What color to paint my porch.

Penny Hughes
by Penny Hughes
My little lake cottage is tan,with a brunt orange (reddish) medal roof and white trim. I want to re-paint this little porch. Any ideas would be appetited. Thank you
Some plants are coming up to cover the gray at the bottom,but what color for the porch?
  37 answers
  • Tanya Peterson Felsheim Tanya Peterson Felsheim on May 10, 2014
    You are wanting to paint the floor and steps or also the handrails? I like the handrails in the white, is there a reason you don't want white on the floor? also could use a 3rd color that matches or are you looking to keep the wood showing? I think I would not paint the lattice possibly...
    • Penny Hughes Penny Hughes on May 10, 2014
      Hi Tanya, I would love to have the whole porch white, when it rains here the mud is terrible! So I was thinking maybe where you walk go for a shade of gray?
  • Linda J Linda J on May 10, 2014
    A medium to deep brown would look great, imo. Something to contrast the light siding. All white would look fine too, just not as interesting. Looks like a lovely place to relax. Good luck!
  • Michele Eures Michele Eures on May 10, 2014
    I would stick with either the brown or white for the porch, but I see a brighter color (maybe turquoise?) on those flower boxes. How cute would that be?!
  • Penny Hughes Penny Hughes on May 10, 2014
    Thanks Michele
  • Donna Byram Donna Byram on May 10, 2014
    I think a reddish brown would look cute on your porch. I like Michele's suggestion of a brighter color on the flower boxes, maybe even a red.
  • Colleen Colleen on May 10, 2014
    If the floor gets muddy and slippery, try a light textured surface. I too like the white rails and spindles to match the trim of the house. As for the flower boxes, Try matching the color of the roof. What ever you do keep us posted.
  • Lavende Lavende on May 11, 2014
    I agree with Linda and Michelle to stay with browns. I'd suggest taking a look at the paint strip at the store closest to your current color - then pick the color 2 or 3 shades darker on the same paint strip.
  • Sandra T Sandra T on May 11, 2014
    I think a dark gray would look good. Brown would be good too are a rust orange
  • Nancy Gramm Nancy Gramm on May 11, 2014
    I'm in agreement on the reddish-brown, though I'd go more with a rusty color to play off the roof. And I so agree with turquoise for the window boxes. When looking at your color scheme, I was reminded of a mid-century needlepoint I saw yesterday. Now, bear with me here: it's got the yellow and rusty red of your main components and it throws in turquoise, blue, purple, orange and sage (it being, as I said, mid-century). Which says to me that you can pretty much choose any color that appeals to you. https://img0.etsystatic.com/000/0/5215267/il_570xN.288044314.jpg Good luck and, as has already been said, please show us how it looks when done. It's a darling little cottage!
  • Sharon Carson Dunham Sharon Carson Dunham on May 11, 2014
    I would definitely bring the color of the roof down to the window boxes and maybe to the stairs and porch floor. Then I'd plant some evergreen bushes at the foundation...or as one person pointed out, a turquoise on the window boxes for a punch of color..
  • Bethar Bethar on May 11, 2014
    I'm thinking a deep green.
  • Carolle Carolle on May 11, 2014
    I would stick with white to match the windows, door & porch trim. You can accent with other colors.
  • 163130 163130 on May 11, 2014
    Took the liberty of doing a little photo editing to show you what your porch would look like with the porch the same color as the roof with the other suggestions of turquoise flower boxes. Hope this helps as it is so hard to picture this kind of thing in your mind.
    • See 4 previous
    • 163130 163130 on May 12, 2014
      @Bethar My comment is farther down the page I forgot to use the reply button, oops!
  • Karin From B'ham Karin From B'ham on May 11, 2014
    I just love that people share their photo-editing skills on these posts-makes it so easy to visualize! What great suggestions!
  • Gra315534 Gra315534 on May 11, 2014
    Dark green
  • Marie Worley Marie Worley on May 11, 2014
    match your roof color
  • Amy Ogden-Paparone Amy Ogden-Paparone on May 11, 2014
    I would paint the whole porch white, and then take colors from the surrounding area and add color that way thru planters a bench things like that. I'd even paint the foundation white also.
  • Connie Carroll Connie Carroll on May 11, 2014
    The first thing I would do is to paint the foundation a slightly darker gold than the body of the house. This takes away the "pedestal" feeling and makes the house appear much larger. Easily done with a flat acrylic exterior paint. You will be stunned at the change. Then I actually like the white because it matches your trim. Flowers...window boxes... Add the pop of cooler you are craving.
    • Bernice H Bernice H on May 11, 2014
      @Connie Carroll I didn't think of that, but you are right! It would look bigger too.
  • Tracey T Tracey T on May 11, 2014
    I love your home!!
  • Esther Carr Esther Carr on May 11, 2014
    I have a sunshine yellow brand-new home but my roof is a dark color. My trim is white. My suggestion might be to paint the porch perhaps a very dark green and the front door either a burgundy or red -- all in matte or same finish as the yellow. I had the interior decorator's help on this one.
