Kathy's Red Brick

Yesterday my friend Michelle and I ran the MORE magazine NYC half marathon.  A lot of friends knew I was doing a race this weekend and wondering if it was Boston.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the people at the Boston Marathon today.  We like to travel to different races and it is certainly a tragedy that is close to my heart.  I tear up every time I think about it. 

On a lighter note- on to Kathy's brick.

Hi Christine,

Here is a picture of the house.  It is about 15 years old and is one of the older homes in the neighborhood. Most are done with cedar shakes and stone and much more in the Craftsman style.  I feel that the house is fairly plain and the brick front portion really sticks out.  The brick is a more rusty red and is really very pretty looking out from the front door and is pretty brick - just needs something, architecturally.  What I was thinking is that I would paint the house SW 7507 - Stone Lion, possibly, and the trim SW 7506 Loggia.  I would like to do wider shutters (so they look like they would cover the windows when closed) in board and batten and use hinges and shutter dogs.  I was thinking about painting the shutters SW 7515 Homestead Brown.  I am somewhat confident about the above choices but after that am really stuck.

I have considered wrapping the columns on the front porch in a brown stained cedar to make them beefier to try to keep the porch from being dwarfed by the brick area and make it look more like one area.  Also considered adding a second column on each side to give more bulk but not sure what color to paint them to make them work.  I have also considered painting the brick but that would involve painting the brick on the lower part all the way around the house and painted brick will not look as good looking out the front door.  That is really my last choice if I can't figure out how to make it work, otherwise.  I want to change out the front door and sidelights in a wood door and also the garage door to a carriage house style but am not sure if it should be painted or stained.  We are also adding stone to our back patio with Oklahoma Fieldstone which matches a fireplace and is used quite often in our community.  I could replace the front steps with the same stone and make them go all the way across instead of just right in the step area.  The landscaping will all be changed pretty soon in the future.  The roof color is Weathered Wood.

As you can see, I have lots of ideas - maybe too many.  I would appreciate any help you could give me.

Thanks so much for considering my project.

Hi Kathy,

I like to maintain consistency in my neutrals when determining a color palette.  My concern with your ideas is that I am hearing about a lot of brown, and you have a charcoal roof.  I would not go in the brown direction with your roof, unless I am totally seeing it wrong, and it is dominantly brown.  

I don't see much room for enhancement in your columns.  I think you will run into the house if you try to make them larger, but if you do have room, larger would be nicer.  I also think that you might not have room to nicely add two more columns.  I think maybe you would need a wider space to pull that off. 

I like the idea of larger shutters and new garage doors and a front door; it will add a lot.  Remember consistency in your neutrals.  If you start with cool tones, stay with it, even in your wood stains.

I know you said that painting the brick is a last priority- but it is actually what will make the most difference.

In last month's Southern Living magazine, there is the perfect article for you.  There is a before and after of a lovely Georgian home, where the homeowner clearly was not loving the red brick.They did a lime wash on it, which, (get better instructions than these, please)- you take white paint, water it down and add sand and paint your brick.  (most likely sprayed)  You can keep your black shutters to tie in your roof and door, OR- go all lighter like the after photo below.  Either would really look nice in my opinion. 

This kind of subtlety and a talented landscape architect would make your home a showplace.  In your case, I would say that some significant landscaping would make an enourmouse difference in your curb appeal.  Watch out for the jealous neighbors. 

Thanks,

Christine

Don't forget the next webinar is tomorrow,  Tuesday, 1pm Pacific time.  It is on wall decor- everything wall decor from A to Z. 

Paint Colors for David

My wife and I are building our dream home and just began the color selection process.  We are building a craftsman style ranch home.  The front will combine stone, siding and vinyl shake.  We are leaning towards white trim with two shades of grey, one for the siding and one for the shake.  I came across this picture on your website and loved the color (earthy grey?).  Do you happen to know what the color is and what lighter shade of grey might look nice with it?

Thank you in advance,

David

 

I can't help you specifically with that one- But I can give you some ideas.

1.  Always always buy sample quarts.  Computer monitors and the human eye do not show paint the same.  Get some sample quarts.

2.  Here are some that might look similar:

Gateway gray SW 7644

Pavestone SW7642

Ethereal Mood SW7639

Fawn Brindle 7640

Intellectual Gray SW7045

Downing Stone SW 2821

When you get sample quarts, do not compare the samples right next to each other.  Let's say you are painting a room and you put three colors on the wall right by each other.  Each color looks differently when it is next to others.  If you are slecting between them and not selecting multiple colors to be used by each other, look at them far away from each other.  One paint might look more green next to another color, but not green at all if the first color is not around. 

3.  Use a good neutral and bright swiss coffee for your white.

4.  For your lighter gray, now, you DO want to select this one right next to the other paint selection, as their tones will play off of each other. 

Consider:

Jogging Path SW7638

Collonade Gray SW7641

Chelsea Gray SW2850

Roycroft Mist Gray SW 2844

All of the shades above are Sherwin Williams colors.

Enjoy your new home! 

Thanks,

Christine

 Sign up for this week's webinar, Color in Interior Design, here.

