The house is too darn cool. I love the deck railing. A hint of purple, huh? That could be fun.
Give me a little chunk of time to think about this and *paint* it and I'll be back.

Thanks funcolors! I appreciate you taking the time to give your input.

Not looking for the purplish to be too purplish, just sort of an undertone if that makes sense.

Okay, I'm back. We went out of town for a few days. I'll work on this over the weekend and have somethin' up by Monday.

Kind of off topic but not really. I've had several painters come to give us estimates on our house. Its a brick house but the trim gutters, etc are all dark green. The paint is just beginning to look faded, even though its 14 years old facing west in the hot TX heat. The painters have all said darker colors last longer because of the pigments in the paint. I have no idea but none of them have recommended a light color simply because of where we live with the sun, etc. So the moral of the story is that the darker will probably last longer than any lighter color.

Sorry for the ramble here - I just thought it interesting. By the way I love your house.

Eaglemom, thanks for the info about darker colors! I really like the darker tones and have been wondering if they would be more prone to fading. Good to hear that it's not the case!

This what an Ebony Slate or a Cloak Gray could look like. I like it. I find this very attractive; even with the current color for the trim. Thoughts?

As far as fading, you need to ask about the color you choose. Organic fades faster than inorganic pigment. Exposure matters as well, full exposure will obviously fade faster than shaded. Dark colors require more maintenance and are harder to touch up than lighter colors.

A dark color enmass for an exterior is a commitment whether it's organic or inorganic pigment - no two ways about it. But it can be well worth it.

Be sure to ask about lightfastness and UV rating. To make things easier, you can look into selecting a color from a manufacturers palette that is specifically flagged "exterior". Buy the very best grade of paint you can afford.

Funcolors, that is so awesome. It really helps to give me a better feel for what it would look like on the whole house. Thanks for your input on asking about inorganic or organic pigments and the lightfastness/UV ratings. I will definitely ask at the paint store when I go in for samples.

This may be more of an imposition so please feel free to tell me that you don't have the time. Would you mind photoshopping the house in a gray-green, like Dried Thyme SW6186 or Rosemary 6187? It's the other color under consideration and it would be awesome to compare photoshopped pictures.

Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this mock up for me. I'm a mess when it comes to photoshop.

Not a problem. Since I have the house cyber prepped, changing color is relatively quick.

With kids out of school for summer, I don't always get into my *office* space where the big computer and paint chips live so I can do virtuals. I get 'em done, just these day it might be eventually. lol! :~D

I had played with a few greens when I was painting and thought it looked very nice. Took the vibe to a bit more rustic, mountain home, cozy. Ebony Slate brings a little more contemporary vibe to the fascade IMO.

Here's what Dried Thyme could look like.

And Rosemary

Thanks for doing the green mock up funcolors! I really appreciate all of the help! We haven't totally finalized the color yet, but I'll try to remember to post a picture when we finally get this project finished.

You're welcome, bg. We would love to see pictures when you get finished. It's a great house. Have fun and enjoy the process.