What is the exterior material of the home?

It depends on the style of the houme and the materials being used.

The exterior matierial is horizontal lap siding. My style would be more like the 2nd one. There will be some brick foundation and accent (Pinehall Marshton) but mostly siding in the Agreeable Gray. Thanks!

Sounds like a great idea!

You would use paint if the lap siding is some type of concrete board. No paint on wood siding unless you want a maintenance peeling issue.

You would use a solid body stain to match the color if your exterior is wood siding.

The only rules are to use the correct materials to minimize maintenance issues.

Can we talk about the Brick accents?

Thank you! The siding is a hardie-board type fiber cement (though they use a different brand) and the color options are to paint with SW colors. Appreciate your expertise and time!

I don't have much input for the brick. The one I had chosen was not what the builder would allow, so I found an alternative, and then the deisgners chose a different one "for me". So the brick won't change, and really the Agreeable Gray on the exterior is set. But when I told the designer I wanted AG also as the full house interior, they said they don't like to do the same on ext/int, so that's the reason for my question. I think AG varies so much with light/exposure, that it should be OK, and I love the color in all it's forms...but they keep reminding me I'm not a professional!

You may not be a professional, but you are in fact, the paying customer. We're talking interior paint for pete's sake. We previously had soft taupe siding and our interior walls were the same color.

Thank you chispa! This is our 2nd time building within 2.5 years and I thought this process would be easier but this designer piece is a bit annoying. I like my style and like you said, it's my house :)

I agree, its your choice, and your house. If thats what you want, then thats what you should have. The designer doesnt have to live there, but, you do. Everyone likes something different, thats what makes life interesting. It would be terrible, if all houses looked exactly the same.

I dispise answers like the one provided to you. "We don't like to" is not an answer. Why don't they like to do this? What are the risks? Didn't Frank Lloyd Wright use the same materials and colors on the interiors and exteriors of the homes he designed?

Great design creates harmony between the interior and exterior of a home. One of the easiest ways to create harmony is by repeating colors.

My home is a pink brick home with dark red siding and accents.

Obviously I did not want to use deep red on the interior walls throughout my home, but I did have designers who suggested painting the fireplace. I love that the same brick is used both on the exterior and on the 10' wall that separates my foyer from my living room. The dark red is also repeated in the slate floor in my foyer (purple, red and green slate). I also selected plants for the front beds based on the colors in the purple, red and green slate - a dwarf red japanese maple, blue star juniper, purple leaved coral bells and lace cap hydrangias with pink and white flowers.

I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't want to repeat the same neutral from the outside of your home on the inside of your home. Some neutrals don't behave the same way in natural daylight exterior uses as they do on interiors, but I would still want the same basic color, just adjusted a bit to compensate for the difference in lighting.

Agreeable Gray is such a versatile neutral that it can easily be used on both the interior and exterior without worry.

I see absoluty no downside to this idea.

Yes, that is such a whack Designer credo. I agree with Jennifer, that is you somehow had an expert paint color whisperer who advised you , “ in order to “ read” as Agreeable Gray ( due to light quality, reflection of outdoor greenery, etc) , then I would use ____ instead”, or if you knew you were changing some furnishing colors of flooring color, similar thing.
But it sounds like their idea is it is just a faux pas if the paint has the same name, when clearly many interior paint preferences, especially open plan/ whole house, would lean into some kind of pale neutral, but for the Designer it needs a different name even if it’s essentially the same type of color !

If concerned about I/E being the same, there are endless options. There is no reason not to use on both though, other than tiring of so much of it; it’s a long term and costly decision.

I know you decided on AG on the interior (builders and designers use often), but in this house/various rooms, it may feel different and suggest testing/compare against a softer/more neutral shade with different rooms‘ natural lighting effects and against your choices: flooring/tiles, cabinetry, etc. and be sure to read about the undertones.

https://decorcreek.com/aesthetic-white-sw-7035-paint-color-by-sherwin-williams

People like that builder's designer give designers a bad name. One has nothing to do with the other--pick a color you like both in and out, and who cares if it's the same????

