.
It is half brick and half aluminum. The brick is white, pink and red. We have been told that we should be able to powerwash the brick to it’s original red color. I think that would be better that what it is now, but we are not sure if it needs to be painted.
The upper half of the house is aluminum and is a faded off white/yellowish color. Shutters are faded red. Front door is white, as is the garage door.
The porch is merely a stoop with white skinny beams. The exterior of the home is just faded and tired and we are hoping to get some ideas from you.
Thank you for your help.
Kim
I am attaching the zillow website where the house is listed, please let me know if you are unable to see the picture. Thanks again.
Hi Kim,
Here’s an idea if you end up keeping the brick the current variegated color. Since your roof is kind of a red brown, how about balancing the heat with a cool Edgecomb Gray siding color. It’s Ben Moore HC-173. You can keep whatever your window color is for the rest of the trim (since it looks like you have a white front door — white trim will work) or paint it all light gray. Then for your garage door and front door, take a look at AF-650 Caponata, a wonderful eggplant that would coordinate well with the pink in your brick but add a little dose of the unexpected. Replace the storm door with a full-view storm at your earliest convenience. And beef up the two columns under the portico for more stature. You’re right, they’re a bit wimpy as they stand now.
See what you think. You can always paint the brick since it looks like it’s already partially painted anyway, but the warm gray/eggplant scheme should work with what’s there now.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I went by the house today and strongly dislike the various brick colors. We are thinking we should paint it to really update it. What would you recommend now that we are ready to paint?
What color scheme would really make the house pop? I would love to know your thoughts on a total exterior makeover? Brick Color,Siding Color, Shutters? Doors? The home has such great potential, but really needs a complete facelift.
Excited to hear your thoughts.
Thanks,
Kim
Hi Kim,
Okay, total makeover from the top down.
GAF Timberline Barkwood roof, either Ben Moore’s Briarwood (Ext) or Lenox Tan (HC-44) for the siding including brick, Dune White 968 trim, new columns (round wood-like painted trim color), full-view door in white, garage door siding color, and front door/shutters in AF-650 Caponata (a dark eggplant — still like it even with these new paint colors).
Then new landscaping: lilac bushes and irises, white hydrangeas, and lime green hostas (if there’s enough shade from the pine tree).
The driveway could use a skim coat too.
How’s that?
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello! I am trying to come up with an exterior color scheme for my newly remodeled historic southern cottage. There are various other colors on the street, my neighbors are yellow on one side, salmon on the other, and white across the street. My roof is Owens Corning Estate Gray. My initial thought was a greyed white color with some brighter color (blue or green?) on the future shutters and 2 sets of french door on the front. This would be very similar though, to my across the street neighbor. The local paint store recommended Ben Moore Briarwood, which looks nice, but now sure of it with my roof color. He says it looks very rich, but just now sure about the roof. I had also seen some lighter greens in magazines which appealed to me (Ben Moore Tree Moss), but just not sure how it would look. The color has to be somewhat traditional for the local historic board. So, safe white or some other more interesting color? Help!
I can send you a picture to help!
Hi Elizabeth,
I would love a photo! You can attach one to an email and send it to bmeglis@yahoo.com or insert a link to a photo site right here in the blog.
I’m sure we can come up with a suitable color for your southern cottage. Can’t wait to see it!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Elizabeth,
It looks from your photo that you sent via email that you have brick on your front porch. Is that right? There seems to be quite a lot of pink in that area…. If that’s going to be covered up, let me know, but I will assume that it’s brick. With that in mind, we need to incorporate the warmer tones from the porch into the siding color. So I would stay on the neutral side. I agree with the paint store person that Briarwood is a rich taupe that would tie in the porch tones and also look fine with the roof. Just about anything goes with Estate Gray so you made an excellent choice there. Also since your neighbors have warm colors (yellow on one side and salmon on the other), it would be nice to offer a cool alternative.
So one choice is definitely the Briarwood. And then because you mentioned green, have a look at Nantucket Gray. It too will coordinate with the porch warm tones and will offer more of a color to the siding than the neutral Briarwood. The gray roof should be fine too.
White trim and columns, right? And what about your shutters? Want to go with traditional black (or dark charcoal)?
One thing for certain, Elizabeth. Do not go with white siding since your neighbor across the street already picked that one. We can do better! See what you think of the green and reconsider the Briarwood. Plus write back if I’m only seeing pink on your porch. If it’s wood or something else, let me know. There are other color possibilities if that’s the case!!
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We own a 25 year old home of a somewhat transitional style. We are looking to replace the roof at this time and are considering GAF Timberline 30 Year shingles. The current roof color is a brown with overtones of orange to it. It worked well with the brick and old cedar siding.
The house is a two-story with a warm yellowy reclaimed brick on the first floor. The brick grout colour is a concrete gray color. The upper story has two gables, so looks unique from the bottom story and is clad in “moutain blue” siding made by Royal.Siding Company. The front door is a deep blue-gray wedgewood color as are the sidelights. The sidelights and front window have antique nickel leading giving the entry landing, a subdued look.
The driveway is long and prominent and done with brick pavingstones. The perimeter is done in a dark charcoal pavers and the body of the drive and walkway are pavers with a mix base color of buff and charcoal clay.
The windows are PVC and white trimmed. The attached garage door-prominent- is an almond colored steel, intended to blend with the warm brick on either side of it.
So now our dilemma is, what color should we do the shingle in? We are considering GAF Timberline 30 year shingles. I have four colors that are in the running. Two are brown base and two are dark grays. I am not partial to brown and was never “in love” with the current brown shingles, though it did work with cedar siding before it was replaced by the blue. Weatherwood and Mission Brown are the two contenders from the brown family. Slate and Pewter Gray are the gray family choices.
I feel that the browns may not “ground” the house and leave the blue upper level appear to be just floating and unrelated to the lower level. However I am not sure how roofing color is determined. Can one choose based upon the upper level alone, or do we need to find a compromise between the two level color families? Warm and cool colors, what do we do
There is no doubt that the blue and the buff work together, though a grayer blue would have suited me better. If we use a gray roof, will that tend to make the blue seem bluer or more subdued?
Please offer your advice and opinion ongray or brown roofing Barbara. I have spent mush time debating and researching this and have come to no clear decision, only a preference for the dark gray.
Thank-you for your help. It is much appreciated!
Sincerely,
Pippi
Hi Pippi,
With all the grays in your prominent driveway and the blue upper story, I suggest a blue-gray roof like Charcoal or Pewter (whichever has a clearly blue undertone in the GAF line — get big samples if you can). Certainteed has a Pewter that definitely has a blue undertone to it but with the GAF line, the subtle differences between the grays are harder to distinguish on the screen. But using a dark blue-toned charcoal roof should blend the blue a bit and allow the yellow in the brick to pop forward (brown would blend with the yellow and pop the blue). So gray is the way to go! Besides, yellow and gray make a classic combination anyway. You should be all set.
Hope that helps!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara, I had my roof re-done and selected Cinnamon Sunset color which is a reddish tone color. I now need to paint my house and I am stressing out trying to determine the right color. Since the roof is so colorful my plan was to pull a color from the roof and paint the house that color to balance it out. For example the roof has this tan tone in it and bits of charcoal. I have been looking for tan or cream colors to offset the roof and then paint the door a similar color to the roof. (reddish tone) Therefore, the only other color to the house if I did it in tan or cream color would be the door in red. I have check several sites and I too have played around with the paint colors on different sites but I am still now sure. I saw some pictures of red roof and folks have use “Sage green’ colors. I didn’t think I wanted anymore color because the roof is colorful enough but if it will look okay I will go with a color other the tans or creams. Please help. Also I need help with trim colors, and the door. Thank you
Pam
Hi Pam,
Have a look at Yosemite Sand AC-4 (Ben Moore) and see what you think of that color with something like Townsend Harbor Brown HC-64 for your door. If the Sand is still too warm with the roof, you can cool it down with Shaker Beige HC-45 or Edgecomb Gray HC-173. One of those will work perfectly.
I would use a crisp white for your trim, again to cool things down a bit (I do love the roof!), and either a very dark Tudor Brown or dark charcoal for the shutters, whichever dark neutral is in your roof.
Switch out the light fixtures accordingly and you might want to add some desert-loving succulents (or spikey plants) to your landscape to round out the house’s new warm personality.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
First, I love perusing your blog – thanks for making this advice accessible to the more colour-challenged among us!
I have attached a link to photos of my home in Ontario, Canada. We just updated the vinyl siding on the addition, and now need to update the paint a bit on the garage door and around the deck/sunroom, but are completely stumped as to colour.
There is a bit more info in the captions when you look at the pictures. We are also going to have the frames around the garage door and the entry door capped in white aluminum shortly.
I look forward to any insight you may have as to potential paint colours for the garage door and the other areas (deck/sunroom) that are currently the same shade of ‘navajo red’!
Thanks so much
Allison
Hi Allison,
Take a look at Georgian Brick (Ben Moore HC-50) for your garage door and the area around your deck/sunroom. It has more brown in it than your current navajo red so it will both blend in with the brick and coordinate with your new siding. I think you’ll find it just as warm and welcoming but a little less “red.” See what you think.
White trim will be fine!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for the speedy reply on a long weekend – much appreciated. Off to the paint store right now to check it out!
Cheers
Allison
Hi,
We are painting the exterior of our home. Our greatest challenge is our roof is a hunter green with white and gray speckled in and it does not need to be replaced. Our house is about 100 years old and we would like to stay with a historical color but it is not necessary. We need a color scheme for the house, trim, porch and cedar shakes near the roof top. We are thinking of green/gray tones but do not want anything minty or army green. We would like the columns to be white but there are so many whites – I am not sure where to begin. I hope the link below works. The painter started to scrap the loose flakes so the picture looks terrible.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jhqqH6eJ0u1bKennwYtozw?feat=directlink
Thank you so much for your time.
Dina
Hi Dina,
Have a look at Vale Mist Ben Moore 1494 for the siding color with Audubon Russet HC-51 (or the darker Georgian Brick HC-50) for your cedar shakes in the gables and possibly (if you’re feeling adventuresome) the actual windows. Using a brick color will coordinate the chimney, complement the green, and add warmth to the house.
Then paint the window trim, house trim, columns and porch railing China White (it looks like an aged white — perfect for your 100-yr-old house). You can use a darker version of the green or russet for some architectural highlighting as well. That’s one idea. With the detail on your house, you have room for yet another color as well (fascia boards, corbels under the eaves, etc.). How about a warm grape like Chambourd AF-645?
See if that gets you started.
Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Thank you so much for your suggestions and for taking time during the holiday weekend to get back to me. I like the green you selected and warm grape idea. Is the grape a Ben Moore color? The China White is perfect as well.
I am sure you will hear from me again I look forward to referring you to my friends and clients 🙂
Dina
Hi Dina,
Thank you! And yes, the grape is a Ben Moore color (see the Affinity Collection) — there’s Chambourd which I mentioned (AF-645) and Caponata AF-650, which I love! More of an eggplant but very rich!
Good luck on your project and stop back by again!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello, Barbara,
What a wonderful service you provide! So glad to have found your site before I possibly make a huge mistake. I am residing my 1200 sf, 1 1/2 story house in James Hardie products. It is kind of a chalet cottage in a wooded neighborhood of eclectic homes near a lake in Michigan. I will try to send some photos to you at bmeglis@yahoo.com. The roof, which is newer, is of Art-Loc shingles in “Char Brown”. The old wood siding is dark brown, as are the windows, gutters and downspouts. There is a small front cedar deck in a natural cedar stain.
The colors inside my home are golds, greens, browns and creams. I am attracted by the Hardie siding color of “Mountain Sage”, with window trim in “Navajo Beige” and corners, horizontal boards across the front and bottom, and soffitt/fascia in “Khaki Brown”. Most siding would be horizontal lap, except on the front wall and around the front door. I was planning to use board and batten on the bottom in front, with shakes above and also shakes around the front door. The color of the front door now is BM “Sherwood Green”, but that could be changed, possibly to a dark red. Not sure what to do with the dark brown gutters; just hoping they won’t show up so much against the Khaki Brown.
After reading through your blog, I’m now wondering whether I am making this too complicated and even whether the sage green is a mistake. I do have a lot of green in the landscape. Please tell me what you think. Thank you so, so much.
Hi Melissa,
I think you’re on the right track. By highlighting the architectural features of your home with the different colors (sage, khaki, and beige) your house will stand out from the backdrop of green trees. If you wanted to do the entire house in sage, I might try and talk you out of that because the house would simply disappear into the woods. You might, however, use a little more beige in outlining the house (do more than simply the window trim) so that again the darker green/brown will not make the house melt into the background. The roof color helps a lot and so will the front door. I would definitely pick a color that ties in the roof — a dark rusty red would be perfect.
The only element that really pops now and doesn’t quite fit into the palette (I know it was raining) is the front steps. They appear really orangey yellow on my screen and you might consider pulling in a warmer neutral (the Autumn Tan perhaps instead of the Khaki Brown) to blend those steps a little so the door will stand out and not the walkway. Just a thought.
But the earthy combination is the way to go in your environment. Blues will stick out too much and you’ve had a pretty heavy dose of cool brown already. So the sage/tan/beige combination or sage/khaki/beige combination should work fine.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Oops — the roof color is “Char Blend” and can be viewed at http://www.SherriffGoslin.com.
Melissa
Thanks so much, Barbara. I believe you are right about the Autumn Tan vs. Khaki Brown. It’s just a little darker than the Navajo Beige, but not dark. Just to clarify then, the color scheme will work best with beige trim everywhere but on the soffitt and fascia boards, which would be tan? Should the 8″ horizontal boards around the base of the house be beige as well? What about the 8″ board across the front that will divide the top (shakes) from the bottom (board and batten)? Beige, tan or sage like the body color? Or no board at all? I believe I read somewhere on the blog that you’re not a fan of bisecting house fronts with contrasting colors … . Sorry to be so neurotic about this, but I am terrified of making a mistake.
Your friend for life,
Melissa
Hello,
As a new pastor to a church in Colorado, I’ve encouraged our congregation to freshen up a tired facade (building and landscape). The challenge is that the facility, built in 1964, is all red brick and when our church purchased the property 15 years ago they opted to go with a matching metal roof. Practically EVERYTHING is brick red.
The place needs repainting, and I figure we’d pick a cream color (that compliments the creamy-gray mortar), but I’m not sure what color we should paint the cross and doors.
Appreciate your advice!
Hi Pastor Don,
I’ve been studying your photos — I know what you mean about the dominance of the red roof. But given that the church has an abundance of color, I think it needs some balance. I suggest Ben Moore Tudor Brown (Ext) doors, which will calm the red and add stature to the facade. Then add some large stone pots at the entry with greenery and white flowers if appropriate to the season. Here’s your opportunity to add church-season color to the entryway… purples for around Easter, greens/whites/golds for Advent, etc. I like your rose bush idea as long as they are easy maintenance but you might want to add a bit of height on the cross side of the church. Just vary the shrubbery a bit along that wall.
As for the cross wall, we’re looking for maximum impact and I really like how the interior cross pops off the white wall. If you’re considering a paint job on the yellow brick, consider a warm white (something like Ben Moore’s Vanilla Milkshake OC-59) for that wall. Then paint the cross Tudor Brown, and it will pop. Maximum effect from the curb.
Since your windows are white, you can go with the white elsewhere as well instead of the grout color. You’ll get a really fresh look and I think that’s what you want.
Hope so.
Thanks again for posting and good luck with your new congregation!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I would like to paint the exterior of my home, but given the endless selection of colors, I feel quite overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin. I’ve always liked yellow houses – they are warm, cheerful, and cozy. My painter, however, said that he can’t picture my house being yellow. Instead, he recommended a brown. Should I listen to him? In a nearby neighborhood, I saw a house painted Cameo by Dunn Edwards with a white trim and light green door. Very cute. Someone else had also suggested Belgian Waffle by Olympic, which is also a shade of creamy yellow. Could you picture either color on my house? Or any other suggestions? What about black or dark green shutters (Essex Green by Benjamin Moore)? And white trim and a red door? Please help!! Thank you!!
Hi Huong Na,
I don’t see any particular reason why you can’t have a yellow house — just pick a yellow that complements the brown in your roof and the various brick colors. Check out Ben Moore’s Montgomery White (Ext) a rich creamy yellow — not too lemony or to deep. Then you can have your White Dove trim (include columns) and a red door that comes from your brick color. Check out the burgundy side of red (New London Burgundy HC-61) and the rusty-orange side (Georgian Brick HC-50). With your brick, you really can’t have a tomato red door. That will make both door and brick look not so great…
As for shutters, since they take up so much of your house (and the upstairs window is skewed to the right), I suggest a mellower shutter color than you asked about. How about your painter’s Springfield Tan (AC-5). The reason for a medium brown for the shutters is to blend them into the house and particularly the roof more than if you used a black or Essex Green. Doing a dark contrasting shutter will call attention to the placement of the windows/shutters and I don’t think you want that. Blending, in your case, is best.
See what you think. Save the shutter decision until after the house is painted. That will help you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Barbara,
Thank you so much for your prompt response. I truly appreciate your guidance throughout this daunting task. Before I head out to the paint store to pick up some samples of the colors you suggested, I just have a question about Montgomery White. Is it a yellow color, or as the name suggests, a creamy off white similar to what I have on my house now? I saw an image with this color online and it appeared to me to be more off white than yellow?? Also, would you recommend any other color combinations that might work well for my house? As you can tell, I’m quite indecisive and would like to explore other options as well. Thank you for all your insight. I will head out to the paint store later this week!!
Hi Huong,
The Montgomery White, yes, is a light creamy hue. Perhaps you want a little more yellow. Look at Weston Flax (HC-5). Definitely yellow but not as rich as Hawthorne Yellow HC-4 although either will work with your brick. I would still use White Dove trim. And if you want more color on the shutters, try Cushing Green HC-125. Just enough “brown” in it to coordinate with the brown roof but still be green. Quite a departure from your current neutral, but if you’re looking for warm and cozy, this will do it for you!
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We recently re-did the exterior of our house and are at a loss as to what color would look best with our stone…. a natural stone, creamy/gray limestone (Fond du lac).
Initially I saw this beautiful deep gray color w/ivory trim and black shutters on a home that I thought was absolutely striking, however their stone had more golds and browns to it. I have painted several samples of this gray color on my house but it just doesn’t seem quite right ….I’m wondering if it’s b/c of the stone? (You can see a sample board standing on it’s end on the front entry way stone section) I’ve even tried a couple of lighter shades of gray but they end up looking more green that I want. The darker gray actually has some green hints to it depending on the light. I am at a loss and just don’t know if the dark gray or any gray for that matter goes with the house.
I’ve then gone to the next extreme and thought of painting the house a light cream color with the ivory trim for windows, fascia & bay but, although sweet, it seems a bit washed out.
Help! My contractor is knocking at my door to get this done. I would be so grateful for your help.
Thanks so much,
Becky
Hi Becky,
Thanks for all the background material. Very helpful!
I know what you mean about the new construction homes — very Cape Cod! But here’s my suggestion for your home.
Take a look at Briarwood (Ben Moore Exterior) — a taupe that picks up the warmer tones in your stone and offers some contrast that you like without being too cold. I think the color looks very good with your roof as well. Then you could use either crisp white for the trim or a creamy tone that will again pick up the warmth of your stone but still offer contrast against both siding color and roof. You could use White Dove (aged white), Linen White (soft cream), China White (slightly grayer), or even Bone White for maximum contrast. For a warm gray trim option (a more blended, softer look than the crisp new construction houses), look at Edgecomb Gray HC-173. Just depends on what you like!
Then for the shutters (you’ll notice that the new construction is using extra wide window trim in place of shutters but that’s okay… ), you might consider using the Sherwin Williams paint that you sampled, the Tram. It’s dark enough to contrast with the house color and stone and still go with the roof.
What do you think? See if we’ve found a compromise that works.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thanks so much for your previous advice. We had decided to go with Rugged Canyon for the siding, white trim around the garage door and windows, downspouts to match the siding, and black shutters and front door. We also planned to paint the garage door the same shade as Rugged Canyon.
However, prior to replacing siding, I found that I need to replace the gutters, soffit and fascia as well. (Unfortunately we are not replacing that reddish roof!)
What color would you recommend for the gutters, soffit and fascia, which currently match the roof? Would this additional flexibility change your prior recommendation for Rugged Canyon?
We are not locked into Rugged Canyon yet so the only colors we are stuck with are the roof and the white window frames. Even the light fixtures and screen door can be replaced.
Looking forward to your recommendation and then finally starting the project!
