Reader Allison is excited to jazz up the front of the 1967 house she moved into last summer. She’s not afraid to give the house a bold new look, but isn’t sure exactly where to begin when choosing a new color scheme for her exterior. She need to take into consideration” (1) the coloring of the brick, (2) the prominence of the garage, which sits below grade, and (3) the fact that she plans to simplify the landscaping, which will open up the facade further. She has asked for our ideas to add new life to her blank-slate beige exterior.
We bought this great 1967 Seattle house last summer, and will need to paint it this summer. Pretty much anything goes, though the color of the brickwork accent on the lower front part of the house should be considered.
The photo of the entire front of the house shows mature plantings, many of them topiary, but these will go away when we get to landscaping the yard with low-maintenance native plants. My SO also has asked that I not pick anything too dark, as he is a firm believer that dark paints fade in the sun no matter what type of paint is used. We’re not afraid to do something bold, as long as it’s not so crazy that the neighbors hate us.
Readers — what colors would you recommend for Allison’s exterior?
Kate’s solution: Green dream
My first thought when looking at Allison’s house was: This house needs color. I’ve seen countless homeowners in my neighborhood make the same mistake as the former owner of Allison’s house — painting a house’s siding the same color beige as the brick. This kind of monochromatic paint treatment neutralizes a home’s character, making it feel blah. Since Allison’s brick reads as a versatile light beige, it works well with a large variety of shades.
To narrow it down to one, I looked at Sherwin Williams Suburban Modern paint palettes, which features some fabulous color combination ideas for mid century homes. I chose the Burma Jade color grouping for Allison’s house because the light beige color was very similar to her brick and the green really brightens up her siding while contrasting nicely with the brick foundation. Using white for the trim helps accentuate the interesting roofline and makes the front door feel clean and inviting. Using the beige color for the garage door helps to visually ground the house by repeating the color of the brick at the base of the house. Beige is also used on the front door accent squares, which repeat the square shape from the garage doors.
To finish off this look, I’d add some vintage mid century cursive address numbers from Etsy seller MintyKeennear the front door or above the garage door. If vintage can’t be found, she can have new ones made, like this Home Address Lettering from Etsy seller ModernHomeIdeas, or possibly even find some at a local hardware store. If Allison’s mailman doesn’t mind doing stairs, Allison could get a retro house mount mailbox like this atomic starburst mailbox from Etsy seller EleanorMeriwether to mount near the front door. Allison mentioned that she will be taking out some of the overgrown shrubs and planting new, low maintenance plants this spring. I’d advise adding a touch more color and interest with one nice planter, like this Iris Speckled Planter from West Elm near the curve in her sidewalk. Planting the pot with some cheerful, bright red geraniums will bump up the curb appeal and add even more emphasis to the home’s entry.
Pam’s Harmony House light oak exterior paint idea
Idea #1, above: I know you said “not too dark” and maybe this is. So, consider it a general “idea”. I was originally thinking “caramel”, but in looking at vintage paint palettes found this “Light oak” in a Sears Harmony House brochure from my collection. When Kate sampled it into her photoshop (we do this “live” together via google hangouts), I liked the way it looked. Again, though, you could go lighter — more like coffee with lots of cream. Caffe latte. Over on our Facebook page, a commenter called this “Mocha”. You’re in Seattle, golly, they make their own palette of “Barista Marrones.” That’s Italian for “brown”. As in Chestnut. Haha, now I am having too much fun, I am surely annoying you.
Honestly, you could use many colors with that brickwork as a start. Except maybe stuff that’s too yellow. We tried harvest gold for the paint color, and we did not like the look.
As you can see from the mockup, I also thought it might be fun to continue the raised wood door decoration — the squares — onto the garage door. I would use real wood just like the door (don’t paint it on.) Kate and I tried the square-in-a-squares in a variety of ways. I liked the Charlie Brown stripe (my term, hehe) the best. If you go with this idea, there definitely will be a not too many, not too few, just right solution, I think.
In addition, I asked Kate to beef up the window trim to see how that would like. I like it. But of course, adding more trim around the windows will involve more dough re mi than just paint, and I don’t know how much you are up for that.
