A Craftsman Palette Part III

Hi Christine,

 

I recently found your blog and LOVED it.  You have great taste, give sound advice and sound so likeable!

 

I live in the Berkeley, CA area in a craftsman-type home and am about to embark on a paint job.  I love the grey-greens and want to do a monochromatic look with darker trim and lighter body.  Please advise on possible color combinations.

 

Chat Room is mentioned a lot in your blog on craftsman color choices but it feels very grey to me.

 

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

- Melissa

Hi Melissa,

You are not so far from me- I drive past Berkeley every time I go to the design center.  It is a beautiful area. 

First of all, you need to select at least three colors,

1.  You need one color that is the "field color."  You put this color on the shake siding.  DO NOT use this color anywhere else.  Except the garage doors- your garage trim should be trim color- and doors should be the field color. 

2.  A second color will be used on the trim, lattice shade, eaves, everything else.  If you wanted to break this into more colors- this trim could be broken up.  I am saying to overall use a MINIMUM of three colors.

3.  A third color will be used on the front door.  The trim around the door should be the trim color, not the door color. The door is the focal point of the exterior of a home with your architecture.  (Not the case with all architecture.  Frank Lloyd Wright tried to practically hide the front door of a home.)  The journey your eye should take should start with the front door.  Your landscaping and paint colors can helop to facilitate this.  Look at the Victorian home below- this is a perfect example.  (Also a great example of your green on green palette, with the same black windows that you have.)

Grayish greens would be beautiful on your property.  Please send me an "after" picture.  Here are some good ones to try:  (all Sherwin Williams)

body: 7543 Avenue Tan, with trim: 7544 Fenland

body: 7533 Khaki Shade, with trim: 7535 Sandy Ridge

body: 7738 Cargo Pants, with Trim: 7739 Herbal Wash- or use Herbal Wash as the body, and 7740 Messenger Bag as the trim.

Go get some sample quarts and play with them.  You can combine these colors above to make your own combinations as well.  I have them in combinations that would be more similar to each other, but for more contrast, mix and match.

For your door, I would use a shade of red like 7598 Sierra Redwood, or 7701 Cavern Clay, or you could do black.  What would look really great with your greenish grays are some new wood doors.  They would be an instant update for your home.

A fresh paint job COMBINED with new wood doors at your entry, and on your garage, and your house would look amazing.

Then again, if you'd like to spend a LOT of money- and who doesn't- you could get wood windows too- like the house on the show Numbers:

Look at that- do they have the trim color the same as the field color?  It doesn't have to be drastically darker or lighter- but it should be different.  Kiefer Sutherland really should call me in for some consulting- wait,  he's in Touch- huh?

Good luck with your paint job!  

For my previous posts on Craftsman Color palletes, see here and here.

A Craftsman Pallete Part II

 Hi Christine,

I ran across your blog and I was wondering if you might be interested in weighing in on possible color choices for our 1912 craftsman. As you can see from the attached photos, the 'before' colors are absolutely appalling. I just want to make it clear that we didn't choose them, it's the previous owner's fault!

One of my main struggles is that the previous owner also replaced a lot of our windows with vinyl, so we are stuck with keeping white for the 'inner' trim on the windows. A lot of the most attractive paint jobs I've seen on craftsmans often use a darker shade of the main siding color on that inner trim, with a contrasting color on the outer trim around the windows, knee braces, and fascia. But that's not really an option. :(

Another thing to note is that we are having the shingles replaced with a more traditional 5" lap horizontal siding, sort of like what you can see on our neighbor's house in one of the pictures, but not quite as narrow.

Clearly any colors we choose will be a vast improvement, but colors aren't really my strong point. I'm partial to grey-greens, while my husband leans towards the grey-blues, but the only color I'd rule out entirely is yellow...any brilliant ideas for us?

Thanks!
Jess

I hope everyone read that, and knows that Jess DID NOT SELECT these horrible colors.  ;-) 

What a great opportunity you have to transform your home!  I want you to consider a few things.

1.  A traditional Craftsman pallet.

2.  Blend with your white windows as to not draw attention to them.

3.  Make sure you paint the home correctly- having different colors where you should have differennt colors, etc.

First of all, I will discuss the traditional Craftsman pallet.  The Craftsman movement, also known as Arts and Crafts, started in England in the mid 1800's by William Morris.  The whole idea of it was an attitude of rejecting modern machinery, and a return to handcrafted ideals.  The architecture is simple and unadorned.  And so, when you are painting a Craftsman home, I would use subdued, natural colors.  Shades of browns, grays, and greens would be very appropriate.  Pink and blue- not so much.  ;-)  Not that blue is a bad color, actually, but it should be very grayed, not pure in color. Stay away from bright colors. 

Secondly, let's address your white windows.  The key here is to have them blend in, not stand out.  That is made possible with a low contrast trim color, in other words, light, close to white colors on the window trim.  (off white is fine- don't think you have to match...)