Thanks! Cait
http://picasaweb.google.com/catedean/NewSidingChoices?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6m8qjvgdX2Rw&feat=directlink#5487956371944902466
http://picasaweb.google.com/catedean/NewSidingChoices?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6m8qjvgdX2Rw&feat=directlink#5487956796032679186
http://picasaweb.google.com/catedean/NewSidingChoices?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6m8qjvgdX2Rw&feat=directlink
Hi Cait,
I suggest white for the gutters, soffit and fascia. The white will not only coordinate well with your white windows, it will also create a nice contrast between roof and siding and slightly diminish the overall effect of the roof. Your eye will trace the outline of the house and windows and not notice the red roof so much. (nothing wrong with red really as long as you have the right siding and trim colors to go with it)
The white trim is also especially nice for a colonial like yours. Kind of traditional…
Hope that clears up the question. Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara! It’s been nearly a year, but the siding is finally done. We went with Rugged Canyon for the siding; white gutters, soffit and fascia; Rugged Canyon for downspouts and the garage door; and black shutters and front door. I’m so pleased with it and would have never gotten this combination myself. Thanks so much!! Here’s a link with the before & after. Cait
https://picasaweb.google.com/116458270664276167519/NewSidingChoices?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6m8qjvgdX2Rw&feat=directlink
NICE Caitlin!! Thank you for sharing with us!! It looks much warmer!
Enjoy.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
After visiting your wonderful site I am convinced you can help us. We are renovating the exterior of our home. Changing windows and adding an addition. The house is of Normand Style with arts and crafts style brick. I will send you the pictures via e-mail). The metal roof will be darker – charcoal and the window colors will be Gentek black – no trim but rather brick molding of the same color.
Part of the addition is wood siding – color Bronze Window (Gentek 415) It actually looks like the olive green that was used in the Tudor style home on your blog. The garage will be same brick as original house. I am also sending you a picture of what it may look like.
We would love to have your color suggestions for:
Door, garage door, the brown moldings (cornices? – on the roof and where the 2 lucarns are), the foundation and the flower boxes.
Thank-you Barbara…2 pictures to follow by e-mail
Hi Sarah,
Sorry for the delay… I suggest going with the same green for your garage door as you’re using for your addition’s siding. Unless you want to invest in a wood door — very appropriate for your house, of course. As for the front door, I also like a solid wood door, maybe a little warmer stain than what you have now. Again, the mahogany door is classic for your house style. But if you do want to paint the door, Richmond Gold (Ben Moore) would work with your brick and would create a warm, welcoming entry.
As for the foundation, I would go with something like Chelsea Gray HC-168 — you don’t want to call attention to the foundation. But for the window boxes, again the warm Richmond Gold would coordinate with the brick and contrast with the grays/greens elsewhere.
Back to finish with your lucarnes and moldings in a little while.
Wanted to get you started anyway…
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Sarah,
I suggest using the green again for the siding on the lucarnes — a great way to tie the addition color onto the old part of the house. I’m not exactly sure what moulding you were referring to on the lucarnes, but I think I may have just covered that area. I know that sometimes the lucarnes are covered in roofing material, but I would treat them more like a traditional dormer and add house color.
The more I look at your house, the more I like the idea of a solid wood (warm dark) door. I know I mentioned Richmond Gold in the previous post, but the brick is calling out for the richness of dark wood — no surprise that you had that before. It looks great!
See what you think of those color additions to your palette.
Hope they help.
And thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
Thank-you for your advice. I am loving it! Concerning the garage door…we recuperated the old cedar door on the old garage. We sanded it. I can always stain it again as well as the door but I don’t really like the mohagony! I will look into the paint color you gave me. If I don’t want to draw attention to the garage door…do I stain it green like the extension or go for the same warmer wood color that we could possibly une on the door. In which case, do you have a suggestion for a warmer woodstain for the door? I hope this makes sense.
Thank-you soo soo very much!
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
If you want to blend the garage door, I suggest staining it the same as the extension color. That will move the eye away from the garage door itself. Staining it the same as the front door would only call attention to the garage. As for the front door color, have you looked at the rich eggplant family? Makes an excellent door color — great brick, siding, and roof and a little bit unexpected. Works best if the sun shines on it at some point during the day so you can see its magnificent richness. Check out AF-650 Caponata. (It’s a paint, not a stain, but comes in an Exterior finish.)
See what you think of that for your house.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara. Thanks so much for having such a helpful website and service to others. It can be so difficult updating the exterior of a house.
We just purchased this tri-level house. It has a fabulous floor plan and is in a great location, but lacks curb appeal. The house is currently painted grey with white trim, has brick that is primarily orange and an older cedar shake roof. We live in the Midwest and the house is facing west so very hot in the summer.
My husband and I are very traditional, usually selecting colonials or cape cods and I must confess we are unsure how to treat this architecture. The home feels chopped up to me with no unity. Regarding colors, we usually prefer the siding to be a more neutral shade (beige, tan, taupe, brown), but are not particular about the depth of the shade. In the past, we have selected glossy black shutters and either a black or red front door. My husband tends to be adverse to green, blue and orange paint which is somewhat humorous since our brick is very orange. (So, he will definitely want to repaint the front door:)
Questions:
1) Should we keep the brick natural or paint the entire home (including brick) one color for unity?
2) What colors would you suggest that we paint?
Here is a link to my the photos of our house.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54188897@N07/
We have already begun making some changes to the house such as removing the pitchforks from the posts and moving one post so that they are symmetrical around the front door. Additionally, we have made the posts larger square columns and picture frame moulded them out. Lastly, we added wooden front porch railings to better define the porch. I will post photos showing the new column wraps and the railings asap. My thought is that the posts and porch railings would be painted the same color as the trim and windows.
I am considering some shutters around the large window and a window box. Maybe also some window boxes on the second floor windows. Would this help provide some needed charm/character?
Thanks in advance for your help in making this house our new “home”.
Melissa
(Note: Before I knew how to post I sent you this same message as an email. Sorry)
Hi Melissa,
You’re definitely on the right track. I like where you’re headed with the
house. Take a look at Shaker Beige HC-45 (Ben Moore) for your siding. It’s
a taupe that should go well with your brick as well as the roof. It will
offer a little more color than the gray that’s there now. Another option
is the warmer Lenox Tan (HC-44), a richer shade, not in your brick but
certainly neutral enough to complement it.
Then for your shutters, I suggest Davenport Tan HC-76, a brown with a lot
of gray in it that should again complement your brick and also go with the
roof and everything else.
The garage door can be either color.
I would only put shutters on the small double-hung windows — not the big
bay. The new siding color will be all that’s necessary there.
I think your brick is fine to keep if you don’t mind a bit of nostalgic
design (the split). Painting the whole house is, of course, an option.
Then the sky’s the limit. But consider modifying just the siding and
shutters to start and see if that look will be sufficient. You can use
black metal as your accent. And keep the white trim.
The front door can be the shutter color as there’s not enough trim around
the doors to paint them brick. Black is too stark.
See what you think of those choices.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks Barbara. I appreciate your help.
Update: We finished the new columns and railings yesterday. And, we painted a sample of the Lenox Tan you recommended (along with a few suggestions from the paint store). All of the paints seem to drastically alter once painted on the house. For example, the Lenox Tan looks very gold, the Tavern Taupe green and the Weimeraner pink. Our surprise was that Wenge which is a deep eggplant actually looks much darker almost black. The BM Davenport Tan (actually one of my usual favorites and the color of my last home) turned an odd golden chestnut color. This may be the lighting, the brick or even the existing paint color, but it is making selection difficult. I will take another photo this afternoon when PM west sun is shining out front.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54188897@N07/?saved=1
What do you think about the Lenox Tan? Is it deep enough? My husband likes the Weimeraner the best, but I think we still haven’t found the best neutral. I think we are looking for more of a taupe that doesn’t turn green, yellow or pink. Also, my husband tends to select the deeper colors (usually in the mid to low section of a chip). Do you think they are too dark for the house? Also, we were thinking about a much darker brown shade for the shutters and maybe even the front door.
Regarding the white, my husband would like to start painting the columns, railing and some windows. Would you stick with the current bright white or select a creamier white (like bm mayonnaise, bm mascarpone, sw westhighland white etc.)?
Thanks for all of your help.
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
Have you looked at Briarwood (Ext)? With a Caponata front door (AF-650)? Not as dark as Wenge but still eggplant. A terrific color!!
The Briarwood is a great taupe — not too green, not too yellow or pink. Looks great with a really dark shutter and white trim. How about the Wenge for the shutters?
See what you think. I didn’t see the Lenox Tan painted on the house but from your description, it sounds too yellow for your taste. Not taupe at all.
Hope this helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks for the suggestion of Briarwood. I took a close look and compared it to the colors that I’ve tried. It seems very close to Weimeraner from the Affinity line. My concern is that it is not deep enough. Those colors tend to turn lighter on my house to almost a beige. My husband tends to select the deeper colors (usually in the lower section of a chip). Do you think they are too dark for the house? I played around with some of the samples I’ve already tried and mixed a few darker taupe shades. They are pictured at the below link. What do you think about the darker shades?
We are considering the Wenge for the shutters but also very much like very dark rich brown shades. Do you think a very dark expresso brown (softer than but almost black) would work for the shutters.
You said in your original recommendation that we should stick with white for the trim color. Regarding the white, my husband would like to start painting the columns, railing and some windows. Would you stick with the current ultra white or select a creamier white (like bm mayonnaise, bm mascarpone, sw westhighland white etc.)?
My pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/54188897@N07/
Thanks:)
NOTE: The reason I’m being very careful about the color selection for this house (way more so than normal) is that we have to get the color right the first time because my husband doesn’t believe that our older cedar roof can handle much walking on. He’s going to have to be very careful not to break any shingles and doesn’t want to have to paint the upper areas twice.
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
Understood. We don’t like doing things twice… that’s for sure.
I rolled out the Sherwin Williams fandeck to throw a couple more options into the mix. I do like the very darkest of the taupe options you painted on the front. But here’s another one: Folkstone SW 6005. It’s a really nice dark gray-brown (taupe) and it appears to look nice with your brick. I’m not sure, value-wise, how it compares to the color you sampled on the front (the darkest one), but it is substantially darker than Briarwood.
Then also look at Black Swan SW 6279 for your shutters/doors. It’s almost black but has a hint of grape. Really nice again with your brick.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks Barbara. We are going to paint the darker taupe that you liked, but plan to wait until finished to decide on the trim color. It will either be the very deep eggplant or high gloss black.
I’m going today to purchase the paint, but realized that we didn’t decided on a trim color. What do you think about BM Mayonnaise? Is this white creamy enough to warm up the front without looking too tan?
Thanks,
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
Yes I think the Mayonnaise will look great with the darker taupe. Nice contrast between warm and cool. Proceed!!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Paypal donation just submitted. We purchased our Victorian Home from a foreclosure. The home has blue siding and the porch flooring is rotten and needs replaced. We are looking at changing the exterior color scheme. Here are the options we are weighing:
1) White siding with black shutters — Red brick stairway to porch – porch made of white composite materials- Paint the porch trellis white (porch trellis being the criss-cross design under the porch)
2) White siding with black shutters – Red brick stairway to porch – change the porch trellis to a red brick – porch made of gray composite materials (the brick look on the porch trellis can be achieved fairly inexpensively by using “thin bricks” on a wood backing using the proper installation techniques — the only issue we are still researching is whether this technique would allow enough ventilation under the porch – I also read that you typically want to pant the trellis the same color as the house so that the focal point remains the house and not the trellis – Any insight on this would be appreciated –
3) Gray siding – Outline windows in white trim – gray porch – keep porch trellis criss-crossed or install a “stone” look along the bottom
4) Keep blue siding – outline windows in white trim – add white porch railings around wrap-around porch— After researching various Victorian styles, we do see why the original owners used the blue, as it is the most true to the original era, but we are not big fans of it —-
The home is not a true period Victorian – It is a replica built in 1990 – Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated –
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
Any of the colors (white, gray, or blue) would work for your Victorian-styled home — it kind of depends on a) what you like best; and b) what you already have in your neighborhood. Try to pick a different color from the others around you. I do like white trim and black shutters. The trellis would be either the house color (if gray or blue) or the porch color (if the house is white). I do like the idea of a gray porch since it will be the easiest to maintain. Actually, anything except white (as in your #1 option). And railings added to the wrap-around porch are always a nice architectural addition.
I would not hesitate to make your stairway the same material as the porch floor. Very easy to maintain. But a red brick walkway would look terrific.
Since you don’t want to call attention to the foundation area, I would not replace the existing trellis with any kind of brick or stone treatment. You’ll probably end up planting foundation shrubs in front of that area so the focus will be on the landscape anyway.
Does that help get you started?
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Stephanie,
Just saw the photo after I posted my recommendations. Let me change a
couple of things.
I agree — the current blue is not that attractive. I like the idea of a
blue-gray (Eclipse 2132-40) or even a medium blue like Phillipsburg Blue
HC-159 (Ben Moore). Tate Olive HC-112 would look good with your roof. Any
of those would be preferable to the current blue.
Your house really calls out for color — I think it’s too big for plain
white.
I would stick with white trim.
And the trellis really ought to be the house color or gray porch color to
avoid calling attention to that area. The plantings are still small so the
background needs to be neutral and camouflaged.
Does that help? Sorry I didn’t look sooner for a photo. Nice purchase!
Congratulations!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We have just shingled our roof in GAF Timberline Prestique
in Shakewood. The problem is we have brick facade on the bottom story of the front of our two store house.
From the street frequently the brick and the roof look to be the same color.
We also have some reddish tones and cream colors in the brick.
Is there a way I can email you a picture of the house.
We have to choose the color for the new hardy plank, gutters, shingles and doors “now.”
We are also having all of the landscaping removed and replaced with large beds and “better scaled” plantings.
Help.
thank you,
Toni
Here is a photo of the house with the new Shakewood Shingles (GAF – Prestique).
The new hardy plank shingles are on the back of the house, but haven’t made it to the front yet.
Thank you for any help.
-Toni
Hi Toni,
You mentioned that the new hardy plank shingles are on the back of the house (not seen in the photo). What have you chosen already for the shingle color? Are you looking for shutter/gutter/trim colors only or did I misunderstand and you’re looking for hardy plank siding color as well?
I need a touch more info.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We are having the siding replaced with primed hardy plank siding.
We need to choose house color, trim/gutter/shutter and front door color…in less than 3 hours.
The workers haven’t made it to the front of the house yet.
They have finished the back and one side, and believe they will be finished in 2 – 3 days.
Thank you for your time and attention.
-Toni
Also, we are restricted to using Sherwin-Williams Duration Paint.
I don’t know if the paint colors are different for different companies.
Thank you.
-Toni
Hi again Toni,
How about Ivoire SW 6127 for the siding, Downing Earth SW 2820 for the shutters and garage door, white for trim/gutters/fascia/soffits, and Rookwood Dark Red SW 2801 for the front door?
See what you think of that palette.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Thank you for all of your advice.
The painters and I came up with 3 body colors (I should have waited for your reply) they are:
SW 7719, SW 7723 and SW 7722.
Do you have a preference?
If we were to choose one of these colors, what would be your suggestion for the shutters, garage door,
fascia & gutters. We don’t want to pay the extra for the soffits to be painted a different color.
We will be purchasing factory painted 5″ gutters, and my husband doesn’t want to have the gutters painted.
It seems as if there are many gutter colors available.
Thank you for your time.
-Toni
Hi Toni,
I like SW 7723 best (Colony Buff). It’s warmer than what you have currently without going too yellow. For shutters and garage door, I still do like brown but have moved to Rookwood Dark Brown SW 2808 from the slightly greener offering of last night. Since your brick has lots of color in it, I would rather not introduce yet another accent color for shutters and garage. But if you like the Rookwood Dark Red SW 2801 suggested for a possible door option, that would work for shutter color (if you do that, then paint the garage the same as the house).
Other possible front door options: Fireweed SW6328, Brandywine SW 7710, and Rosemary SW 6187. A very autumnal palette.
As for gutters, we usually want to disguise them into the trim color. Your windows are white so it makes some sense to stick with white trim/gutters. But siding color would be fine too since it’s cream.
Good luck with the painters!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
I need some help picking house colors for an american foursquare built in 1924. It is presently 2 toned with green shakes on the top and white wood on the bottom.. I do not want those colors anymore, however, I would like to stay with 2 colors for the body of the house and perhaps 1 or 2 additional colors for trim and accents. We are replacing the roof as well ( leaning toward green or brown) There are pillars made of reddish orange brick. We replaced the windows with vinyl so we won’t be painting the sashes but I do want to paint the moldings around them. We replaced the front door which I need to paint and need help with the porch deck and railings. Thanks for any help you can give me. Marilou
http://www.flickr.com/
Hi Marilou,
How about Heather Blend for your roof (Certainteed) or even Burnt Sienna? Then an earthy Texas Leather AC-3 for the top shakes and Tyler Taupe HC-43 for the bottom siding. You could pick up the brick around the windows with Fresh Clay 2093-20 or Boston Brick 2092-30. Keep white for the columns/gutters/side pieces or move to cream, but you’ll still have white for the windows so staying white pulls the whole house together.
The leather would go on the porch floor and railing.
See what you think of that palette!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
We are renovating an old farmhouse in the Piemonte region of Italy. We’ve come to the major decision of exterior color, color of the shutter and the window frames.
Really soon we need to order the window frames and shutter and we are rather confused. Both the shutters and the windows will come already painted from the factory so we need to have an idea before putting the order in.
We are leaning towards the tradional yellow for the external of the house and that is where we are. Using the Sigma color codes: The color we like is in the range of S05040-Y10R and S0530-Y10R, I am not sure if these numbers are standard everywhere?
Other tradional external colors for country homes around us include earth tones and some shades of red or pink. We do not want pink.
The windows frames can be painted pretty much any RAL color and so could the external shutters.
Our house is east facing and is in the shade pretty much from 1pm on, therefore we wouldlike to have a color that will stay warm. Many whites and cool colors turn gray.
don’t know how to adda photo here?
I suppose I can email some to your address,
any thoughts?
your help is appreciated,
Canan
Hi Canan,
I tried to Google the color range you mentioned under the Sigma color code but came up empty. I did find a link to the Sigma Color Network and have included it here so I have some reference point for you. Under the yellows, there’s a CNC-3205, a soft warm yellow, not too lemony, that would work well with a shutter in the gray-brown family, something like RAL 1019 (link included as well). The combination is warm and soothing and seems to fit well in your Italian countryside. Of course, if you want to bump up the colors to bolder shades, that would work too.
As long as there’s a little orange in the yellow, the color is pleasing. If there’s too much green in the yellow, it becomes acidic and extremely unpleasant. So moving from yellow toward peach/orange is my suggestion, regardless of the “value” of the shade you choose.
I would paint the windows the same taupe as the shutters. Taupey tans/grays/browns resemble sun-faded wood, again very appropriate for European styling. The idea with the shutters is to make them look a bit aged, nothing too shiny. The patina of an old country home is the look I encourage you to retain. Nothing too shiny and slick. Hope I’ve helped. Good luck with your project and thank you for posting!
Click to access 77700029%20brochure%20marine%20color%20network.pdf
http://www.ralcolor.com/ral.html
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for the suggestions. May I ask if the color you’ve suggested for the window frames would look too dark on the inside of the house? I guess it wouldn’t be darker than if the frames were kept dark stained wood, right?
Look forward to your thoughts on this one,
Thanks again,
Canan
Hi Canan,
Since you’ll be painting the window frames, it’s perfectly fine to have one color on the outside and another on the inside. Frequently people around here have painted wood on the exterior and stained wood on the interior. You certainly do not have to use the gray tone on your interior. White, cream, natural wood… whatever you like.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi, Barbara:
I bought my first home this year–a small brick ranch. I need some of the fascia boards replaced on the sides and front and the windowsills need to be sanded and painted. This means I will need to take the gutters down and paint.
The brick on the house is a mottled-type brick–colors are rust, brown, tan, and peach. The roof is brown, the shutters are brown (a slightly reddish/pinkish brown), the garage door is white and the front door is white. The house has white vinyl replacement windows and currently the window sills are painted a peach color. There is siding around the garage which is painted the same peach color as the windowsills. There is siding on the sides of the house but it is painted beige! I will have to replace the gutters because of the fascia board repair but I’m not sure what color of those to get (I am thinking white).
I have always loved brick houses with cream, green, and red but I have no clue what combination of colors to use on my house! I was thinking green shutters and maybe a green door but leaving the windowsills painted white. I don’t have any idea what to paint the siding on the front or sides of the house.
The house is set back somewhat from the street but not too far. There are lots of pine trees and other trees in the front.
What do you think? Can you please help?
Hi Amy,
Very nice brick! But the peach throws the house out of balance. I suggest using a rich camel for your siding which will include the garage. Look at either Lenox Tan HC-44 (Ben Moore) or Boardwalk 1102. Then try something like Texas Leather AC-3 for the shutters and maybe the garage door and front door. I would keep the white around the garage door and the front door and paint the window sills white as well. Whatever is peach around the windows can be the current fascia color — if that is too close to the new siding color, then switch the fascia/trim color to Cameo White.
