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Paint Design Dilemma Exterior

Exterior Color Advice Help Needed - Mid Century Modern

6 years ago

We have acquired a house that was built in the 1950's and plan on working on the interior to get it back to a mid century modern look. I'm a little indecisive on what to do with the exterior though. Anyone have any advice? The white that the previous owner painted on the garage door and upper half of the house seems so stark. (note: not all the yard art is staying :))

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Comments (4)

Debbie Downer
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Awww I hope you keep the blue gazing ball - every garden benefits I think from at least one whimsical or kitschy piece!

I like the red of the brick - it looks like a true brick red at least on my monitor. You might try scraping some paint on the siding to see what the original color was - just FYI, not that you want to use the same color.

I was looking at these in the paint store other day - & thought there was something sweetly vintage and evocative of the 50s about them- maybe one of the beigy ones would tie red brick and stoney taupe together a little better: https://www.ppgvoiceofcolor.com/collections/frank-lloyd-wright/1955-taliesin-color-palette

Actually what is that stoney looking piece - is it real? Is repeated elsewhere on the house?

What color is the roof? If its blue (kinda looks like it?) and not changing then that would have to be considered somehow - whether that means changing/colorwashing the taupey stone parts to get it more harmonious wtih blue-gray, I dunno.
Brian Hill thanked Debbie Downer
Anna Hill
6 years ago
Thanks - The stone part on the side of the house matches the stone steps at the front door and is original to the house (I think! :)). Good point about the roof which we are not planning to change.

I found some Google earth pictures of the house pre-prior owner. Where the white is, it was gray. Also looks like the last owner changed out the original front door (which looked very mid century modern with multiple rectangle glass openings) ... such a bummer.

The taupey stone part is the biggest issue on what to do especially since the steps to the front door match. Really hoping there is a paint color that can bring it all together ...
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Thank you! That is a great idea about the grey - I think minimizing the white would really help. The landscaping idea is also very clever. I was playing with the house facade last night, and was trying to figure out if anything else could be done with the entry area to brighten it up with an accent color. Now I see your comments about perhaps not doing an accent color may be better. The original house at the back was built in the 1960s and has beautiful wood vaulted ceilings, so the interior has a lot of potential. A very 90s addition was put on the front of the house, with these semi-circle windows and tile roof - so we are trying our best to tie these varying styles together. I appreciate your help! I will check out the links you provided, thank you, Shannon
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I agree with Patricia that a flat roof is what this home is screaming for. If I were to do anything, and I would need a 3D rendition to know how it would work out on this home is a raised clerestory roof over the center main space of the home. Here is a street view of my parents home that had a multilevel flat roof (the lower portion over the LR is not visible here). The visible raised area is over the kitchen and our kitchen was always bathed in natural sunlight even though it was in the center of the home. I found these photos from a renovation where they restored the same type of secondary raised flat roof. Outside Inside You would not get useful attic space, but that is not much of a loss. I have a crawlspace attic in my current home with a low slung roof and have only accessed it for electrical work. Had one in my last home as well - tried storing a few things up there, but if it was used seldom enough to make storage in that space a reasonable option, I didn't use it often enough to keep it. The only thing I kept up there was a few boxes of Christmas ornaments. The tree and larger boxes or heavy boxes were too awkward to get up there, so they got stored in the garage.
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Debbie Downer
6 years ago
Anna, does the stone only appear in that one spot, near your door way or is it scattered elsewhere around your house?

I would be curious about going back further in time than google can show you - how exactly did the three elements (painted siding, wood, brick) relate to each other originally?

In leiu of having a time machine that can take us back to 1955, maybe see if you can find anywhere where the paint is peeling, or lifting at the edges?
Anna Hill
6 years ago
We decided on a color ... I think! Benjamin Moore Gunmetal 1602. But, I have another question .... do you paint the window casings as well as the soffit or leave those white. I’m trying to get to a mid century modern kind of feel (House was built in the 1950’s).

Here are a few pics. Thoughts???

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