  • Penny Hughes Penny Hughes on May 11, 2014
    Thank you Tracy
  • Brenda Webster Brenda Webster on May 11, 2014
    Cute little house! I would paint the porch and window trim burnt orange to match the roof, paint the door turquoise and plant some dwarf flowering shrubs to hide the foundation. Hope you post a picture when you are finished with your project.
  • 163130 163130 on May 11, 2014
    Your very welcome I love playing with stuff like this and sharing! Now here is Connie Carroll's suggestion. Not sure if I got the color she had in mind but played with it a bit so you could get an idea of what she was thinking.
  • Tina Yoder Tina Yoder on May 11, 2014
    your best bet is red wood stain!last longer then paint and will match the roof.
    • See 1 previous
    • Tina Yoder Tina Yoder on May 12, 2014
      @KAT it shouldnt take that long to do it just get some stripper&electric sander.
  • 163130 163130 on May 12, 2014
    Bethar13...That is the best part of all. I use GIMP which is a free download and taught myself to use it. It is alot like photoshop but free. Just beware it takes a fair amount of space on your computer but I love it! If I am just doing some real basic photo cropping, image sizing and organizing photos I use FastStone Image Viewer 4.8 which is also a free download. Hope that helps!
    • Bethar Bethar on May 12, 2014
      @KAT Thanks for the info. I will give it a try we have several projects we are working on. Will be a big help. I had a program at one time that would allow me to add color, textures and plants. Does not work with Windows 7 and it was not free.
  • Dee Dee on May 12, 2014
    If you want the paint to last and to protect the porch from Mold and Mildew( in Florida) I live in Cassia so I know about Florida porches and the weather.. purchase some Rustoleum Marine wood pain in the brick red to match you roof, I can guarantee you will never have to paint that porch again
  • Shari Veater Shari Veater on May 12, 2014
    I agree with Connie, paint the foundation...it really sticks out.....then tackle the porch with a crisp white....lots of flowering plants out front and you will have the cutest cottage!!
  • Lynda Nichols Lynda Nichols on May 12, 2014
    I saw a house like this recently, only it had a blue roof. They had the porch, shutters, trim, painted the same bright blue as the roof and it looked charming...It turned the house into a darling little cottage!
  • Lynda Nichols Lynda Nichols on May 12, 2014
    I think you want the porch and everything to match....Not stick out with an unrelated color. I agree with the idea of the plants. That will really warm up this house!
  • Thej Thej on May 12, 2014
    Your cottage colors look GREAT just the way it is!!! The plants around the foundation will cover up the gray and the gray will fade into the background and you won't even notice it. Plant ever-blooming perennials to keep your upkeep down and give you more time to enjoy!
  • Mary Mary on May 12, 2014
    How fun to have a lake house! It seems the porch is asking to be elongated across the exterior of the house. That solves the bold foundation problem.And give sitting space for nice evening relaxation. Plants, absolutely. I guess you probably have inclement weather at the lake in the winter? So the plants would need to be hardy or in pots to be taken in for the winter.Colored pots would be fun. I just put some in my garden and it really is a great addition.In the back, all my pots are ceramic blue. I did add some apple green too.
  • Penny Hughes Penny Hughes on May 12, 2014
    Thank you Dee,but this house is in NY,how do you think that paint would hold up to the snow ?
    • See 1 previous
    • Penny Hughes Penny Hughes on Jul 11, 2014
      What do you think now Connie..
  • Deb Deb on May 12, 2014
    I'd paint the foundation and the floor of the deck black. I'd leave the white trim white. For a punch of color, I'd use it on the window boxes and on planters at the base of the steps. That way you can change the color very easily for variety. I'd plant red flowers or plantings to tie in the roof.
  • C Valentino C Valentino on Jun 04, 2014
    I live in zone 5 of Central NY. There are many flowering & primarily green perennials to choose from even if you live with high deer population. For accent plants, I have Hollies, one prince & one princess variety so they pollinate & have tiny red berries mid summer into fall. Hostas are good for this area & can be thinned out every couple of years. Good for exchanging plants with neighbors. For perennial flowers, I have Dianthus, Rhododendron, Daylillies,(also can be thinned every couple of years) that bloom beautifully every year. Minimal maintenance is required.
  • Penny Hughes Penny Hughes on Jul 01, 2014
    This is what it looks like now! Thank you everyone for your wonderful ideas.
    • Karin From B'ham Karin From B'ham on Jul 02, 2014
      @Penny Hughes Great job! The finished look just invites you to come on in. Enjoy your lovely cottage!!
  • Tina Yoder Tina Yoder on Jul 02, 2014
    very nice looks inviting.
  • Jeff C. Keane Jeff C. Keane on Aug 18, 2015
    Excellent choice, Ms. Penny!! Porch DOES look brand new!!