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theejackalope

Choosing Exterior Paint (Dunn Edwards only): SoCal "Spanish" c 1931

thee jackalope
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago

Hello! We are repainting our home but stuck on committing to a final color palette. We'll be going with a more simplified approach than the current scheme (seen in the photo): white body and color trim, with an accent TBD later on the walkway and stairs. We have already demoed countless options and combinations, and for a number of reasons finally settled on Swiss Coffee (DEW341) for the body and one of either Anchor Gray (DE6328), Rhinoceros (DE6327), or California Sagebrush (DET513) for the trim. We've tried patches of these together on the house, and each combination has its own appeal. So here we are stuck... or more accurately just nervous about taking the final leap ;) Wondering if/hoping someone out there in Houzz land has worked with one of these trim colors with Swiss Coffee before and/or has any thoughts on them as an exterior choice in general. We do recognize that SC will be quite bright (particularly on an east-facing front as seen in the photo), but after trying countless whites it kept being the winner to our eyes... thanks for your thoughts!


Comments (9)

  • PRO
    Beth H. :
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I just painted my home and used Swiss coffee on the stucco, and this DE platinum color on the fascia, and the wrought iron on the trim


    impossible to get good pics because the sun is always behind the house


    you can see the darker trim here,

    and this fascia has the lighter gray against the roof.



    however, the swiss coffee looks like a nice bright white once on the home.

    have you thought about doing patina green colors for accent?

  • thee jackalope
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Thanks for the quick reply and photos, Beth! Beautiful home (and landscaping!). I will check out each of these options, as they look great in combination on your home. We do have an orange tile roof, which hasn't been working as well with richer/patina-ed greens, thus our leaning towards the more washed out Sagebrush. We really love the green that is presently on the house as trim and accent (Benjamin Moore HC-50), though, and it may wind up we stick with it... but there is a definite desire to change things up if we can.

  • PRO
    Beth H. :
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    yes, the gray tones are hard to work w/those tiles. I just had a complete reroof during the paint change. The entire neighborhood (I'm in North OC) has those heavy pink/terra cotta cement tiles. but they've faded after 40 years. I couldn't wait to get something diff.

    If you want to remain period to your home, stick w/the white/yellows for the stucco, and the greens/blues or even black for the trim.

    have you thought about doing black? It's very handsome




    this is a creamier white w/more of a dark bronze trim


    blue or green always works






    I did find one with a dark charcoal gray and a swiss coffee stucco. this color gray would work. You need a true gray with no blue or yellow undertones.


    this is a 1930's in Los Feliz

    I still like the black though




    i'm jelly of your home. vintage spanish are my favorites. I'd love to redo one.

    (you in the highland park/echo park/ lincoln hts area?)

  • thee jackalope
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Thanks! You nailed it -- NE LA for sure! Yeah, we've struggled a bit with period v contemporary. I was all for sticking strictly to period, but we kept testing the "typical" colors (creamy whites for body, weathered browns and similar for trim) and nothing quite felt right. We've realized that our eyes are searching for a more "modern" color palette... but we don't want to fight the architecture either. Black is definitely a good idea here to bridge both.

  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    4 years ago



  • PRO
    Beth H. :
    4 years ago

    thee,,,worked 32 years in and around LA. I knew you were up in the hills !

    see if you can try a sample portion w/the black. And if you can, bring in the spanish tiles around the exterior. (saltillo or the talavera tiles)

  • decoenthusiaste
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Just how orange are your roof tiles? I wouldn't want black to bring out the Halloween in your home. You could play it up with colors like these. Some links are not working tonight.


    https://www.houzz.com/photos/105-kirkland-residence-modern-exterior-seattle-phvw-vp~2596668


    Capitol Hill · More Info



    Or tone it down with this.



    Dallas, TX: Stolp · More Info


  • PRO
    Beth H. :
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    deco, they aren't orange. they look like all of the photos I posted in my comment. more of a terra cotta/ saltillo tile color. black is gorgeous with them and the white

  • A B
    4 years ago

    I love a teal/turquoise type of color on a SoCal Spanish house. I feel like the current trend is to go very modern with these homes - stark white stucco, black trim, etc, and deemphasizing the Spanish tile (often multi colored and rather flamboyant) that this houses often have - but I personally think a teal-ish color gives it a lot more character and vivacity.