seeking moral support: I chose the wrong exterior paint color...

2 years ago

To all the design veterans young and old, tell me how you've coped with large-scale design blunders! I really determined not to make a rookie mistake on this, and yet here I am. I agonized over choosing the perfect off-white shade to paint our 90s transitional. Weeks of research, paint swatches, samples, trying to talk to staff at Sherwin Williams, more samples, input from friends and neighbors, led me to SW Creamy 7012. I wanted a soft white that wasn't too bright. I was going for warm and but not too griege. Alabaster was my other choice but I was worried it would be too bright and read more grey than warm (It did in the samples on my house, at least). SW White Duck and Natural Choice were too dark and were leaning pink in my lighting, Ballet White was also too beige. I knew I might run the risk of Creamy leaning yellowish, but based on my samples outside it never did (I painted 2x2' swatches on the west, south, and East facing sides- now I know I should have painted even bigger swatches?). Now that it's up on my entire house, I'm afraid it does look QUITE yellow. Frankly I've been feeling sick about it, because it is so permanent and I tried so hard to get this right. :'(

Not sure the picture does it justice since it doesn't read the true color, but is there any way it can be salvaged or minimized? Do I change the trim color or window casings? Do I just sneak out when nobody's looking and repaint the entire thing Alabaster one panel at a time? Will I just get used to it?

Featured Answer

PRO

PPF.

2 years ago

Embrace the color. So it's not what you expected -- it looks good and it's not another white house.

Paint the window trim, and any other trim white. Why was it painted the body color?

Paint or replace the gutters as they are the only color mistake on the house. They should blend in, not stand out.

Comments (18)

AGKY
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
It's a lovely color, but I think you hit the nail on the head that the white trim and window casings are making it look yellow instead of white. Changing the windows out would be a big job and if they are aluminum you can't really paint them, but you could paint the trim. Beefed up landscaping will help you forget about it as well! I'm curious about the black gutters and downspouts and not a matching cream color for those?

