Choosing Exterior Colors for my Mid-Cent Ranch

9 years ago

Hi there, I'm back and looking for opinions on exterior colors for my house. The house is currently a warm white with a "latte" colored trim. We've slowly been updating it from the old farts that lived here previously. My husband and I really love the modern farm house look (especially since we have a farm) but the architecture is not your typical farm house and I don't want to make it something it's not. Last month I experimented by purchasing a couple gallons of Benjamin Moore White Dove and I put a fresh coat on one side of the house. The siding and trim is all White Dove. Although it looks fresh and clean, it is lacking warmth and is just too stark. I'm learning that all those pretty pictures you see on the internet of pure white houses is actually really hard to pull off in real life. So, what color combos do you think would look good with this style of architecture? I'm also into darker colors like dark grays. I want to keep things modern, youthful... we like rustic-glam with some modern thrown in there. Basically I want a house that is like "wow, that house is done WELL." Any ideas much appreciated. Thank you!

PS for reference: Garage door and entry doors are natural wood (we'd like to keep most of the wood for contrast and warmth) and there is original brick (the long, linear style of that era) on the chimney and along two large planters on the house.

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apple_pie_order

9 years ago

Old farts?

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Comments (10)

millielove
Original Author
9 years ago
Yes
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Denita
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
lol...one day you are 20 and the next you are 50 yrs old. Believe me, time flies. But we are all 18 in our heads.

Now, to your color dilemma - you do have a great house from what we can see of it.

Any chance you can post a pic that is a little bit closer so we can see details?

What color is your roof shingle, brown or dark gray or something else?

What is your FP - stone or brick? Can you get a closeup of the material so we can see the colors? Looks like brick from here.
emmarene9
9 years ago
If you like white then use a color that is almost white. You could try BM Elmira White for example. Otherwise I would use a grayed shade of green.
Colleen Hopkins
9 years ago
Did you pick a color? We are choosing a new color for our ranch right now too and it sounds like we have some preferences in common. Thinking of going dark too.
chloebud
9 years ago
I like emmarene's suggestion. Elmira White is definitely warmer. I like a lighter shade with the low roof line. Just seems to add some life.
millielove
Original Author
9 years ago
I've been thinking about it more. I do love a dark house but I think in order for us to pull that off we'd have to remodel the exterior (siding, etc) and make it slightly more modern and include a lot of natural wood. Painting it dark as is might be overwhelming. For now we will stick with white, just trying to decide which shade. I like the idea of a fresh white - it's intentionally youthful and modern. But I also like the more comfortable warmth of a creamier white. Who knew picking a color would be so difficult?!
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Design Everest
9 years ago
It would be nice if you could post a few more pictures so we can see things better. You said you like the farmhouse style and that the home you have is a ranch but to help we really need a few extra photos.
Farmhouse-Style Exterior · More Info

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chloebud
9 years ago
I wish I could show you the redo on a ranch home on our street. It was sold and the new owners have totally brought it back to life by painting it all a lovely soft white. The roof line is very much like yours. The previous owners had painted it a darkish gray/green. Not a bad color but no one can believe what the white paint has done. Really nice with the brick work, too.
sandradclark
9 years ago
Would also like to know shingle roof color & brick color as well. I love the calla lillys in the front. White is nice with so many shrubs & green trees surrounding it. You need contrast.