Exterior Colors Much like interior painting, when exterior painting it is best to think in terms of sets of colors instead of solitary colors. But the activity is often more difficult because houses tend to be built of a number of materials that all have different textures, such as lumber siding combined with a stone foundation or a brick building with hardwood trim. If you wish to emphasize the difference in textures, paint each element some other color.
The Whole Picture When picking colors, note that two colors that may work well collectively as a siding and trim combo, may clash with the roofing color or some other elements including the deck or landscaping. So when picking colors, be sure you factor in things you can't, or won't change, such as the roof covering material, the close by ground coverings and plantings, any masonry work, and the color of your neighborhood friends' houses.
Local Covenants When choosing a house color, consider the neighborhood customs in your area. It is ever more common for towns and communities to insist upon some control over house colors. For example, in the resort community of Hilton Head, South Carolina, residents must choose outside colors from a restricted palette of muted colors and even the stop signs have color constraints, whereas in the town of Charleston, there's a well-known area of pastel-colored homes called "Rainbow Row" where vivid colors are welcome. Some designed communities may also fine you or force you to repaint your home unless you use one of the accepted paint colors.
Testing Different Color Strategies As with the interior color selection process, you can begin 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 schemes. Start using a pencil or highlighter and color your home’s features and test out several high-lighting options. Make a decision which features you want to emphasize and which ones you would like to hide. The goal here is to make a well balanced whole where no factor seems to dominate. By "pre-painting" in this manner you won't only avoid any disappointments you will be motivated to try some distinctive strategies before you pick up the paintbrush.
Some paint stores have computers that will "paint" your home for you directly on the computer screen. The better systems are prepared to scan a high-quality image of your home. Or you can provide a high quality digital image. Even if you are not able to get an exact reproduction of your property, these programs will provide you with a sense of what sorts or combinations are pleasing and demonstrate some ideas of how you may paint.
Now that you have selected the colors for your home it's time to decide which colors should be assigned to specific architectural elements. Generally the siding is done in a single color, but when there is ornamental molding above the first floor, a second color siding can be very interesting. Casings around windows and doors should all be the same color or the home will seem to be too over done. If there are decorative highlights in your trimming and molding, two or more colors are fine if the design 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 paint the window sash and trim a color that is lighter than the body of the home. Shutters, if present, are usually colored darker than the house body. Needless to say, fashions change. For example, at the turn of the century, gloss black was the most popular choice for the windows sash. Nevertheless, you seldom see gloss black paint today except on shutters.
Highlight ornate trim work, below left, with eye catching colors.
Below are a Few Techniques for other Architectural Highlights:
Entranceway Create a stunning effect by adding an highlight color to this important element of your home. For instance, a white house with a door decorated a bright color, such as red or green, pulls attention to the door making the entrance seem more appealing.
Frieze A historically appropriate treatment for the frieze is by using both the trim and body colors. Let the trim color to be the dominant one to make a clear differentiation from the top of the siding. Take care not to introduce too many colors; you can end up with an impact that is way too busy.
Corner Brackets Brackets need to be perceived as a component of the overall composition and should be painted in order to never appear that they are "floating free" of the structure. Use the basic 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 several layers and are more technical than simple corner brackets, it is more acceptable to utilize several colors. Paint the exterior parts to complement the trim and frieze, and the center another color to show off your scroll work.
Verticle Posts/Beams When you have simple rectangular wooden posts over a porch, you probably don't want to emphasize them with their own color. Paint them to complement either the entire trim or body coloring of your house. However, if your posts have special millwork, like a chamfer over a square post or a band over a turned post, it is perfectly acceptable to showcase these designs with a flourish.
Many people like to paint porch ceilings sky blue because they say the color mimics nature. White columns put in a nice contrasting touch.
Rails The rails are essentially extensions of the posts. Therefore, they're usually painted in the same color as the posts.
Verticle Railings Support Try painting the balusters a lighter color than the rails. When the posts and rails have been colored in the main body color, try using the trim colors to make sure they stand out. Even if you have elaborately worked balusters, don't use too many colors to show your handiwork. Besides the amount of time that might be involved in detailing each baluster, the effect will look too busy.
Ceilings and Floor Porches are painted certain colors not only for beautification, but as matters 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 overhead. It is rumored to keep nesting bugs, such as bees, from settling in. In the event the undersides of your porch roof rafters are uncovered, you might color them by utilizing a combination of the body and trim colors. A dark floor is even more practical since it shows dirt and grime and tracks less readily than a floor decorated 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 ground 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 design.
Concrete Foundations Many properties have a ring of brick or concrete block below the siding. Although it is fine to paint this band the same color as the siding, a darker color makes the home seem securely planted and can hide dirt and grime. Basement windows are generally painted the same dark color to de-emphasize them.
A bright accent color, below left draws focus on this door.
Professional Tips: There are lots of 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 take a look at how colors interact is to see them in fabrics. Fabrics are often designed by people who research color and 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 will make your home look spectacular
Pre-made Color Strategies Deciding on the specific colors in a multicolor plan 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 highlight colors in one step. These colors are also available in traditional shades made to match the most widespread color schemes of certain periods. One nice feature of the cards would be 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