P.S. I chose the wrong color roof before I knew better and yes it did stop bothering me over time.
rculby thanked AGKY
rculby
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you! The windows are vinyl, so there is hope that I may be able to paint them with a paint specified for vinyl to make them blend in more... I may try it on a few windows and see if that makes a difference. Black gutters and downspouts were husband's choice-- he liked the idea of having a white house and black gutters, but I'm not sure if I'm a fan. It's not exactly the right architecture for a trendy modern farmhouse...
Related Discussions
Help me pick exterior paint colors?
Q
Comments (90)
I'm still at it ya'll. My GC just met with a second painting contractor today, so I expect we'll get a quote soon. (Just in time for me to go out of town for a bit too.) I've acquired a truly absurd number of paint samples, and now possess both sherwin williams and ben moore fan decks:) I would have done better to just choose from the limited Hardie colors. (tone is hard to convey on the internet, this is all in good humor, with me more or less mocking myself). The good news is, I know what I want to do! (hurrah!) I found a new inspiration picture, and both DH and I went "aha, that's it." The previous photos are fine, but this is the one we both definitely like the best: there are a bunch more photos of this house here - http://www.houzz.com/projects/1042760/burwood-custom-home-grand-rapids-mi I didn't think I wanted to go dark with our black metal roof, but there it is, the first color scheme we're both happy about. I think there will still be enough contrast. They claim the color above is Ben Moore Kitty Gray 1589. So, here are some samples: Sorry about the mud splash, should probably clean that off. From left to right: 1) SW dovetail 7018 2) SW gauntlet gray 7019 3) BM Kitty Gray 1589 *- the one in the insp photo above 4) BM quarry rock 1568 5) BM knoxville gray HC-160 So, internet house color support group, what say you? Kitty gray does not look as vibrant (dark, saturated?) to me in real life or in the photos as it does in the inspiration picture. It looks more gray, as opposed to having some dark blue/green. However, I think I'm just going to stop thumb sucking and pick this color. quarry rock has more green knoxville gray is fairly saturated in real life. it really might be dark teal. maybe that's good, I dunno. Then I have to decide a trim color, whether to paint a contrasting trim around the windows, and what color to paint the garage doors. Whew! getting closer:)
...See More
cabinets are the wrong color
Q
Comments (90)
JG: first, I want to reiterate everyone else in saying your kitchen is beautiful. But I understand your disappointment and your concerns. One of our posters, Lori Sawaya, is a color expert. She has posted many times on the decorating and paint forums. You might give her a shout out to ask her how you can brighten your cabinets - she's quite a wizard. Below is a comparison of white paint colors she did for another poster. I am no expert, but it looks like Snowbound definitely falls into the creamy range of off white. Our exterior trim is painted snowbound. I think it's popular here because it looks white, but not glaringly so. Our painter suggested we paint our ceilings snowbound (he was a real fan of that color!!). DH and I sample painted our ceilings and definitely saw peach or pink so it was no go for our ceilings. Here is my layman's theory: The creamier paints take on a creamier tone when they are in indirect light. I don't see any windows in your kitchen so am assuming you have indirect light in that room. Of course I haven't seen your bathrooms, but we are talking about your kitchen here. Our interior trim is painted white dove and in areas where it gets indirect light I definitely see a creamy tinge. Your inspiration photo is filled with natural light. Plus the photog probably added more lights and reflectors. Be careful to evaluate black in your kitchen. Maybe paint a sample board and put it up on your hood for a week or two. Or look for a color that is not true black, but "reads" black. My thought is that if you paint with Snowbound again you may get the same result, or different color and same result, and be disappointed again. Since the guys are willing to repaint, I strongly suggest you select a brighter white. And of course, get a sample door of the actual paint and leave it up for a week or two. And you might give Lori a shout out on the paint forum. I sure hope things turn out well for you! Best of luck.
...See More
Exterior is WRONG in every way. What fixes = biggest bang for buck?
Q
Comments (21)
Nice home and yard -- far from a disaster. Would NOT paint the brick. You could paint your front door. Is there a deep bold red wine color that you like that you could use for your door and any storm door frame ... with or without adding a brass or stainless steel kick plate at the bottom. https://www.pinterest.com/carenpinette/front-door-color/ If you painted all the painted surfaces of your home -- gable end, porch, fascia -- a medium gray color chosen from within the brick, the contrast would not be as stark and, in my non-pro opinion, would be an improvement. While I'd not have chosen that roofing with those brick, I'd still NOT change the roof only for looks -- not worth the considerable expense to do so -- but do consider the colors in the brick when actually is time to change the roofing. In the meantime, it is possible to darken the shingles. https://www.hunker.com/13401213/how-to-change-a-shingle-color If you have all bronze window frames in good shape, keep them; however, if you have a mismatch, consider painting them all black. Since the walk path from driveway to front door is soggy, you clearly need to work on drainage. With the absence of a distinctive slope to the yard adjacent to the front of the house, that requires creating a path for the water to run off. Although a French Drain could work, it could also require more maintenance. Instead ... A wide shallow scoop that can be mowed without other maintenance may well be your best option. In your case, the scoop should be an "L" shape parallel to the front exterior wall of the house and turning to be parallel to the sidewalk leading directly away from the house. The scoop may be wider and more shallow or deeper and less shallow depending upon what works in your yard. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/435582595190669883/ You'll also need to make sure the water from your gutter downspouts is being moved farther away from the house before it is released into the yard. https://www.twofeetfirst.net/how-to-bury-a-gutter-downspout/ You can have the water released above ground or to the first solid pipe, you can attach a different pipe with holes in it into a buried ditch filled with gravel to disburse the water underground in the same way a drain field of a septic tank would. https://www.thenaturalhome.com/septic/ Another alternative that might work IF you have a drop off near the road: With a slope in your front yard, you might be able to create a very short knee wall about a dozen feet or from the front exterior wall of the house, above which would be your walk path -- paving stones with grass growing between them. https://www.google.com/search?source=univ&tbm=isch&q=grass+and+paving+stone+walk+path&client=firefox-b-1-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiTxtGI_7npAhVamHIEHYXGA64QsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1324&bih=648#imgrc=nJStdELGb78dmM A very short one step high retaining wall would still enable the yard to drain down to the lower level. https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-build-retaining-wall/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90d68eac94 To create a knee wall for yard drainage, you'd need to dig out the front yard between that knee wall and the road. Have the ground above the knee wall have a very slight slope from house to knee wall so the water will drain off that part of the path/yard to below the knee wall. Put grass above the knee wall with paving stones buried so their tops are ground level and move any shrubs between house and knee wall to below the knee wall. If you need a place to put the dirt you remove to create the lower level, building codes permitting, you could add a raised planting bed either in your yard -- less stooping for your gardening -- and/or create a raised planting bed along side the property line to create a green privacy wall/fence. If Aucuba bushes will grow in your planting zone, they'll keep their leaves and look good year round. If liriope will grow where you live, it makes a good plant outlining a sidewalk and/or driveway and/or parking area. Do know what utilities may be buried in your yard before digging. Consider adding a tree on the left sunny side of the house about halfway from the back of the property to the front -- one that will provide shade in the summer for a side yard patio but let the warmth of the sun come through during winter. Also, consider move the bird feeders a bit farther from the house and add a plain concrete bird bath, also visible from your front window and not far from the feeders. By doing this, you will have even more birds coming into your yard, perhaps even nesting in the trees. If you will add landscaping that includes plants with blooms that attract humming birds, you'll have those birds come by to be enjoyed as well.
...See More
Seeking exterior paint color advice
Q
Comments (9)
The stone gives your home a casual country feel, so the rigid and formal hedges look very out of place. I would pull those out and install a more open and airy landscape using lots of native perennials that will thrive in your locale but not become invasive. The concrete planters are also of a different era than your country home, so remove them. Consider installing some landscape lights that highlight the stone. And since the stone is so massive, I would remove the little arch details on your porch posts and beef up the posts themselves so they have adequate visual heft to stand beside the massive stone wall and look like they can support your porch. Are you replacing the roof or cleaning it? I would take care of that before choosing a siding color, and I vote to remove the shutters. You should probably upgrade the porch lighting too.
...See More
Cecilia
2 years ago
Hello! I think it is a nice color although I am sorry it turned out more yellow than you were hoping. I think it would be nice if you could embrace it and maybe choose a coordinating window trim color. Maybe something like SW Pavestone? I think I would also paint the gutter either the Creamy or the trim color though rather than black. The photo below shows the same Creamy exterior with something like Pavestone on the shutters.
rculby thanked Cecilia
sunshine_31
2 years ago
I think the color is nice. I don't think there's any issue with the white and cream combo at all, rather the black shingles, gutters and downspouts are what don't work. I would paint the downspouts and gutters the same color as the house so that they blend in, and I would reshingle over the front door so that it matches the shingles on the main roof. I think these two steps would make it all look really nice.
rculby thanked sunshine_31
homechef59
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
A few weeks ago, I had to choose between SW Creamy and SW Alabaster. I had used the SW Creamy on the interior walls and interior trim very successfully. It is a very soft white with a warmer undertone.

