Need help with mountain house exterior color & finishes!

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Hello, we recently bought this mountain house and are remodeling in and out. We are planning to change the exterior color (or modify it somewhat). It's all a little too "same-same" as it is - even the interior had this color running all through it! We were thinking about adding trim around the windows to make them appear larger (front window specifically). We are planning to add some stone accents, possibly a shed roof overhang thing over the garage bays with a metal top, we like the thought of adding timber accents over the garage and elsewhere? We are also tearing off the back deck and redoing the whole thing and adding an extended roof and another shed roof...pictures and plans below. SIDE QUESTION: When using opaque stain, do you need to stick close to the original color or does it cover like a pain?

DECK & ROOF EXTENSIONS

HOUSE FRONT:

HOUSE BACK:

HOUSE SETTING: that's our house in the distance

VIEWS OUT BACK OF HOUSE:

WHAT'S GOING ON INSIDE - HERE IS A PEEK AT SOME OF THE FINISHES INSIDE TO HELP WITH CREATING A COHESIVE EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR

KITCHEN QUARTZITE:

SOME RANDOM INTERIOR FINISHES:

MAIN LEVEL FIREPLACE CONCEPT (interior paint undecided at this point!)

Featured Answer

PRO

Spenard Builders Supply - Eagle River

6 years ago

This looks like Vinyl siding. Sp painting it could be a issue- if its not done correctly the paint wont stick and it will peel off, and typically people get vinyl so that they don't have to do maintenance.

If this is the case I would think about just painting the trim. Possibly a more bold blue to contrast the gray(ish) looking siding.

When using an opaque stain depending on the product- can look a lot like a paint when it is finished.

Other terms to look like a painted surface are "Solid Wood Finish" or "Solid Stain"

those will also look like a paint when finished- but can be subjected to more noticeable wear. For example it will show wear patterns on steps or railings.

If you do a Semi-Opaque, Semi-Solid, Semi-Transparent these will all show some of the wood grain or the color underneath. So if it is red to start and you add a cedar color to it ( a orange/yellow) it may look more red then on the sample.

Also the samples are typically not on pressure treated wood they are on unfinished pine- meaning that the colors will be brighter then on pre-finished wood.

Based off the picture it looks like just pressure treated lumber- as long as the deck is over a year old ( seasoned) it should take stain pretty well.

If you are DIYing it- dont skimp on the prep work, if there is any residue on the lumber the stain will not adhere properly and there is a good chance that you will need to do it again the next year. If you are having professionals do it- they should already know this step. In Theory.

You have a beautiful home, Im looking forward to before and after pictures.

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Comments (13)

PRO
PeakDog
Original Author
6 years ago
Spenard - thank you for the information on stains! This is actually cedar siding! The original deck has all been removed - a great deal of rot since 1994! We are considering composite decking going forward. The entire house is subjected to the harsh elements of living at 8500 ft in the CO mountains, so all things need to be considered. And heck no, no DIY here - we would destroy the place!!! LOL!
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PRO
Spenard Builders Supply - Eagle River
6 years ago
You guys have similar climate as Alaska. With the mass amount of windows, things to think about when changing the color of the house is how the sun will affect it.

However, I think you Colorado has figured out that you need air conditioning- We had several days this summer reaching 90, which is unheard of!

Colors on the exterior will add to the absorption of the heat from the sun- a lot of homes here are lighter colors on the walls and a darker roof for that purpose.

So there may have been a method to the madness in the colors scheme outside.

From experience I can tell you that composite decking is great for not having to keep it maintained, but what sales people wont tell you is that it can become slick in the rain or ice, and if your using a shovel to remove snow- use a plastic one because a metal edge one is more likely to scratch the surface.
PRO
PeakDog
Original Author
6 years ago
I wish the roof was darker on this one! But it is only a 5 year old roof so sticking with that! The Southern sun exposure is nearly unbearable in the summer in this house which is why we are adding that back deck cover - that will really help as we have no AC in this house! We love the sun during the frigid winters though...there are many days in the winter when our heater doesn't even run because of the ambient heat!

Alaska in the 90's eh? Sounds off to me!!
Kristin S
6 years ago
What color/material are your windows?

I really like Maria Killam's blog, and she just had a post about exterior colors for a house similar to yours. It might give you some ideas?

https://www.mariakillam.com/nature-inspired-modernist-exterior-before-after/
PeakDog thanked Kristin S
PRO
PeakDog
Original Author
6 years ago
Kristin - mixing in some new windows with existing...new windows match existing pretty well
Kristin S
6 years ago
Hard to tell on my screen, but are they a taupe-y or brownish gray? Between that and brown roof I’d stick with a gray, brown, and taupe color scheme.
Kristin S
6 years ago
Will you be using your fireplace stone as your exterior stone? If so, put that with your roof and windows, and there’s your palette.
PRO
PeakDog
Original Author
6 years ago
Not sure about that stone for exterior...might try to find something with similar tones in a larger format? I would call the windows dark bronze in color?? The roof color in the picture is a touch deceiving...not as much brown as it is grayish/brownish, I can't define the color...wouldn't have been my first choice!
PRO
PeakDog
Original Author
6 years ago
I think that I should have added this post under "paint" and perhaps I would receive more input...is there an easy way to do this? Clueless over here!
lyfia
6 years ago
I think I would look at a green that leans towards the sage family.
Kathleen K
6 years ago
I don't have experience with exterior stains but a sage green paint would look good. I like your stacked stone and could see it as column bases around the porch and deck posts. Or you could use river rocks to match those in the landscape. Not sure I like the steel in the middle of the chimney or the mantle overthe top of the TV. They break the lines of that soaring fireplace and the mantle will be too high to set things on. If solid rock to ceiling is not an option, rock to mantle then wallboard with timber trim to ceiling. Solid rock would be good for passive solar so you might get a tax break for that. Once you rebuild deck consider sun sails instead of roofing which could block those windows year round. That would cut your winter heat gain and ruin your views. Use lower deck in the heat of the day and upper one for evenings. Gorgeous setting.
suezbell
6 years ago
Log cabin siding.