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Exterior Design Dilemma Paint

what colour should we paint the exterior.

6 years ago

please help! We just purchased this home and we dislike the roof colour, but it cannot be replaced because it’s new :(
We are considering painting / staining the brick. What colour would people suggest?!?

Could we get away with only painting the doors and shutters? What colour?

Thank you!

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Comments (3)

jesshs
6 years ago
I would try first painting the trim, shutters and door before the time and expensive of messing with the brick. The brick and roof go well together right now. With such a neutral background you could go with any colors you like. I would keep the door a light color since it is recessed- if you go dark it may not stand out.
Denita
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I would remove the shutters. They are too small for your double wide windows. See this brief article on shutters: https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/residential-architecture-101-shutters/

I would also paint the front door a bright, attractive color and then landscape. Your brick and roof tie in together nicely now. Don't paint or stain the brick.

Landscaping will be the best thing you can do to amp up your curb appeal. Right now the driveway and garage doors are the focal point. To take away from the oversized driveway, have a beautifully landscaped exterior. I don't know your planting zone, but you can see what I mean about landscaping directing attention away from the driveway in the insp pic below. Contact a landscape designer in your area for help.

Santa Luz California Ranch · More Info
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To me, shutters look dumb when they can't possibly cover the windows that they flank. Painting brick will be turning a low- maintenance exterior surface into a relatively high high-maintenance surface. That is not what I would be wishing for on my house. Apart than the shutters, it is nice-looking house from the street. I would not mess with it for a while. The interior shots make it look like some nice spaces too. If I owned it, I would be jumping around like your girls are.
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I think your home is beautiful! I would go with a dark gray that matches the rock and I would paint the brick enclosure to match as well, a shade darker or lighter. Trim would be pretty bright white. I just love grays though. Maybe keep the red door or change to black. You have lots of options. :)
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If you have enough moisture on the brick, the paint will probably fail prematurely. I am assuming that section is a garage, which might make it colder and also encourage moss to grow. There are some solutions that help prevent regrowth that can be added to the power wash. Anyway, as nice as brick homes can look right after they're painted, it isn't worth the upkeep in the long run. Besides, your brick is good looking as is. Getting the right color on the gable section and the trim will be your best bet. Think about a creamy color instead of bright white. One red brick house change their trim from white to cream and the house looked so good. You would never think such a minor detail would make such a difference. A gable roof is like this /\. A shed roof is like half a gable. A house with shed roofs:A house with gable roofs:This house is predominately gable but has dormers with shed roofs:
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Something homey and less showy, is nice for a front door when your brick is so rich in hue... I kinda like the Mushroom color, Morris Room Gray on the door and Urbane Bronze on the siding with white trim....or Timber Bark, or Monterrey Taupe on the Siding and Cobblestone on the door, with white trim...just get white, no divided light, windows. You have so little white in your brick and they would look nice matching the trim and accent the darker siding and door very very nicely(and white is not a premium pay more, color on windows). Don't get any divided light. Your windows will look so pretty with the darker siding and pretty brick. When you dress the inside of the windows, try to make sure all the shades, lining or drapes are a solid color either white or something similar to your front door or siding color tones if you do coordinate the door and siding, both of them in the same color family. That is, any one of those 3 colors, not all of those colors. LOL That will make your home exterior look very special. Keep us posted!!! Love your homes' exterior style! And given the shape of your windows, I like the style of the navy blue door above the best. You don't need to add more shapes to your home horizontally and the other door is pretty busy. You just need a bit more simple door style with your multi surface siding, brick and exterior walls that also are not flush. And not sure you need sidelights with the higher window. Maybe a 2 door entry would be stunning? OR put the door all the way to the right hinged and make the sidelight just one on the left of the door? or the reverse of that?? If you want to change the color of the brick, which is very pretty as it is, especially if the siding and windows and door are all refreshed, check into dyebrick.com or into limewashing brick, which can be used to lighten the brick as to give a glaze over it. You control how much lighter or glaze you want to apply to the brick. I have read it can cost as little as 30 dollars to do a medium size brick home. Dyebrick, is more permanent and either of these processes will resist mildew by leaving your brick porous and breathable, allowing moisture to evaporate easily. I have seen both done and the effects are very nice. It is not hard to do, but it is much nicer if your brick is in good shape and you have not had alot of mortar repair done to it, to enjoy it as it is when it is pretty and timeless as your brick is. You have various hues to accent and it looks nice.
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PRO
Annette Gafner Interiors
6 years ago
I would agree with the other folks who left advice, don't paint the brick at this point. Instead, focus on accenting the home with color on the shutters and doors. Right now, you have a great new home just waiting for a bit of accent color to bring it to the warm, inviting place I think you are envisioning. So, my thoughts are the following:

* Your home has elements of Prairie Style architecture....play it up and you will make the home appear more classic in nature rather than having a neighborhood split level.

* The dark asphalt driveway is a huge piece of 'color' that draws the eye towards the home. Use it as a start to your color palette....the worn spots have produced a warm gray that I think would look great on your shutters, rain gutters and even the garage doors. The warm gray will blend beautifully with the roof shingles and taupe brick but also give a great visual contrast. Look how good your chimney cap detail looks against the brick as it is trimmed with a dark color.

* In regard to the front door, it is hard to tell from the picture if the actual door is centered amongst sidelight panels or storm doors. If you elect to paint the front door a different color from the shutters, etc...consider how you will paint the trim, sidelights, etc so you have a balanced look. You might consider using a software provided by CertaPro Painting or the like to virtual 'paint' your house ahead of time. It might not get you to the exact color but it will help avoid error.

* It appears that you live where water may be a premium...which I get. :) If you have the ability to find plants that do well in your climate, a well landscaped front yard does amazing things for the beauty of a home.

You bought a great place! :)

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