While I was waiting for the painters to show up, I painted the garage door SW Creamy to cover up some peeling paint. For whatever reason, it took on a completely different characteristic on the exterior. It was a little too warm, but not by much. What I have noticed is the brighter the outdoor light is, the creamier it appears. In lower light, it's very white.

After some research, I selected SW Alabaster for the exterior. I have a grey shingle roof and real aged brown copper gutters and downspouts. It looks a lot like your pictures.

The SW Alabaster worked really well with the tan stone base and the copper gutters. It would work well with your brick base. It may not be too late to go over with the house with a coat of SW Alabaster. I painted the trim SW Alabaster, too. Just in a higher gloss.

Another option would be to paint the trim in Alabaster and keep the body SW Creamy. The SW Alabaster will be much closer to white and look more like your windows than the SW Creamy.

The bottom line is it looks great right now. It's a lovely and soft effect. If it really bothers you, SW Alabaster is always available. But, I think I would learn to embrace it and love it.
rculby thanked homechef59
Nidnay
2 years ago
I think it would be perfectly fine without the black gutters and downspouts. IMO that’s what’s completely throwing things off. Honestly, replacing or painting the gutters and downspouts will fix it completely….it will look great.

I also made a HUGE mistake when painting our exterior. It was awful! As soon as I drove up to the house I knew I had to change it and it didn’t matter to me what it might cost…it was being repainted. But I truly don’t think the paint is your problem….it’s the gutters.
rculby thanked Nidnay
homechef59
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I ran out and took these pictures. The lighting is low as it's later afternoon. But, this is what SW Alabaster will like. I really think that you should try to embrace the SW Creamy. It really ran a very close second.
Alpine · More Info

Alpine · More Info

Here is a close up picture of my trim in a brighter light. It's SW Alabaster in Satin on the shingles and SW Alabaster in Semi-gloss on the trim. Very subtle difference. But, you can see the contrast between the body of my house and the bright white of the vinyl clad windows.

