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Exterior Design Dilemma Paint

help picking color scheme on house exterior

5 years ago

Hi all, my buddies and I just purchased a foreclosure home. The front face has brick veneer and we did not want to change or paint this. The other 3 sides of the house is aluminum siding in decent shape but it’s a yellowish light brown color and the trim and gutters are brown. We hate the siding and gutter color but don’t know what else we can change it to. We may replace the siding or paint it, but cannot figure out a color scheme. It also is cheapest to paint the siding and gutters one color. If anyone has any good ideas for colors please help us, see pictures. Thank you all!

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Comments (5)

PRO
M Doshi
5 years ago
I think you'll need two colors: white or off white for all the trim and the rails and a chocolate brown for the siding.
Denita
5 years ago
I assume you and your buddies purchased this house to flip, right?

Does the siding need to be replaced or are you looking strictly for a color change? Based on your OP it looks like you are interested in a color change and that the siding itself is in decent shape.

I'm a Realtor and based on my experience (in a totally different market from you), the brick would be much more objectionable than the siding. Check with a local, experienced Realtor in your area to see if the brick would be a buyer turn off or not.

If it isn't marketable, consider dying (not painting) the brick a color without so much variance. Others here have more experience with dying brick.

Remove the shutters entirely.

Change out the garage door to something that is more contemporary and that blends with the new brick color you select.

Paint your front door an accent color.

Change/update your landscaping. Clean up the stone planter area near the garage door.

Trim your trees.

Clean your siding.

Paint the downspouts the same color and your new siding color if you decide to paint the current siding.

Change out those stairway railings to something else - more modern/contemporary.

Frankly, I probably would leave the cream color siding you have now and update the other things I mentioned above.
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My deepest sympathy on the loss of your son. You will get more help if you post your question in the Home Decorating part of this forum. It's more active than this one and there are lots of talented people who have good ideas re color choice - both exterior and interior.
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I totally agree with what everyone has already said. It just can't be "part Craftsman, part Farmhouse". Sort of like breeding a Cocker Spaniel with a Great Dane - you end up with a hot mess! I love the slightly industrial or vintage look of black steel windows. In fact, if I could have afforded it, I would have changed my kitchen bay to a box bay done with black steel windows. Alas, my money tree is looking pretty puny these days! What I did do, was paint the mullions/muntins of my existing bay black...but ONLY on the inside. The outside is white as are all my windows. In driving around, I'm seeing more and more people painting their exterior windows black - all on very traditional houses, mainly Cape's. Frankly, it looks ridiculous. With new windows, you are getting a factory finish so those windows will not need repainting for decades, if ever. The black exterior window fade is going to fade very quickly and then you'll be stuck. At 73 and having lived in the Midwest most of my life, I'm very familiar with what a farmhouse looks like and I've NEVER seen one with black exterior windows! Go with the simple and the pure and you won't have a dated looking house in 10-15 years. You can go trendy inside with color, easily replaceable, lower cost items.
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Lori, including the stone veneer? Yep. That's what the Romabio product is for. Using the same color, you could go several shades darker and use that color for the dormer, front door area, the peaks, and the garage and any secondary doors. These colors will be custom mixed colors. I absolutely never recommend custom mixed paint colors exterior unless you have no choice and they are on the lighter end of the value spectrum. You don't have a choice and luckily the vinyl you are matching is on the lighter end of the spectrum. I prefer to specify stock paint colors that have been properly measured for LRV and tested for light fastness, etc. You don't get that scientific backup with custom mixed colors.
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Bumping this for you. If you add pics (in a comment), you might get more feedback.
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Denita
5 years ago

Poppleton Park, Birmingham, MI Exterior Makeover · More Info

^This is the green and brick colors that would really amp up the curb appeal of your home IMO.
User
Original Author
5 years ago
Denita thank you for the advice! I love the idea, if we painted the gutters and downs the same cream color do you have any recommendations on brick staining color ?
Denita
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I don't have brick dying experience at all so I'm not able to advise a specific color scheme.

However, I would go for the look in the insp pic I posted above with the small variance as shown and not the huge variance your brick currently shows.

Also make sure your garage door blends with the new brick color(s) and doesn't contrast.

OP: This is another insp pic for the landscaping and general cleanup and simplification of your home's exterior that I think will increase your market value. Naturally you need someone local for specific ideas:

S&PB Renovation/Addition · More Info

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