 

Last, but not at all least, make sure you paint the home correctly.  I addressed this in this post a few weeks ago.  Since I already addressed it, instead of going over it again, I will give you a little test.  See how you do.  (Peak at the other post if you want to cheat).  What is wrong with this green home below?

Answer:  The columns should not be the same color as the field of the house.

OK- how about this house, how is it painted incorrectly?

Answer: The eaves are painted the color of the body of the home.  This is fun huh?

How about the yellow home?

Answer: The horizontal siding is painted the same color as the shingle portion.  Keep in mind- I am not saying that they need to be totally different colors- even a subtle color difference is a great idea.  (Ideally, or course, the shingle portion would be stained.)

Did you want some specifics?  Ok- I will go ahead and give you a plan that goes with your husband's idea- since I just posted a green one last time.  I like this one:

 Sherwin Williams Paints:

Body- 6205 Comfort Gray

Trim: - 7008 Alabaster

Door: - 2802 Rookwood Red

OK- are you all experts now?  Go outside, look at your home, and see if you should make some changes with the next paint job.  What do you think?  Does anyone agree with me?  Does anyone think I am way too picky with all of my little painting rules?  Can you tell the difference between the homes that I said were painted correctly, and those that were not?  What do you think?

A Craftsman Pallete

Hi Christine,

I'm so glad I found your blog! I love your advice about using subtle greens and am leaning towards SW6171 Chatroom or SW6150 Universal Khaki like you mentioned on one of your blogs. Can you please let me know if you think those colors will be OK with this house? I'm concerned that it won't look good with the Austin stone.

 

Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Mia

Hi Mia,

From my computer monitor, I would say that either color you mentioned will look good with your stone.  Your main challenge will be finding the right color of off white trim that blends really nicely with the stone.  Perhaps something like wool skein 6148  (never take my work for it- get sample quarts- computer monitors are not reliable enough!)

Chatroom is going to be more colorful, (but still subtle enough that it is a very tasteful way to go), whereas, Universal Khaki, although it has a lot of green in it will come out more neutral.  Again, neither is better than the other, just a difference of opinion.  Get sample quarts of both, put some on the house, and see what you think.  Do not put the samples right next to one another, unless you are considering using them both.  The Chatroom will make the Universal Khaki look more beige than it is. 

I found this home below online, and they gave the colors used.  I thought it was a very nice combination.

(photo from Certal Painters)

7507 Stone Lion- Lower stucco (from the horizontal trim down) and brick

7036 Accessible Beige- All other stucco and siding

7002 Downy- All trim, eaves, and top of brick

7647 Crushed Ice- Porch ceiling

7643 Pussywillow- Porch floor

6362 Tigereye- Front Door

Comparing, I found that Stone Lion is just a touch darker than Universal Khaki.  Very very similar to what you are considering.  My advice- use more than two colors.  Even if they are subtle differences, it looks SO MUCH nicer.  Where you have the horizontal line, with the shake siding above...  the shake siding should be a different color than the horizontal siding.  The broken pediment over your porch should not be the same color as the field paint either.  The horizontal line is also painted the trim color- not the field color.  Don't have ANY tirm painted the field color- EVER! Trim gives a house it's character. 

Sometimes people are tempted to keep it simple, or inexpensive, but it really is a world of difference to have a more appropriately complete color combination.  The photo below used wood shake, but use it as a guide to see where you would change your paint colors. Use at least 4 colors.

1.  Trim- look at the white on the photo below.

2.  Shake siding

3.  Horizontal siding

4.  Door

(photo from For the Nest)

Check out the home below, where they took a single color too far:

The home above needs at least two more colors-one for trim and one for shake siding.  It honestly makes me sad to see such a beautifully classic home painted so incorrectly. (Am I the only one sad...  are any of you about to cry out there?)  Well, I can't end my post on such a downer- so I'll show you one more good example:

I say a minimum, and above is an example of how you could use two different colors for your trim.

These guidelines for painting the exterior of a home are not just for Craftsman homes.  If anyone else has a similar project with any questions- just send me your photos.  I love telling people what to do.  ;-)

