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Paint Design Dilemma Exterior

Wood stained front door, white trim, rainwashed exterior - add accent?

4 years ago

We are building a home in Florida near the coast (south facing).

The definites: wood stained front door, true white trim, white steel garage doors (with windows), aluminum roof (no paint)

The questions:

We are leaning SW Rainwashed. Alternatively we are thinking SW Seasalt but are worried it will wash out too much in the bright sun. Any suggestions or thoughts?
We have cedar shake at above the garage. With the door being wooden, the white trim, and main body color, we are thinking we should keep it one color. Accent colors considered are None (first photo), Endless Sea, Halcyon Green, and Naval. We are limited to Sherwin Williams colors by the contractor. Photos are in the order of the list above. Do we keep the house one color and play it safe? Or add an accent to our cedar shakes?

Featured Answer

Tonya
Original Author

3 years ago

Update - we ended up going rainwashed and played it safe with one color. Figured we can easily go darker later if we want the change.

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Comments (11)

ci_lantro
4 years ago
I prefer the Halcyon.

Would be concerned about the dark blues fading. Dark colors don't reflect heat--they absorb it; probably not what you want in Florida. And, I just don't care for those blues paired with the green.
rochk
4 years ago
I agree with the Halcyon! It flows with the main house color, but highlights the cedar shake just enough.

About the Rainwashed vs Sea Salt- can you get samples painted on the house to compare and see exactly how they look throughout the day? In general it's always best if you can see a paint color on the wall you're planning on using it on, colors look different on a screen vs on a wall with light and shadows, etc.
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Everyone has different tastes and styles. My personal preference when it comes to wood or log homes is cohesiveness and distinction of what is accent and what is the main feature. For example in your first picture, it would be nice to have a solid wood or knotty wood door walls all over the house where only the doors and windows (with their respective trims) are solid white or vice versa. Mixing them is challenging because the materials are different and wood carries more visual weight so when your eye sees it, there is competition happening. In the first pic for example, I would actually paint out the knotty pine trim around the window and door so that they look seamless and your eye flows over them or put in a window and door that are knotty pine and keep the knotty pine casing/trim. This way you have a clear distinction between the "feature" and the "accent" whichever way you go. For your louvered doors, if you want them to disappear, paint them out in white along with the trim. If not, re-stain them along with the rest of the wood doors and baseboard trim. My two cents worth! Best of luck!
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Tonya
Original Author
4 years ago
I agree - thank you for your input! I’m thinking play it safe with one color or the Hacylon. Unfortunately we don’t live close to the house under construction so we can’t see the colors on the house in the exact lighting. And we have to decide the exterior color before the hardie board siding goes up.

I’ve attached my inspiration photos of Sherwin Williams Rainwashed (second photo) vs Seasalt (first photo)
rochk
4 years ago
My personal preference based on these two photos is the Seasalt, but in general I prefer more muted tones. I do think the Rainwashed is very beachy and would work well on a sunny property!
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
From the front you have more garage than house.

Get an interesting garage door. If it has to be hurricane rated, then any windows will cost $$$ but there are still good designs to select from.

And don't skimp on the size of the outdoor lights. They should be about 18" overall.
Tonya
Original Author
3 years ago
@BeverlyFLADeziner we added on Windows and accent hardware to our garage doors for the reason. We attempted to get a wood garage door, but it was very pricey to get a fiberglass, wood grain look, AND hurricane rated.
ashtonchic
3 years ago
Like the house color!
emmarene9
3 years ago
I like it, it is so Florida.
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
3 years ago
emmarene9, it's so what you think is Florida, but we don't get to see much of that style unfortunately
tammylinskey
2 years ago
I know this was a year ago but I am curious about your door selection of your front door. U mentioned in your post wood door. I am in midst of renovation and debating whether to spend the money on the stained fiberglass or avoid delays and paint it.

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