The Tim Burton Drive Through Portico

Christine,

We are in the final stages of buying this foreclosed, abandoned 7,000 amazing (money pit) home. I need some advice to liven up the exterior of the house (and bring the interior out of a bad episode of Cribs from the eighties).  But for now....  What would be your suggestions for the exterior siding color and accents around the windows to break up the brick.  The green house type thing on the side is the exterior to the indoor pool.

And I promise to send after photos!

Thank you!

Jennifer

Jennifer,

I just hate giving people advice that I know well and good, will cost a ton of money.  But c'est la vie.

Here are my thoughts:

1.  Find an amazing landscaper.  It looks like you have a lot to work with, and can make a big difference with the right plants and trees.

2.  (Here comes the expensive part)- Your drive through portico is the wrong scale for the home.  It looks like there are windows missing where there should be windows.  (I'm sure there's some good reason on the inside why they are not...)  The windows are too small for the home. 

3.  The area with the siding is my favorite.  The wood with the brick do nothing for each other.  I would paint it gray- (like the shade below) and then use the same color on the garage doors.  Can you frame out the windows in wood?  It would help to break up all that brick. 

4.  Add shutters- not too small- perhaps in black.  I like black and white with brick. 

Notice how much larger this portico is than yours?  It is about 50% of the house.  That's a lovely proportion.  Your turn in the architecutre doesn't even allow us to consider making it larger. 

They also look nicer when they are a single story.  Yours looks like a guy with awkwardly long legs.

Working with brick is so hard, can you change the entire facade and lower it to a single story drive through?  Somehow beef it up so it doesn't look like a skinny character from a Tim Burton film??

It would cost a lot of money.  You might very well spend everything you saved by purchasing a foreclosure.  So- add some black shutters, paint the siding gray, and landscape like a crazy person.  ;-) 

Anyone out there spend some time watching Curb Appeal and have some ideas for Jennifer that are less intrusive than mine?

Red or Not?

Hi Christine:

I really enjoy your blog and hope you can give me some advice on paint colors for my house.  I have read through your craftsman palette blogs and loved your suggestions, just wasn't sure how to apply them to my home. 

I would like to do a gray-green field color with a dark red (maybe SW Rookwood Red)  accent on the shutters and front door and an cream trim.  The shingles, posts and rails would continue with the same stain color.

I am afraid that the deep red might not look right on the stained shingles.  Am I even going in the right direction?  I appreciate your advice and suggestions!

Thank you!

Mary

Hi Mary,

It sounds great- except your one concern is a good one.  I don't like the idea of the red shutters on the stained shingles.  I don't think it will look good.  Look at this post where I discussed red walls with wood finish furnishings.  It is the same look.   If your shingles faded out to a gray- it might work better.  It is an easy fix though- just do your shutters in cream, like your trim.

Thanks,

Christine(photo from HGTV)

5 Guildlines in Selecting Exterior Paint Colors

Hi Christine,

I love your comments about house colors and think you could help us out. We just bought a house in Minneapolis that we plan to remodel. We want it to be a welcoming home that will look good in summer and also with snow. We prefer warmer colors, and want to choose something appropriate to the style, which we are calling Victorian Craftsman Transitional, built in 1913. The current colors are the opposite of historically appropriate. We are thinking of taking colors from the stonework. Any suggestions?

Bonnie

Hi Bonnie,

Let me tell you what I would do.

1.  Leave your wood shingles wood.  Do not paint them. You probably weren't even considering it, but I'll throw that out there just in case.  Unless there was something really wrong with wood shingles, I like keeping them wood.  I did kind of wonder what it would look like to cover them in a light gray wash...  but I don't know enough about that to give you good advice.  It might be a maintenance nightmare.  (Or it might be super pretty)

2.  Lower Contrast.  You have too high a contrast in your upper shingle portion, and lower stucco portion.  Your trim color is what brings the two halves together, but with such a high contrast, I feel like it's hard to come up with a good trim option that is really great on both sections.  Paint your lower portion darker to have less contrast with your shake shingles.  I feel like stucco should be a neutral color.  Green and blue stucco seems so wrong to me.  I would consider a shade like SW 7504 Sherwin Williams Keystone Gray as the field color on the stucco, and then a lighter trim like SW7506 Loggia. 

3.  When the trim is not heavy, use only one color.  You should use a single color on your trim instead of two colors.  Doing this  looks beefier, more substantial, less frail, when it is all one color.  I personally like a white or off white trim next to the shake, like in this Alan Mascord home below:

4.  I would replace the front door.  The front door is the focal point of most architecture, and yours is weak.  I would stain it the same color as the shingles, or paint it a darker color, like the door below.  Maybe 7505 Manor House.  A new front door not only looks great- but it also feels great as you hold it, and open it.  It really is the first impression of a home.

(Doors by Decora)

5.  Always use sample quarts, I really can't select specific paints without being there.  Your wood seems to have cool undertones to it, and I went with that, but try several different shades, especially on the lower portion- also try 7508 Tavern Taupe 7513 Sanderling. A lighter trim color option would be 7517 China Doll.  You want the paint to blend well with both the stone and the shingles.