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Paint Design Dilemma Exterior

How do I find a good color consultant?

August 29, 2018

last modified: August 29, 2018

I need to choose exterior house colors soon and am just stumped. I'd like to hire a consultant to pick the colors and am having a hard time finding one.

This job is too small potatoes for interior design firms with impressive portfolios on Houzz and Dearing Hall. Smaller, just getting started designers I see online don't really have portfolios that show a lot of color skill.

I've asked contractors, artist friends, searched online, asked at paint stores. I'm not coming up with much. Any ideas on how to find a good color consultant? I live in Philadelphia.

Comments (10)

arokes726
Check out Idle Designs Color Consultants. I think their work is impressive.
August 29, 2018
Kendrah thanked arokes726
paintguy22
Paint store.
August 29, 2018
Kendrah thanked paintguy22
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PRO
Debra O Design
Hi Kendra, look at your natural surroundings ,and start there , ask yourself what colors you like. You can take a leaf to a good paint store, and they can match it. Do the colors you love and you will love your home, again , I look at whats around you if you want your home to be cohesive with what around or if you want to stand out, just have fun, get a bunch of samples you love and tape them up and you find what makes you happy. A process of elimination. Have fun, good luck, best, Debra
August 29, 2018
Kendrah thanked Debra O Design
Denita
http://www.oldhouseguy.com/
August 29, 2018
Kendrah thanked Denita
celerygirl
People here can give you nice advice also, just ask what you want to.
August 29, 2018
Kendrah thanked celerygirl
greenfish1234
Looks like the pine st house I lived in for years! I love it. Old house guy has a very reasonable on line service and specializes in antiques!
August 29, 2018
Kendrah thanked greenfish1234
greenfish1234
http://www.oldhouseguy.com/about-us/
August 29, 2018
Kendrah thanked greenfish1234
Kendrah
I looked at oldhouseguy.com and immediately loved that he says there is a correct and incorrect aesthetic to houses. Yes! I can come up with various schemes that look sort of pretty, but for the price tag of painting, I don't just want pretty, I want harmonious and darn near perfect. I want the house that you look at and think "They nailed it!"

I'm now in communication with Old House Guy. My concern with his pictures is that he puts too many colors on one house. Nice colors, but too many. On his price estimate he indicated, "Your house should have two colors. A trim color and a sash and shutter color. As for your cornice, it is not in the picture but should be the trim color."

Is the casing considered trim? If so, I think it would look really busy to have a shutter color, then a second color for casing and then back to the shutter color for the sash. Am I interpreting the suggestion correctly?
August 29, 2018
latifolia
Old House Guy sounds very good.

We have a brick townhouse. Our front door is one color, the trim and cornice another, and the sash a third color. It really adds some depth. Identical neighboring house with all the trim and sash one color don’t look quite as good.
August 29, 2018
Kendrah
Latifolia, Do you have shutters too? If so, which color are they? Do you have any stone above the windows or on a water table?
August 29, 2018

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