Alpine · More Info

I'm hoping that seeing another house with a very similar set up will allow you to look at things with a little more balance. It's so hard not to second guess yourself. I think that your house looks great.
rculby thanked homechef59
Nidnay
2 years ago
Just want to say that the black gutters on @homechef59’s home look great….works completly .…for that style of house.
rculby
Original Author
2 years ago
@homechef59 thank you for sharing the pics of your house, that really helped a lot. It's a beautiful home, and I do love the color! Cool that we both had the same top two contenders. I can see that Creamy is warmer for sure, but it is really pretty close, not as far off as I was imagining if I had gone with Alabaster. It really does help to give me some balance and perspective on this whole thing. :/ It's the first major exterior project I've done a home and I felt like the stakes were so high. But I do think I can embrace the color and be thankful.
rculby
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you so much everyone for the really helpful feedback. I think the consensus is the black gutters have to go! I think we thought they looked cool and contemporary on other white homes, but didn't really visualize what they may look like on ours. The gutters look fantastic on @homechef59's house but probably don't fit the architecture of my own. It seems terrible to ask the painters to change the gutters at the end of all this, but certainly doable and perhaps worth it in the long run.
rculby
Original Author
2 years ago
And thank you for posting the complimentary color paint suggestions, @Cecilia. The Creamy paired with Pavestone would be so beautiful, and it would be fun to try and figure out how to add some Anchors Aweigh into the mix. Those three together are dynamite! It really does change your whole perspective of a color when you can see it well coordinated with others.
homechef59
2 years ago
What you can't tell from my pictures and the OP's pictures is the difference between black gutters and downspouts and my real copper gutters and downspouts. The copper ones have aged and after 20 years, this what they look like.

The copper casts a warmer brown color. The OP's house has the black gutters. The black contrasts against the warm white. The brown copper compliments the warm white. That is the difference.

The OP has a few choices. She can keep the black gutters and downspouts as is at no additional cost to her. Or, she can replace them with real copper which will be more expensive than white or brown aluminum gutters and downspouts.

If it were me in that situation, I would live with it for a while. I'd keep the black for a least a year. I may come to like them or at least not dislike them. After a year, if I find that I absolutely hate them, I'd save my money up for copper.

It's a beautiful house. I hope rculby has many happy years living there. I'm glad we could help.
rculby thanked homechef59
barncatz
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
@rculby, I just wanted to tell you that we are in the middle of repainting our home (from red to white!) and I am having palpitations! It is SW Westhighland White and dang does it look bright!!

Your house is a lovely white. It is actually more what I was envisioning, lol. And I like your black accents, too. ETA: I'd change the downspouts because I think they emphasize that section's tallness. Our house is tall and narrow and we tried to emphasize horizontal lines during this repainting.

I think @homechef59 gave you great advice. I'll take a nap and accept my white paint as a nice result, if you will. Best.
PRO
Lori A. Sawaya
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
The body color and windows are good - don't change anything.

The gutters need to blend with the trim color.

Downspouts need to blend in to the body color.

Once you get the gutters/downs situated, you can asses how you feel about the window/body relationship. And I think you'll like it.
homechef59
2 years ago
rculby,

FYI, Lori A. Sawaya is a color expert. You just received advice that others pay for. She's pretty much the end all to be all in this area of expertise. Lucky you.
rculby
Original Author
2 years ago
barncatz -- Westhighland White was another top contender for us! The SW clerk said that it was a very popular color for exteriors and was being used by many developers in our area. They also said that it was one shade darker than Alabaster which didn't make any sense to me since it has a higher lrv ...I obviously don't understand much about color but now I have some more impetus to learn, ha. I'm sure it's quite a contrast to the former red that was on your exterior. Several people now have told me that they didn't like the color when they first painted their exterior but that much of that was due to just getting used to the change. I hope you end up really loving it. And thanks for the advice about maximizing horizontal lines in a tall-looking house. I see that now with the downspouts. Learning so much through this!
rculby
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you Lori A. Sawaya for this advice. I greatly appreciate it. Sadly, significant other is not open to the cost and trouble of changing the gutter color right now, so I may have to be patient. :/ At any rate, this is proving to be a good education for me-- determined to grow in my understanding of the relationships of color and hope to have another opportunity to use it in the future.

seeking moral support: I chose the wrong exterior paint color...

PPF.

Comments (18)

AGKY

rculby
Original Author

Related Discussions

Cecilia

sunshine_31

homechef59

Nidnay

homechef59

Nidnay

rculby
Original Author

rculby
Original Author

rculby
Original Author

homechef59

barncatz

Lori A. Sawaya

homechef59

rculby
Original Author

rculby
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

seeking moral support: I chose the wrong exterior paint color...

Comments (18)

rculbyOriginal Author

Related Discussions

rculbyOriginal Author

rculbyOriginal Author

rculbyOriginal Author

rculbyOriginal Author

rculbyOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

rculby
Original Author

rculby
Original Author

rculby
Original Author

rculby
Original Author

rculby
Original Author

rculby
Original Author