The heat, this summer, has been tough on all of us—but it can be particularly tough on your house’s paint job. Sure, I know in the spring you may optimistically think you can hold off just one more year, but by now your house may have you singing a different tune. But do not despair, houses get painted all the way into deep fall if the conditions are right. And after this summer you would think they’d have to be.
So, you’ve committed to repainting your home, and you’re up for a change. Now what? A good place to start is to step back and assess your house as a whole. What are you trying to accomplish? In general, you want to highlight your home’s strengths and minimize its weaknesses. And yes, I know that doesn’t sound like rocket science, but sometimes it can be trickier than you think.
What are your house’s strengths? Does it have beautiful lines and you want it to stand out? Then lighter colors and a crisp white trim may be just what you need. Perhaps its strength is that it’s a beach house. Or a deck house from the 60’s. Or do you think your home’s strength is actually the way it nestles comfortably into its landscaped surrounding? Because if so, you may want to consider an earth tone with a low contrast trim, so the house doesn’t over-power the beauty around it.
And how about the weaknesses? It’s nothing personal, we all have our struggles. Some homes struggle with directional issues, like perhaps everyone uses the mudroom door when you want them to use the front. A pop of color can help you with that. Or your house may have a three-car garage that sort of dominates your curb appeal. Bright white on those doors is not the best choice here, but something darker might work. Or some homes are not blessed with nice details like wide trim around the windows and doors. Using a trim color that is closer to the main color can help de-emphasize that problem.
Which actually brings up an important point: windows. Many people have exterior window frames that they are not going to paint, typically because they are made of a no-maintenance vinyl or aluminum. But those windows still need to be recognized as a color, especially if the trim around the windows is not very wide. Because if you paint your thin trim one color and your vinyl windows represent another color, the whole thing starts looking sort of spindly and anemic. You can take a drive and see what I mean. An easy approach is to match the window frame color to the color of the trim. And if that throws off your whole vision, then make them at least friendly cousins.
You can tell already it’s a bit of a dance you’re having with all the pros and cons. In summary, I usually identify the main highlights of your home and then also its main challenges. And I figure out those two areas and let the rest of the house sort of follow along. I hope that makes some sense, because I don’t want to lose you before we’ve even had a chance to talk about color.
Almost every home uses at least two colors. But most use quite a few more. And I’m not talking about the “painted lady” Victorians, I’m talking about your standard home. The stars of the show are, of course, the main house color and the trim color. When you first start thinking about colors for your home, these are the two that you’ll be thinking about. But there are lots of other areas that may demand attention.
Take a walk around your house and note all the textural changes. You may notice your clapboard walls next to your cement foundation. Maybe you have shutters, or some paneling around a bay window, or some sweet shingles at the roof’s gable. There may be decking that needs new stain, or the ceiling of your farmer’s porch (which, if you are a true New Englander, you will paint it a robin’s egg blue.) And then there is the front door, which can be tucked away sedately by using something like a black or burgundy. But it’s also an opportunity to show your personality—so if that’s you, go have at it. It’s easy to change if you don’t like it.
The trick is to enjoy the freedom of using all the colors that you need… but making it look like you used just a few. To do this you must employ a little restraint. First of all, accent colors are accent colors and should be used very sparingly. And use them in intuitive locations so that it looks natural and is, honestly, sort of invisible to the casual viewer. And second of all, your colors should all work together like they are part of a family. When you lay out your swatches on a white piece of paper, they should look like good friends. I mean they will be hanging out next to each other for seven years, give or take, so they darn well better get along.
And now, finally, it’s time to pick your colors. But come to find out, there are, oh, about eleventy-seven-gazillion of them to choose from. So, narrow down your playing field. You can take lots of drives to identify houses you like, and even freak out the owners by knocking on their door and demanding paint names. Or you can also just ask your sister what she used on her exquisite home. Yes, you can flip through magazines and troll for pics online—but it’s really better to work with something more concrete than that. But you can google something like: “designers best house colors”, and you’ll get some curated lists that might get you pointed in the right direction.
And visit a paint store. Get a bunch of samples to take home and think about. Sometimes, high end “paint and decorating” stores will have a designer on staff that can help you. And if not, you can peruse the paint brochures. The paint companies are always offering suggestions for groups of colors and they present them in various brochures.
A couple words of practical advice, and we’ll be done. When you collect swatches from the paint store they usually come on a strip with more colors in the same family. Cut off the ones you are interested in so you are only looking at those. It gets so distracting if you don’t. Flat colors look best on house walls and satin on trim -- just trust me on that one. Think about how your paint colors will work in all the seasons. And be aware that paints fade over time -- so if you are on the fence… go with something a tiny bit darker. And my last remaining snippets of advice? Swatch, swatch and make sure you swatch. Get solid coverage with two or three coats and swatch in a place where you can also paint the trim right next to it too, so you can see how those colors are working together.
And there, we’ve done it! And you’ll know you’ve done a good job when strangers walk by and say, “What a beautiful home.” Because that’s what you want. You really don’t want anyone saying something like, “That’s an interesting color.” Because we both know that’s not really a compliment.
And trust me, I use the same barometer on myself when I’m getting dressed for a fancy soiree. If someone takes my coat and says, “Wow that is certainly a festive sweater.” I know it’s pretty much time to slink home. So please, learn from my mistakes, and also, remember to swatch.
Jen Coles is a professional home designer and mother of four who lives in Manchester. Colescoloranddesign.com
