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artemis78

What color trim for exterior?

artemis78
last year
last modified: last year

We need to make a final decision on paint colors and are spinning in circles, not in love with any of our options (far too many samples later!)

Part of the issue is that I don't think we have the right trim colors for these yet, and maybe once we get that right, one will jump out as a frontrunner. Any thoughts on what trim and accent colors would work well for these?

BM Weekend Getaway (in this photo, with Plum Royale accent and Cloud Nine trim)

BM Stratton Blue (same trim as above)

BM Turmeric (in this photo, with Rustique accent and Creamy White trim)--worry is that this one will read too yellow/mac-and-cheesy, and the red trim might accentuate that?

BM Etruscan (I think same trim as above)

I don't love any of these, but we haven't found great alternatives.

Are there better trim and accent options for these? We're also not committed in any way to off-white trim, and could do something different there too. Thanks for any ideas!

Comments (15)

  • apple_pie_order
    last year

    1. Please upload a current photo.


    2. It is easier to use the paint visualizers when shrubs and trees have been trimmed back and the unpaintable hardscape of stairs and walkway have been cleaned to show their true colors. You can use a pressure washer to clean the tile stairs and concrete walkway.


    3. For some of the trim, try unifying the trim fascia board with its rafters and brackets all the same color. You already have a terracotta tile porch, so try using a terracotta color for the trim. Then try soft white, not brilliant white.



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  • kandrewspa
    last year

    I like the first one the best. The colors BM recommends to go with Weekend Getaway are Refined AF-75 and Millstone Gray 1581. Cloud Nine is too bright. Refined has a lower LRV. I don't dislike the idea of a purple accent, but on their website, BM says Plum Royale is not recommended for exteriors. I don't know why - some of their colors say that. You would have to ask them about it. But I think the Millstone Gray would look good, too. You could try updating your mock-up with these colors. However, as with any painting project, sampling is very important. Daylight tends to simultaneously wash out colors and bring out undertones that you may not be aware of until you see it in a large expanse. Sample large areas as a color that looks good on a small area may be overwhelming or offputting all over your house. Sample on all sides as the light varies on each side.


    The ochre tones don't do anything for me, but if it's a direction you want to go in, I would definitely tone down the intensity. Maybe look at Roasted Sesame Seed 2140-40.

  • littlebug zone 5 Missouri
    last year

    Yes, show us the existing first.

    Of all the samples shown, the first green is the only one I would personally consider, with a creamy white trim.

  • palimpsest
    last year

    The current samples are all too bright, or clean versions of what they are, I think you need to look at slightly muddier looking (on the strip anyway) versions of the green colors and much browner versions of the ocher.

    Generally you have to go much darker than you would expect when looking at colors like this.

    I used to live down the street from a brownstone building that would get lots of repairs done with stucco. They always tried to eyeball the brown paint color and the house ended up having patches of paint on it that looked pink because they really underestimated how dark the brown really was, even though it was a medium tone for brownstone.

  • palimpsest
    last year

    This is just a darker version of the same color that's on the house


  • palimpsest
    last year

    Slightly greyer darker (L) and darker(R) versions of this color


  • PRO
    Patricia Colwell Consulting
    last year

    I think green but not that one a bit more grayed/ green and the white trim


  • palimpsest
    last year

    I think you have to take into account the general weather and "atmosphere" of the location of the house. There is a building around the corner from me that is yield sign yellow. In the summer on a bright sunny day it doesn't look so bad, but on a dreary rainy day, which we have enough of, and in the dull days of winter it just glows in a way that is not flattering and does not look happy, really.

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    last year

    Here's the existing (Kelly-Moore Muffin Mix with white trim and black accents):

    The porch is stained concrete in a rust color, and isn't changing now but could potentially in the future. (It will be cleaned when the house is prepped but the color in the photo is fairly accurate.)

    The shrubs on the right are all well in the foreground (and not all actually ours because of the angle of the photo) so that's their usual state. There is a large wisteria on the trellis that you can see bare in this photo, but half the year it is very green and/or purple and hides the lower half of the house.

    My partner is the mustard fan based on a house nearby he loves, but I think the style is different enough from our house that it just doesn't have the same effect. (That one is a smaller single-story house with more detail breaking up the stucco.)

    Weather is mostly sunny where we are (SF Bay Area). The front of the house is north-facing, but the back is south-facing and does get a lot of direct sun and fading.

    My challenge is that I don't really like any of our options better than what we've already got (which we're tired of), so am frustrated. We do have a ton of samples of lighter colors as well, but they seemed to wash out on the house so I looked for things closer in color saturation to what we currently have. (DH already thinks he current options aren't much color, but we don't want to do a super dark option because of the fading issues.)

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    last year

    Oh, and for @Jennifer Hogan, I'd say the intent is Not Gray and Not Beige (since that's what most houses in our area are painted). We have tried to avoid blue as well since we're sandwiched between two blue houses, but that is more flexible since we otherwise like blue. We prefer color to neutral, but only if we can realistically pull it off. (One reason we've looked at the purples and reds for accent is to use a more subtle house color and have the pop be in the accent instead of in the actual color.)

    Here are a few of the lighter shades we have samples of--they all seemed too light and read too gray in the small tests, but maybe would look different on the whole house? (For the purposes of these visualizations, I just used the BM recommended accents, but we'd ideally like something with a little more pop if we use a neutral house color.)

    Cape May Cobblestone:

    Coventry Gray:

    October Mist:

    Sage Mountain:


  • artemis78
    Original Author
    last year

    Ugh, totally went down a rabbit hole thanks to @kandrewspa's comment about the plum not being for exterior use (thank you--had not noticed that, and turns out to be true for several others we have samples of, too!) So with a deeper understanding of which BM tints fade in UV light, I knocked about half of these out of the running since they have tints (especially yellows) in the formula that are prone to fading.

    I think we have landed on wanting a blue-gray color with a purple or similar accent color, so now I need to narrow down the list to those that will work outside. We have a Coventry Gray sample can, but I think that's it for blue grays since I had been hunting for green grays. Any other BM blue grays that might be good ones to consider? Thank you!

  • kandrewspa
    last year

    In blue-grays, I like New Hope Gray 2130-50 and Pike's Peak Gray 2127-50. If those are too dark, look at the next lighter colors (the 60's). Those two are a little darker and more blue than Coventry Gray, but I like the idea of a green gray better for your house, like Horizon Gray 2131-50.

    artemis78 thanked kandrewspa
  • PRO
    Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Option to go with off-white body and white trim to pop up.




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