Exterior Colors As with interior painting, when exterior painting it is best to think in terms of groups of colors instead of single colors. However the process is often more difficult because houses tend to be built of a variety of materials that have different textures, such as hardwood siding matched with a rock foundation or a brick building with real wood trim. If you wish to emphasize the difference in textures, paint each element an alternative color.
Seeing the Whole Picture When picking colors, remember that two colors which could work well jointly as a siding and trim mixture, 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 landscaping and plantings, any masonry work, and the color of your friends and neighbors' houses.
Local Customs When deciding on a house color, consider the local customs in your area. It is progressively common for cities and neighborhoods to insist on some control over house colors. For instance, in the resort community of Hilton Head, SC, residents must choose external surfaces colors from a limited palette of muted tones and even the stop signs have color constraints, whereas in the city of Charleston, there's a well-known region of pastel-colored residences called "Rainbow Row" where striking colors are welcome. Some planned communities may also fine you or force you to repaint your home unless you use one of the accepted paint colors.
Trying Different Color Schemes As with the inside color selection process, you can begin deciding on color positioning without actually painting anything. Copy or sketch a line drawing of your house and then make several photocopies to try different layouts. Employ a pencil or highlighter and shade your home’s features and test out several high-lighting alternatives. Decide which features you would like to emphasize and those you want to hide. The goal here is to create a well balanced whole where no element seems to dominate. By "pre-painting" this way you won't only avoid any disappointments you will be encouraged 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 computer screen. The better systems are outfitted to scan a high-quality picture of your house. Or you can provide a high resolution digital image. Even though you cannot get an exact reproduction of your property, these programs will give you a feeling of what types or combinations are pleasing and demonstrate some ideas of how you might paint.
Now 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 painted in a single color, but if there is ornamental molding above the first floor, another color siding can be very interesting. Casings around doors and windows should all be the same color or the house will appear too busy. If there are ornamental features in your trim and molding, several colors are fine if the design repeats on the whole house. Some Victorian homes can look well-balanced with six colors, so there is absolutely no firm rule.
One common fashion is to paint the window sash and trim a color that is lighter than the body of the house. Shutters, if present, are usually colored darker than the home body. Certainly, fashions change. For instance, at the turn of the century, gloss black was typically the most popular choice for the home window sash. But you rarely see gloss dark-colored paint today except on shutters.
Highlight ornate trimming, below left, with eye catching colors.
Following are Few Tips for other Architectural Highlights:
Front Entry Way Create a dazzling effect by adding an highlight color to this important element of your home. For example, a white home with a door decorated a bright color, such as red or green, draws attention to the door making the entry seem more appealing.
Frieze A historically appropriate treatment for the frieze is by using both the trim and body colors. Allow the trim color to be the prominent one to mark a clear distinction from the top of the siding. Take care not to introduce way too many colors; you may wrap up with an effect that is way too busy.
Brackets Brackets need to be perceived as a component of the overall structure and really should be painted so as to not appear that they are "floating free" of the composition. Use the basic trim color. Avoid using too much color. Some painters add a leading edge of scarlet to these features.
Sandwich Brackets Sandwich brackets are just a little different. Because they contain several layers and are more complex than simple corner mounting brackets, it is more appropriate to work with several colors. Paint the exterior items to match the trim and frieze, and the center another color showing off your scroll work.
Support Post When you have simple rectangular wooden posts over a porch, you probably don't want to emphasize them with their own color. Color them to match either the entire trim or body paint of your structure. However, if your posts have special millwork, like a chamfer over a square post or a band over a turned post, it is quite acceptable to point out these adornments with a flourish.
Many people like to paint porch ceilings sky blue because they say the color mimics nature. White columns add a nice contrasting touch.
Rails The rails are essentially extensions of the posts. Therefore, they are usually decorated in the same color as the posts.
Verticle Railings Support Try painting the balusters a lighter color than the rails. In case the posts and rails have been colored in the primary body color, try to use the trim colors to make them stand out. Even if you have elaborately worked balusters, avoid too many colors to demonstrate your handiwork. Besides the amount of time that would be involved in detailing each baluster, the result will look busy.
Floor and Ceilings Porches are painted certain colors not only for decoration, but as concerns of practicality. Light colored ceilings help maintain a sense of airiness and brightness. Painting porch ceilings blue is a technique that is used for centuries to suggest the sky over head. It is rumored to keep nesting bugs, such as bees, from settling in. In case the undersides of your porch ceiling rafters are uncovered, you might paint them by utilizing a combination of the body and trim colors. A dark floor is even more functional because it shows mud and tracks less readily when compared to a floor painted in a lighter color.
Riser and Step The risers of wooden steps are normally painted the trim color, as the treads carry a surface (porch or deck) to the bottom and really should be painted in the same color. The handrail and balusters on the steps should be colored to complement the porch rail and baluster color scheme.
Concrete Foundations Many residences have a ring of brick or concrete blocks below the siding. Although it is fine to paint this band the same color as the siding, a darker color makes the house seem firmly planted and will hide dirt and mud. Basement windows are generally decorated the same dark color to de-emphasize them.
A bright accent color, below left draws attention to 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 Internet for a list.
A terrific way to check out how colors interact is to see them in fabrics. Fabrics are often designed by people who study color and have worked with it for a long period. The microcosm of any couch and pillow combination in a favorite catalog may contain the color plan that will make your home look spectacular
Prefab Color Plans Deciding on the specific colors in a multicolor design is just a little tricky. It is the reason that almost all of the major paint companies have created "combo cards" to help you to pick body, trim, and accent colors in one step. These colors are also available in historic shades designed to match the most prevalent color schemes of certain periods. One nice feature of the cards is that the trim and highlight 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