Do you think the builder's "interior designer" is his sister-in-law? I had a friend whose father was a builder. He hired her as the interior designer...mind you she had no experience. Someone made a remark saying her idea of design was deciding between white or black for the metal stair rail.

Maybe you should inquire about the designer's credentials. Sounds as if you should apply for the job.

elcieg--THANK YOU! You gave me and my husband a great laugh in this whole mess! :)

And this is why the "interior designer" is working for a BUILDER instead of running a business with clients of their own.

I have zero problem with grey interior and exterior, but would reconsider painting the entire interior the exact same shade of grey.

I wanted an all grey interior and had a fabulous designer who convinced me that subtly different shades of grey would make the house really sing depending on the light in each room and the subtle mood of the room. Damn was she right and it looked spectacular.

I had many different shades of grey that were perfection: halls and staircase, south facing bedrooms, north facing bedrooms another, dining and living room were different, kitchen and bathrooms It was subtle but felt magical. Each room was relaxing but alive with light and it was nice seeing the view from one room into the next.

I'd invest $75 and order a warm light grey sampilize bundle [link here] and a light cool grey samplize bundle [link here] and play around with them and your agreeable gray sample and see if you can surprise yourself even with 3-4 different greys.

Your agreeable grey is going to look different in different rooms - might have a purple undertone in some. Instead of leaving it to chance, why not pick a grey that you like and want in each space?

^ agree with the purple undertones - we have a neighbor and their grey house goes absolutely lavender in the mornings.

FWIW we worked with a designer on exterior colors and she suggested going a bit warmer/gold for the grey paint selection and we were super pleased

If OP is building with a production/tract builder, she might only be allowed one color for all the interior walls, and usually any additional colors get a crazy up-charge.

Yup, chispa, when we were building our vacation home we painted the entire house, walls and trim, BM Antique White. The builder said that if the painter had to wash his brush to change colors there would be an additional cost. When we renovated (twice) we repainted some of the rooms in the colors of our choice. Sometimes you just have to compromise, especially when $$ is involved.

Tell the Builder’s Designer that you appreciate her input, but you have your own design consultant. No need to tell her it’s your Houzz family.

Do what you want. Your house, your money, your paint color choice.

I think my husband would be thrilled if I were only allowed one color for a while house! I can really go nuts with samples.

To be honest, im not a huge fan of agreeable grey for interior. Much prefer gray mist by BM. Less color variation in different lights/angles and really versatile with different decor.

I painted the exterior of my house and my living room the same warm yellow. The living room is on the north side of the house and the large (but only) picture window is shaded by the front porch. The color really warms up the space.

Painted all of the public areas of my home white tie Farrow and Ball, (linen white Benjamin Moore). Warms the space without being yellow.

I am curious - have any of you ever had a real life instance where you found that Agreeable Gray went lilac or purple?

I have seen the one exterior photo where it has a mild purple tone, but we all know that photos can display very differently from screen to screen.

Given the color properties I would think this would be a rare occurance- If you have yellow pine flooring it might make Agreeable gray look purple next to the soft yellow, but I can't see it going purple outside or in most homes.

I was looking for a griegey taupe for my basement rec room and had to go very brown to avoid that purple hue. What was beautiful in the store was lavender on my walls. I ended up using Wheat Bread as the color.

not sure what paint color the grey/lavendar house in our neighborhood used - it just made us hesitant toward grey in general (I’ve never used a lot of grey so didn’t feel smart about the choices)— but there are clearly lots of lovely grey homes out there

@la_la Girl, @ShadyWillowFarm, thank you.

No problem using same paint color for Exterior and interior…we used a combination Modern Grey and Anew Gray for our exterior and Anew gray for the interior..we love it and really is a nice neutral backdrop for our furnishings.

It is your house, not the designers. You are paying for what you want! Are they? Get what you want and make no compromises.

I prefer"We don't like to do it", to builders telling me "You don't want to do that".