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Exterior Paint Decisions

5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

I have a lovely mobile home in a desirable senior (55+) park in southern-central coastal California. In October, we are going to have the exterior painted so I have been considering various ideas. I told Dina and Christine, professional painters of more than thirty years' experience, that I was considering white with black trim or an icy green with dark emerald with for the trim. But they said black was prone to fading and that if I wanted to keep fading to a minimum I would want softer (neutral) colors.

I have BM's Chantilly Lace inside and I love it, but I am thinking that maybe even a brighter white, possibly snow or hospital white--only having the exterior walls matte and the stair railings and posts high gloss in the same color. I know that the more gloss the more any imperfections are highlighted but I think that outside that would be fine. (However, I am uncertain if the imperfections would add a textural feel or just look bad; I will be asking them that question.) I got this idea while looking at my interior; the BM white in matte is complemented by faux white silk drapes and that textural contrast really excites me.

I like the reflective quality that white will bring and I don't mind having it power washed once or maybe twice a year. I dislike off white, cream or beige of any kind. For me, pure white is lovely.

Has anyone here done their home's exterior in one shade for everything? I can see it setting off my future garden beautifully. But am I missing anything or am I crazy?

Comments (15)

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    It would be a good idea to post an image of the mobile home.

    Aphaea thanked BeverlyFLADeziner
  • 5 years ago

    Thank you, Beverly. All I have are the realtor's pictures of the home when I bought it in December 2020. The shutters are gone, new high-end windows have been installed (and have white frames) and the waterless landscaping is gone but otherwise these pictures are accurate.






  • 5 years ago

    I posted a whole answer yesterday. Guess it didn't show up.


    I like a white house, personally. But I wouldn't use high gloss on the exterior. A house in our neighborhood has trim in glossy paint, and it sticks out like a sore thumb.

    Here are some examples of white on white homes. The color and contrast will come from beautiful landscape, pots, hardware such as exterior lighting, mailbox, address numbers.







    Aphaea thanked Mrs. S
  • 5 years ago

    My vote is a strong No on pure white on white. Aside from the blinding glare when sun hits your home, I’m sure your home would look like a white box with no accent color. Since your home is currently in the color range you don’t like - “…beige of any kind…” why not look at other colors. I can’t visualize ”icy green” - is that minty? But what’s your issue with a sagey green & dark green trim? Your new plantings will show up great against that color of backdrop.

    Aphaea thanked KW PNW Z8
  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I hear you about the possible glare, KW. But I live in sunny southern California and I had a light reflective roof put on as well as double-paned windows. While I do have central air and heat I want to minimize the effect of hot sun if possible. So the white appeals to me.

    Neighbors across the street have a sage green place with chocolate trim. While it is attractive, I wouldn't want it for me. (I love green but more in the emerald range.)

    Before reading these comments my painter called me to answer questions I had last night. Based on her comments, I have let go of the idea of white with black (too much touching up of black would be necessary). I was considering dark emerald and icy green (meaning very light green, almost white without being having much of the candy sweetness of mint green) but after talking with Dina I am thinking that white-on-white might work. My yard all around could have a lot of colored flowers and plants and herbs/chilis, and vegetables to set off all that white.

    Still very open to all ideas as this won't be able to be done until mid October. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts on this!

  • 5 years ago

    Neighbor’s green / brown color combo doesn’t appeal either & of course you don’t want a scheme too close to any neighbors’ colors. Your icy green sounds much better to me after your description. Seems like that color would give you the benefits of white but with lots more personality! I’d explore icy green color with different darker green trims than Emerald. Still not a fan of white unless it’s on a larger house or one with lots of architechtural detail to break up the span of whiteness & also has a dark color roof that’s very visible from the street.

    Aphaea thanked KW PNW Z8
  • 5 years ago

    You might have something there, KW. While the exterior paint ((the higher end one?) will be from Home Depot, here are some BM colors that fit that icy green idea: Emerald Vapor, Ice Mist, and Italian Ice Cream. Also, for darker: Seaweed.


    I'm not sure. Maybe one of the lighter greens with a snow white for trim, except for the stair railings which might be good in Seaweed? Since the sun/fading factor is essential I will stay away from trim in darker green. I don't want to bear the cost of repainting faded darker colors every two or three years.

  • 5 years ago

    Boy, I’m stuck Aphea - though the icy green colors appeal to me a bit more than pure white, they each have a very high LRV which to me equals high glare factor when looking at house while sun shining on it. I’m familiar with So Cal heat & do appreciate the heat reflective goal you have but, for me, I like more color. My understanding is an LRV of at least 50 is recommended to ”…reflect more light than it will absorb…” Of your icy green shades, Italian Ice Green has the lowest LRV of 81.91 so it’s still pretty high on reflective scale which to me equals glare. 50 - 100 is high reflective. As a compromise, I’d look for a LRV in the 60’s to low70’s range for body of house & a trim color for railings etc. in the 50 or lower range to get a nice color contrast. For sure i’d be getting samples & painting big squares on all sides of house before committing to a color. I don’t have the benefit of walking around in your neighborhood to see color combos others have & what works or not for your area! As I said, I’m familiar with your climate - as wll as AZ, but I’m currently in PNW!

    Kathy

    Aphaea thanked KW PNW Z8
  • 5 years ago

    I live in So Cal. why all the talk about LRV? People have every color of house under the sun, here. What is your concern about LRV?


    Aphaea thanked Mrs. S
  • 5 years ago

    We hired a color consultant when repainting. It was, I recall, $100. Maybe you need in person help.

    Aphaea thanked Mrs. S
  • 5 years ago

    @Mrs. S - my concern is about glare from sun bouncing off of a very light colored house in a climate that is very often sunny. Means when you look at house you don’t see or appreciate the color but you do cover your eyes because of the glare. Think of sun bouncing off snow or desert sand. The way to judqge how much glare a color will create is to check the LRV number - the higher the number the more glare. This particular house isn’t sitting back from the street & buffered by green lawn but instead is right on the street which causes more light bouncing off structures. So, that’s why all the talk about LRV. Using a color consultant isn’t a bad idea & the color consultant should bring up LRV factor assuming they have ”real” color knowledge & aren’t only a paint store sales person.

    Aphaea thanked KW PNW Z8
  • 5 years ago

    KW. Do you live in a climate that is often sunny? I respect your concern, but I still don't know what you're talking about. People live in white houses in Southern California all over the place. Buildings are sometimes white.


    Have you ever seen an In-n-Out Burger? They're white. There are white homes in my neighborhood. In fact, quite a few people are painting their houses white, all over the place. There are white Mediterranean-style homes, white coastal-casual homes, white tract homes with and without tile roofs. It is very popular now to put bronze or black windows into white homes. So even newer tract homes have that kind of look.


    Here are some examples:








    It is simply a "normal thing" to own and live in a white home in SoCal. And this is an incredibly sunny place, believe me.





    Aphaea thanked Mrs. S
  • 5 years ago

    Would not use high gloss on any of the house anywhere. Maybe a semi-gloss.

    Aphaea thanked suezbell
  • 5 years ago

    Why would you not use high gloss? I know it highlights imperfections--and there are plenty of those on the exterior--but I actually think that might provide some interest. (I could be wrong about that; it might just look bad.)

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