Saturday, August 1, 2015

A New Exterior House Color!!

Each year for the past 3 years, I've scraped and painted one side of the house, slowly making my way around the entire thing.  It usually only takes a weekend to scrape and paint one side so it doesn't turn into a big commitment.  But each year that I go and buy another gallon of the same light yellow/cream paint, I dream about changing the house color.  Reality soon sets in though that completely changing the color of the house would be too much work and too much expense.

That is until the beginning of this summer when a friend of ours needed some help painting her house.  She went from a light colored house to a rich, dark color - and I fell in love.  It was only a matter of days until I had convinced Brent to let me do a little experimenting.  

I was having a problem with our roof color and figuring out what color of paint would look best with it.  The roof is called Burnt Sienna, which is sort of brown and sort of reddish.  But when I looked closer at the shingles, I could see some dark spots, almost a navy or charcoal.  So I started messing around on Benjamin Moore's website to plug in different paint colors.  Benjamin Moore Hale Navy was the absolute winner.  Anything with too much gray or brown just didn't look right with the shingles.
I was still a bit nervous about taking the plunge so we bought a test pot and painted a swatch on the back of the house to look at it for a few weeks.  Even with a such a big test spot, I still couldn't pull the trigger so my neighbor friend suggested that I paint the entire front of the house first - that way if I didn't like it from the front, I wouldn't have painted the entire house already.
I liked that idea, so Brent and I spent a few hours on a Saturday evening and a few more the next morning painting the front.  Luckily, our house is small so it only took us about 4-6 hours total to paint the front, including the trim.  And we love it!!

We are most surprised to see the texture of the siding come out.  When the house was the lighter color, it was painted in a flat finish - which made it impossible to clean off muddy puppy paw prints and other smudges.  For the navy, we went with a satin finish which is why you can see more of the texture.  For the trim, we used Benjamin Moore Steam, which is a little bit softer than a bright white. 
Before we started painting, I was nervous about what our white gutter downspouts would look like on the front of the house, since before they blended in with the lighter paint.  But after painting with the BM Hale Navy and putting the downspouts back up, I think they look fine.
I love how our window trim and green plants pop out against the new house color.  But now our poor neighbors have to live with this view until our schedule clears out and we can paint the rest of the house!
And then there's this lovely view - oh man - we feel so trashy having a multi-colored house but I'm hoping that next weekend I can get the sides painted!
And for a final side by side - here's the before and after!  I am still undecided about the front door color and what, if anything, we'll do there.  Shutter options are still being weighed as well - but we'll worry about those once all the painting is done. 
And for your Pinning pleasure, here are all of the colors listed in one place.

24 comments:

  1. That looks amazing! I'm not sure I'd put the shutters back up. I really like the way it looks without them. Of course, with the right color it could look even better with the shutters - so hard to say. LOVE the color!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so beyond obsessed with this change! It looks amazing, my friend! Absolutely amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks great. Please consider leaving the shutters off, it looks so much nicer without. And *please* paint the garage door dark! Why people highlight an ugly garage door has always baffled me. The interest should be the front door...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree the garage door needs to be a darker color. I'd use the house color but a few shades darker. Then paint the front door a pop of something fun....Spring green, or burnt orange, or barn red.

      Delete
  4. What a gorgeous new look!!! I agree with leaving the shutters off-looks updated and fresh without them! As for the two tone house, I love it-your neighbors have a "before and after" right in front of their eyes to inspire them! I bet more colors start popping up in your neighborhood!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would paint the garage door the same color as the house, put the shutters back ..it will draw the eye to the very front and highlight your landscaping...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful choice and beautiful job!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Paint your front door a sunny yellow. Check out some sites on Pinterest to see how you will like it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful job and love the color. I would also leave the shutters off.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Paint the garage door the same color as the house. It will make your home look larger. I would also add a bold, bright color to the front door. House looks amazing with this color! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  10. amazing doesnt even begin to describe how amazing your house looks! i dont know if id put the shutters back up or not. they could also look amazing, or you could leave them off for a bit like you said. the front door looks great the color it is as well. for now until you get the rest painted. either way, youve done so well with this project! enjoy your hard work! amazing!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You cracked me up with the side view. It's something I would do without shame. I like the house the way it is; white garage, sans shutters. I even like the color of the door, but if you really want to get wild, pick a rich yellow.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love, love, love, I would leave shutters off, put a large pot of red geraniums beside lower step and then for the grand finale, leave garage color as is, put some fake hinges and windows on the garage doors. Can order online, and it is sooooo easy!! I promise you will LOVE it. it will make you happy every time you look at your house! this made the biggest impact on front of our house of anything we've done and took less time and money than landscaping or paint. This will compliment the wonderful cottage look you have.

    ReplyDelete
  13. love love love your house, get hinges, window for garage door, can buy fake ones online, super easy, cheap, great impact, my previous comment seems to have disappeared

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi, Your home looks lovely. Good choice of color and definitely paint the garage
    door the same as the house, you will be amazed how much better it will look when it is finished in that color. I have to vote for putting the shutters back up and keeping the cottage look. What I would change is the railing...to something more in keeping with the style of the house. It is such a welcoming home!

    ReplyDelete
  15. you were wondering what color for shutters and door- I suggest pulling in a brick red from the roof as an accent.
    as for the garage door why not paint the squares dark and let the trim work stand out.

    ReplyDelete
  16. WOW!! What a change. I love it. I like it without the shutters. The white really pops now. I'd try yellow for the front door. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great job! I once read an article that said houses look best if they have 5 colors. With that theory in mind, I'd add a some black as an anchor and the pop of a deep red front door.

    ReplyDelete
  18. You house look great! Thanks for posting these - you have given me great colors to paint the exterior of my house. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Your house looks great! Thanks for posting these! You've given me great colors to paint the exterior of my house. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Is your siding wood or aluminum? Can I paint aluminum siding?

    ReplyDelete
  21. The back of my house is covered in cream and mushroom type colours for the past year because i really couldn't make up my mind what to paint our little old bungalow. There is a building in our nearest town painted black with white window and door frames and it looks stunning but i am not brave enough to do it. But this transformation is amazing and i am defo going to do it to mind. My mind is made up. Ps I hope you didnt put the shutters back up and the garage door looks grand as it is. well done!

    ReplyDelete