Exterior Paint Color-Can ya'll help me decide?
by
Linda
+1
Recently moved to SW Florida and purchased a fixer-upper stucco ranch. Almost done with the inside and now thinking about the exterior. We live in the country with loads of piney trees surrounding us so it's not your typical Florida looking home. I am having a difficult time deciding on a base color and trim color. I'm kind of drawn to the color blue. Husband is drawn to green. But, any harmonious colors really. I'm not sure about pastels. I think the sun would fade them out fast. I love coastal colors especially. Can ya'll help me decide?
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I love the idea of blue- a steel blue and a bergandy or navy. Good luck and go with your gut!
I live in SW Florida too. I also painted my own house, with help of my bf two years ago. There are alot of different house colors out there. Some look good, others not so much. I think deep, dark colors like burgundy and navy are much too heavy. The dark colors are the ones that will fade. Fade is not as noticeable in lighter colors. Always use high quality exterior paint, and do your cleaning and prep or you will be back out there in a couple years.
The shingles on your roof are a great place to start. You most likely do not plan on changing your roof color any time soon, so you can consider this a "fixed" element. If it is a brown or gray roof, note the undertones. Is it reddish? Greenish? Pinkish undertones? Find paint that will coordinate with the undertones. Two great websites to check out are by Maria Killam or Kylie M. Interiors. Google them and you will get a lot of info.
Also note the other houses on your street and the age of your house. My house is a stucco ranch built in the 1960's. It is pink. My next door neighbors house is built in the 1970s and is canary yellow ( with a gray metal roof). Next to theirs is a pale teal house. The new houses around here seem to all be beige. I think they would look silly in pastels, just as our houses would look sad and gloomy if they were beige.
I found inspiration by walking in the neighborhoods of old Naples, near the beach. You will see a wide variety of colors used in multi-million dollar homes and they all look good. I assume they consulted professionals, so it's a great place for inspiration.
I love the combo of grey, white trim, and dark roof (black).
But.....what you should do is drive around and find a house whose color you love. You want to be able to pull up to your house and every time, say something like "I'm glad we chose this color".
This is something I've been thinking about for my house also. I am leaning toward a blue-grey with cream trim. I saw a building painted these colors and it looked coastal and modern.