Exterior Colors Much like interior painting, when exterior painting it is advisable to think in terms of sets of colors instead of solitary colors. But the activity is often more complicated because houses are often built of a variety of materials that all have different textures, such as wood siding combined with a natural stone base or a brick building with timber trim. If you want to emphasize the difference in textures, paint each element another color.
Understanding the Whole Picture When picking colors, note that two colors which could work well jointly as a siding and trim combination, may clash with the roofing color or some other elements like the deck or landscaping. So when picking colors, remember to factor in things you can't, or won't change, such as roofing material, the close by ground coverings and plantings, any masonry work, and the color of your neighborhood friends' houses.
Local Covenants When deciding on a residence color, consider the neighborhood customs in your town. It is progressively more common for towns and communities to insist upon some control over house colors. For example, in the vacation resort community of Hilton Head, South Carolina, residents must choose outside colors from a limited palette of muted hues and even the stop signs have color limitations, whereas in the city of Charleston, there's a well-known area of pastel-colored homes called "Rainbow Row" where vibrant colors are welcome. Some designed communities can even fine you or force you to repaint your home if you don't use one of the accepted paint colors.
Testing Different Color Plans As with the inside color selection process, you can begin deciding on color positioning without actually painting anything. Trace or sketch an outline drawing of your home and then make several photocopies to try different plans. Employ a pencil or highlighter and color different features and test out several high-lighting possibilities. Make a decision which features you would like to emphasize and which ones you want to hide. The goal here is to make a well balanced whole where no factor appears to dominate. By "pre-painting" this way 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 house for you right on the computer screen. The better systems are prepared to scan a high-quality image of your house. Or you can offer a high resolution digital image. Even if you are not able to get a precise 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's time to decide which colors should be assigned to specific architectural elements. Generally the siding is done in a single color, but if there is ornamental molding above the first floor, another color siding can be very interesting. Casings around windows and doors should all be the same color or the home will seem too over done. If there are ornamental highlights in your trim and molding, two or more colors are fine if the design repeats on the whole structure. Some Victorian homes can look well-balanced with six colors, so there is absolutely no firm rule.
One common fashion is to paint the window sash and trim a color that is lighter than the body of the house. Shutters, if present, are usually painted darker than the home body. Needless to say, fashions change. For instance, at the turn of the century, gloss black was typically the most popular choice for the window sash. But you seldom see gloss dark-colored paint today except on shutters.
Highlight ornate trim work, below left, with eye catching colors.
Following are Few Tips for other Architectural Highlights:
Entry Create a stunning effect with the addition of an highlight color to this important element of your house. For instance, a white house with a door decorated a bright color, such as red or green, pulls attention to the entranceway making the access seem more welcoming.
Frieze A historically appropriate treatment for the frieze is to use both the trim and body colors. Allow the trim color to be the dominant one to make a clear difference from the top of the siding. Be careful not to introduce way too many colors; you can wrap up with an impact that is way too busy.
Corner Brackets Brackets have to be regarded as part of the overall composition and should be painted so as to not 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 just a little different. Because they consist of more than one layer and are more technical than simple corner mounting brackets, it is more suitable to use several colors. Paint the exterior portions to complement the trim and frieze, and the center another color to show off your scroll work.
Verticle Beams/Posts 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 coloring of your house. However, if your posts have special millwork, like a chamfer on a square post or a band on the turned post, it is quite acceptable to point out these adornments with a flourish.
Many people like to paint porch ceilings sky blue because they state 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 decorated in the same color as the posts.
Balusters Try painting the balusters a lighter color than the rails. In case the posts and rails have been colored in the main body color, try to use the trim colors to make them stand out. Even if you have elaborately worked balusters, don't use way too many colors to show your handiwork. Aside from the timeframe that would be involved in detailing each baluster, the effect will look too busy.
Ceiling and Floors Porches are painted certain colors not only for decoration, but as concerns of practicality. Light colored ceilings help maintain a sense of airiness and brightness. Painting porch ceilings blue is a method that is used for years and years to suggest the sky overhead. It is rumored to keep nesting bugs, such as hornets, from settling in. In case the undersides of your porch ceiling rafters are uncovered, you might color them by using a combination of the body and trim colors. A dark floor is even more sensible because it shows dirt and tracks less readily when compared to a floor decorated in a lighter color.
Step and Riser The risers of wooden steps are normally painted the trim color, as the treads carry a surface (porch or deck) to the bottom 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 residences have a ring of brick or concrete blocks below the siding. Although it is fine to paint this band the same color as the siding, a darker color makes the home seem firmly planted and will hide dirt and grime. Basement windows are usually colored the same dark color to de-emphasize them.
A bright accent color, below left draws focus on this door.
Advanced 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 great way to check out how colors work together is to see them in fabrics. Fabrics are often designed by people who study color and have worked with it for a long period. The microcosm of any couch and cushion combination in a popular catalog may contain the color scheme that will make your home look spectacular
Pre-made Color Strategies Deciding on the specific colors in a multicolor design is a little tricky. It's 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 a single step. These colors are also available in historical shades made to match the most prevalent color schemes of certain periods. One nice feature of the 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
