Exterior Colors As with interior painting, when exterior painting it is advisable to think in terms of sets of colors instead of single colors. However the process is often more difficult because houses are often built of several materials that have different textures, such as real wood siding combined with a rock base or a brick building with wood trim. If you wish to emphasize the difference in textures, paint each element some other color.
Seeing the Whole Picture When picking colors, note that two colors that could work well together as a siding and trim blend, may clash with the roof color or various other elements like the deck or landscaping. So when picking colors, remember to consider things you can't, or won't change, such as roofing material, the nearby landscape and plantings, any masonry work, and the color of your neighbors' houses.
Local By-Laws When deciding on a residence color, consider the neighborhood customs in your town. It is progressively common for towns and neighborhoods to insist upon some control over house colors. For example, in the holiday resort community of Hilton Head, SC, residents must choose outside colors from a limited palette of muted hues and even the stop signs have color limitations, whereas in metropolis of Charleston, there is a well-known area of pastel-colored homes called "Rainbow Row" where vibrant colors are welcome. Some designed communities can even fine you or make you repaint your home if you don't use one of the accepted paint colors.
Testing Different Color Layouts As with the inside color selection process, you could start deciding on color location without actually painting anything. Copy or sketch a line drawing of your house and then make several photocopies to try different layouts. Make use of a pencil or highlighter and shade different features and experiment with several high-lighting possibilities. Determine which features you would like to emphasize and which ones you want to hide. The goal here is to make a well balanced whole where no aspect seems to dominate. By "pre-painting" this way you will not only avoid any disappointments you'll be motivated to try some distinctive schemes before you pick up the paintbrush.
Some paint stores have computers that will "paint" your house for you directly on the screen. The better systems are equipped to scan a high-quality image of your house. Or you can offer a high image resolution digital image. Even if you cannot get a precise reproduction of your house, these programs will provide you with a sense of what sorts or combinations are pleasing and demonstrate some ideas of how you may paint.
Given that you have selected the colors for your home it is time to decide which colors should be assigned to specific architectural elements. Usually the siding is done in one color, but if there is ornamental molding above the first floor, a second color siding can be quite interesting. Casings around doors and windows should all be the same color or the home will appear too over done. If there are ornamental features in your trim and molding, two or more colors are fine if the style repeats on the whole house. Some Victorian homes can look well-balanced with six colors, so there is no firm rule.
One common fashion is to color the window sash and trim a color that is lighter than the body of the house. Shutters, if present, are usually painted darker than the house body. Naturally, fashions change. For example, at the turn of the century, gloss black was typically the most popular choice for the window sash. Nevertheless, you rarely see gloss dark paint today except on shutters.
Highlight ornate trim work, below left, with eye catching colors.
Here are a Couple Techniques for other Architectural Highlights:
Entry Create a dazzling effect by adding an accent color to this important element of your house. For example, a white house with a door colored a bright color, such as red or green, pulls attention to the entranceway making the entrance seem more welcoming.
Frieze A historically appropriate treatment for the frieze is to use both the trim and body colors. Allow the trim color to be the prominent one to make a clear difference from the top of the siding. Take care not to introduce way too many colors; you could wrap up with an effect that is way too busy.
Brackets (Corner) Brackets need to be regarded as part of the overall framework and should be painted so as to not appear they are "floating free" of the framework. Use the principle trim color. Avoid using too much color. Some painters add a leading edge of scarlet to these features.
Brackets (Sandwich) Sandwich brackets are a little different. Because they consist of more than one layer and are more technical than simple corner mounting brackets, it is more appropriate to utilize several colors. Paint the exterior parts to match the trim and frieze, and the center another color to show off your scroll work.
Support Post If you have simple rectangular wooden posts on the porch, you probably don't want to emphasize them with their own color. Color them to complement either the overall trim or body paint of your house. However, if your posts have special millwork, such as a chamfer on a square post or a band on the turned post, it is perfectly acceptable to point out these designs with a flourish.
Many people prefer to paint porch ceilings sky blue because they state the color mimics nature. White columns add a nice contrasting touch.
Railings The rails are essentially extensions of the posts. Therefore, they're usually decorated in the same color as the posts.
Verticle Railing Supports Try painting the balusters a lighter color than the rails. If the posts and rails have been treated in the main body color, try using the trim colors to make sure they stand out. Even though you have elaborately worked balusters, avoid too many colors to show your handiwork. Besides the timeframe that might be involved in detailing each baluster, the result will look too busy.
Floor and Ceilings Porches are painted certain colors not only for adornment, but as concerns of practicality. Light colored ceilings help maintain a feeling of airiness and brightness. Painting porch ceilings blue is a method that is used for centuries to suggest the sky over head. It is rumored to keep nesting insects, such as bees, from settling in. If the undersides of your porch roof rafters are uncovered, you might paint them by utilizing a combination of the body and trim colors. A dark floor is even more functional since it shows dirt and tracks less readily than a floor decorated in a lighter color.
Risers and Steps The risers of wooden steps are usually painted the trim color, while the treads carry a surface (porch or deck) to the ground and really should be painted in the same color. The handrail and balusters on the steps should be decorated to match the porch rail and baluster color scheme.
Cement Foundations Many houses have a ring of brick or concrete block below the siding. While it is fine to paint this band the same color as the siding, a darker color makes the house seem solidly planted and will hide dirt and mud. Basement windows are usually colored the same dark color to de-emphasize them.
A bright accent color, below left draws focus on this door.
Expert’s Tips: There are several online paint planning programs. Leading paint manufacturers such as Benjamin Moore (www.benjaminmoore.com), Valspar (www.valsparatlowes.com), Glidden (www.glidden.com), and Sherwin Williams (www.sherwin-williams.com) feature paint color planners online. Simply search "virtual paint color planner" on the web for a list.
A great way to take a look at how colors interact is to see them in fabrics. Fabrics are often designed by people who study color and also have worked with it for a long period. The microcosm of any couch and cushion combination in a favorite catalog may contain the color plan that can make your home look spectacular
Pre-made Color Plans Deciding on the specific colors in a multicolor scheme is just a little tricky. It is the reason that the vast majority of the major paint companies have created "combo cards" to help you to pick body, trim, and accent colors in a single step. These colors are also available in historic shades made to match the most widespread color schemes of certain periods. One nice feature of these cards is that the trim and accent color chips often overlap the body color, which helps demonstrate a far more realistic relationship.
Sound Quality Painting
824 90th Dr SE suite B
Lake Stevens WA 98258
(425) 512-7400
https://sites.google.com/1upserve.com/painter-lake-stevens
