Exterior Paint Color Suggestions for Schizo-80s Contemporary!
Hi all, I posted a pic 3 years ago when we first bought the house--after lots of inside work, we are finally ready to paint the outside. While I appreciate the suggestions from way-back-when, we've changed our strategy and now want to paint the whole house, including the variegated brick. I am leaning toward a very dark gray/charcoal for everything but the stone-clad pillars in front, but my husband thinks I'm nuts. And while not in the budget now, I'd love to replace the wood siding and clad the columns with ipe (or we could; just not the back of the house since it's 3 floors and entirely wood siding and windows). And, yes, the front doors and light fixtures have to go well. The giant brown roof, however, must remain, for the foreseeable future. The brown/bronze window trim and gutters are ok so could remain and tie into the roof color.
Am I crazy? My husband swears it will look terrible to have a black & brown behemoth on our street! We've driven around several neighborhoods to scout colors--nothing like it around us. But I love contemporary and our entire interior is very organic mod/contemporary--gray stone, natural wood, clean lines--and I think the outside should reflect it. Once we get the painting done, time to address the landscaping which is equally schizo/hodepodge!
All ideas and suggestions welcome! Thank you for looking and commenting! The first photo is the oldest and I can't seem to remove it!
Comments (19)
katinparadise
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Updating exterior of 80’s contemporary Home
Comments (27)I also found another project I did, where they used wood for the decking, and top railing cap with feeney cable rail as well. White timber tech post sleeves. I made a pergola to go over the deck and they bought one of these really cool colored sunsail awning to go onto. Like someone else mentioned the side stairs could be better with divided landings, and wider. As far as the siding I know its very expensive but hardy plank would last the longest with minimal maintenance. I also think that if something was done with bottom of deck, either columns, enclosed porch with deck underneath would change the whole appearance of the house, along with different rails....See More80s Contemporary Exterior Brick Update
Comments (11)Can you paint the siding instead of the brick? They don't really go together. I think one of them needs to be changed. Not desperately--it's not THAT bad. Landscaping would help quite a bit. I don't mind the baby cactus garden, but the white rock stuff on the other side should go. Alllll the white rocks should be removed. Don't pull out the big bush until you have a plan. Sometimes an established plant can nicely anchor a new landscaping scheme. Pruning may of course be in order. There is a helpful landscape design forum here. Blunt, but helpful. :)...See MorePainting exterior of 80's contemporary house
Comments (2)We're house twins. I chose not to paint mine. Hope. Before and after-ish--I still need gutters and my garden is ready for end of year cleaning....See MoreExterior Choices For 80s Contemporary
Comments (8)As Elaine said, a black roof will cause your house to heat up in the summer. That is enough for me to pass on it. Medium gray is a good color that goes with a lot of different siding colors. I don't love the current color with your brick - the blue tint is what is problematic (although maybe this looks better in person). Leaning green would be a better choice. I don't know if you'll find Revere Pewter to lean green however. But since it is a warm gray it might still be a good choice. Colors on exteriors are frequently different than you think based on looking at a chip, so you will need to sample on all sides of your house to see how it looks. I used BM Nantucket Gray HC-111 on my previous house. It has more green in it than you might think....See More
houssaon
4 years agoI think gray goes well with brown, so I would look to do a light gray that mimics the stone columns and a few shades darker for the board siding.
elizabethjdunbar thanked houssaon- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
4 years agoIMO those stone pillars need to go NOW before any other decisions, just do them in the siding even. I love this combo with brick and I think it would look good with your brick.
elizabethjdunbar thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting elizabethjdunbar
4 years agoelizabethjdunbar
4 years agoThis Lauren Liess remodel was my initial inspiration—it’s pretty bold though
elizabethjdunbar
4 years agoHere are some images I found on Houzz that I like and are not as drastic as the dark gray. And I could keep the brick as is, but replace the columns in front? Does anyone have an opinion on this? Thanks so much!
Core House · More Info
Redbud Renovation · More Info
Contemporary Timber Clad Side Extension · More Info
Modern Design - Cedar T & G, Stained with James Hardie trim · More Infoelizabethjdunbar
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoelizabethjdunbar
4 years agochiflipper
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoelizabethjdunbar
4 years ago
decoenthusiaste
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
dsimber
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoelizabethjdunbar
3 years agoOk folks! An UPDATE! and call for more advice!
After much deliberation we decided against painting the brick. Too expensive and too much work. We sampled several different paint swatches (some suggested by you!) and opted for a dark gray with a hint of purple (I know, I know, the majority said no to gray, but we really liked it with the red brick. And we are pleased!). We just purchased modernist light fixtures in bronze https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AINJ3F2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and plan on replacing the double doors with simple, full light ones that should line up nicely with the adjacent plate glass windows. The effect will be similar to the wall of glass that is the back of the house--so you can see right through from front to back!
One of the biggest changes, however, is the elimination of the stone pillars in front! We just demo'd them and the difference is amazing. So much more light and the car port roof seems less oppressive. However, we need to clad the steel posts with something. Any suggestions? I was considering something much narrower than previous and maybe painted to match the house color? Would love to hear everyone's thoughts!
decoenthusiaste