I may or may not have told you my background or what I do for fun. I have degrees in Interior Design, and I work for a commercial paint company. Right now, I mainly work with designers to get samples made for projects in town. I see the same colors going up on the same walls, not very exciting. But I can and have been using my knowledge and skills on the side to help friends and other clients.
This time, I get to help a friend with her home in Colorado. She just moved into a new rental, and the landlord has agreed to do a few maintenance things, a little sprucing up if you will. She has a similar background as me, but I have access to the colors and do consultations all the time.
Exterior painting projects are different from interior projects because neighborhood rules and surrounding houses have to be considered. My friend doesn’t have an HOA committee with preselected color schemes and a board to sign off on. The other part to consider is the mood of the houses on the street. You don’t want to come into a neutral pallet and paint the house bright pink. Or come into a modern gray industrial neighborhood and go for Tuscan colors in browns and tans.
When you think Colorado, you think of trees and skies, mountians, and green hills. That naturalistic color pallet follows into the houses. In this area, houses blend in with the environment. My friend sent me pictures of her house and her two neighbors. The two with deep gray blue siding and dark gray roofing blend much better than the current light yellow/ tan color on their house. The roofing on theirs is a wood/brown color that I think is much better and will allow for a richer trim as opposed to white. Giving the house an updated unique look
She had an idea for a light grey color that could be the base color for the siding. One that she found online that was popular in that area. I used that gray to find a charcoal for the window trim and roof trim as well as an accent color for the door. Always taking into mind and starting with what the client wants. Then I went above and beyond.
Sometimes, a friend or client won’t know what they want to like until they see it. But everyone wants options. It is easy for me to come up with options because I have seen so many color pallets and color schemes for many different house types and locations. We both agreed that the house should remain on a light color. The neighbors both have white trim, which on the gray and slate is an accent color, but white on the light color would not stand out. So, instead, our trim and our accents are going to be richer, with dark browns, grays, or greens.
I pulled from the surrounding colors to get away from the blue and gray. I found a mellow green, a rich town brown and a light brownish red. Each with a roof trim, window trim, and an accent door/ shade color. It was fun for me to lay the color cards out and adjust when the trim color wasn’t quite right or the body should have been a hint more brown, less red. Overall, I am sending her 6 schemes. As I would for any of my clients, I never recommend doing paint samples. Painting a swatch on the wall will only play tricks on your eyes, distorting the true color as more of what you see is the entire wall color.
So, I am writing up a full set of notes for each scheme. Then I ordered 8×11 sheets of each. I recommend attaching them to a whiteboard or white poster board so they are easily movable to different areas of the house. Anyone repainting should see the colors in the sun and shadows, day vs. night, so they can really judge if they like the color. On the poster board, you don’t have the house painted like a cheetah in the process. Lol
I can’t show you my schemes here, but doing color is legitimately a favorite thing of mine. I am working to expand that part of my skills and will hopefully have something up and going here soon. But time will tell. If you have any color questions, interior or exterior, feel free to drop them here. I’m always willing to give input and can help if your gray is too green or that purple is too grapey. What questions do you have?
The Distracted Damsel 