Your roof has a lot of red in it and there’s a lot of red in the brick so I would not add more red/paprika to the house. Reserve the paprika for your accent color — lawn furniture, cushions, pots, etc.
See what you think of that color scheme.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello! We are doing a major addition of a basement, first floor and second floor. We have matched the existing and new brick pretty well and are doing this on the first floor only. The second floor will be hardee board and painted with any Cabot colors. The windows will be very similiar to the existing windows with brown moulding and off-white trim. (this can easily be repainted if we so choose) The entire roof is being replaced so that can change too. (and I’d like options for that too! My first guess would be to match the color of the dormers, that puke brown. (It’s the safest) but I would love some other options or your opinion! Needs to be Cabot.
Here are the images:
[IMG]http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp22/kbissing/Second%20Street%20Home/002.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp22/kbissing/Second%20Street%20Home/061.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp22/kbissing/Second%20Street%20Home/062.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp22/kbissing/Second%20Street%20Home/063.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp22/kbissing/Second%20Street%20Home/064.jpg[/IMG]
I have the schematic drawing of the addition I just emailed to you! I need to make a decision soon!
Kim
Hi Kim,
Sorry for the delay… Halloween!
Your brick has a lot of great colors in it — how about pulling out the green for the siding with either Sagebrush or Sycamore (both Cabot solid stains). Keep the existing cream trim and follow up with a Gaf Timberline Weathered Wood roof. Since your brick is quite busy, I would avoid a “Maximum Definition” roof because it too will be busy. But moderate color variety will be okay.
Color the dormers the same as the siding and the front door can either be siding color or an accent color like Chestnut Brown or one of the other brick colors.
See what you think. Another roof option, of course, is the brown that your had before — something like Barkwood. That will work just as well as the current roof. But I would still color your gables the siding color, just for a little variety.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We bought our ranch style home a year and a half ago, and it is in need of a new paint job. Our painters use only Dunn-Edwards paint, so we are restricted to those colors. The house is currently yellow with white trim, green plastic shutters, and a maroon door. We need/want to keep the trim white. The roof is blackish/brown. So we are looking to you for suggestions for body color(our thoughts have been something neutral, like some shade of tan?), and suggestion on door color (the maroon is so dark and the door is on the side of the small porch so it all but disappears). Also an even bigger question for you is what do we do about the shutters??? We hate the green plastic. Do shutters increase curb appeal for this house? If we should keep/replace them, then what color? Finally, any other suggestions for increasing curb appeal for our home would be greatly appreciated. We do plan to hire a landscaper post paint job, I know that should help too. I’ll send you some photos to your e-mail address.
Thank you so much!!
– Coleen
Hi Coleen,
First of all, feel free to remove the plastic shutters and toss them in a dumpster. Your house does not need them. Shutters will dress up ordinary windows and homes with no particular architectural features (and colonials all look better with shutters) but your ranch has enough to look at without the distraction of shutters.
Then, you mentioned tan for your house color. Take a look at Ben Moore’s Butte Rock AC-8. (I will order Dunn-Edwards color materials as you’re not the first to request that brand, but I was unable — on this computer at least — to pull up their palette so I will give you Ben Moore colors and your painter can have them matched. No problem with that.)
So looking at your front walkway, I suggest the sandy tones of tan, like the Butte Rock, with something like Copper Mountain AC-12 for your front door. Another option is to use the Copper Mountain on the body of the house (a little bolder) with Yosemite Sand AC-4 on the front door. Yes, it’s lighter, but you are in kind of an alcove where a light door will stand out better than dark. Then you could pick up the brown with oil-rubbed bronze light fixtures, etc. You have perfect grass and actually quite nice landscaping at the moment so I would not add any green to your house. The contrast of the sandy tans/rusty coppers will work well with your yard and the crisp white trim will really make the nice windows stand out as a terrific feature of your house.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thank you so much for your advice, and the service you provide! We are happy that we can take down the shutters :). I went out yesterday to find the Ben Moore colors, it was hard to see them right on my computer screen. We like the sandy tans that you suggested(AC4-9). But I’m not totally excited about the rusty copper mountain. Would a different combo work using AC- 10 or 11, or something from the next card AC 13-15? Or is there another color altogether that we could consider with the sandy tans for the body? I know you said don’t add more green, what about blues or reds? I agree with making the door a lighter color, think it will definitely stand out better than dark. The door itself is original to the home and has some nice brass hardware that needs to be polished up.
Thanks again for any further thoughts!
Best regards,
Coleen
Hi Coleen,
Glad you like the America’s Colors collection. There are some nice colors in there. If the Copper Mountain is a little orange, the Colorado Clay (AC-15) will tend toward terracotta with a soft pink undertone. Very nice for your door with the brass hardware. I also like Mountain Laurel (AC-20) a sophisticated blue-green that would work for your door because it’s not right next to your bright green grass. Up in the alcove, you can get away with a lot more for the door color. It doesn’t have to “match” anything really.
See what you think. Red will work, of course, but it’s been done.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
I need help fast. I live in New England and currently have a greenish taupe 1950 Colonial house – I think it was California Paints Stone Lion, but it is no longer available. My house is getting renovated and the builder wants to use Benjamin Moore Paints. I wanted a deep cream house but have a few issues. I showed the painter a house I liked and he suggested Sag Harbor Gray and Linen White Trim (I currently do not have a different trim color). I bought the wallpaper and thought it looked nice, but when the painter put a sample on the house yesterday the Sag Harbor looked more brownish. Also, I realized it was much too close to my next store neighbor’s house (we have 1/4 acre plots). Also, I am getting new white Anderson windows and the Linen White was too different, so the painter is looking to have the trim match the windows.
I am busy with work and have trouble getting to the store and now I need to decide by tomorrow!
The neighbor’s colors are as follows: on one side a silver gray Cape with darker silver shutters, the other a beige with black shutters. On the other side is a deep sand and boring gray (this house is a ranch) and a pretty dark gray with a porch. Most of the houses on street are neutrals (a number of sands), gray or light yellow. There are no houses with a gray/blue tint on the street.
The colors I thought looked nice are Gray Horse, Rockport Gray, Boothbay Gray (would it to too blue?), Stonington Gray, Nantucket Gray and Sandy Hook Gray. My house is not that big so I don’t want a color that will make it look small. Also, the front gets a lot of sun, it is Southern exposure.
My sister, who is great at design, thinks gray is a great color for my house and not to worry about the neighbors, but I really want it to fit in nice. The greenish taupe was nice since it was coordinating, but I have had it for 10 years and something different would be nice.
Thanks for your help! I have a picture that I can email but I could not figure out how to put it on this summary.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
How about Briarwood (Ext) — a rich taupe which is a little different from your neighborhood’s gray — and Caponata AF-650 for the shutters and door? Since your roof is not black, you have some leeway to pick a shutter color other than black. Even though that’s typical New England (I know). Or since no neighbors have green, you could easily go with Nantucket Gray HC-111 with a traditional Dinner Party red (AF- 300) door and Wenge AF-180 shutters.
See what you think of those options! I’m not crazy about blue for your house — your roof is not quite the right color (at least on my screen) for the best combo.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hey Barbara-
I emailed this to you with photos attached. Not sure exactly where to post this. Hopefully you’re seeing this!
I have a 1931 brick home that is begging for some attention. It’s has two types of red brick (a foundation brick at the bottom around the house that is big and then the smaller brick used for the house) and a golden cedar asphalt shingle roof (only a few years old so changing it is not a realistic option). The trim is a combination – some parts brown, other parts cream.
We’re seriously considering a low maintenance whitewash for the brick. We think it could soften the look while playing off of its architectural style (pared-down version of earlier English Country style, with some Tudoresque details).
Would you have any reco’s on anything we should try? We’re open to ideas for trim colors, whitewash, no whitewash, etc. We just really want to freshen up the curb appeal. Heck, we even looked into painting the roof. it can be done but that brings up a world of new concerns for us. My wife is very sold on the idea of the whitewash but no materials have been purchased. Hoping to do that soon though!
Here’s a photo of the house during Halloween:
http://notthesmiths.tumblr.com/post/1411642697/who-you-callin-pansy
We’d consider leaving the brick as is if we could figure out the right trim color or colors, including the front door and the porch. As I said, we’re considering everything. This is our first home so we’re very excited but we’re also pretty intimidated by all of this.
Thanks so much. I look forward to your response!
Matt
Hi Matt,
One issue with your house, as you know, is the lack of contrast between the roof, the trim, and the brick. Since all are the same color “value” everything seems to get blended together and kind of washed out. The other issue is the panel above the garage. Not sure what that is but because it’s painted a cream trim color, we really focus on it.
So one option is to simply paint all the trim that cream color which would outline your house and windows/doors and make the architecture stand out more than it does currently. If that option does not appeal, then whitewashing is the next idea. You’ve researched whitewashing so you know that it is a durable option for altering the brick. My two reservations are: the roof (it’s new and will make the “old” look of whitewashing less convincing than if the roof were dark charcoal) and the neighborhood (the whitewashed effect will create quite a stir in your “sided” neighborhood but that’s of minor concern, of course).
I suggest doing a test area somewhere in the back where you can see the whitewash next to the current brick color. Cream is still a good option for trim color, but you may even like your current brown so I would leave that until after the brick is done.
One more comment about curb appeal. The combination of the huge succulent and the tall shrubs behind it and across the walkway from it are a bit overpowering for your house. The succulent is huge and quite a focal point. But the other shrubs/plants don’t “speak” to it — maybe either more desert-friendly plants and shrubs or a move toward an English garden look. Either direction but not necessarily both. Not sure if I’m clear on that idea but… focus on the house first. The rest will follow naturally.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hey Barbara-
Thanks for your response. To answer your question, the large panel over the garage is actually wood that’s covering a wonderful porch. It was once outdoor but the owner “closed” it in to give them more space inside. We’ve already talked to window companies about replacing the large pieces of cream wood with windows that will open. So, imagine that area as mostly glass.
When that cream color goes, do you still recommend that color for the trim? Or does that change everything?
Thanks again.
Hi Matt,
Glad to see you’re removing the panels in favor of glass. That will really help the curb appeal. You can send me a photo of the whitewashed house and we’ll pick a trim color. You may like what’s already there.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
We are currently building a house and had to change our brick color after the roof was already going on. We have a Decra metal roof – canyon brown color. The brick is a deep red with black bricks mixed in. In choosing the brick, I took the sample of the roof in and the canyon brown color roof actually matched the soft black bricks that was mixed with the deep red bricks. It didn’t look like the typical brown color roof in comparison. What I didn’t take into consideration was what it would look like in natural sunlight, and when in natural sunlight at certain times of the day, it does look brown.
I am having problems trying to figure out what color shutters and door colors (front door, garage doors, back doors) to go with this considering the windows, trim and grout are clay color.
I’m really regretting that we didn’t go with a black roof. I hope your insight can help us with this.
I have photos but I’m not sure how to post them on here. I will try to locate your email and send them that way.
Thanks for you help,
Amy
Hi Amy,
I love your brown roof color! It’s fine! Have a look at something like Whitall Brown HC-69 (Ben Moore) for your garage doors. And then I know you have a one-piece front door unit, but I might paint the sidelights the trim color and the front door an accent color, something like AF-650 Caponata (dark eggplant). You could consider that color for your shutters too. Any side doors could be the Whitall Brown reserving the accent color for your front door only. Less confusing but not a big deal. (Really applies to houses with multiple doors on the front of the house. When you paint them all red, which one is the guest door?) Anyway, you have only one door on the front so you’re all set.
Brown is your neutral now — with the roof color — so I would stick with browns for metal color, etc. Black will look harsh.
See what you think. The brown will also work for shutter color but I thought you might like something a little different.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Thank you! You have been tremendous help! I really like your suggestions and will be discussing with my husband.
With brown being the neutral, do I completely ignore the black in the brick. Tentatively, the outdoor light and fan fixtures are black. Should I change those to a brown based as well?
Thanks,
Amy
Hi Amy,
Yes, even thought there’s black in the brick, I would focus on the brown roof to dictate your metal color. Brown oil-rubbed bronze will
look spectacular.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
I don’t know if you are able to assist color-challenged folk on the California coast and before I paypal’d you thought I’d ask.
Last year we bought the ugliest house in Morro Bay, Ca … but it has a terrific view and strong bones (under all the deferred maintenance!)
We just signed contract for front yard redo … includes terraced steps (5-8feet wide) on the left (as your facing house) … the upstairs deck will be replaced with ?? sometime in near future.
Have a painter lined up for exterior and he wants us to pick colors this weekend (yikes!)
Would LOVE your advice for exterior house colors .. please let me know if you work at this much of a distance!
Thank you,
Donna
Hi Donna,
I would love to help you with your house! As long as the photos come through, it doesn’t matter where the house is. I’ve worked on houses as far away as New Zealand and India so far!
Shall I go ahead and take a look at the photos?
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Donna,
Here are a couple of colors that I pulled out of your stonework. Take a look at Texas Leather AC-3 (Ben Moore) and Jackson Tan HC-46. Depending on your neighbors’ houses (hard to see in the photo), either one would work on your house. Then you could use a tan like Yosemite Sand AC-4 or another sandy neutral from your stonework for the trim, soffits, fascia, and windows. If you decide to keep the deck, I suggest painting it the trim color so it blends in with the house a bit more. A new deck that takes into account the asymmetry of the house can be painted or stained a real accent color if you want the deck to be a design feature. But right now I would blend.
Hope that helps. I didn’t get a feel for your view but I bet it’s spectacular. Hope I’ve helped. Good luck with the project.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Donna,
Thanks for sending the inspiration house. With that in mind, how about Ben Moore’s Adams Gold HC-18 (gold with a definite green undertone) paired with the warm, rich brown of Ten Gallon Hat 1210 or slightly darker Arizona Canyon 1211? The combination is fresh and a little bit unexpected.
See if that’s a little closer to your dream home.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara…My husband and I have decided that we need to use vinyl siding on our home as we are both “up there in age” and my husband no longer wants to deal with upkeep. The front of the house is wood clapboard and the rear and side of the house is MASONITE. The old siding will be ripped off the body of the house before the house is newly sided. I really do not like the look of the same size siding on the entire house. Do not think that will look good on my house. We are thinking of the double 5 inch Certainteed on the front but don’t know about the sides and back. Hopefully you can weigh in on a siding decision. We do like the colors on the house but unsure if they can or should be duplicated with vinyl siding. Currently, the house is a taupe color with a darker trim. The windows were replaced a few years ago and are not white vinyl but a beige vinyl. The wood shingles on the roof are the weathered grey architectural shingles. Not sure if we should keep the same color scheme…The closest color Certainteed has to what we currently have is SavannahWicker for the body and Natural Clay for the Trim. Not sure if we should go darker body and lighter trim? With what color should we wrap the windows ? Also, the door color is a C2 color called Poundstone. It is a beautiful green but wondering if you could weigh in on that as well. The area we live in has all custom built homes that date back to the mid-70’s. The area has very mature greenery. Sorry this is so long. I did send you some pictures to your yahoo e-mail account…….thank you so much, Vicky
Hi Vicky,
Since your house at the moment looks quite monochromatic, how about lightening up the siding color to something like Light Maple. Then you could use Natural Clay for the trim/window casing/garage door color. The Natural Clay seems to work well with your roof color. Then switch out the door color to something that ties in the rear deck color — how about C2’s Spanish Tile 1336? Creating a little more contrast between the different elements of your house will add some interest. Although the monochromatic look helps to make the house bigger, you do need contrast somewhere.
As for changing out the siding style between the front and the rest, that may be a question best answered by your neighborhood. Your classic ranch style home usually has horizontal siding although occasionally we see board-and-batten vertical siding. I’m not a big fan of mixing the two unless you have some unique architectural features, like a large gable, to highlight. Then we see shingle style, fish scale, rock/brick, all kinds of variation on that focal point. But I suggest keeping your whole house horizontal and focusing on the beautiful landscaping/walkway and other features. Then the siding will not be the main attraction.
Hope that helps.
Thanks again for your patience.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank You Barbara………..So, basically you would keep the same color scheme as well as keeping the house body color lighter than the trim? This is what I was struggling with. Some houses have darker bodies and lighter trim. Also, the deck looks red in the pictures but it is actually a chestnut brown with darker brown spindles. Also, the roof color is either the Driftwood or Weatheredwood but frankly, they seem very similar. I don’t like the board and batten. I was thinking about trying to do the double 5 inch in the front and larger horizontal exposure on the sides and back?………I know I am getting nitpicy but once you commit to vinyl there is not going back. Have a nice Christmas………..Vicky
Hi Vicky,
Yes, I would keep the trim darker than the siding on your house. I think it makes the house look bigger. Make sure the garage doors don’t clash with the front door (kind of off right now). It wouldn’t hurt to pick a completely different color for your front door. Again pulling in the warmth of the deck color would be a good option. And the shutters are a little too black although they go with your lamp post and railing. It’s just that the roof is so light in comparison to the shutters that the shutters stand out as a feature. They should simply complement the house color. Like Caponata AF-650. As for changing the siding style as you move around the house, I’m not a big fan of that idea unless you’re highlighting a particular feature, like a gable or some other architectural element. Changing the lap siding as you go from front to side is something I can’t say I’ve seen before. Make sure you see a sample house before making a commitment.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
I hope you can help us pick our colors! My husband and I are having a Craftsman 1 1/2 story house built and we cannot decide on an exterior color scheme. Attached is a picture of the style home only our home will have side lights with the front door and one large garage door instead of 2 doors.
We would really like to have a stained front door with stained columns over stone on the porch. The siding will be Hardie Board and maybe a Hardie Shake on the top. The base of the house and steps will be brick. We both like the Iron Grey siding but need help in picking out roof, shake and, stain and brick colors. Our second choice would be to use the color Timber Bark instead of Iron Grey.
You can find the siding colors at the website JamesHardie.com .
Thanks for your help!
Cathy
Hi Cathy,
Well here’s one option for you using the Iron Grey siding: Consider Canyon Springs brick which looks like it combines grays/browns/tans/creams altogether. I like the Natural stone colors with your siding choice instead of red because the red/grey combo seems really dark. See what you think. Then for the shake siding in the gables, how about Khaki Brown with Cobble Stone Trim?
Here’s the brick link:
http://www.brick.com/cgi-bin/viewPanel.pl?filename=elp347&blendname=Canyon+Springs&catalog=&language=undefined&plantname=Elgin+Plant
For a stain, you can pick something like a Cordovan Brown (not too red but a rich brown) for the door/columns.
The roof choice needs to come after these other color decisions because you can go in the gray direction with Charcoal or a gray/brown mix.
See what you think… If you want red brick, the color combination will still work but I would go with a lighter trim, something like sail cloth, to lighten up the overall effect and maybe pick up on the grout color. Plus with red brick there’s always the very lovely Mountain Sage with cream trim.
Hope I haven’t confused the issue more. The biggest decision that you have to make first is the brick/stonework on the porch and columns. The siding colors will come out of that decision. Then after you make the siding choice, choose the trim and roof colors. In that order (if your builder can wait!).
Good luck!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
PS. Are you able to view the photo below?
/Users/catherinesherwood/Library/Mail Downloads/photo-8.jpg
You can find the picture on Facebook.com under Catherine Sherwood posted on 1.23.11
Hi Barbara,
First let me say that I am so happy I found your site. My husband and I are revamping the exterior of our home. We are slowly replacing our windows with white trimmed vinyl windows. We have some red brick on the porch and sides of the garage doors. The front porch is accented with a white railing. The roof is new and is a medium to dark brown color. We will be replacing the exterior with hardy board siding. That’s where I need your help, what color to paint the siding? My husband and I love the outdoors and the autumnal colors are what we’ve used in the interior of our house. I’ve thought about a dark green exterior paint, red door, not sure if we should add shutters. Our neighborhood hardware store has an amazing sale on Benjamin Moore paint. If possible I’d like to try and use one of their colors. Please let me know your thoughts. I can’t wait to hear from you. Here are two pictures of the exterior:
http://www.photoshop.com/users/midwestmarinemom/assets/71d4fd1c521e4cdeacd8d90e89a92cd2
http://www.photoshop.com/users/midwestmarinemom/assets/e14fc1038af444c3a8cf699b783e2a37
Thanks,
Mary Jones
Hi Mary,
Since you have already had a red door, would you consider a different color to go with the new green siding? How about a siding color of Ben Moore’s Boreal Forest AF-480 with a front door color of Richmond Gold HC-41? That combo will give you a different look to your house and will go well with the brown roof and trim. Then you could paint your rocking chairs a nice rich brick red like Dinner Party AF-300 (or whatever the color is on your current door).
