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Paint Design Dilemma Exterior

Seeking input on warming up mid century home exterior

last year

Hello everyone! we are currently in the process of having our home painted.

we live in a cute and funky midcentury home, which i love, but i actually prefer more of a traditional or cottage type of look.

i had originally picked out:

-aesthetic white (SW) for the siding/brick and retaining wall

-oyster bay (SW) for the shutters

-skyline steel (SW) for the trim, garage doors, and front door.

-tbd on wooden bottom deck color

however, my painter told me he didnt think skyline steel was dark enough for the front door, and that i should paint the trim, garage door, and brick/siding all one color. He also said we should paint our gutters the same color- so now im just admitting i have no idea what im doing!!

we are getting a front yard fence put in, our roof is gray shingle, and the deck flooring is a neutral gray if that helps at all. ive attached pictures of our home/our fence - but overall just wanting a happy, warm, and welcoming home, any and all advice is much appreciated.

thank you!

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Comments (5)

cat_ky
last year
The siding and the brick should be the same color, so the house is cohesive.
Cece Hill thanked cat_ky
chispa
last year
Search under "raised ranch" or "bi-level" home styles to get more ideas.
Cece Hill thanked chispa
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The last thing I consider especially for exteriors is which direction the front door/windows faces. Because the light is constantly changing throughout the day and the year - it's a point of criteria that literally changes by the second. I understand your attraction to the cleaner whites in terms of chips and samples. What you need to try to anticipate is what happens to white on a bigger scale and in sunlight. Just because the house faces north, doesn't mean it's on the dark side of the moon. Sunlight - from all directions - strips chromaticity or colorfulness. So that "clean" white that looks good on samples and chips ends up looking rather arctic. Simply White is a really good suggestion because it has a little bit of chroma/colorfulness and there's a chance it will "wash out" and look just right once installed. As a general rule, you can always go a little darker and a little more colorful on exteriors than you think you can because, again, sunlight will knock back the intensity.
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I like your original idea best - dark gray with blue undertones, wood accents. Someone in our neighbourhood did it and it looks great. In real life it doesn't look as as blue as this picture looks. The yard is edged with a Corten steel that looks wonderful with the wood. These pictures are sort of dark and don't do it justice. The wood and Corten accents are the "orange" that is the complementary colour to the "blue". For your house, a wood garage door and/or front door would look great if your budget allows. For landscaping, continue the MCM theme with lots of grasses and architectural plants such as yucca. I agree that light/medium gray with a red door would look too country which is not the look you are going for.
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kandrewspa
last year
It's a split level. It's interesting to me that the white siding looks better on the back than the front. I would be reluctant to paint the siding gray like the brick because then you will have a gray blob. I guess I would go with a light gray so the blinding white is toned down, but you don't end up with something monochromatic. I think a red front door would look good. It could also stand to have molding around it. The door looks small and insubstantial in that expanse of wall. You would have to move the light next to the front door, however. If you do that, get a larger light fixture.
Sigrid
last year
Have you uploaded a pic of your house to SW's visislizer? My tske is that the painter is right, the Aesthetic White and Skyline steel don't have a strong contrast they might look mismatched. I don't think Oyster Nay, which appears to have greenish undertones goes with either.

I would paint the garage door the same color as the house. No need to paint the trim the same color and pick out something different for the brick if you like. I'd go with Navy brick and white siding, but you are not me.

The SW website have a pic of Aesthetic white with pure white trim. Do you like it?.

Gutters are not a feature, don't paintnthem a sparate color and oaint your downspouts to match the
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
last modified: last year
This is a split level and IMO no MCM anyhwere at all. As for the actual house it is a bit odod that you have the front and back so totally different that at first glance I thought it was 2 different houses. If you want a cottage move this is not going to ever be a cottage no matter how many shutters and window boxes you add. BTW those are not appropriate on that house and now you are adding a post and rail fence that again is not the right choice . I think you either embrace what you have or buy new. Sometimes what you want is just not possible unless you want to actually rebuild the house. these are the Key elements of MCM

Key Elements
- Flat planes. The geometric lines of the house are regular and rigorous. ...
- Large windows. Sliding-glass doors and other expansive panes of glass allow light to enter rooms from multiple angles.
- Changes in elevation. ...
- Integration with nature.
not much of those is in the house you own what you have is a nice split level so start here with what can be done.Maybe try something more like this for a nicer warm facade

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