Advice/thoughts on exterior of new home

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

What you see below are two color schemes for our new NW beach house. The body of the house is board and batten, the roof Malarky Laminated Shingles (no color chosen yet); windows are Milgard Ultra (black bean or bark exterior and interior colors), the body of the house color is proposed to be in the brown tan range and the area where the tall triple window with triple awnings are located is a staircase that projects out from the house (proposed to be covered in 7/8" corrugated steel by BridgerSteel, applied vertically). The color swatches in the pictures below represent, from left to right, the window frame color, the body of the house color, and the corrugated steel color. There is no appreciable trim around the windows other than a very narrow piece of wood that needs to be used because of the board and battens. Also, my husband is leaning toward brown shingles and I lean toward a blackish color. The roof will not be as noticeable as it is in the drawings below because the house is elevated about 4.5' above the ground due to area building codes, and is about 6' higher than the road. And lastly, just a "style note"--the window next to the front door has been changed to one that does not go all of the way to the floor level and is narrower than is drawn on the plan.

You will notice that the 2 color combinations represent an "eye popper" color for the staircase and a tone on tone color scheme. I am torn between the two. We are staying away from the traditional grey colors that you often see in beach houses as we feel they are pretty cold looking and we, being from the rainy, grey northwest are aiming for some visual warmth in our color selections.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions!

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beachgal5
Original Author

5 years ago

update....I thank you all for your input. Here is what we decided:

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Comments (8)

PRO
Milgard Windows & Doors
8 years ago
How exciting! We would love to see the final project when it comes together! Let us know if you have any window or patio door questions :)
beachgal5 thanked Milgard Windows & Doors
jck910
8 years ago
I like the bottom one but I don't see either as a beach house scheme
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suezbell
8 years ago
Grays and blues and lighter colors usually are more likely to make me think of the beach.

http://www.airm-bg.org/medium/modern-two-storey-house-designs-modern-house-design-in-2-story-home-plans-beach_1510946260_420x460_267c5fc73100d155.jpg

The board/bat look goes well with modern steel roofing. Lighter color roofing will reflect sunlight and heat more than darker colors.

Choosing two shades of gray for your siding and roofing and using the red you like for the front door is worth considering.

A front porch is a good idea for any home, especially true for a two story one. Having the gable roof over the extension on the front of the house that is being created for the stairs extend over the front door could increase curb appeal.

Some things to consider with regard to how large any stoop or front porch (or sun room or deck) should be: Which side of the house has the better view; which side is north, east, south, west; which side of the house overlooks road and/or garage and/or parking and which side of the house will be the main entrance, including in rainy weather.

Let us know how your project is progressing.
beachgal5
Original Author
8 years ago
jck910 you are quite right that it is not a beach house scheme--we did not want that look and there are other less "beachy" homes near us.
Kristin S
8 years ago
Lighter color roofing will reflect sunlight and heat more than darker colors.

As an Oregonian I had to laugh at this. There is rarely enough heat on the Pacific Northwest coast that one wants to reflect it. We have a beautiful coastline, but it's far from what most people think of when they think of going to the beach.

I like the second color scheme, and to me it's very PNW beach house. I feel like a lot of the buildings on the Oregon coast have more brown-toned colors like this, and they're lovely. They blend really nicely with the surroundings.
AaFa Dennison
8 years ago
I love the first option. That tone of brown is so warm and earthy, is one of my favorite colors for everything, I have my whole kitchen wall painted that color, it goes great with decoration and with the green of plants.
Trem Wills
5 years ago
Beautiful!
beachgal5 thanked Trem Wills