Another option is to go with the Mountain Sage Hardie Plank (pre-painted). Just another option.
Do you plan to move all the trim to white including the gutters or keep the cream/white combo? As for the soffits/garage doors, I suggest keeping them the siding color so they are not the focal point. Save the accent colors for the front door area.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
I’ve been told Benjamin Moore can match any paint color, so I guess that doesn’t limit us. Also, I meant to say hunter green, not necessarily dark green. We are on a cul de sac of beige colored homes. What do you think? Also hubby asked me to ask you for your suggestions for soffits and garage doors as we will replace those this spring. Thanks, for letting me add this,,,,and can’t wait to hear your suggestions.
Mary
I have a Contemporary House with large black roof and black trim and black railings, it is green parody board, beige brown stucco in areas and beige brick but you cannot see it as the black trim is everywhere. There is some red trim also which we hate. We want to soften the look. What color could we do the trim it overpowers the house the black.
Hi Cheryl,
Since your house is contemporary, you can blend all that black trim into the house by painting it either a shade lighter or darker than the house color. That will take all those black lines away from the house, make it look bigger, and let you start over. You can paint out the red trim the same way. Reserve the pop of color for the front door.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I posted all of this somewhere else on your website – I don’t follow directions well evidently. 🙂
http://beachhouse46.shutterfly.com/
Here is the link to my little beach bungalow project. I have done nothing to the outside – and am ready to paint, add vinyl soffits and fasica and maybe vinyl gables. The house is cement with the stone accents. I also may add a large column by the front door with some stone accents on the lower half (I would love your suggestions).
I am trying to make it have lots of curb appeal, so I am open to any color suggestions. Recently I put in white plantation shutters all around, which are easily viewed from outside because of the large windows. This seems to be working against me with the brown tones, so I hope it wasn’t a mistake. I am going for a very contemporary look on the inside (some pics are also on the website).
Please make any suggestions that I could do without too much investment – I am willing to spend up to $3500 to spruce up the outside (that includes the soffits and fascia which desperately need work).
Thanks – and I’m so glad you are out there for us do-it-yourselfers!
Rita
Ormond Beach, Fl
Hi Rita,
Nice job on the inside! Wow you’ve been busy!
Now for the outside, how about taking the grout color from your stacked stone accent and painting the cement brick (currently yellow). Have a look at Ben Moore’s Decatur Buff HC-38 — or a comparable neutral that approximates your grout color. That will unify the house and make the stone accent look more intentional. Then for the gable, you can consider an accent color pulled from the stacked stone, something like Audubon Russet HC-51. If that’s too much of a statement then, paint the gable the same color as the rest of the house — that will make the house look bigger.
Now for the trim, I would go to white since you have white shutters showing at the windows and it’s a beach bungalow. White soffits, fascia, and gutters. Just that change alone will make the house look more like a cottage.
For the front entry, I suggest camouflaging your new white downspout with a larger white column (non-peeling, non-wood material — glorified plastic but has the appearance of wood!). You can certainly add stone to the column but I think that’s fairly expensive. But worth looking into anyway just to get a price and make decisions from there. Then paint your door either the Audubon Russet HC-51 or another sunny hue taken from your stacked stone (dare I suggest Eye of the Tiger 188?? — bold!).
If you’d prefer a white door, that’s okay as long as it’s pristine white and shiny clean! You have a lot of color elsewhere.
If you go for a white door, then I suggest painting the porch furniture one of the suggested colors.
How about big silver-toned (brushed nickel) numbers on the front of the house (very modern and large) next to the garage door? Then if the budget allows, switch out the mailbox and porch light to nickel as well.
Those changes should update the house and make it quite a splash on your block. Hope so!
Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I LOVE your ideas and hope to be able to carry them through. I do have a few questions though:
1) The grout is actually a grayish color…would that still be a go to paint the house with it?
2) I have 3 gables – should I paint the ones on the ends white or the same as the house?
3) I like the idea of painting the front gable the Audubon Russet color – and I have a friend who has offered to change the look to fish scales there. Would that be worth the work or would it be going away from the contemporary look?
4) Would a wood fence look nice or should I save up for the white vinyl look?
5) I love your idea for just the large white square column out front – and eventually I would like to add some stone or brick to the entryway floor. I had thought about a gray slate look. Any ideas?
Thank you again – can’t wait to get started!
Hi again Rita,
Regarding your follow-up questions:
1) Check out the lighter Shaker Beige HC-45 and Revere Pewter HC-172 and see if one of those is perfect with your gray grout. The house color should really blend well with the grout so that the warm stone pops out. That’s why maybe one of the lighter colors will work a little better than the darker Decatur Buff. I could be happy with any of them on your house.
2) I would paint the accent color on the front gable only. The other two will be the house color. That puts all the attention on the front of the house. BUT on the sides, you can add orange/yellow flowers, etc to tie the whole house together.
3) Since there’s no stonework on the front gable side of the house, I think it would be great to have some texture up there in the gable. We would be getting away from “modern” but moving more toward “cottage” and I think that’s fine for your beach house. Either way, the house will look updated, bright and cheerful and therefore “contemporary” — just not “modern.”
4) In general, I’m not a big fan of fences out front unless you need one for practical purposes like keeping in the dog or the children and then mainly for the backyard. A visual barrier between the street and the yard is okay as long as it’s attractive and does not block the view of the house. Ideally, a stone wall would fit into your scheme a little better than a fence. Or some garden beds with a variety of shrubs going along in front by the street. If you really do want and need a fence out front by the street, get a material that is as close to wood as you can get and still have the minimal upkeep.
A note about vinyl: You can’t beat it for maintenance, of course, but the shiny vinyl fences look pretty plasticky (is that a word?). Get a vinyl that has a matte finish on it that approximates the look of painted wood. Same for your column on the porch. Wood is best, but it will rot and require upkeep. Look around before purchasing “vinyl” as there are lots of options out there.
5) Gray slate would be perfect for your front entryway floor. Stone will be better than brick — less busy — and it will complement your stonework and not compete with it.
Hope that helps! Enjoy!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
My partner I need help selecting our exterior house colors we haven’t a clue.We will be replacing the existing roof ( due to a leak) with a GAF Timberline Barkwood or a Shakewood shingle ( I’m partial to the lighter color shakewood although i’ve been told it’s too much gold).There is stone work on the front with gray mortar I’d like to paint the mortar but I don’t know how it will come out.The deck needs staining ( I’ve seen a glossy rich deep color medium dark stain people have been using lately and we love it but are too afraid to ask total strangers where they got it.) As for the siding we would like something warm.Color for trim around the windows (just recently installed) what do you think about white? we also need color ideas for gutters and trim.Also should we paint the garage doors they are new a factory white and made of some sort of metal.I also want to add board and batten shutters i was thinking of staining them the same color as the deck.I have attached pictures. Thanks so much for ur help.
Hi Randy,
Here are some of ideas that might incorporate the stone work on the front without getting into the messy job of trying to hide it. For one idea, I know you said you would like a warm color for the siding, but if you pick up on the gray mortar color with something like Ben Moore’s Revere Pewter (HC-172), that will actually blend in some of the grays from the stone and let the warmer gold and brown tones pop out. Then you could use the darker brown (Barkwood) for the roof to add contrast and pick that color up again with the deck stain — dark brown should pop off the gray stone quite nicely. Yes, you can use white for the trim, but a gray white like China White or even a light gray like Intense White OC-51 to bridge the gray mortar/white window contrast.
For the garage doors, you could use the dark brown again or the siding color. The dark brown will attract attention. The siding color will allow the black hardware to show up better. The shutters can be brown as well.
What we’ve done is camouflaged the rustic nature of the stone by using a more contemporary color scheme. A warm color on the siding (something like Jackson Tan HC-46 or even a Richmond Gold HC-41) is another option, of course, but the effect of that will be to highlight that stone work area — the grays of the stone and grout will pop right off the front of the house. Terrific if you decide to embrace the stone. But if you’re the least bit hesitant about it, I would opt for blending the grout and stone grays into the house as much as possible.
The gold in the stone is a fabulous accent color. And a dark version of that could be used for the shutters and deck railing if you want to make a huge statement. But the dark brown is a safe but tasteful option if you’d rather not draw too much attention to the house. The gold could be used in the landscape, deck chairs and other accessories.
Hope that helps.
Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello!
My husband and I bought a great house that desperately needs curb-appeal. It is a bi-level house with nice wood siding that has been painted a peach color and nice wood shutters painted brown….Peach and brown. Ugh. The garage door is painted white. I’m just thankful everything is wood and can be painted. We were thinking of painting it a burnt red color (we’ve just always wanted a burnt red house), but were unsure what color to paint the shutters or garage door.
I wish I could get a photo to you, but I’m not quite sure how to do that…
Hi Kate,
Is that brick on the first floor by the garage? Sounds like you plan to paint the entire house. If you go with a burnt red, you may not even need shutters. You really only have two windows on the second floor that might like shutters and those windows are not the same size. Since all the windows are different shapes and sizes, I suggest leaving off the shutters completely. You will have enough color and contrast with the red siding and white trim (I would paint the sidelights on either side of the front door the same trim color and maybe invest in a full-view storm door — that will help a lot too!). The garage door can pick up on the roof color — something neutral and earthy like a Ben Moore Tyler Taupe HC-43. See what you think of those changes!
Thanks for posting.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Sounds lovely! I didn’t even think about leaving off the shutters completely. Would definitely give it a more contemporary look. And yes, that is a small brick facade by the front door, which we think we’ll just paint along with the house. (Personally, I’d like to take a sledge hammer to the brick, but…). I love the neutral taupe for the garage as well. Would go well with burnt red.
Found a way to leave a link. The photo is blurry–so sorry. I think you’ll see our problem…
http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/slideshow/AlbumID=6018632009/PictureID=304687383009/a=27133739_27133739/otsc=SHR/otsi=SPIClink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Hi Barbara ! Im glad I found your site as I was looking for appropriate colors for our house. Our house roof is color red to red-orange and we cant find a color match for the exterior and really we are at loss for what colors to paint it. Can you also suggest for interior colors.
Hope you can help us.
Thank you.
Pearl
Hi Pearl,
A red roof makes a definite statement. You might like to go with a neutral on the siding so that the house is not TOO colorful… (hard for a color person to say that, for sure!) but you know what I mean. Look at the neutral tans like Ben Moore’s Lenox Tan.
As for the interior colors, I would be happy to help you. Either you can post photos on the blog (the donate button is along the margin if you scroll up — I charge $20/room) or you can email me the photos at bmeglis@yahoo.com and we’ll go from there. Either way…
Hope that gets you started. Thanks again for posting!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
I have an old flat roof house that has been used as a rental for some time. As you can see from the photo it is looking tired and dreary. I need to paint this year and I’m having trouble deciding on a paint color and the color for the front door.
Right now I’m leading toward a soft pale green with white trim, door color?
The house is located in the pacific northwest and I would like to have it feel like a garden cottage. Most of the plantings are red, pink, purple and white.
Help me take this from looking like a shack
to a garden cottage. I’m open to any suggestions.
Thank you,
Alisa
Hi Alisa,
Here are a couple of cottagey ideas:
Ben Moore’s Kittery Point Green HC-119 with white trim and an Audubon Russet door HC-51. An alternative for the front door is a rich purple like Chambourd AF-645. Very nice with your purple and white plantings.
Another idea is a Jamestown Blue HC-148 with a warm yellow door like Golden Lab 178. With white trim, that’s a great combination.
I suggest painting all the accessories (mailbox, etc) white. And use the door color for your house numbers and other accents like pots on the front step. Crisp white is the key ingredient for using bright clear colors. Fresh, summery, and uplifting.
Hope that helps!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Please take a look at my DC house above and let me know what you think. I was thinking of repainting all of the hardie plank siding and brick on the far left a dark gray – like sherman williams gibraltar or web gray. (the painters are using sherman williams duration products) the stone in the front is mainly brown but does also have gray that i’m trying to match. assuming i keep the trim white. should i paint the garage gray or leave it white? also what about the front door? i don’t care for red.
also what about the brick in the front of house and wall?
i appreciate your suggestions. thanks in advance.
kara
Hi Kara,
The colors you mentioned will work although your roof looks like it has a bit of a green undertone to that gray so consider a green-gray too, something like Night Owl SW 7061. (The other two colors you mentioned are quite blue.)
Then since you have an updated garage that would be nice to highlight, pick a coordinating color from your stonework. Take a look at Rookwood Clay SW 2833 or one of the other warm tones from the stone. Use that on both garage door and front door.
The brick on the far end of the house should be house color — as it is now. The brick wall/walkway can stay as is. If you go with the green-gray, there is some of that color in your brick wall. You’ll be all set!
Hope that works for you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I have been checking your site for a couple of years and I think all your suggestions are right on. I am getting ready to paint the exterior of my house and I want to email a picture to you but I am not sure how to do that. I see the place to make the donation and am delighted to do that but I am not getting how this process works! Thank you. Chris
Hi Chris,
I would be happy to help you. Just send a photo via email to bmeglis@yahoo.com or you can insert a photo link right into the Blog Reply box. The process is a little klunky since I’m working via a blog and not a commercial vendor site. But it’s okay.
I will look for your photo and question and thank you in advance for your payment.
Kind regards,
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Chris,
I think in your case, since the garage doors are so prominent, that it would be a good idea to darken them up. That way they will “ground” the house, coordinate with the roof, and kind of break up that garage-door wall.
Take a look at something like Ben Moore’s Berkshire Beige AC-2 or Texas Leather AC-3. One of those just might work.
I do like the idea of adding lights. That will help too! But I think darkening the doors will give you the facade you want. Just make sure the color is in your brick (a little hard to tell).
Hope that helps!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
It is time for a new paint/stain for our East TN home. This little rancher is situated in a lake/mountain community and is used year round.
Although it doesn’t show in the pic, the roof is black. There is a dark brown/black vinyl trim to the windows. It actually looks like oil rubbed bronze, but definitely isn’t.
I’m at a loss as to what to do with the color, trim and everything that goes along with it. I’m not a fan of the lattice work in front and back. And I’m a hater of the massive white foundation and retainer wall.
What suggestions do you have to spruce this place up?
Thanking you in advance.
Hi Patricia,
I suggest that you first take a look at concrete stain options and colors. Choose one that’s either in the light gray family or light beige to simulate a natural-stone kind of look. Then once you’ve chosen either gray or beige, go up a few shades for your house stain color. Here are a couple of examples. Take a look at Ben Moores’ Equestrian Gray 1553 for a house color (it’s a darkish gray green kind of like what you have now) and then go three shades lighter for Cumulus Cloud 1550 (a green-gray) for the concrete. Or Look at Edgewood Rocks 1056 (a maple brown) for the siding and Sierra Hills 1053 for the concrete stain. By using a lighter (but still natural) version of the siding color, you blend all that concrete and make the house look bigger without “painting” the concrete a color that just looks odd.
Stay natural with your palette and this will work. But blues and reds are out.
Then paint your latticwork the house color like it is in the front so it will go away too. What you’re left with is the white trim along the porch/deck, the cream around the windows, and your gorgeous flowers and white chairs for your accents.
See what you think of that idea.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We’re back again after a successful exterior paint job thanks to you.
Now for the interior walls (see Flickr url). Currently have wallpaper, but want to paint.
Unfortunately, the walls underneath the paper are coated with varnish over spray from the wainscoat. It would be very difficult to sand or remove without damaging the sheetrock.
So, wondering what colors and technique (i.e. faux) would you recommend.
Thanks so much.
Jackson
Hi Jackson,
I’ve emailed you…
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Jackson,
It is possible… (kind of as a last ditch effort)… to paint wallpaper IF it’s in good condition (not peeling or separating at the seams). The trick there is to use a REALLY good primer over the paper. And don’t ever plan to take it down…
If you’ve already started to take the paper down and are just concerned about the walls underneath and not getting a smooth surface, then a faux finish is in order. I recommend ragging as opposed to sponging or other techniques as it looks the most natural when you’re done. Natural for a faux finish, that is. Add a bit of glaze to the paint to extend the drying time and give you more time to mess around with the rag on the wall before the paint dries. Paint the base coat (say Bone White) and then rag on the top coat, Putnam Ivory HC-39 or Powell Buff HC-35 (something not too removed in hue from the base coat), and then go back over the wall lightly at the end with the base coat color to soften the hard edges and really make the wall look professionally painted.
Stick with neutral colors for the wall since the focus is really on your woodwork. Pick two colors that blend well and are of the same color family. That will give you the best result. The colors I mentioned above would definitely work in your room. Also something like Ben Moore’s Abington Putty HC-99 and Clarksville Gray HC-102.
Does that help? Oh, and I love how your house turned out!! Very nice!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We need to paint our house this year and we plan to leave the red brick which is only on the front of the house, and the dark charcoal roof which is new. But the trim, garage doors and front door need to be painted. What do you think about shutters on our house? I do not like white, but I do like off whites, tans, browns, taupes, and greens. I want our house to look warm and inviting and less formal. We would appreciate your suggestions.
I will send a picture on a separate e-mail.
Thanks,
Gail Luce
Hi Gail,
Here’s one palette for you. How about painting the front door either Ben Moore’s New London Burgundy HC-61 or Dinner Party AF-300. Either one of those should show off your terrific brick colors. Then for the shutters, you can pick up the roof color as well as the brick with Ebony Slate 2118-30 or Toucan Black 2118-20. Each of those has a touch of dark eggplant as an undertone. For the garage doors and the rest of the house, you’ve got lots of options. Check out Litchfield Gray HC-78 as one alternative — it’s a gray-beige. Not too exciting but you have a lot of color in the brick and the roof (even) so a neutral is a good idea. Any other hue like green will give you a rainbow effect. The idea behind the HC-78 was to coordinate with your key stones and the grout in your brick. Any sandy color will work, however, so you can move toward the warmer tans or the cooler gray-beiges and still have a great look.
The house siding and the garage doors do not have to match. You can go a shade or two darker with either one. But I would stick to related neutrals since your brick is so colorful.
Does that help?
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
The Litchfield Gray matches our grout and key stones perfectly! It may not be an exciting color, but I really like neutrals.
What would you think about using the color Ebony Slate for the door instead of one of the red tones? I thought that would look nice and it seems like there is enough red in the brick.
What color would you chose for the shutters if we went with the black door? It seems like the windows need shutters to show up better.
I really appreciate your help. This can be very stressful.
Thanks,
Gail
Hi Gail,
You can certainly use the Ebony Slate on the door instead of the red. As for the shutters, they too can be Ebony Slate. That would look great on the rest of the house unless you were planning to shutter only the front. The slate picks up the roof and the darker tones in the brick. I’m not crazy about light shutter colors unless they’re on a cottage or a French country home. For your brick, black is the convention… and the Ebony Slate warms up the “black” somewhat.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara, I just sent you an e-mail about roof choices and siding. I made a mistake on the roof color by owens-corning. It is called summer harvest not harvest blend. oops, Thanks, Marilou
Hi! My husband and I are in our fifties and building a home for the first time. We have never really paid a lot of attention to what goes into a house until now, and we are completely overwhelmed and exhausted! We both work and our building’s location is over an hour away! We are in need of major help for exterior materials and colors which have to be chosen asap as framing is nearly finished. Ahhhh!
Our house is a two story, contemporary lake home. We are working with three colors. We had thought to do the bottom half in a vertical steel metal siding (Dark red) and the upper half in an acrylic stucco. Some of the colors we are considering are Bejamin Moore’s pashmina, thunder, sandy hook gray, meditation or coastal path. Do you think any of these would work with the red?
We are also thinking about doing the chimney stack in a charcoal metal, along with the stone firepalce, fascia, soffiting, and windows which will be frameless. Or do you think we should do the window casements in black??? Do the soffits and fascia have to be the same color? What would you suggest here? Would you do the roof in a charcoal color as well?
We are thinking about a blue door but that decision does not need to be made yet. Thank goodness!!
We are working without a designer, although I really really wish we could afford one. So glad to have come across this site. Wish we had discovered it earlier.
Looking forward to your advice,
Desperate in Alberta…
Hi Darcy,
I like the Coastal Path AF-380 option for the stucco. It’s warmer than the others with the green/gray undertones and will contrast nicely with your grays from the chimney stack, gray roof (yes, that’s okay) and stonework. As for the fascia and soffits, you might continue with the coastal path up to the roof line. Or you can use the coastal path for the soffits and gray for the fascia.
The windows will look good in black — they’ll contrast with the body color and coordinate with the roof grays. But another option would be a lighter version of the coastal path if you’re concerned at all about the “eyeliner-around-the-window” look that happens if the windows are on the small side.
As for the door, leave that color choice blank for as long as possible to see the total effect of your other color decisions first. You can certainly take your time with the door color.
I am happy to help you as you go along. Send photos once you have a structure and we can proceed through the process together.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara!
