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Help me choose exterior paint colors!

9 years ago

It's time to paint but I'm not a color-savvy person and am tempted to just try to match the existing colors. The problem is that I don't have those color names. I found some old buckets of Kelly Moore paint in the garage that the seller left us, but those are discontinued colors (14+ years ago) and they're not labeled so I'm not sure which are interior colors and which are exterior colors.

We picked up some chips from our local Benjamin Moore store and I just eyeballed it (in direct sunlight) and think we'd go with Coastal Fog for the body, Woodcliff Lake for the shutters/gutters dark trim, and Muksoka Trail for the off-white trim (all 3 are on the same strip).

I'd love feedback from folks here and have included photos from the real estate listing.

The front of the house faces the north

Back of the house faces the south

The front of the detached garage here faces west.

I welcome your ideas. Note that we are in a rural area and prefer not to stand out, so I don't want anything too bold (e.g., intense bright colors, dramatic contrasts, etc.).

Thank you!

Comments (6)

chispa
9 years ago
BM Nantucket Gray is a nice exterior color that goes well with your roof color and white trim. A red door would also look great with it. I would remove the 2 shutters on the smaller windows and paint all the window trim in a white.
tibbrix
9 years ago
I LOVE Woodcliff Lake!

I would do:

Body: Woodcliff Lake

Trim: Brandon Beige

Shutters: Midsummer Night
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Remove the shutters. They don't belong on double windows. Paint all the trim Pashima. I would not leave anything white. Either getter better looking garage doors or add a row of windows if possible and paint them Pashima. Paint the door something like the Urbane Bronze suggested above. Paint the fence all 1 color. It is a utility item not a decorative one. Larger Lights would be better, also. Add some plantings you need some color. It will look great. Good Luck
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smiles33
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for your feedback!

chispa: Nantucket Gray is pretty from a quick Google search. I need to look at the chip IRL sometime.

May I ask, are you suggesting removing the shutters because you think they look dated? Or just too fussy? There are also shutters on the eastern side of the house.

The red door idea is a nice pop of color, but DH hates the color red (it's the school color of his college rival). So no red is allowed at all. :)

Tibbrix: I thought I'd use Woodcliff Lake for the shutters, since they need to match the rain gutters (which are a similar shade). I think painting the entire house that shade may be too dark.

I am leaning towards leaving trim white, as the windows are white vinyl so I'm afraid they'd pop too much if I use a darker trim color.

Any other thoughts would be most appreciated!
AlfredWong
9 years ago
I think any light color paint is more suitable to paint the exterior wall. You can go for the color like light grey, light green etc are good for exterior.
User
9 years ago
The red door idea is a nice pop of color, but DH hates the color red (it's the school color of his college rival). So no red is allowed at all. :)

I've heard of school rivalry, but not one that extends to door colors!

From your photos above the front door looks very hard to locate, as it is evidently in shadows. I agree with Nantucket gray as a great color for your house that goes well with the roof, and if you want definition for the entrance you will have to paint it a contrasting color. If not red, some other bright color. Green, blue, black or brown will just make it recede further into the shadows.
tibbrix
9 years ago
No way! One of my absolute favorite exterior color combos is dark brown with a slightly lighter brown trim. It is absolutely gorgeous. People are so afraid of "bolder" colors. Stick with colors found in nature, and you cannot go wrong. You see? Gorgeous! Although this has white trim. Black shutters.

This post was edited by Tibbrix on Tue, Oct 21, 14 at 8:30

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