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Exterior Colour dilemma

3 years ago

Newly built home, design process went great but the exterior colours don't seem to work together. The stone turned out way more red/brown/earthy than we expected and it seems very busy/uncoordinated. We always felt a bit rushed during the exterior selections and really struggled choosing everything from the little swatches without much input from the builder unfortunately. We're pretty happy with everything except the stone...


Any advice from all you pros? Would like to avoid changing the stone/stucco due to cost... Would be easier to paint the trim, garage door, or even the hardie board siding.


Colours (links below):

Stucco: BM Chelsea Gray

Siding: James Hardie Iron Gray

Trim: BM Gray Owl

Stone: Eldorado Mesa Verde (Mountain Ledge stack)

Garage: BM Wrought Iron

Fascia/soffits/rain hardware: Royal Building Granite

Brackets/Front Door: Old Masters Espresso


https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/hc-168/chelsea-gray

https://www.jameshardie.com/color-and-design/explore-house-siding-colors/iron-gray

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c2/8a/81/c28a8169c4b8b56a711914d24e0aab7d.jpg

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/2137-60/gray-owl

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-ca/paint-colours/colour/2124-10/wrought-iron

https://myoldmasters.com/sites/myoldmasters.com/files/styles/color_large/public/images/Espresso-Clear-White-Pine.jpg?itok=sY60IreF

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/e0/3d/a9/e03da9dc9fd448c609b3870b7c8b33f3--exterior-siding-white-doors.jpg







Comments (14)

  • 3 years ago

    The main thing that bugs me is the downspouts. Some of them are blocking the white trim making it look choppy. If you can paint parts white where they are inn front of white trim, it'll look better.


    The soffits and bracket thingies--everything that is that blackish color--would probably be much better in white or one of the lighter grays on the house.


    The stone is nice! And everything WILL look better with landscaping.

  • 3 years ago

    Not a ’pro’…What is the plan for landscaping? And how is the porch going to be finished? The house colors look fine on my screen. Landscaping does wonders.



  • PRO
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    you have a ton of diff colors! one too many (plus the trim color)

    Since you must keep the siding, the stucco color needs to change. (and I think the garage door is the wrong shade)

    You have the stone that lends some warmth, but the kendall Charcoal is a yellow base color, the Iron Gray is more green undertone and your stone is red. All 3 together don't look right. As you can see. Drop one. the stucco and trim color.

    Here's Iron Gray w/some beautiful mahogany color wood.


    more of a cedar or redwood.


    I like Wrought Iron, but I think it's the wrong color for your garage doors. (because of your stone)

    You need some of that wood tone to pair w/the stone and warm up all of those charcoal tones.


    Rock Bottom would be a closer match to your siding. And I paired it w/some warmer garage doors to help play w/the stone a bit better.

    I beleive valspar makes the James Hardie color, Iron Gray, so try this shade and see if it works


    Deep River or Cheating Heart might work better on the garage door if Rock Bottom doesn't wor.


    I also think your white is too stark. Myabe a creamier white would look better w/the stone/siding.

    This home did iron gray and stone. theirs looks far worse than yours! (yours doesn't look bad btw)


    The garage door color is a total fail. the stone and siding and the bright white really don't work. And the chartreuse door color? uh, no. the door would have been find if the stone was gone and the garage door was painted the same as the siding. or white.

    since the stucco borders the siding, I'd find a color that works w/that, and only compliments the stone. you can't match both because they're diff tones. If you match the stone w/the stucco color, it's going to clash against the siding.


    These are the grays you want. brownish undertones.


    Or try Iron Ore on the garage door. it has a bit more brown in it.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I would paint the garage door the same color as rhe siding next to it, paint the downspouts the same as what is next to them ( as suggested above), then reassess. I agree that getting the porch finished and some landscaping will make it look so much better. Plan for a few trees and bushes that have reddish elements, to complement the stone. The colors are not the best together, but we’ve all seen much worse. It is NOT awful and is a nice looking home!

  • 3 years ago

    Thanks for the responses.

    We already planned to paint the garage door SW Rock Bottom (including the white window surrounds).. on my list of things to do this summer. The Wrought Iron is totally wrong so I'm glad we all agree on that!


    We know the stucco isn't perfect, but really don't want to tackle changing it, or the soffit/fascia. If anything, we'd paint the battens/column trim or the hardie board siding since it only covers the garage.


    We'll be doing a mix of xeriscaping (60%) and grass (40%). Not a lot planned out yet though. The driveway and walk up to the porch will be exposed aggregate to match the porch. We're waiting to see it poured and the final grad/loam done before we make too many plans for the porch.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Are you using Rock bottom elsewhere on your home? If not, I would not add yet another color - you already will have 4 - the stucco, the siding, the trim, the stone. Your garage door is not something you really want to draw attention to, it should disappear as much as possible. Try it the same as the walls next to it.

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Totally agree olychick. Rock Bottom is (from what I've read in the thread linked below, at least) the best match for the Hardie Iron Gray siding.

    https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3897532/james-hardie-iron-gray-color-match


    That being said, I've learned in the past year looking at colours on a computer is a complete crap shoot!

  • 3 years ago

    @Fori - the soffits are actually the same colour as the fascia. Shadows are just playing tricks in the photo. If you were to repaint the brackets, what colour would you suggest to match?


    @Beth H. : - the white trim definitely stands out a bit. We tried to blend the white vinyl windows into it but maybe we could find a happy medium


    Thanks for all the advice everyone!

  • 3 years ago

    IMO, the colors look fine, but for the white trim. I agree you might go for a darker shade on the trim, so there's not so much contrast. I don't think the white windows would be a problem with a slightly darker trim around them

  • PRO
    3 years ago

    I'd consider removing the stone on the garage and painting the Hardie and associated trim to match the stucco.




  • 3 years ago

    I've been house shopping and have looked at dozens of homes in that style and even live in a smaller version currently. I don't see anything glaringly wrong with the colors. I like the repeat of the black garage door, front door, and roof brackets. There's no hiding a forward-facing garage door so I think a quality garage door is important in these homes. The only thing that's slightly off to my eye is that the stucco has an olive tone (yellow) while the Hardie has a blue tone. If you take the blue out and go with an olive tone for the Hardie, it will work better with the reds and olive-grays in the stone. Black is also a better accent color with olive than with blue-green. That gives you a Craftsman color scheme, and I know these homes are marketed as a Craftsman style.

  • 3 years ago

    Overall, too many colors and all are IMO too dark. I would select a lighter gray and paint both the Hardieboard siding and the stucco in the same lighter color. The siding in particular is a color that goes with nothing else; it fights with sll the other elements.


    Good luck, I know how frustrating it is to be displeased with the appearance of your home.

  • 3 years ago

    I think that the stucco is the only color currently working with the stone. The siding is just too green. You need to find a warmer gray, whether in the taupe direction or in the purple direction, to play nicer with the warm stone. Start with the Chelsea Gray and look for nearby colors that are just a variant of that, either lighter or warmer.

  • 3 years ago

    the Graystone that they suggest could be promising. need to see it in situ with the other shades...

    https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/1475/graystone