Wow! Thanks for such a quick reply. This is great! I will be getting stucco samples from our builder at the end of the week so will be able to see what this color actually looks like. I like the idea of using this color for the soffiting as well.
As for the window encasements, we have to finalize our order tomorrow morning… We have some large windows but also some small ones. I was afraid of black being too dark looking, maybe because of that eyeliner effect. Since we do not as yet have the stucco colors (coastal path) to work with, I was thinking of using dark gray on the windows? Would this work as well???
Could you please comment on the colors and materials we are using? Do you think it will all work? I know it would be helpful to have a drawing, but I don’t know how to that and my husband is away. Will try to send you one later.
Very scared of all this!
Darcy
Also was wondering…we have to delete some of our windows as we are over budget. We have large windows with transoms on the front of the house and smaller windows on the side. We thought maybe we could delete the transoms on the side windows to save money but keep the height. Would deleting the side transoms look odd if there are other windows in the same room that have them???
Hi Darcy,
The gray windows will work as long as a) you have gray elsewhere (the roof/chimney/stonework); and b) you want the windows to pop off the siding color. The dark gray will not blend — it will still pop. If that’s okay, then go for the charcoal. If you’re concerned about the windows attracting too much attention on the house, then it would be better to pick a color that will coordinate/blend a little better with the house color. But for a contemporary style, it’s very appropriate to have the windows featured as part of the design and therefore colored to contrast with the rest of the siding. So if you feel comfortable with that approach, the dark gray will be perfect! Hope that helps you.
As for the transoms, I think it will be okay to have the transoms on the front only as long as the windows are different sizes (between the front and sides). You mentioned they were all going to be the same height but I assume the width will be different. You can fudge the lack of transom by having different but coordinating window treatments on the interior. If you treat the windows differently on the inside, all will look intentional and not a money-saving decision. For example, you might put stationary panels beside your tall front windows and Roman shades over the side windows. To be determined later…
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you so much for all this! I am still a bit confused. I actually thought the charcoal would be less contrasting than the black. But it sounds like they are about equal.
Would the windows pop on both materials (stucco and dark red siding) so the top and bottom are balanced? We have large windows on both floors.
Could you perhaps suggest another color that will blend? Pressured for time and hoping it will all tie together.
Thanks so much…
Hesitant & unsure
Hi Darcy,
Not to worry… the charcoal will be less contrasting than the black and will really only pop a little more on the stucco. If you go too light with the windows, the opposite effect will happen on the red siding. So go ahead with the charcoal. You cannot go wrong because you have charcoal elsewhere on the house.
Would love to see a sketch of your house style. ?? Sounds very creative!!
Just trying to help you through the thought process so you’re sure of all your decisions along the way…
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Babara
Thanks so much for your input and encouragement. I can see using your guidance a lot through this process.
We are really under the wire here and still very uncertain. We saw the house yesterday… it looks beautiful… but I think I am afraid of ruining it with bad color choices. Ahhhh! Framing is done, roof on so they do need our windows, roof and soffiting colors NOW.
Windows go into production today, so the window people said I had until today to decide on the color of the encasements. I am still wavering between black and dark gray. Problem is I can’t find an example of dark gray anywhere in the neighborhood to compare to.
Would black windows look GREAT??? or would we be introducing yet another color to the mix? I just don’t know which is the best choice here. I do like how black makes the windows pop and we do have a few big windows.
And I am wondering if the dark grey really goes with the Coastal Path color??? We will be using the gray for soffits and fascia as we haven’t had time to find any other color. As you can see, I have absolutely no confidence here….
So, I guess my question is.
What looks best…
1. Charcoal gray, Red siding, Coastal path stucco with black windows; OR
2. Charcoal gray, red siding, coastal path stucco with dark gray windows???
3. Or are there other exterior colors we should be using.
By the way, there is a belt around the middle of the house that is there to separate the two materials I guess. It would also be charcoal.
Thanks! Somehow, I think this has been the most difficult decision so far in this process. I hope it gets easier.
Stuck in Alberta!
Darcy
Hi Darcy,
Had a hectic day today and just saw your time-sensitive post asking for window approval. Although you probably had to go ahead today, I just want to reassure you that either charcoal or black will work. The charcoal is probably best since you have other charcoal going on the house. But black will work as well. You can always add more black accents both on the house (lighting) and around the house (furniture, pots, etc) to tie the windows into the overall scheme. The Coastal Path should go with either one. It’s a very sophisticated color combination. The green will blend with the surroundings; the red will pop; and the windows will be nicely featured. NOT TO WORRY!!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks for geting back to me, Barbara. I really appreciate this online assistance. We did go with the black but can change other elements of our exterior if we have to. I definitely do not want a dark-looking house. Hoping to achieve something beautiful and cheerful with a touch of fun as it is at the lake.
We would like to keep the red siding and the charcoal chimney as they seem to go well together. As for the Coastal Path, I’m not sure if we’re talking about the same stucco color. The coastal path we have is an odd sort of a greeny-yellow (in the sun anyway), not a greeny-grey, and I’m not sure if it goes with the charcoal. I like it with the red siding though. Might you have been referring to another color or do you still think this color would work? When stucco is applied to a large surface does it get lighter or darker? Do you have any other suggestions for the stucco? Any other suggestions for soffits and fascia, or is charcoal still appropriate here.
Our roofing order has to go in tonight. Here is what we have… Harmony’s Twilight Grey (has a little bit of a blue hue) or Slate Black. Just not sure if the latter is too dark. Or might this be a way to pull in the black windows??
Can’t wait til this is done and we can move on to other things. Next is the plumbing and fixtures.
Cheers,
Darcy
Hi Coach,
Here are some links to our late 60’s tract masterpiece –
As you can see, our exterior is in need of a refresh. Our roof is a reddish brown color composite shingle, not planning on changing that for another 10+ years, but you can’t really see it anyway…may not matter? Also, the windows must stay the same, white. The siding is stucco and the texture is something only the late 60’s could have given us. We are also going to add trim to the windows/garage/front door – do you think wood or foam would fit better? Also, with the chimney we can ‘refresh’ to make red & white pop again or just stucco it.
So, what colors for:
exterior house walls, gates (we can change these wood, vinyl etc.), eves, new & roof trim, iron railing on balcony (we will probably match new exterior lanterns to this color), garage door?
Anyway I can get the colors in dunn-edwards language? Our paint guy only uses their stuff.
Thanks for the help – just paypal’d.
Dom
Hi Dom,
One idea would be to paint the stucco a taupe like Wooden Peg DE6215 with a trim like Swiss Coffee DEW341 around the windows and fascia/soffits. Then because your garage is so prominent and we can’t see the front door from the street, how about Weathered Saddle DE5187 for the accent color on garage door and front door. You could also use that color around the back on the pergolas with the Swiss Coffee on the awnings.
The clay red should coordinate with the brick and other terra cotta around the house as well as your beach roses and other red flowering shrubs in the front.
For a dose of modern update, how about replacing the wrought iron railing with a silver-toned aluminum alternative in a tubular design (or something equally streamlined — a cable railing might be an option).
Then you could use silver-colored metal (polished nickel) for your new modern light fixtures. The gates could be wooden– painted the house color to camouflage them.
Embracing the mid-century styling of the house by replacing wrought iron (the more traditional Southern California material) with its modern alternatives will really bring out the home’s architecture and put the house in its most positive light. Whoever the gardener is in your family will kill me for suggesting this, but if you do move more toward modern in your mini-renovation, the topiaries on either side of the garage will look out of place. They are calling for a more traditional European-style home — perhaps a little too ornate for your clean lines. Replacing those sculpted shrubs with your new large modern garage lights on either side of the door will make a huge difference. My apologies to the gardener — the topiaries are truly a work of art!!
How’s that for starters??
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
front door too!
Hi Barbara,
Very much like your site and hoping you can help us with a color scheme for our house. I emailed a link to photos on your yahoo address earlier today.
Here’s some detail and background info…we’re planning to use Sherwin Williams but if you have a better feel for other brands that’s fine, from comments above it sounds like not a big deal to match.
We took off the shutters. There’s one photo there of the house in cream siding with dark green shutters on. Would like your opinion on whether or not to put the shutters back up.
The house siding is cedar shakes except on the front below the small 2nd floor windows, a horizontal board separates the shakes from smaller boards that run parallel up to the roof. (not sure if the photos show this detail) There are similar vertical boards on the ends. We’ve experimented using the color visualizer softwares on highlighting these detail/elements with multiple colors (me). Also more traditional looks (my wife)…but don’t seem to be able to come up with something that we both like.
I should share that several of my color schemes were sent back to the drawing board in search of something that “pops” and has a cottage look and feel…hope that helps give some direction for your recommendation.
thanks!
Hi Dave,
First of all, it’s okay to leave the shutters off the house. With your irregularly sized windows, the shutters are a bit of a challenge. I like the house as is.
Have you thought of a blue for the house like Needlepoint Navy SW0032? With white trim and a Birdseye Maple SW2834 door? Or what about Colonial Revival Green Stone SW2826 with white trim and a Cajun Red SW0008 door? Either of those combinations will give you a cottage “pop.”
Then I definitely would paint the stairs and the deck a dark wood brown just to blend in with the other stairs on the back and the hilly landscape. You want the focus to be on the house and its accessories and not on the stairs/deck color. What a view!!
Honestly, in terms of painting detail on the house, I would paint everything wall color except for the window and door trim. I think with the interesting windows and your landscaping, that you have enough to look at. Highlighting all the wood trim might make the house too busy. It conjures up an old colonial — I think it IS an old colonial — and the simpler the better.
Does that help?
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara! Oops! I guess I had to submit another donation. Sorry about that. To update you since the last note…
We were able to change our windows to dark grey. We went with the Harmony’s Slate Black roof so hoping this is not too dark. We really wanted a charcoal color but had few choices here. Fascia and soffiting are charcoal grey. Siding is dark red. We still need more suggestions for the stucco color. We can have a few more samples made. My husband is meeting with the stucco guy tomorrow so I’m hoping for a reply soon. My emails seem to always be one day too late…
Look forward to hearing from you.
Darcy
Hi Darcy,
Thank you for the payment. I was not waiting for it — just late replying to your last post. But thank you anyway. I’m very glad you went with the dark grey for the windows. The Slate Black roof should be fine. And since all the trim is charcoal and the siding is red, let me get you some other stucco choices. Back in a few minutes!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Darcy,
Since this is a summer house, how about something like Safari AF-335 or Soleil AF-330? The grey is your neutral and the grey and red are rich dark shades. How about some contrast with a creamy yellow?? There’s also the neutral tan Hush AF-95. Or the slight beigey peach Jicama AF-315?
Any of those would look spectacular with your grey trim and the red bottom layer. The greens with the greys are a tad “military” looking. I’m liking the warmer lighter tones…
Hope one of those works!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you! I’ll give those a try. By the way, it doesn’t have to be a color from Benjamen Moore so… If you think of any others, let me know:^)
Hi Barbara,
I am now wondering about the doors. There are 5…street entry (main entrance), side entrance, back balcony, front garden doors, and front balcony garden doors. Given the type of home we have would you choose smooth or wood grain? Would you do the same on all five entries? What about colors? I had thought to do blue???? Or something different…could maybe pull in the element of fun here but I’m afraid of having too many colors. Any suggestions? Would you do all the doors the same? Should we be using trim color here?
We also have to choose hinges aand lock systems. Really not sure what to use. Black maybe? I’ve been advised to just go with a generic chrome as it goes with anything. What do you think? The entry doors don’t need to have the same hardware as the interior doors, do they?
Thanks for your help!
Darcy
PS: How do we upload a picture to send you?
Hi Darcy,
Sorry for the delay… traveling over the weekend.
Would love to see a photo since you have a unique home style. Could go either way with multiple door colors, one different color for the main entrance only, or all the same. For now, you can email me a photo at bmeglis@yahoo.com. Unfortunately because this is a blog, there is no upload function — at least at the moment! The blog is under construction — I am trying to fix little annoyances like that for my bloggers. But for now, it’s email.
Back later.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Need help with exterior color scheme for cedar shake, trim, garage and front doors. Have considered staying with red shake and changing the trim to a dark gray. Not sure then how to stain the front door and garage doors.
Hi Linda,
I love your cedar shake color. And to be honest, I love the garage and front door colors as well. I know it’s all brown — various shades — but the garage doors still have a nice contrast against the shakes and trim and the front door is a welcoming golden shade that conjures up a highly varnished mahogany boat! Gorgeous. Having said that, you might consider moving away from the cream trim (also quite nice but it’s been done) and going with something like Ben Moore’s Edgecomb Gray, a warm light gray that would pull out the gray tones in your stonework and still contrast with the cedar and dark brown doors/shutters. The house would cool down a bit, but I think the gray would highlight the cedar shakes even more.
A dark gray may be a little too dark — not enough contrast against the shakes. And I would make sure that the color you choose is in the roof (looks like a gray-brown) so that the trim, roof, and cedar do not compete for attention.
Let me know if you simply cannot stand to keep those other elements the way they are — and you have to change more than just the trim. Then I’ll take another look. But you have a winning combo right now so it’s a stretch to even change the trim — quite frankly!
A lovely house!!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I emailed a photo of our home currently under construction. I am very conservative and neutral in my color likes.
In case you cannot tell, the brick is a varied brown with white and a white mortar.
The roof is GAF Timberline Barkwood (brown but not weathered wood).
We have chosen Sherwin Williams’ Divine White for trim, posts to best tie in the stark white vinyl windows.
There is an area on the front of the house that will be covered by a vinyl piece that is a “shake” siding accent.
Could you help with the body color, shake color, door, and shutter colors? I must also consider the color of the iron porch railing and exterior
light fixtures and hardware.
At my wit’s end!
Thank you.
Hi Dawn,
If your photo bounces back from my email, please direct it to
bmeglis@yahoo.com
It’s a bigger mailbox for large photos. Sorry for the inconvenience.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Dawn,
How about Ben Moore’s Lenox Tan HC-44 for your siding color with a vinyl shake color of Cypress (http://exteriorportfolio.com/EP/products/portsmouthshake/perfectionshake/color_overview.aspx)?
That combination should look great with your Barkwood roof and white trim as well as the brick. You might consider the same Cypress for your front door (the color can be matched) and a Tudor Brown (Ben Moore Exterior) for your shutters. Oil-rubbed bronze should work for your metal accent color.
Hope that palette is what you envision!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara, the Lenox Tan is nice, however I don’t really like greens and the Cypress looks green to me. I already have the vinyl shake in white so that it can be painted easily. I’m leaning toward painting the shake the same color or a shade lighter or darker than the siding. What would be your second choice for the door?
Hi again Dawn,
Oh, I get it! Thought you needed to pick out a vinyl shake (pre-colored). In that case, you might consider Tyler Taupe HC-43 for that gable area — a shade or two darker than the Lenox Tan. Then for the front door, you can pick a warm color like Georgian Brick HC-50 or Audubon Russet HC-51. Another option would be a dark eggplant like either Chambourd AF-645 or Caponata AF-650.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I think I have found your website in the nick of time. We recently purchased a small 50’s ranch house and it needs to get painted asap and I need help with house colors. the house just looks outdated and not to my taste. My problem is picking a color to go with the yellow/orange roof shingles. Would love to change it but not right now. Currently the staggered shakes are painted something similar to BM Annapolis Gray (found the can in the house – may just have been for touching up before the sale but it is very close). I think the color is too pinky for me? The house has some red brick in the front and maroon shutters. Front door is a bright red.
At the moment I have 3 samples – BM HC-95, 102, 108. We’re thinking maybe the Clarksville Gray HC-102. My husband doesn’t want shutters that need painting so, so far, I’m thinking black shutters. also thinking of changing the door to maybe onandaga clay BM 1204.
Questions: are we going too green? Will black shutters be too strong?
When I find your email address I will send pictures. Thanks, looking forward to your help!
Hi Michele,
Since your roof is so warm, I would opt for the grayest of the greens you have sampled there — Sandy Hook Gray HC-108. That will help to cool the house down overall.
Then since your shutters will really stand out against the house (the roof being so brown), I recommend leaving them off completely. You really will not miss them on your house style
and leaving them off will make the house feel a bit more contemporary.
Hope that is a welcomed relief to your husband!
Good luck with your painting project and enjoy the weekend!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara – I am negotiating the color of my cape-style house with my HOA. I adore vibrant color, the colores fuertes of Mexico adorn my kitchen. I live in central NC but grew up around gorgeous Victorians in upstate NY and lived in the San Francisco area, home of beautiful painted ladies. I’d like to bring some intensity and creativity to the color scheme to reflect these parts of my own history and aesthetic. I submitted a deep green–Lafayette Green (BM-HC 135) (siding; our roof is a darkish brown with lots of copper-y flecks); white (BM-HC 27)for trim on porch portico and railing with deep orange for accents (BM-HC50 Georgian Brick)like triangles in the dormers and portico; and black for the shutters (this is the one I’m most unsure of). HOA rejected the color scheme suggesting it was “too dark” as seen from the street. Any suggestions for me? THANK YOU!
Hi Barbara – Just figured out I hadn’t paid yet–apologies! Please refer to my above post. I have since painted a small section of the house with the green (BM-HC 135) and the suggested trim color in that palette (Philadelphia cream, HC-30). The cream is way too yellow for me and I am not sure how it will work with the accent in the palette (Audubon Russett HC-51). I am still a bit stuck when it comes to the shutters. I do like the green, and HOA says ok. Many thanks!
Kaaren
Hi Kaaren,
The Lafayette Green is a bit of a tough one for shutters because it is quite dark. Even darker shutters, like black, simply won’t work. Do you have to have shutters?? I often like to see dark houses with a light trim only. In your case, since the HC-30 is too yellow, have a look at Cameo White. It’s creamy without being too yellow. As for the door/accent, the HC-51 would be fine. I don’t know the palette in your neighborhood, but here’s a completely different idea you might consider:
Take a look at Sherwood Green HC-118 or even the lighter Kittery Point Green HC-119 with white trim and Audubon Russet accents. Since the roof is brown, you might consider a Tudor Brown shutter. The lighter siding color will give appropriate contrast to the darker shutters without having the house look too dark from the street.
See what you think…
If you are committed to the Lafayette Green, then go with a medium neutral for the shutters, something lik Powell Buff HC-35, with more of a white trim like your original Monterey White Hc-27.
Hopefully one of those scenarios will work for you!
Thanks for posting!!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks, Barbara. I have since looked at the Lafayette Green I painted on the siding (3 coats,as this will likely be the thickness) and it is very dark–almost losing the green if you look at it in the shade. My contractor suggested a “half recipe” of Lafayette green. I am now completely thrown. I really like the tone of the green (more tropical plant-like than an olive or brown-green) but I think it’s too dark. I don’t think the Victorian-inspired accent with Audubon russet will make the architectural features “pop” like I’d like it to. Other colors in the palette include Bleeker Beige (HC-80); Alexandria Beige (HC-77) and Middlebury Brown (HC-68). I hadn’t planned on the shutters being green (since I had hoped for green siding), and each has raised panels that I would like to accent a la Victorian homes.I love this palette grouping (in BM historical homes brochure). ANY suggestions (including changing the siding color) would be welcome.
Thanks!
Kaaren
Hi Karen,
Send a photo and I’ll get you a lighter siding color!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Please advise on the suggested color for the small building next to the bigger barn. You suggested BM “country redwood” for the red part of the barn which we love. We would appreciate a response as soon as possible. Thank you.
Hi Linda,
Frankly, I love the natural stained wood color of the small building as it is now. Do you need to paint it? Would restaining it be an option — the same dark stain? If you do need to paint, how about Tudor Brown (Ben Moore Exterior)? It will keep the dark brown color of the building which looks terrific next to the red barn! The only thing that will be missing is the variegation of the wood siding colors — what you get with a semi-transparent stain but lose with paint. But either way, stay brown. Love it!!
Thanks for writing back!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We have recently moved to our home and are now looking to paint the exterior. It is currently an oyster-beige color with a blue trim. There is also a lot of brick along the outside above the garage. My husband and I have gone back and forth on colors and have realized that the brick really limits us. We are considering white for the house (swiss coffee from kelley moore) with black accents (like switching the lighting to black lanterns, etc). We also considered adding shutters to the front upstairs window–.. the big question is: what trim do you do with a white house? Black just seems to dramatic–
2) Do you think a red door would work?
3) Would you consider any other color combo’s? I love that greyish/sage color with the creamy white trim–but I dont think it will go with the brick.. what do you think?
Hi Gabriella,
I like your idea of going with a grey-sage color and I think a creamy white (like Swiss Coffee) would look terrific for trim. Greens go well with brick especially if the greens are muted tones. Then you could do black shutters to go with your other black accessories.
White houses often have either white, off-white, or gray trim. Black is getting popular, but it is quite severe.
