Perfect Residential Exterior Paint
The problem with home design is there is only one kind of mistake: the one everyone sees. That’s what makes home improvement decisions so nerve wracking. Your taste — whether enviably great or so terrible you need to hand out motion-sickness bags — is on display.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the color of your house. For most, this is literally the biggest (square-foot-wise) design decision you will ever make.
Picking the Perfect Residential Exterior Paint
We are here to plead on behalf of every neighborhood in America. Please, as a public service, choose well.
As far as I’m concerned, you can do what you please inside. Paint the walls with white and black stripes, but outside, paint politely. Do not be those houses that people look at, shake their heads and mutter: “What were they smoking?”
We can guess what lies behind some color calamities; the woman who knew, ever since she was four and had that hot pink doll house with bright yellow shutters, that she would paint a house just like that when she grew up. Or the man who can think of no better way to show off his support for the Chargers than to paint his house blue and yellow.
If either of these notions sounds familiar, please, before you embarrass yourself and devalue your neighbor’s property, file them under: Fantasies best left unexpressed!
Picking the Perfect Residential Exterior Paint? Please, show a little restraint.
“Most people are considerate,” I heard one person say. They get their fuchsia and lime addictions satisfied indoors, where colors can reflect more of an owner’s personality.
Inside, you have more freedom to express color one way in the bedroom and another way in the living room, but outside, you really need to get along with everyone else.
To protect consumers from public humiliation, most paint companies offer two categories of paint: tame exterior colors, and a wider, more vibrant range of interior colors.
The guidelines are good ones. However, for those homeowners who checked their taste at the curb, you might want to slip this article under their doormat.
Meanwhile, careful home-improvers looking to paint their homes — and these warm Indian summer days of early autumn are an ideal time — should consider these pointers from us at Local San Diego Painting when choosing colors:
- The architecture: The style of your home, whether Victorian, Craftsman, Mediterranean or Mid-century Modern, will dictate the best color choices. Most styles have tried and true palettes. Sure, you can go against the grain. Though, historically accurate colors will not only enhance the architectural style of your home, but also enhance re-sale value. Historical societies can help as well as architectural and design firms. In addition, don’t forget Local San Diego Painting haa an awesome design team that can also help.
- Landscape: Look around. The colors of your geography, the plants and terrain, whether coastal, desert, prairie or mountain, should harmonize with the exterior paint colors you choose. Stucco colors will change with region. The color of stucco in Dallas will be different from that in San Diego.
- Your neighbors: Drive around your neighborhood and see what your neighbors have done. Then try to blend. Don’t do something completely different. Most exterior house colors are neutral for a reason. The exterior walls of your home are not the place to make a statement. Use your environment and community as your inspiration.
- Other house components: The biggest mistakes homeowners make when choosing outdoor paint colors is not considering the existing materials. The roof, brick and stone all have colors that should be part of the overall color scheme. Some brick or stone is peachy brown; others are bluish gray, and others are reddish rust. Coordinate paint so it has the same undertones of those materials. *If the bricks are a cool color, stay with other cool colors.
- The trim and accent: When you pick a house color, you need to pick at least two, probably three and possibly four colors. This includes: the main field color, the trim color for windows and roof lines; an accent color for shutters, architectural accents and doors; and possibly a fourth color for the door. One trick when selecting trim is to select your field color, then choose a hue on the same color strip that is two or three shades lighter, or even darker, than the field color. Most paint companies offer exterior color schemes to help consumers put together attractive combinations.
- The current trends: Fortunately, trends in exterior colors don’t fluctuate nearly as much as interior colors, which is good, because no one wants to go through this too often. However, today’s homeowners are leaning more toward warmer “driftwoody” grays and taupe's and darker colors. They are also getting bold with their front doors, choosing colors that cue to a home’s interior colors.
We at Local SD Painting are familiar with the newest and greatest trends in painting, let us show you!
Call today for your consultation! (619) 586-5683