Too Much Negative Space

Hi Christine,

I came across your blog and would love your opinion on something. The first attached picture is the living room of a house we just bought. I am told the woodwork around the windows is of very nice quality and is admittedly in really good shape. However, its not my style. I am more of a white molding type of girl. My aesthetic is black furniture, white couches and punches of color with rugs, pillows, accessories, etc. Do you think painting the moldings white would be a terrible idea? I am also kinda in love with the black moldings I’m seeing popping up more and more in interior design but think that may be a bit too risky since much of our anchor furniture will be black. Any other general suggestions for the room? The furniture is not mine (current owners) by the way and we are starting from scratch with furnishing so any suggestions are most welcome! The baseboards are white- and the window casings are wood. I think your purse already doesn't match your shoes- so go ahead and change your shoes. Translation: paint your trim. Your window trim should always be the same as the baseboards. The furniture arrangement is hideous- but I really need a floorplan to help you with that specifically- but I will say that the focal point is the TV- and yet the majority of the furniture does not face it. (I know this is all the previous owner- I just don't want you to make the same mistakes.) The rug is floating in the middle of nowhere- leaving a huge negative space in the center of the room. See this post on negative space. If you had your furniture drawn on a floorplan- and then made a shape showing the area without furniture- that is the negative space- if it is a big area- that's not good. Pull in the furniture- bring it around the TV better- consider an arrangement like the sofa and two chairs that I gave to this reader. Or perhaps have two sofas perpendicualr to the TV with a large square ottoman between them.
My second question is about the second picture – it is the dining room which is open to the living room in the first picture (notice the same black leather chair in each picture to get the general layout). Do you think we need to paint both rooms the same color since they are so connected as one space or can we do something different with the dining room? I am also a huge fan of wainscoting and always dreamed of a molding happy formal dining room but I don’t think I can add that in this space since it's so connected to the living room. Thoughts?

If you add wainscoting- it should be the same color as the trim. This is a good reason to not paint your trim black- as black wainscoting would be way too dark in a small place like this. You need a huge house to pull that off. Like in the movie Ghosts of Girlfriends Past- keep in mind that house was a huge mansion. These two rooms share a wall- and therefore a color pallet. Does it have to be all one color of paint- no- but it needs to coordinate seamlessly. Right now there is one green wall- and yet that wall is not especially great in any way. I think it would look better to do more than one wall in a second color if you choose to use one.

Thanks much!
Amy

If you choose to add wainscoting- be consistent in style with the craftsman trim you have- whether it is painted or not. Below are a couple of examples of craftsman wainscoting.

You have a beautiful house- great floors- good trim size- it will look fabulous!

Thanks for writing in!

Christine

Curb Appeal for Sarah in Maine

Hi Christine,

I just found your blog today in my search for portico/porch ideas. My husband and I have a new home and need some curb appeal. The best picture I have is after a snowstorm, but I do have some flower gardens started under it. I love Craftsman architecture and especially like a modern twist to it. Our house is a colonial but the "ugly" side faces the street because of sun exposure in the rooms, etc. Because we have a deck on the side and daylight basement with lots of lawn in the back we wouldn't use a large front porch, plus it would be in the way of plowing. I'm thinking a portico that will shelter the entrance, large enough for a family of four to fit on, provide wide steps and somehow fill the space above the door and to the right where there are no windows due to our master bath being there. I was thinking some window boxes and maybe even a trellis type strip going across between the upper and lower windows may dress things up. We clearly have white trim and currently have a pressure-treated deck on the side that we need to stain for protection. I'm also wondering what we'll do about wood-tones and white trim that will make sense. For example, if I did add wood trellis, window boxes, portico columns etc I don't want to repaint them white every year. (We live in Maine.) Our family room patio door opens to the side deck and I would prefer that the railings fade into the trees rather than stand out against the view. You might also notice we don't have an attached garage and at some point we'll be adding a garage, although there is currently no great plan to attach it. I don't want to build a portico and then have to tear it down for a garage. (We are fine with having a detached garage.) We need some vision so I can commit already to a plan!

Thanks,

Sarah
I have five ideas for you:

1. breezeway
2. porch
3. shutters
4. stone
5. larger front door

First of all- I would use a breezeway to connect your future garage from your home. They not only give you shelter- but also add charm and character.

Secondly- do you see the large mass of no windows or anything on your house? I would want your portico to be large enough to cover a lot of that- and visually minimize it. I would take your porch area all the way to the right- as there is no architectural interest over there at all. This will not be a large porch- but large enough to help your house work better visually- and you can perhaps fit a bistro table and two chairs.

Third- shutters. The photo second from the bottom of the post has some shutters- I thought even giving your picture some shutters with my sharpie marker made a big difference. Use a style consistent with your new Craftsman detailing.

Fourth- Stone. I would use some stone at the base of the columns. Notice that in every picture in the post there is stone at the base of the columns. It really adds a richness. Notice the home at the very bottom of the post only has stone at the base of the columns- not on the rest of the house- this would be the case with your place- as you can see- it looks great.

Fifth- a larger door. Your door is screaming, "I am not a front door, I am just a back door!" Take it out and frame in a larger Craftsman style front door- like I added at the top of the post.

You don't have to use white- although I do see how it is the most obvious selection- Introduce a practical wood- so long as you repeat the same material on the shutters and the portico- and then later on the breezeway- and garage- it will look great.

Just for balance I added another window in your house- I have no idea what that does to your interior. :) I hope spring has sprung- that is a heck of a lot of snow!

Cheers from sunny California!

Christine