Either will support a red door but a red that comes directly from your brick — so probably a brown tone, not too cherry!! Be careful with that red as it can really clash with the brick if you pick the wrong one. Send a photo if you’d like me to take a quick look at the brick and help you with the door color.
Hope that gets you started. Getting rid of the blue trim on your house will truly transform the place!! You’ll see.
And thanks again!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Getting ready to repaint this 1960 single story ranch home with a grey roof (bits of green and blue too) that has a flat basic red orangish brick (one I don’t like much). Everything wood is painted white, but the guttering is grey. The grout looks to be a grayish putty color. My wife and I were not happy with the white when we bought the house a year ago and planned to paint but are so confused as to what color would go with the brick and the roof. We have thought about warm grayish beiges but they seem to not go well with the roof, but cool grays look depressing. We have driven all around to find examples of homes with this color of brick with any color other than white and can’t find one. Our neighborhood has a copy of this house in it that is also white, that we’d like to set ourselves apart from. Any ideas on siding color, trim, shutters, and doors? We would like to avoid having to paint the gutters, but this may be unavoidable. We plan to sell the home in the next few years so want it to be marketable, but also want a fresh updated look that we enjoy. Also, what color should storm windows be, they are currently bare metal? Thanks so much for any help you could provide. This site has been really helpful so far, but could not find a similar situation to mine.
http://s824.photobucket.com/albums/zz166/plazashoestore/
THANKS,
Garon
Hi Garon,
How about using the grout color for your siding — something like Putnam Ivory HC-39 (Ben Moore) — and then pulling in the roof with either a gray-green shutter (something like Amherst Gray HC-167) or a gray taupe (Briarwood – exterior). Trim stays white because your windows are white. The gray guttering can stay as it goes with the roof. But I would not paint your trim gray. Too cold.
As for the door, you would have the beige in the entry area already (the siding) so you could use either of those shutter colors. The idea is to take your pool of small rocks by the entry and pull the color palette of that. Any of those rock colors will work for both siding and shutters/door. Any will go with the roof but using a gray undertone (the gray-green or the gray-taupe) will make the house look more pulled together. And that’s what we want.
See what you think!
And thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Sorry for the delay in payment. I just received confirmation from paypal that it has gone through. We have just moved (several months ago) to our new home and would like to paint the exterior. We are having a very hard time choosing a paint color for the exterior that doesnt look awful with the brick. What’s hard is that the brick is placed above and around the garage and the garage is the first thing you see as you drive up. I am a big fan of the traditional style homes and was wondering where this house fit? We were originally looking at a green-gray color Sherwin William’s-SW6184 (Austere Gray) with a cream or white trim but realized that it was much too light and looked almost silvery. We then tried Kelley Moore’s Wood Moss (197) with the trim in Frost (14). I love the trim but am afraid the Wood Moss color is too dark. What do you suggest? We welcome any suggestions for color and even design. What do you think about color for the door?
Here is a link to where you can see the house photos. I have also included the back because I wanted you to see the porch. We were thinking of painting that in the trim color.
Thanks,
Gabby
https://picasaweb.google.com/103372823770021101578/HelpWithExteriorColors?authkey=Gv1sRgCIiL6NXMq-PdIg#
Hi – We are building a timberframe lake home on a very remote lake in northern MN. Due to forest fire, there are almost no mature trees around the site. Its a larger home – 68 feet wide plus 25 foot screen porch plus 30 foot garage -about 120 feet across. I was concerned about its “size” appearance. The home is two story, using 4 foot knee walls and dormers plus 4 foot overhangs to pull it down in height. The architect has also suggests a horizontal siding band to lower it and I can find no examples of this on the internet other than some prairie school stuff which is slightly different. We are debating whether the band should be colored. Here is more info to help:
The first 3 feet up will be fieldstone. The next 6 or so will be alternating wide and narrow strip siding maybe 10 inch/2 inch – can’t quite tell from sketch. The next 3-4 feet would be the colored? band – narrow width siding. It basically covers the same heights is as the kneewalls. Above this, up into the gables, would be standard width siding – looks like maybe 6 inch. All the siding would be a tan color or slightly darker, except the center band, which would be red. (dark, not fire engine). The red would match to the Marvin window cladding/mullions wineberry color. The band runs above the front door top up to the eaves. There is red in the design above the band, in the window trim on second floor. Front door would also be red. The timberframe elements of the structure would likely be wood color or brown like the siding. Vertical trim pieces do cut across the color band – they tie to the timber frame elements above. The siding would be Certainteed which is like Hardieboard but has a better red color to our thinking.
Concerns are whether the colored band will lower the house or cut it in half and leave it disconnected from itself. Also, whether there is another concern we are missing. Also concerned that I literally can find no examples out there – kinda scary to be that unique!
The windows could also be clad in a cream color to make them look brighter and larger, but not white (too stark).
Any insights are appreciated!
Hi John,
Is this what you’re talking about but instead of trim color the band would be another color altogether?? I do like trim-colored band around the house — especially nice if you’re using separate materials or textures (separating the gable material from the siding below). And yes the band does chop the house in half, but on a very large house, that’s a good thing. The only time the band really doesn’t work is on a small house…
I do like the red accents you mentioned. I love the wineberry windows. A bit trendy, perhaps, but very nice! (If you’re very concerned about the red windows, then go with cream and use the red for paint accents only. Easy to switch out! But I do like the look of the colored windows! Just a matter of taste — cream is classic, red is more current.
Does that help? I would love to see a photo of your plans or a sketch of the front elevation. So glad you are concerned about making sure your house fits into the environment. Some people aren’t concerned at all.
Hope that helps!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.coolhouseplans.com/chp/ddi01/106-205-ddi/elev.jpg&imgrefurl=http://factoidz.com/knowing-the-architectural-styles-for-remodeling-a-home/&usg=__cBxECmFp4rXEb3yGobPbZB2ZLwE=&h=375&w=600&sz=73&hl=en&start=165&zoom=1&tbnid=o7c4Jhn7wM5DpM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=203&ei=UQIATqaONdDpgQfmwuXhDQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dprairie%2Bstyle%2Bpaint%2Bscheme%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26rlz%3D1I7ADRA_en%26biw%3D1061%26bih%3D805%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=126&vpy=292&dur=484&hovh=177&hovw=284&tx=199&ty=109&page=10&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:165&biw=1061&bih=805
Hi Barbara – Just got back into town and wondering whether you received my pictures. Thanks!
Kaaren
Hi Barbara- I sent the photos to the address you suggested last time, so maybe they’ve gone to your spam folder? Looking forward to hearing from you!
Best,
Kaaren
Found them Kaaren! Oops!
See comments on email!
Barbara,
We are located in upstate SC and are planning to replace the vinyl siding and windows and wrap the trim. I have played around in photoshop and think I have the colors, but would like a second opinion and some tips on accessories.
Our house is brick on the bottom and the garage door is fairly new. That makes the almondish color of the garage door and the brick a given. Here is a link to pictures: http://rmltierney.shutterfly.com/pictures/8
I was hoping to visually unite the top and the bottom some.
The colors I am thinking about are:
siding: mastic rugged canyon or hardiboard timber bark.
trim: (wrapped) mastic almond
Shutters: blackwatch green
I have included 2 pictures of our neighborhood to show the nature of our street. I would like the house to look as nice as it can without it looking like it is trying to be something it’s not.
I am working on the following accessories:
new front storm door in colonial style in almond
new front porch column (classic style) with the gutter moved to the other side
front porch railing replace or get rid of ???
window headers or mantels – should we try that on the window with a peak over it or would that look dumb with only one?? Or put it on the lower windows too? (not sure if that can be done on brick.)
gable vent – should we put one in the peak on the front? If so, siding color or trim color?
Thanks so much!
Mary L
Hi Mary Lee,
I definitely like the darker version of the siding for your house in your neighborhood. Looks fabulous! (photo said Montanna with blackwatch)
Then use the almond for trim. I like the storm door style in almond but I’m not crazy about the medium-toned green front door. It looks like a Georgian Brick (Ben Moore HC-50) would warm up that entry and show better from behind the almond door.
I like the idea of a new front p9orch column with the gutter moved to the other side (that can be done even without replacing the column)
If you can get rid of the porch railing (code?) then I would go ahead. It’s not necessary visually and it looks a little bit like it’s in the way.
Not sure you will need any window headers or mantels if you put in a gable vent. I think the brick offers enough interest. But having said that, if you decide to add window embellishments, I would treat all windows in the front the same way, not just the window in the gable area.
I love gable vents! In trim color.
Does that help? You’ve done a fabulous job with your photoshop!! Thank you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello —
We recently bought a small box of a house in the virginia countryside. It sits on a hill surrounded by a small orchard. We live in the city and will use it on the weekends, and consequently want it to be fun. The tin roof is red, and every one in the family wants the exterior of the house to be yellow. But yellow, I have learned in my searching, is very broad category of color. the painter arrives in aday and still progress on the our selection. I looked at Benjamin Moore’s hawthorne yellow, but it was bit too intense. I also am considering BM vellum or BM HC weston flax. I want to avoid the sea of taupes and tan houses we see driving out to the country, but also dont want a yellow so intense that it may give our neighbors a headache. I also looked at BM Powell Buff which may be too nondescript. In any event, please let me know your recommendation for a soft, cheery but not too overwhelming benjamin moore yellow for a little country house.
Thanks you so much,
eliza
Hi Eliza,
Take a look at Cornsilk 198. It has a touch more peach in it than both Hawthorne Yellow and Weston Flax so it is not as intense on the house (the peach softens the yellow whereas a green undertone will make the yellow sharper — not always a bad thing but now what you’re looking for).
The lighter America’s Heartland 197 should also work. Velum is moving up a couple of notches to more or a gold color. Approaching some of the tans in your neighborhood, perhaps.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We just had our home stripped and pressure washed and the cedar is now down to bear wood again. Now we need to decide on what color for the house and trim. SInce we live in a wooded area and on an estuary we want to stay with natural looking cedar siding. Windows are a cream color. Trim has been cream to match windows in the past as you can see from the photos. We’re considering brown trim to match the roof or stay with the cream but do either brown or cream trim elsewhere. You can go to our website (www.thebayhouse.net) and see photos of the house before it was stripped this week. Any ideas suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Barbara!
Hi Rita,
I do like cream around the windows but check out Ben Moore’s Sail Cloth — a little less yellow. Then since your roof is a soft gray-brown (at least on my screen), see what you think of a taupier brown for possible trim. See Pismo Dunes AC-32. That won’t work if you go with a yellow-brown cedar stain. But if the wood is finished with softer gray-brown, then the taupe will work.
If you have a photo of the cedar as it stands now — stripped — I’ll take another look at the palette.
But see what you think. I like the idea of pulling the roof in more as well as the stonework and giving the house a little more definition (as opposed to having the trim and siding match).
Beautiful location!!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
My wife and I are in the middle of a home renovation project and could really use your help. We’ve already completed the roof and purchased new windows. Now we’re at the stage where we’re ready to pick the siding and trim color, but are stuck on what to do with the front of the house. All pictures of the home as it sits today, as well as some photoshopped versions can be found at the following link, http://s519.photobucket.com/albums/u352/dheerdt. The colors aren’t exact, but at least it’s something to give you an idea.
Initially, we were just going to have the house freshened to maintain the tudor style, which is how we ended up with the roof and window color we have. However, the maintenance involved with painting and caulking the stucco and trim boards is not very appealing to us. Furthermore, finding an installer in our area has proven to be difficult. As a result, we’ve been entertaining some of the vinyl products that are out there. The problem is that our house has such a strange shape in the front that we’re afraid we might make it look too plain. Below are the main options we’re considering and would love to hear your point of view:
Roof – Already complete in GAF/Elk Timberline shingles, Barkwood color, Musket Brown Drip Edge.
Windows – Marvin Integrity, Bronze Exterior. These have been purchased but not installed.
Front of house – Certainteed Cedar Impression Perfection Shingles in Timberblend, Mountain Cedar, or Hearthstone. The remainder of the house would be done in Double 4 of the same color
OR
Vinyl siding around entire house – Certainteed, Double 4 in Timber Blend, Mountain Cedar, or Hearthstone. Or maybe even Mastic, Double 4 in Pebblestone Clay.
Soffits, Fascia, & Gutters – Musket Brown to match the drip edge unless you have another suggestion.
Front Door, Garage Door, Trim, & Accessories – ???
Some of the things that have stumped us are:
Brick Molding – If we did brick molding around the windows, should it be musket brown or bronze? We’re kind of stuck with the Musket Brown for the trim because of the drip edge on the roof, but the windows are bronze.
Shutters – If we did shutters, should they be musket brown, bronze, or some other color? Is it okay to put shutters on 3 lite windows? It doesn’t look right to me, but I know that it’s quite common as a design accent.
Window Mantels or Headers – What do you think of arched mantels or arched headers above the 3 lite windows to accentuate the arch in the porch?
Gable Vent – Whether it is functional or not, we were thinking it might help to highlight the arch in porch. If so, what color?
Design Accent – Should we add some sort of accent in the peak, like half rounds in another color?
I also have to add that the Mountain Cedar color intrigues me the most. I think it has the most potential for that wow factor with the existing brick, the musket brown trim, and the roof. Some of the granules in the roofing shingles are actually the exact same color. However, as good as it looks in my mind, I’m still scared to side my house something so close to orange….
Lastly, I want to address the grout color in the brick. It’s like a dark gray with a hint of brown in it. Somewhere between the Certainteed Timberblend color and the Mastic Montana Suede color.
Sorry for the long post but we’re really having trouble with this. The more we think about it, the more confused we get. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!
Doug
Hi Doug,
I think the Mountain Cedar may be a tad too much orange since your brick has a lot of that color in it as well. I think the orange in the brick is a fabulous accent color but it will show up much better if you use a cooler siding color. I like both the Timber Blend and the Hearthstone. I do like the look of shingles on the front of the house — creating a nice cottage look and getting away from the Tudor style completely. Since you have brick already, I suggest keeping it fairly simple (no half rounds in the gable) but you can use shingles on the front and lap around the rest of the house or shingles all the way around (cost??).
I love the idea of an arched header (slide #5) and would bag the shutter idea. You’re right. Your windows are not really the shutter type and the arched headers will show much more creativity. If you’re going for a cottagey look, then use a creamy trim to provide contrast between windows and siding (and see below for fascia, etc). but if you like the dark lodge look, then stick with the dark brown as a continuation of the bronze windows.
You do not have to match the drip edge for the fascia/soffits/gutters if you’d like to provide some contrast between the dark brown roof color and the medium toned siding. Also you’ll get more light reflection off of the lighter soffits. But that’s not a huge deal… Definitely the cottage look. For the lodge look, stick with the Musket Brown for fascia/soffits/gutters.
I see the grout color in the photos. A slight pink undertone on my screen, but I’m hoping that the cool siding color will help to make the grout part of the brick palette. I don’t see a problem there at all.
The front door can be an accent color (similar to the Cedar “orange” or something completely different. It’s behind a storm door so it should be something visible. As for the garage door, you might paint that a shade of the siding color (darker or lighter depending on which siding color you choose). I would not recommend painting the garage door an accent color. Unless you plan to get a new “carriage style” door that will be a feature.
If you decide to use a light trim (cottage) then you can certainly put in a Gable Vent. But if you stick with a dark trim, I wouldn’t bother. I don’t think the vent (always trim color) would show up much if it’s dark.
Let me know if you think that plan offers the house enough embellishment. You can reference Adirondack cottages and lodges for some additional ideas. A far cry from Tudor… but that’s okay!!
Hope I’ve helped.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
I have spent a minimum of two solid days trying to make what should be a few simple decisions, but have just managed to make myself (and my fiance) crazy. I have scoured the internet looking for advice and at 5:00 am, found you.
We purchased our home back in October and it is a ranch-style home with an attached 2-car garage. The front of the house is a multi-colored brick (with some almost black-looking bricks) with the exception of the garage; however, the rest of the house (including the back) is a wood siding painted a creamy yellow (my fiance calls it a very unappealing term, but likens it to the 80’s and not in the good way). Until recently, the roof had slate-colored shingles; however, due to storm damage, the entire roof has been changed and it is now a darker, rich brown color (up close it appears rusty, but from a distance it doesn’t).
Currently, the garage door and trim around the door, is white, the windows are white (and all vertically rectangular–no big picture windows), the door and storm door are currently white, the shutters are white, and the rail around the front porch is white.
Also visible is the foundation of the house, because we have a fully finished basement…but the foundation is visible all the way around, including the front porch which the actual “floor” of the porch is concrete thus the same color. (I realize that landscaping will make this go away, but that’s also part of the problem).
Oh, and let’s not forget that we have a 12×12 shed in the back (which is partly visible from the road) which is the same creamy yellow with white trim and white double-doors (almost cottage-style doors).
Now that you can “visualize” my mess, here are my current thoughts:
We are having the wood siding painted to save up money to later replace it with vinyl; however, even when we replace it with vinyl we are intending to keep the same color. Currently we are planning to change the creamy mustard color to a color that according to Sherwin Williams is called “russet” (sort of a dark tan??). However, we are buying a new front door and a new storm door.
The front door will have a nice oblong oval etched glass window running down the middle of it and the storm door will be solid glass mostly. Currently, I’m torn because I was going to make the front door white and the storm door “cranberry” (according to Lowes) with a rusty brushed brass color (it appears almost cranberry / brown itself). But, much of what I read doesn’t seem to follow this thought.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated… even if you totally change my thoughts, I’m okay with that also… keep in mind we’re planning to do some landscaping out front, but I’m only looking to ADD things to the front with a few flowering plants and bushes, not taking anything away (I already took a giant bush down).
Thanks!
James
Hi James,
I looked for Russet online and it came up a stain color. (??) And quite a dark bricky red. Is that the same Russet? Your description or a dark tan is much more like what I envision for your house. The siding color should be a cool taupey tan medium tone in order to balance the heat of both the bricks and the roof. Then you could use black for shutters since you have black in your bricks and keep all the trim white.
As for the door, you might consider a white storm door since the trim is white and use either the siding color for your front door or black. (Brick red will not show up very well although that is an option too.)
You will find that painting the siding a cool taupe will transform the house!! Nice roof color!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you Barbara!
I love the suggestions! However, I wanted to include a picture of what I was looking at when I said “Russet”.
Personally, there are so many variations of taupe that I’m not sure which is right…several of them are somewhat purple or grey in hue…can you provide a little more, perhaps a few names you suggest?
Also, if we go with the black door, would silver or a brushed nickle be acceptable for replacing the doorknobs and deadbolts for both doors and for outside accents? (front porch light and light post in front yard).
Thanks again! I am so pleased with this that I am going to bring you into my kitchen next!!! You’re the greatest!
James
I sent $20 via Paypal and tried sending a picture to accompany this note to your email but it was undeliverable because the mailbox is full. Please let me know what address I can send an email to so you can see our house.
We would like to paint the trim something other than white, and are looking for a few colors to add some color without it looking ‘bright’. We were thinking of a warm cream for the railings, with also sage green (for a teeny trim band on the columns and windows?) and maybe a deep plum (for the porch ceiling and soffits?) but are not sure because we want something that would look good with the red brick. It has also been a challenge to get a good cream color without it reading as yellow. Would you either have specific colors for that scheme, or suggest something else? Maybe cream, sage green, and yellow? We want it to look classic. Specifics would be great in terms of colors and what would go where–thanks!
The side note is that we’re going to be living abroad for a year and would like to only paint the porch area as a phase one (to save on expenses and time)–how could we do this without it looking terrible? I’m thinking we could paint the porch floor, steps, railing, ceiling, and columns, but leave all eaves and windows white until phase two so it doesn’t look as obviously half-done. Is that an awful idea? I just don’t want to leave it primer-white for a year…
Again, let me know a working email address and I’ll get a picture right to you…Thanks!
Hi Annie,
I suggest starting with the porch floor and front steps. Since you mentioned a deep plum how about Chambourd AF-645 (Ben Moore) for both porch floor and steps? I would rather see that deep color on the floor area (to ground it) than above on the ceiling. Up there, you might paint a lighter version, something like Sanctuary AF-620 (also Ben Moore). Those purple tones look terrific with brick. See what you think.
For your green accent color, look at Meditation AF-395. A very soft sage.
Then for the rest of the trim, try Dove Wing OC-18 (Ben Moore) and see if it’s the right tone of cream. It’s definitely not too yellow but see if you like it. I think I would leave most of the trim as is until you return but the porch floor, ceiling, and column accents could easily work with the existing white. You might even like it!
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you so much Barbara! I do have a few more questions if it’s not too much to ask.
Do you think that painting the garage door and the surrounding trim musket brown, is too much? It feels strange to me to introduce a new color for just the door.
