Choosing Exterior Paint Colors
May 4, 2015
With the dramatic structural changes we had planned for the house, we knew some new paint colors would be in order for both the additional materials we were adding in and also for the old, dingy, off-white brick.
Choosing exterior paint colors is kind of scary. Much scarier than picking a wall color. Painting brick is like serious business. It’s expensive, it’s a lot of work, and there’s no going back.
I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but our architect had a helpful program that allowed him to plug in whatever colors I wanted (from Sherwin Williams) and it would give us a rough idea of what it would look like all together.
First, we were adding some hardy board panelling, some wood siding, and possibly some board and batten. We also needed to choose a color for the brick. I headed to Sherwin Williams and selected colors.
I went toward grey tones. I knew the wood front door would warm things up a lot, and I wanted wood garage doors. We also planned to add some wood siding to the front, replacing the nasty old wood siding that was there before.
Here’s what the mock-ups looked like:
I liked where this one was heading, but wasn’t sure I liked the hardy paneling darker than the brick. I also thought we could try adding more contrast on the back additions, which led us to mock-up #2:
I was liking this one more with the darker contrast on the back. What do you think?
I liked the blue tones, but Jon wasn’t digging the, as much. So, we headed more in this direction with the last mock-up:
We both agreed we liked the look of the front the most in this one, with switching the colors of the hardy and the brick. I think the hardy almost has a cement color to it, which I really like. But, Jon and I both didn’t like the brown in back at all.
So, what was our final decision? Stay tuned….
Which mock-up is your favorite?
Also, wondering how in the world to paint brick? That’s coming soon!
Leave a Reply
back to top
@jenniferstagg
shop
We're a full-service design firm and home furnishings shop built around the philosophy that a well-designed home should be beautiful, personal, cohesive, and complete. We think home is the most important place on the planet and when you live in a home that is perfectly you, it changes your life. Don't believe us? Stick around. We're confident we'll change your mind.
hello there!
Follow Along
@jenniferstagg
Hey, let's be friends
Exclusive projects, discounts, and extra goodies all in your inbox. And don’t worry- your email is for our eyes only.
I agree that painting the exterior of your home is much more scary than painting something like a kitchen wall. This program looks like it was extremely helpful. Sometimes what I see in my mind, compared to what it really looks like are completely different. Having a mock up is good. Thanks for sharing.
[…] add some new siding materials with hardy board and board and batten. I’ve already shown you the color schemes we were considering and today I’m sharing my method for how to paint […]
I love the paint color .. We have a dark brown roof… Is your roof black.
Thank you! Yes, our roof is black.