Exterior Colors As with interior painting, when exterior painting it is best to think in terms of sets of colors instead of solitary colors. However the task is often more difficult because houses are often built of a variety of materials that all have different textures, such as solid wood siding paired with a rock foundation or a brick building with timber trim. If you wish to emphasize the difference in textures, paint each element another color.
Seeing the Big Picture When picking colors, remember that two colors that could work well together as a siding and trim blend, may clash with the roof color or various other elements such as the deck or landscaping. So when picking colors, be sure you factor in things you can't, or won't change, such as roofing material, the close by landscaping and plantings, any masonry work, and the color of your neighbors' houses.
Local Customs When choosing a house color, consider the local customs in your area. It is significantly common for towns and neighborhoods to insist upon some control over house colors. For example, in the holiday resort community of Hilton Head, South Carolina, residents must choose external surfaces colors from a limited palette of muted colors and even the stop signs have color limitations, whereas in metropolis of Charleston, there's a well-known region of pastel-colored homes called "Rainbow Row" where striking colors are welcome. Some designed communities can even fine you or make you repaint your home unless you use one of the accepted paint colors.
Trying Different Color Schemes As with the interior color selection process, you can start deciding on color position without actually painting anything. Copy or sketch an outline drawing of your house and then make several photocopies to try different layouts. Make use of a pencil or highlighter and color your home’s features and test out several high-lighting choices. Make a decision which features you want to emphasize and which ones you want 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 encouraged to try some distinctive strategies before you pick up the paintbrush.
Some paint stores have computers that will "paint" your house for you right on the computer screen. The better systems are prepared to scan a high-quality image of your home. Or you can provide a high resolution digital image. Even if you cannot get an exact reproduction of your property, these programs will give you a feeling 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. Generally the siding is done in one color, but when there is ornamental molding above the first floor, a second color siding can be quite interesting. Casings around windows and doors should all be the same color or the house will seem too over done. If there are decorative features in your trim and molding, several colors are fine if the style repeats on the whole house. Some Victorian homes can look healthy with six colors, so there is absolutely no firm rule.
One common fashion is to color the window sash and trim a color that is lighter than the body of the structure. Shutters, if present, are usually decorated darker than the house body. Certainly, fashions change. For instance, at the turn of the century, gloss black was the most popular choice for the window sash. But you seldom see gloss dark paint today except on shutters.
Highlight ornate trim work, below left, with eye catching colors.
Following are Few Techniques for other Architectural Highlights:
Entranceway Create a striking effect with the addition of an highlight color to this important element of your house. For example, a white home with a door decorated a bright color, such as red or green, draws attention to the entranceway making the access 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 draw a clear differentiation from the top of the siding. Take care not to introduce too many colors; you could finish up with an impact that is too busy.
Brackets (Corner) Brackets need to be perceived as a component of the overall structure and really should be painted so as to never 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 a little different. Because they consist of several layers and are more technical than simple corner mounting brackets, it is more satisfactory to work with several colors. Paint the exterior items to complement the trim and frieze, and the center another color showing off your scroll work.
Support Post When you have simple rectangular wooden posts on the porch, you almost certainly don't want to emphasize them with their own color. Paint them to complement either the entire trim or body paint of your house. However, if your posts have special millwork, such as a chamfer on the square post or a ring over a turned post, it is quite acceptable to showcase these decorations 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.
Railings The rails are essentially extensions of the posts. Therefore, they are usually colored in the same color as the posts.
Verticle Railings Support Try painting the balusters a lighter color than the rails. In the event the posts and rails have been treated in the primary body color, try using the trim colors to make sure they stand out. Even if you have elaborately worked balusters, avoid way too many colors to show your handiwork. Aside from the timeframe that might be involved in detailing each baluster, the effect will look busy.
Ceiling and Floors Porches are painted certain colors not only for decoration, but as matters of practicality. Light colored ceilings help maintain a feeling of airiness and brightness. Painting porch ceilings blue is a method that has been used for centuries to suggest the sky overhead. It is rumored to keep nesting insects, such as hornets, from settling in. When the undersides of your porch ceiling rafters are open, you might paint them by using a combination of the body and trim colors. A dark floor is even more functional because it shows mud and tracks less readily than a floor colored in a lighter color.
Step and Riser The risers of wooden steps are normally painted the trim color, while the treads carry a surface (porch or deck) to the ground and 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.
Masonry Foundations Many residences have a band of brick or concrete blocks below the siding. While it is fine to have this band the same color as the siding, a darker color makes the home seem securely planted and will hide dirt. Basement windows are usually decorated the same dark color to de-emphasize them.
A bright accent color, below left draws focus on this door.
Advanced 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 terrific way to take a look at how colors work together is to see them in fabrics. Fabrics are often designed by people who study color and also have worked with it for a long time. The microcosm of a couch and pillow combination in a popular catalog may contain the color plan that can make your home look spectacular
Pre-made Color Layouts Deciding on the precise colors in a multicolor design is 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 highlight colors in a single step. These colors are also available in traditional shades designed to match the most common color schemes of certain periods. One nice feature of these cards would be 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