There’s also one last option we had considered, but did not mention. There are a lot of homes in our area that have the same shape/layout as the front of our house. They’re almost always done in either stucco or cedar (board & batten). I know they offer the board & batten in vinyl as well, what are your thoughts on that? I added a picture to the link above, of a house similar to ours that has this look. I’m thinking that the arches would be out and we would just do a traditional brick mould?
Sorry for all the uncertainty, but I guess we’re just afraid of compromising the feel of the house by making too many changes that don’t really suit the architecture. Do you think our plan is a good one or should we stick with the traditional styling of other homes in our area and go back to the tudor or board and batten look?
Thanks again for all your help!
Doug
Hello!
I have a colonial in CT that is about to be resided. The roof is weathered wood, the garage door and storm door are white, and those are the only things that we are keeping (along with the roof). So, we plan on updating the siding, trim, front door and shutters.
I have been leaning towards savannah wicker, and after reading some of your blog entries, I suspect that might still be the way to go. Here’s my dilemma….I want a house with pizzaz!! Sometimes it seems like everyone who doesn’t know what to do just puts on beige siding, and so many houses look beige and “blah”. Yet, with the weathered wood, I keep coming back to beige. Do you agree that savannah wicker is our best bet? If so, can you recommend trim (I was leaning towards white), shutters and door combos that will really give the house some personality? Is there another siding color you think we should consider?
Thanks for the help! I’ve enjoyed browsing your blog and I’m already a big fan of many of the colors that seem to be your “go-to” choices. In fact, I almost put Georgian Brick in my dining room last week but went with Warmed Cognac instead. Love them both!
Trying flickr for the first time so I’m hoping this works for you. If not, let me know….
Jamie
Hi Jamie,
Savannah Wicker will work okay but look at your chimney/brickwork for your color palette. I think the Savannah Wicker might be a little too green. Have you considered Natural Clay or even the really nice Sable Brown? (I know siding has come a long way in terms of fade resistance — not vouching for darker colors, however). But the Sable Brown would give maximum contrast to your white trim (yes, I would use white everywhere) and would also contrast nicely with your roof.
As for shutters, if you went with the darker brown, you could put the current dark red door color on your shutters. I don’t always put a lot of color on the shutters (especially in New England — we’re all so used to basic black), but the brown/red combo is quite stunning and the red on the shutters would definitely jazz up the house.
I suggest taking the color swatches around to the side of your house and propping them up against the chimney. Go for as medium-dark a shade as you can that will still go with the roof. Since the roof is rather light, I think a light tone of siding will just wash out the house. You need a bit of oomph!~
See what you think. You can certainly use the same strategy for accent color with the Natural Clay as well. Again, I like to pick colors from the environment unless you’re talking about just the front door. But with all the colors in your brick, I would not bring in a new accent color — at least not before picking the siding.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Happy to have found you. I am in the final stages of building a new home. The hardest decision by far has been the exterior colors. I live in Oregon in the country. Oak trees are in the back drop and an open grass pasture is surrounding the drive and entrance to the house. I don’t have to compete with neighbors. My windows are almond and I wanted to start by matching the trim to my windowns. Softer Tan by SherwinWilliams is a good match. My painter uses SW paints. I have black shingles (black/walnut by certainteed) with a touch of brown which adds warmth and breaks up the black roof. I know I don’t want a yellow or blue house. I think I want something warm without being a boring beige and I don’t want to “blend” in either. I would like some contrast on the dormers and painted shakes from the body of the house. I love rich colors. I was thinking of a rich brown with almost a red undertone for the dormers and shakes, then a warm tan or subtle sage (not yellow or green) for the body then Softer Tan for the trim. Not sure about the door. My painter said my roof may look orange if I go that direction. I will try to e-mail a couple pictures of my house. I also have a symmetry problem with the curb side of the house. In the photos the porch posts haven’t been wrapped yet, so that should help with the balance. I could be way off with my ideas, but I saw something similar to this scheme online. Please help. My other idea was using Status Bronze on the painted shakes, but unsure of body color. Be honest.
Hi Barb,
I like the Status Bronze for your painted shakes. How about something on the taupe side, like SW6172 Hardware for the siding with your Softer Tan trim and perhaps SW7591 Red Barn for your doors? Just an idea. The rich taupe will cool down the roof/browns and balance the house. Also very nice with nickel hardware. And if you have any stonework going in (front columns?), then the combination is spectacular as it will “speak” to all the different stone colors.
See what you think!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Whoops! I think I should have added the link in the text.
http://s1109.photobucket.com/albums/h431/barbkj/
Hello! I would love suggestions (specific brand/colors welcome) on what to do with the colors on this house. Please note the light tan is vinyl siding which we would hope not to have to paint – the entire back of the house has this siding as well. The downspouts are brown plastic as well. I really feel this color combo does not bring out the best aspects of this house and at the very least want to change the front door. We need to paint the shutters and porch posts as well as the trim around the windows (which are the same dark brown as the doors) and the window inset panel wood molding (also that same brown – old style pella windows.)
The brick is an orange with a light color mortar. I am afraid the house really should have been done in lighter colors but would like to try to rectify it somehow without painting the vinyl — I’m not sure what colors to go with. Please note that on the back of the house, the molding for the windows is actually metal (instead of wood like the front) and the same dark brown so can’t be painted.
Thanks!
photo link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64893195@N08/6010137179/
Hi Holly,
Try either Sail Cloth (Ben Moore Exterior paint) or Elmira White (Ben Moore HC-84) for all the paintable trim. That will lighten up the house and balance out all that other brown that cannot be changed. Did you mention the garage door? It’s okay to stay brown… just asking. But you can usually paint that too even though it’s metal.
For the front door, try something like Caponata (Ben Moore’s AF-650 — a dark eggplant that will contrast with the brick and go well with the brown too). You can use the eggplant for the shutters too if you like it. Otherwise stick with the brown. As long as the windows are lightened up, the brown shutters will be fine.
See what you think…
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
We have a ranch that we want to paint. The roof is brown with little tints of reddish-brown. The gutters and window trim are dark brown. The garage door is cream. We’ve added some cream accent pieces to the front. The cedar siding is currently stained a taupe color we want to change. It doesn’t look quite right. We have access to the Behr Exterior Wood Stain Colors. 2 questions:
1. What color do you recommend from Behr for the siding?
2. Should we leave the 2 cream accent pieces (one on front porch & one at the front of the house where the roof comes together?…If you recommend a change, what color should we use from Behr Exterior Wood Stain Colors instead?
I’ll attempt sending my pictures next.
Thanks!
Hi Pam,
Thanks for waiting! I’m back…
The taupe is a tad pink, perhaps, for the brick color. How about something with a little more gray in it like Sierra Madre ECC-46-1? That would cool down the house a bit and still contrast nicely with both brick colors and the brown trim.
Then the trim embellishment looks a little like an add-on to the ranch. A touch of Victorian… I’m not sure it works at least in cream. If you want to keep the trim, I suggest painting it either the house color or a dark burgundy from your brick. It will still stand out against the dark trim but it will not be quite as much of a feature set apart from the rest of the house in terms of style.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thank you. These suggestions sound great. Is there a color like the Sierra Madre that you’d recommend in the Behr Exterior Wood Stain Colors Collection? Those stain colors all start with a “DP” and they are solid color stains. The cedar siding currently has stain on it (versus paint) and we’ve been told stain would work best on the cedar siding.
Thank you!
Pam
Hi,
I would like to change the color of our shutters and front door, but am not sure about what to do. Our roof is “bark wood” and the siding is “wicker”. I am not sure that I made the right decision with the bark wood color roof, but what is done is done. I would be open to painting the garage door a color matching the shutters, if that helps to unify things. I have always liked the idea of having the front door a different color, but am not sure that would work here. Thanks, Gina
Hi Gina,
I noticed that you have a black storm door. Although you have black bricks (and that’s probably what inspired the black storm door), the roof is now brown so the black seems a little heavy. Is there any opportunity to replace the storm door? Here’s one scenario:
Paint the sidelights on either side of the front door the same color as the trim (the paint version of “Wicker”). That will brighten up the whole entry area. Then if you need to keep the black storm door, then keep the black shutters too. It’s okay to paint the front door a brick red to warm it up and grab attention (something like Ben Moore’s Chestnut perhaps. The garage door can be painted wicker as well.
Another option is to replace the storm door with an almond version, paint the front door chestnut, the sidelights almond, and the shutters a dark brown like Branchport Brown HC-72. The brown will tie in the roof color (you can still use black for your metal — lights, etc.). The garage door would then either be brown or wicker — the darker it is, the more it will blend into the brick.
The biggest issue really is the painting of the sidelights to frame out and lighten up the front door. Right now it’s just too dark in there.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello!
We are getting ready to paint our house that we built about 13 years ago. I have loved the colors I painted it originally but am now tired of the dark colors and want something lighter and more playful. I really want more of a dollhouse look this time around, as opposed to the Santa’s Gingerbread House that the neighborhood children have dubbed it. : )
You can see from the photo that my roof is a dark red, but not a true red. This color is limiting me quite a bit in my color choices. The first time around I chose colors from the historical collection by Sherwin Williams. The link to see a photo of my house is here
Right now I am leaning towards painting the body of the house a pale gray. The color is Sherwin Williams 6260. Shutters SW 6576. Hearts on shutters and fascia (hard to see in photo) SW 6586. Stars on dormers and fascia (also hard to see in photo) SW 6677. I want to do the stripes in perhaps coral, peach and pink but haven’t been able to choose which shades… looking at SW 6604, SW 6611, SW 6625 and SW 6639. I would like advice on what color you think would look best on the stripes (there are six stripes, but I don’t have to have six colors) and whether I should do the one row in the middle a contrasting color, to make the polka dots there stand out? Also, above the stripes I previously had painted the house the darker color of the trim. Should I paint it the body color this time or accent it again?I also have some running trim above the porch that right now is painted terra cotta, and the panels on the front porch by the door are painted the same color. Have no idea what to do with those. Last question is what color to put around the windows. I was thinking perhaps a purple color, like SW 6551 or SW 6824… even SW 6817 is pretty with the gray. I am adding more running trim on the garage front, and spires on the dormer and the garage. I have not chosen a white for the porch and accent gingerbread. I did not have this much trouble choosing colors the first time around but this time I am just floundering. Any help you can give me would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Cynthiane,
What a fun house to paint! I like the base color of Unique Gray SW 6260 — what a change from the forest green! Then how about a darker purple for fascia and shutters — something like Purple Passion SW 6551 (the other purples were a little too clear). Then because your roof is red, I would NOT use purpley pinks like SW 6576 and 6586. I think they really will clash with the roof. But the orangey pinks/peaches/corals are fine. You could throw in a lime green for an accent color like the hearts, window trim, door trim, and scallop along the roof line. Look at Dancing Green SW 6716. You might want to make one of the stripes green just for that contrast you were mentioning — to show off the dots.
Hope that helps. Like I said, the orange-red roof dictates that palette — just eliminate the purple-pinks and you’ll be all set.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you for your reply!
I appreciate your advice. I laughed when I looked up your purple color choice because my original choice had been SW6550 but I had discarded it and second guessed my decision. Sometimes it really does take a fresh pair of eyes!
Your choice of the lime green is wonderful, I would not have chosen it myself but it is perfect.
I’ll post a photo for you when the painting is complete. Thank you again, I really appreciate this wonderful service you provide.
Hi! What a wonderful and helpful site!
We are deciding on a color scheme for painting the exterior of our house. I put 3 photos on Flickr (see below for the link). One is of the house, one a close-up of the brick (which has a bit of gold tones and some grey tones in it) and main paint color – trim is a light creamy white, and a third that is a brochure from Benjamin Moore.
The roof is new and a dark charcoal gray. Current paint color is Sherwin Williams 7633 Taupe Tone. That color seems a bit on the green side. We are considering one of the following 3 options:
1) Paint with Sherwin Williams (SW) 7501 Threshold Taupe (less green) and a white shade for trim and gutters.
2) Paint 2 shades of a taupe grey: SW 6073 Perfect Greige for the main color and SW 6072 Versatile Gray for the trim or perhaps a lighter grey for the trim.
3) Paint similar to the brochure using Benjamin Moore 990 Hampshire Taupe for the siding and their 1607 Englewood Cliffs for the trim. This would put a charcoal trim color next to the charcoal roof. One consideration is that we have windows with white grills so not sure how that will work with the trim color for the windows.
Thanks so much!
Sharon
Barabara,
We are in the process of replacing the siding and roof of our house (a 1978 Center Hall Colonial) with Hardie Siding and Certainteed Landmark shingles. At this point, we have narrowed the siding color to either Montery Taupe or Autumn Tan. The house is located in a wooded lot (lots of trees surrounding the house), and we will be keeping the black shutters. Also, we recently replaced the entry door with a Mahogany colored door and sidelights. We would like to get your opinion on which of these two colors is more appropriate for our style of house (or if you would recommend other colors) and which color of Landmark shingles would match best with both of these colors. I will email you a picture of the house.
Thanks,
SK
Hello! I hope I’m doing this right…
Alright, we just recently moved. The living room and dinning room have the same color trim. The previous owners left behind the paint samples and the trim is Sherwin WIlliams R-11 Lexington Court (however, i haven’t been able to find this at the SW store)
Fortunately, I like the color …. and I desperately do NOT want to paint the trim in addition to the walls. As of now the walls are varying shades of white. I’m looking to switch to something to warm up the walls, but keep it looking spacious. In the past I have picked colors that made the rooms look smaller. I have been looking in the taupe family, but haven’t been successful.
The two colors I have tried are Sherwin Williams 7549-Studio Taupe (too dark) and Laura Ashley 609-Taupe 3 (too fleshy).
My thought is to carry the color in the living room into the kitchen. Do you think thats okay? NOTE: the red and white check wallpaper in the kitchen will soon be removed and painted a warm apple red.
PLEASE help! exact paint colors are appreciated…i’ve already dumped $10 into BAD paint samples.
oops…forgot to post the link to the pictures…
Hi there!
I am looking for help to the question of “what colors to use on my house” when it is a bungalow type/style house with a green roof. And YES! I like the green roof, btw, I just don’t know what sorta colors to put with it? We are getting new siding, windows, porch posts, everything this fall, so I’d like a pro opinion.
Am I reading this right? $20 for your help ?
If so . . .I’ll send a pic soon! 🙂
Great!!
Hi Genet,
Yes, $20 (just hit the PayPal button). You can send a photo to my larger email site: bmeglis@yahoo.com and I will be sure to see it there. The other site (as people are discovering) gets filled up with large photos. Sometimes they bounce back. Yahoo works all the time!
Thanks and I look forward to working with you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi, how can I send you the picture? Our garrison colonial is currently beige and cream as most of houses in the neighborhood. We are thinking of doing something different and painting it BM jojoba green. Is this a mistake? The home is set down with trees in front and all around. The painters are priming, help!
Hi Rosa,
Back in a few minutes… I know you’re in a hurry!!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Rosa,
Looking at your roof color, I think the jojoba will be just fine. It’s rich and clear (as most of the Affinity colors are). If you feel that it’s a little bright on the house, move over to the Historic Colors (Kennebunkport Green HC-123 is a little lighter but still gives you a rich green on the house).
Stick with the cream and black and then add some more color (pinks) to the foundation planting area. I love the pink bush by the garage!! That will look gorgeous with a darker green on both house and garage door.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
H there! Me again! I just sent you pics to your yahoo account. I hope you can tell something from them. If not, tell me, I’ll find some more. 🙂
This is a “Sear’s Catalog” type home from the 20’s and we have done a lot of work inside and are now moving to the outside! We will be getting new siding, trim, guttering, windows, doors, etc. Now the green roof? It stays! 🙂
Anyway, what other colors do you suggest ? The foundation/porch is concrete/stone grey. There is NO BRICK. We are not “flashy” types but would like it to stand out, yet look like it “fits” an older home.
The only thing I know to do is white with green trim on the windows. ???? Shutters would be nice, but I don’t know if we could swing it . . . .
We may add landscaping and fencing later . . .but that is some other time 🙂
What do you think ?
Hi Dennis,
I didn’t see color availability on the Nichiha site so I assume you can paint the siding anything. I’ll give you a couple of Ben Moore palettes and we’ll go from there. For the red brick (sample) you could use Heather Blend (Certainteed Landmark) for the roof choice with Natural “wood” shakes, Bone White trim (ext), Lenox Tan HC-44 siding and Blue Note 2129-30 shutters to pick up the blue in the brick.
For the maroon brick choice, you could use Weathered Wood for the roof, Texas Leather AC-3 for the siding and shakes, Sting Ray 1528 for the trim, and Caponata AF-650 for shutters and accents. The dark eggplant picks up the purple and maroon in the brick.
Let me know if there are specific shake/siding colors that I missed. At least you have a couple of sample palettes to get you started.
Thanks for posting!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I need advice on what color to paint the exterior of my house. It’s a late 50’s ranch with Andersen Terratone windows and Weathered Wood shingles. Currently, it is painted a horrible teal color. Our neighbors to the left have an evergreen house with dark brown trim and the neighbors to the right have a navy blue house with white trim. I’ve been thinking about reds, blues or browns, but would love to get your opinion. Here’s a link to a couple photos I posted on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2206136684515.118896.1580343376&l=ea9fef9ab7&type=1
Thanks,
Maggie
Hi Maggie,
How about Bradstreet Beige HC-48 (Benjamin Moore) to contrast with your Terratone windows and roof color. Then you might paint your front door Georgian Brick HC-50 to pull in the chimney and warm up the entry.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I live in a 1905 FourSquare. With the help of an architect my husband and I built an addition on the house last year. It’s a very small home. We went with a Bronze brown standing seam metal roof. Original house also had metal roof. Went with Bronze to get the energy tax credit or I would have chosen black.
I live in a small town in West Va.(town of Bath or Berkeley Springs) so I’m not out in the mountains surrounded by trees, but I do have Leland Cypress creating natural walls down both sides of my home. We were going to stucco the new part of the house but have decided against it due to all the maintenance and painting over time that will be required. We are going with Georgia Pacific cedar shingle looking siding. Crazy as is sounds with the Bronze roof I am in love with gray homes that have saturated color. Not the light gray. Benjamin Moore is my favorite paint and I love the HC palette. I do think gray and browns can be lovely together.
The siding colors I like are pewter and wedgewood. The wedgewood may have more blue in it than I like but I’m obviously open to suggestions. My dream color for the house on the original wood planks has always been Knoxville Gray but since deciding to go with the siding instead of stucco I no longer think I can match up an appropriate siding to that color. My husband is also thinking the back of the house should maybe have a darker color than the front, so the siding will really determine the color we pick. I’m not so sure the back or the house needs to be darker than the front?
Today I am loving the Granite 1602 with the Pewter siding. Do you have a preference for the white I plan on using for the window frames? Do you think my color choices are totally inappropriate? My fence on the one side of the house is a Cabot color called peppercorn. Very neutral so that it will go with almost any color. The neighbors house is blue and the business beside us is creamy beige fake stucco with bright red standing seam metal roof.
Sorry such long post. I do welcome your reply.
Best Regards,
Monique Garfinkel
Hi Monique,
The best strategy for mixing materials, siding and paint, is to avoid trying to match them. It rarely works. My suggestion is to start with your dream paint, Knoxville Gray HC-160 and then pick a coordinating vinyl, something that will go with your roof, like Briarwood. It’s okay to have two different colors on the house. You just tie them together by bringing some of that Briarwood color over to the old part of the house — perhaps as shutters or other accessories. Send a photo if I can help you coordinate the two colors on the house. It works quite well.
If you prefer to keep all one house, then simply take a sample of the Pewter or Wedgewood to the paint dealer and have him go two shades darker or lighter for the rest of the house. Again, don’t try to match the hue value perfectly.
Does that help? As for whites, a China White (Ben Moore off-the-shelf) should work nicely with the color scheme.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
I sent you a detailed email to your yahoo address last night with photos with my problem — that the color that’s being painted on the exterior of my house as I write this isn’t the right one! BM Crownsville Gray looks good in the shadows but too yellowish green in the full sun. Please help! PS. I paid my PayPal last night. Thanks so much!
Hi Barbara,
This is such a great service that you provide. I have a few questions about a house my wife and I recently purchased. The home was built in the early 70’s, is located in the woods and needs a little updating. We’ve remodeled the interior, now it’s time to spruce up the exterior. We have some landscaping planned for next spring, but before we do that, we’d like to repaint the house and make it look a little more current. I sent a few photos to your yahoo email account.
So, here are the questions:
1. The house is currently all one color, a faded blue-gray. We were thinking of going with a darker, slightly deeper blue (less gray) for the siding. The roof was replaced a couple of years ago and it is gray with blue tones. So, we need something to match the roof and the brick accent wall (which we are not painting). We also were thinking of painting the vertical corner trim, fascia, gutters and possibly the soffits a white color. It would be the same color of white currently on the trim around the windows (that is all new trim from when we replaced the windows a few months ago). So, would a darker blue siding look good in this situation and if so, which particular shade (or specific color if you have one)? Or, we are open to a completely different color that will still match the roof and brick, if you have other options.
