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rgiesler

Exterior color conundrum -- Keep the blue or change to gray or green?

13 years ago
Hi all,

After some recent hail damage, we are replacing our roof and repainting. The problem we have is what colors to choose for the siding, trim and shutters that will go with the brick on the first floor. The options we've come up with are:
1. Keeping some shade of blue but adding white trim and dark blue shutters.
2.We could also do blue with chocolate shutters and a creme colored trim.
3. Sage green with darker green shutters and a lighter trim color.
4. A light grey with white trim and dark shutters.

We are having a very difficult time deciding and any input or advice would be greatly appreciated! Our two neighbors both chose to repaint their houses a beige/tannish color, so we want to avoid tans/browns. The roof will either be greyish or brownish (you can see some sample shingles over the garage in one of the pictures). Landscaping is not the best, but we're waiting to improve until the house is painted.

Thank you again for your thoughts!

Comments (12)

  • PRO
    13 years ago
    I can't remember which paint company it is, but at least one of them has a program where you can upload a picture and make changes to it. Maybe someone else has seen it and can say which company. You may want to look at Benjamin Moore, Valspar, Sherwin Williams and see if it is on their websites.
  • PRO
    13 years ago
    last modified: 13 years ago
    I highly recommend using a designer to recolor/restyle a photo of your home (affordable too). I have found this to be our most value-added service. There are so many possibilities- and you want to get it right! So viewing roof, siding, etc. options first, takes the risk out of the process. Feel free to check out some examples on our website. My first thought is to move away from blue and do something totally new and updated. Good luck! A new roof really opens possibilities.
  • 13 years ago
    How about something like this?
    http://houzz.com/photos/1014510
  • PRO
    13 years ago
    Can you post a close-up that includes the brick as well as the front siding? It appears that the front siding is a cedar shake & not clapboard.
  • PRO
    13 years ago
    I agree with the visual image that was posted above. Deep dark toast or taupe color, crisp white trim(including windows) and shutters black. Your home would look stunning.
  • 13 years ago
    Wow -- thank you all for the very quick comments. To respond to everyone quickly: Deborah: yes - I'm using the Valspar and Sherwin Williams software that's available online but it's somewhat difficult to manipulate (could be I'm just not used to it yet). 2. Color Zen - good advice! I'm in the process of doing this, but I think we're pretty close to what we want and was hoping the wonderful expertise of Houzz members would be enough to allow us to finalize. 3. Judy M - I really like that particular combo, but my wife unfortunately is not a fan of grey, but she could be persuaded 4. Brown Consulting - see the attached images. You are correct about the front being cedar shake! 5. Oellien Design - thanks for the comment - I generally agree, but anything taupe-like is probably out because our neighbors on each side have taupe-ish colors.
  • PRO
    13 years ago
    last modified: 13 years ago
    Banish the blue ! Go for greens, grays and browns like in this example below :
    Lake Pine Drive ,Cary. Garage and Remodel · More Info
    If budget permits I would consider adding James Hardee siding over the brick to unify your home . Post again when you get to the landscape part. If I were you I would start the preparation by removing that tree that is hugging your house on the right side and those green bubblegum shrubs.
  • 13 years ago
    Thanks for the advice! I like the color scheme in the attached photo and, yep, the tree and those bushes are on the docket to come down.
  • 13 years ago
    Definitely lighter trim color to brighten it up, like a tooth whitening does for a face.
    :)
  • 13 years ago
    nice analogy!
  • PRO
    13 years ago
    Especially since the front is cedar shake (a very traditional look & always beautiful in grays), I would convince your wife to go the gray route with a classic color scheme as pictured previously. A lighter gray than you have now, without the strong blue tint for the siding/shakes, very dark shutters & white trim. Basically the same as the example photo. Also paint the columns & brackets the same white trim to brighten the porch. This will result in a very crisp classic look. It has been a trend in recent years to go with a mono-chromatic color scheme to "modernize" partial brick homes, but it often loses the crispness & comes across as muddy. Remember to paint the window frames & mullions white, & also the fascia boards & soffits. I'm sure we'd all love to see your final outcome!
  • 13 years ago
    Thank you very, very much for the detailed and helpful advice! -- it's very much in keeping with the approaches we've been considering, and I definitely think we could make this scheme work. At one point, we were indeed considering painting the brick to achieve the monochromatic look, but we decided not to for the very reasons you mentioned. Will definitely post before-after pics. Thank you again!
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