2. We will paint the trim white (vertical corner trim, fascia, gutters). Should the soffit also be painted white to match the fascia or should it be painted the color of the siding? Also, there is a horizontal piece of 3″ trim at the top of the siding that abuts the soffit…should that be the color of the siding or should it be white?
3. The garage doors are currently white. Should they be painted another color or should we stick with white for them?
4. Finally, should the “ceiling” of the little overhang over the front door be painted white or siding color? It currently is the color of the siding. (By the way, we will be replacing the front door with a new wood one down the road.)
Thanks much for your help and I look forward to hearing from you.
Ryan
Hi Barbara,
One additional thought we had about the color is this… what if we paint the garage doors, the trim around the garage doors and all the vertical corner trim around the house the same color as the siding? Then, only the fascia and trim around the windows would be white. Would this be less busy and help the house blend into the woods better?
Thanks again!
Ryan
Hi Ryan,
Blue is not a color I would pick to go with your brick although a lot of people like the contrast. So if you’d like to go bluer, take a look at Ben Moore’s Philipsburg Blue HC-159. That’s about the only blue I would use on your house. Having said that, my preference would be to use more of a neutral that pulls out the earth tones in your brick. Something like Shenandoah Taupe AC-36, which ties in the gray of the roof but pulls out the more subtle tones in your brick. Another option is the slightly greener Alexandria Beige HC-77. Both of those taupes will update your house and help it fit more into the surroundings. Picking an earth tone from the brick will also make the house look bigger. Right now the contrast cuts the house in half.
As for the trim, white is fine as your windows are bright white. Yes, paint the fascia and soffits the same white as well as the window trim and the ceiling of the front door area. The gutters should be white, but the downspouts would be best painted the house color since they run down the siding and are quite prominent.
Keeping the corner posts the same as the siding color will help to make the house bigger and also less busy. You’re right about that. Great idea.
As for the garage, you can paint it the same color as the siding (including the trim) as you suggested in the later post. That too will camouflage the doors and help with blending into the surroundings. Another option is to go with a two-shade darker color for the garage doors. That tends to “ground” them but it’s not critical.
I know I didn’t answer your questions in order (it’s a Monday), but I think I covered everything. Hope so.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara – I need serious color help. Our home is a 20 year old transitional with gray siding and all white trim (see photos sent separately). After storm damage in May our roof was replaced. We love the new darker color and the dimensional-multicolored shingles that pick up the gray in the siding. Then (also due to storm damage) the siding was replaced. Our insurance would only replace the existing color (which was a faded gray) so I didn’t have the luxury of selecting a deeper color or even returning it to the original gray. The new gray siding is a bit warmer than the old – it is a very close match to BMoore Harbor Gray (AC-25). We also just added a medium walnut stained door (the original was a slate blue gray to match the shutters). The door is very warm and brings out the cherry color in our brick and the new warm tone of the siding – but now we’ve got a lot going on and are mxing browns and grays.
I know we need a darker shutter color and I was even considering painting the trim a darker color (gray) instead of the lighter white – but I’m not sure. Based on your previous posts I think we should paint the garage door and the bay window (which are white) to match the siding color. Is there a taupe grey/beige color that can marry all these colors together? Should I get rid of the brown influence and paint my new door to match the new shutter color and give up my beautiful walnut?
I need your expert color recommendations on painting the garage door, bay window, shutters and trim (and door?).
Thanks so much for all of your help.
Hi Debbie,
Have a look at Knoxville Gray Ben Moore HC-160 as a possibility for both garage door and shutters. It’s a sophisticated gray-blue-green that should pick up some of the cool colors in your brick and coordinate well with the roof and siding. I don’t think you have to switch out all that white trim. It’s okay. I think that the garage door painted a richer hue will balance the brick and roof and pull the whole house together.
Keep the walnut door. It’s fine.
See what yout think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara-
Hi I just did my paypal so here we go! I need an answer asap – my painter decided to come a week early but i am not ready! I live in a small cape – first floor is your basic 5 room – bath — Kitchen and dining room (which is like one room we took down the half wall) — den – living room which continues up the stairs to the second floor with small hall way – when standing in the kitchen you basically see all the rooms – so my question is should I paint all the rooms except the bathroom one color to make the house look bigger? Window are standard size for a small cape and the lighting in the house isnt great (except in LR where we did recess lighting but still not to bright – you get the point — and the wood work is linen white – should I keep that – the kitchen cabinets are Amaretto (off white) granite is Imperial Cafe (dark brown) floors in kitchen med oak and all other floors are light oak – bathroom has bisque tolite – sink – tile floor soft beige with brown like veins going through it and same granite as kitchen – left over piece figured use it — I eas looking at BM Manchester Tan — but would like your input — not sure if that is ok?? I like for accents earth tones – greens – golds – orange – kind of the tuscan look – I like dark brown or black frames – lights are the brown metals – off white 2 inch blinds – could also use suggestion on valances — Again so sorry for rushing – I never expected him to come a week early –
Thank you!!
Cindy
Hi Cindy,
Hope you get this in time. Manchester Tan is a great color for painting the downstairs public rooms. It works with many different accent colors and woods. I often use Manchester Tan for staging homes for sale as it is a universally liked color that works with many decors. From what you’ve described, the Manchester Tan should unify your whole downstairs area making it feel bigger. Then you can pull in accents in each room and mix-and-match throughout. Keeping the same palette of colors with the tan as the base will coordinate your whole house and give it a finished look.
Linen White will add warmth to the tan and will be a very nice combination.
Go for it
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara
Thank you so much for the quick response – I will be out first thing in the morning to get the paint – I forgot to ask would you do like the den for instance a little darker color for a cozy feeling – the room is like 11 x 11 or keep it light also cause it is small?? and you said to pull the accent in with my earthy tones of green orange gold?? So does that mean the valances would be an accent color or would the valances stary a netural color also like a bronze or a soft brown or dark taupe ???
Thank you once again
Cindy
Hi Cindy,
Have a look at Bennington Gray HC-82 for your den. It is richer (darker) than the Manchester Tan but should look great with your earth tones and browns. I used it for a cozy “Man Cave” (photo is on the blog if you’re interested) with a dark brown sofa, creams, oranges, and dark eggplant purples.
See what you think. The window treatments should probably blend (a light neutral) with the wall color so you maximize visual space in the room. Use pillows and art for your punches of color.
Hope that helps. I’ll scroll up to your kitchen question now.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara
The Painter stopped by after my last post he had some Manchester Tan and wanted me to try on the wall today so he can start tomorrow – it looks good in the kitchen – dining room and the hall that goes to the bathroom and den BUT in the Living Room it looks pure white!! So I guess the lighting in there is changing it – can you suggest something to go in that room and up the stairs to the second floor that will blend with the MT but not to dark because the lighting still is not so good. Also the fireplace in the LR is panted an awful color so will that be the same color as the room or should it be painted a ligher or darker color. Sorry I should of put this all in one but when you on have one day its hard but thank you so much for saving the day!!!!
Cindy
Hi again Cindy,
How about Shaker Beige HC-45 in the Living Room? It is a nice neutral that’s richer than the Manchester Tan but not too dark. And it allows you to bring other colors into the room without making the room feel smaller or disconnected from the rest of the house. If you want “flow” from room to room in your public areas, the colors need to relate to each other without interrupting your eye, Again, add punches of color with your art and accessories. In the LR, you can use some contrast in your window treatments since the room is bigger and more of a focal area. Oranges, browns, purples, and greens look great with the neutral Shaker Beige.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara
It sounds good – but does the Shaker Beige have a pinkish undertone?? I thought I read that — I love your suggestions but the fireplace is an eyesore – its painted a soft terra cotta so I need to change it – its a basic brick fire place with the thick slate mantle and hearth at the bottom – all painted terra cotta – I know the original was red brick and grey slate –
Cindy
Hi Cindy,
Shaker Beige is a taupe that tends to change depending on the light in the room. What I see is mainly a green undertone, not pink. ??
But get a sample and see if you like it in your space.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara
Sorry for some reason I did paypal again to ask another question but it didnt go through – this time it did — so can you look at the last two post – I didnt realize I was suppost to put it all in one – so color suggestion for den and valances and Living Room problem – painter is her now so he is getting started with the MT in Kitchn and Dining Room and I will get him the LR paint later today or in the morning – thank you so much for all your help – this is a wonderful service!
Thanks
Cincy
Barbara
The post you are looking for is about my Living Room and is dated Oct 10th at 349pm
Thanks
Cindy
Hi Barbara,
I recently purchased a house and I wish to change the color of the front stucco exterior. Currently, it is painted a light gray. I want to change the color to Gloucester Sage (BM) with a white trim. I read some previous posts that mentioned painting the trim cream but I wonder if white would work as well? My biggest issue is what color to paint the door. I thought of leaving it white but I wonder if there are other choices that may work. In this particular neighborhood, I noticed most of the houses have white vinyl siding with brick/stone work, stucco painted with tan, brown colors and (2) complete brick houses. Would my choice of Gloucester Sage work in such a neighborhood? I read somewhere the importance of blending into the neighborhood. Also, do I have to paint the garage doors? I prefer to paint leave the garage doors white. I provided a link since I haven’t taken puctures yet. I would appreciate any help.
Thanks
Tim
http://tour.circlepix.com/tour.htm?id=904640
Hi Tim,
The Gloucester Sage should fit nicely into your neighborhood of tans/bricks/browns. And the White Dove is fine to use as a trim color especially if you prefer to leave the garage doors white. They won’t stick out as much if the trim color is the same as the doors. As for the front double doors, you can consider a coordinating color like Bennington Gray HC-82 (a light gray-green) since your doors are big and prominent and there’s no way we’re going to miss them. Or you can really make a big statement with a complementary color like Georgian Brick HC-50 that will tie in any brick on the house (chimney??) and not look Christmasy (like a redder color might).
Does that help?
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks Barbara
Would you be able to recommend an entire independent color scheme that uses la lighter color than the Gloucester Sage? My wife doesn not want dark colors, so I am stuck in a dilemma. I also, failed to mention there is no brick on the house and in the neighborhood, there are many more houses painted white then any other color. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Tim
Hi Tim,
Okay, taking into account your roof color as well as the prominent foundation showing in the front, how about Coventry Gray HC-169 for the siding, White Dove trim so you can keep the white garage door, and Philadelphia Cream HC-30 for the front door? The colors are taken from your rock wall palette. The yellow can be picked up in plantings and annuals out front. The palette is fresh but not one you see very often.
See if your wife likes that combination better than the dark green.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thank goodness I found your site! I’ve been wanting to paint the exterior of our home since we bought it 4 years ago. It’s currently yellow with blue shutters and a blue front door. I think it looks a little “French county” – not at all my style. I’d like the outside to match the inside. We’ve updated the inside with contemporary colors (for example, the front room is a great coco color, ICI – American Eagle No. 515, and much of the rest of the house is ICI – Stonington Beige No. 614) as well as a new kitchen and bathrooms.
My plan has been to paint the house grey (specifically Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray) with white trim (the windows are white vinyl and there’s a lot of white vinyl around that bay window) with black shutters and a black front door. For the garage I was planning to outline the rectangles in it white so it doesn’t just look flat grey. But I’m concerned that the brown-ish roof won’t look right with grey. Also not sure if Chelsea Grey, which I love – not too brown and not too blue, will be too dark to have black shutters and door. Can you please share thoughts and/or suggestions?
PS #1: I live is Seattle and there are a lot of trees around our house. With the rain and the trees, the yellow gets very dirty so I’d like to go darker rather than lighter.
PS #2: Always wanted a red door but there are numerous red doors on our block. Also, the little covered porch also has large greenish tiles so I’m concerned with clashing colors.
*I will send a photo to your email address.
Thank you so much!
Molly
Hi Molly,
I think the Chelsea Gray will be fine for your house even with the black shutters. The Chelsea Gray is a very complex color with greens and browns in it so it should be fine with your roof color. The house will look a lot bigger actually. The white trim will break up all the earthy color and accentuate the architecture — which looks like it’s been updated. As for the door, take a look at Georgian Brick HC-50 (a brick-brown) that will tie in your chimney and look welcoming without going too red. Black is okay for your front door but since you have a portico, the door is in the shadows a bit and the black will look even darker under there.
It’s okay to try painting out all the trim on your garage door, but I would step back and look at the effect before going all the way with it. The little boxes popping off the garage door may just look too busy. But maybe not. I’m not a big fan of highlighting the garage doors unless you have a brand new carriage style door with hinges, etc.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I have a small, cottagey style home that used to be a darker brown color. I am hoping to paint it to make it seem a bit lighter and bigger and also provide a warm, welcoming feel. The house has a med/dark gray roof, and a stone chimney that is a light putty/beige color.
My first thought was to replicate a picture you posted of the pale yellow house (also with a gray roof) and the deep blue door, but unfortunately I have zero support for yellow. Second, I thought a sand color with off-white trim, and a deep blue door might work with this house, but now that the house has been power-washed the stone chimney is much lighter so we’re concerned that color would be too light and wouldn’t highlight the architecture of the home. The other thought was a darker regatta blue with sand trim but I am concerned that will be too dark and won’t achieve the lighter, welcoming feel. So basically, we’re lost. It’d be great to know what colors you think would really work for the body, trim, and door. We’re planning to use Behr paint from Home Depot so if you have the actual colors (who knew there were so many sand colors?) that would be tremendously helpful, even if the actual colors are from other paints (SW, KM, and Valspar are all available in our area too).
Thanks so much,
Deanna
https://picasaweb.google.com/115571992992151939437/HomeExteriorHelpNeeded?authkey=Gv1sRgCK_u9_vx_MmEcw#5663553771220080786
Hi Barbara,
It has come time to paint the concrete trim on the bottom of our home. I was going to paint it a dark brown to match the garage door, but I’m not sure that is the correct color. Right now the concrete trim is a rosy brown. Eventually the downspouts and siding need to be replaced or painted and I’m not sure what color to use to go with the brick. The rail around the front porch is new, we tried to match it with the trim that was there, but now not sure we chose the correct color but we can’t re-do that. The stucco trimmed with siding on the front of the house looks a little out of place. Should we leave that the color it is? With all the colors in the brick it is hard to decide on a trim color. If we are in the house long enough we will replace the roof and would need a color choice for that. I would like to replace the front door and would like an accent color idea for that. As you can see by the pictures we have a lot of brown going on at the house. Our outside light fixtures are black and we painted the chain link fence that goes around our property black also. Thanks for helping to make our house look nice and giving me the confidence that I’m making the correct color choices!
Carolyn
https://picasaweb.google.com/rusnakc/HousePhotos?authkey=Gv1sRgCKLW5anwrMaXQg
Hi Carolyn,
Take a look at Ben Moore’s Bleeker Beige HC-80 for foundation color as well as garage door. That will tie in the “concrete-looking” trim on the front windows. Then use Alexandria Beige HC-77 for siding above garage door and on back of house. Whitall Brown HC-69 is a better brown for your brick. You can use the brown in place of the current brown on trim/gutters.
You’re right, the foundation color is a bit too rosy for your brick. Bringing the color back closer to concrete will help the front door area too. We can pick the roof later when you’re ready to replace the current on.
I do like your front step railing. That’s fine. The front door looks like a storm door. That should match the brown windows. But you could pull out an eggplant purple like Caponata AF-650 if you want to paint an inside door.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I wish I had a photo but it is night time here and I must figure out the exterior colors of our home tomorrow! Yikes! We have a 3 story (1 story underground) home in the mountains of colorado. All the homes in our neighborhood are brown, grey , and dark green. Our home being long overdue for paint gave me the opportunity to break the trend. Our home has modern architecture with wood siding and floor to ceiling windows. My goal was to give the exterior a look of a modern farmhouse. I chose Cameo White (by BM). Today we finally finished the siding and I had planned on us doing the trim white. I tested white dove , cloud white, and super white. Super white seemed too white but I was afraid white dove and cloud white would get lost next to the cameo. So this afternoon we started doing super white and it seems way too white – esp in the front of the house where it is all windows (2 story floor to ceiling windows), a 9 foot deep porch, high – high ceilings and no siding with cameo to break up all the super white. Now, I am not sure what to do. Before we did the super white today, the painters did the front porch and overhang and windows in the cameo so I could see what it would be like. With every thing painted cameo, I felt like I was walking into a cream tunnel. It wasn’t good. Perhaps I should have just painted the celing of of the entry porch(how you walk to the front door, and directly above is another 9 foot deep by 20 feet long porch) white and left the windows cameo and not bothered with white trim? Is a whole houe in camoe too much? Our trim on our house is inconsistent so the painter was cautioning us on painting the trim a different color. We also wanted to do a black in-lay in the original plan – just to ground the house (esp with all the snow we get here!) What do you suggest we do? What color white trim would you suggest to go with Cameo? What colro whould we paint the garage door? There are also two other single doors with glass in teh middle and wood all around that need to be painted (I think?). Currently they are Cameo white.
I did a pretty bad job explaining, I am so sorry. I will try and send a picture tomorrow.
Thanks for the help!
Mary
Hi Mary,
How about Cloud Cover OC-25 for the trim? It’s soft — with a touch of gray — so it doesn’t like chaulk. Then you can try an inlay of Alexandria Beige HC-77 with doors/garage in Davenport Tan HC-76. Those two colors seem to go really well with your roof and I love the combination with the creamy Cameo.
See what you think. Try the Alexandria Beige inlay before you rush off to buy the new white trim paint. The inlay may be just enough to dampen the white effect. If the white is still too bold, then try the Cloud Cover and see if that blends the windows in a bit more. I see what you’re saying about the front of the house with all the windows. A little gray in the white also helps the paint to age gracefully as well. Sometimes the super white paint just looks dirty faster.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Barbara,
Thank you so much for your quick response. My husband and I are at our wits end and I feel like I really messed up choosing Cameo as the color of our siding. I have seen it look so lovely and smart at some homes in nearby in Aspen but as my husband pointed out, our home is not a cute little Victorian. Is the Cameo as bad as we are beginning to think? Should we have chosen a siding color more like cedar key or Alexandria beige?
I had a sample of white cloud so I put that on some of the windows today and it helped but it concerned us that it would blend too much with the Cameo. I never would have picked out Cloud Clover so thank you for the input and I look forward to trying it. The super white does indeed look chalky and it also highlights how our trim on all the windows except on the floor to ceiling windows is a rough sewn cedar only 3″ wide. Nothing too amazing! Yet we have amazing windows in the front of the house that deserve to be shown off. This house is such a challenge. So many angles and such huge windows and such poor trim work.
Earlier tonight my husband and I were debating (AGAIN) inlay colors and were considering Texas leather or Wrought iron or Night shade. But it sounds like you think a black inlay is too severe, and the colors I just mentioned are pretty dark as well and are too dark? I will try the inlay colors you suggested. One of the problems that I am realizing is that with a light color like Cameo a dark inlay is helpful but our trim work on our windows is so funky; think ski town carpentry in 1968, that the inlay just highlights the less than desireable trim and carpentry. But perhaps at a distance, it will give the desired effect.
Just to make sure I understand your suggestions, you think painting the trim a white is a good idea (we were also debating just doing the inlay and no trim) and then use on Alexandria beige inlay and Davenport tan for the garage. Our roof is a wood shingle roof with flashing close to davenport tan and texas leather so perhaps your colors will help tie the roof in.
What color do you suggest painting the soffit and fascia? How about the vertical posts and deck railings. Our current plan is to stain the deck a medium brown stain (it’s called Bark by Cabbot).
Ohhhhh! I wish I had found your website and YOU 2 weeks ago. I feel like I really messed this one up.
Thank you for all your help,
Mary Courtney
Thank you Barbara for all your help. After considering re-painting the house and starting over we are going to try your recommendations.
To confirm: all the window trim should be painted Cloud Cover and then Alexandria beige on the inlay of all the windows except the windows on the side of the garage. Those will just have Cloud Cover trim. Soffits and fascia will be Cameo.
My last 3 questions are what color do you recommend the verical posts be that come down from the soffits and onto the porch and what color do you recommend the railings of the porches be. Last but not least what color should the “roof” of the front porch be (cloud cover, or cameo or something else)? I will send you a better picture of this area over email.
Thank you so much for being there especially over a weekend. We were in complete panic mode and are calming down now that we have your recomendations. We feel so much more comfortable with how to proceed now that we have your assistance! I think our home is going to end up looking beautiful.
Thank you!!
Hi Mary,
Okay, for a true New England farmhouse look, you need white posts (Cloud Cover), white railing, and white fascia/soffits. Sometimes we use a light blue porch ceiling. BUT, since you’re in the mountains and have a mountain style home, you have another option.