Finally, I don’t think that the current bullet light near the front door is doing much for the facade. It’s too small, and I think any light needs to move closer to the doorway. How about something more atomic, like the vintage porch light I found on etsy from ChromeTiki. Note, the mockup makes the fixture look brown — but it should be wrought iron black (like the mailbox) for pop. Note, with the mailbox and the lettering and decor decor, a decorative light might be one thing too many up there. Layer/edit all these elements/ideas carefully for best effect.
Pam’s Get-yee-an-architect to carefully redesign the facade
Idea #2, above: I do not like this rendering — it is not right — but I show it to convey the thought that: That big front section with the garage seems, to me, to be ripe for some architectural exploitation. I suspect the original treatment — all clapboards for two stories — was common in your neighborhood, the choice of the “merchant builder” who built all the houses. If you want to add more dimension… more architectural interest… especially given that long tall front gable set up and the planes and angles (if those are the right words) of the house already in place… I think the answer is to get with a good architect or other such professional to work up some ideas. Back in the day, it was quite common to use different facing materials, often painted out with different colors, to give unique personality to similar “little boxes” all built in a row. For example: Horizontal clapboards on most of the house — vertical board and battens in strategic places — with masonry half-walls and such also carefully designed in. Those three facings combined — in particular — very common.
In this vein in general, I thought of the book, Rob Keil’s Little Boxes: The Architecture Of A Classic Midcentury Suburb *affiliate link. It’s features a number of little houses with different kinds of facade treatments and incorporating levels and garages on the bottom like a split level house. Now, this book is about Westlake Village in suburban San Francisco, and most all the houses shown have wacky mod rooflines. But if you can dish out the dough for the book — which is now out of print and has become pricey — I sure like eyeballing the ideas. If you don’t want to spend the money, check out vintage house plan catalogs. The designers and illustrators of vintage marketing materials like these worked hard to make their houses pretty, and their illustrations can contain lots and lots of great curb appeal ideas straight from the years the houses were conceived.
Good luck, Allison — thank you for submitting your Retro Design Dilemma — and send us photos when you decide a course of action and finish up with your new paint job!
Melissa L. says
The iconic colors of the 60s are Harvest Gold and Avocado. I think either one would look lovely on the siding of this house. The avocado might work better with the light brick. I’d use a darker avocado on the trim. With Harvest Gold I’d probably use either white or cream on the trim. The garage door is a conundrum and I think I’d have to see photoshops of the various options to see what works best.
About the landscaping. I don’t think it’s terrible, but seems to be crowded/overgrown. Landscapers often overplant, both because it looks good immediately and because they can charge more. You might considering removing some of the plants first and see what it looks like thinned out. I’d personally probably go for a less formal look, but that is entirely my own preference.
lynne says
In Seattle? I’d go for a sunny pale yellow or a creamy buttery gold.
Sara says
My first thought is go dark! But then I read that your SO doesn’t want to go dark. However, with our frequent gray days up here in Western WA, I think fading would take years! 🙂 I’m thinking olive or avocado green with charcoal trim, or perhaps the opposite — a darker gray with olive green trim. I think these color palettes would look good with the brick, and you could always jazz it up a bit with a brighter accent color on the front door. I personally like the dramatic effect of darker colors, although your house is very cute and will look great no matter what colors you choose!
Janet in CT says
I totally agree with Lynda about driving around and looking at houses. My sister and I did that when she painted her house because the samples don’t give you the overall look. People were more than happy to tell us the company and color of their paint. I do the same when looking for a roof – you need to see it to tell if you like it. Is the front wall by the shrubbery a different color brick? I can’t see enough of it to tell for sure. One of my high school friends lived in a very similar split level with the brick and it was painted a pale apricot color and I loved it. You could use a darker coral color for the trim. That color is a very late sixties color too.
lynda says
How about driving around your neighborhood (or other neighborhoods with split levels) for inspiration? You can also do a Google search for house colors on split level homes. I think a pale sage green with beige trim and a beige garage door would look good. A dulled red color door would look nice with the green. I think a huge problem is the over grown landscaping. It is really making the house look unbalanced. The overgrown bushes hide the entrance to the house. It is a very nice looking house and has a lot of curb appeal potential!
ChrisH says
No advice on specific colors because that’s really up to you. You’re smart to pick something you think looks good with the brick.
I’d paint the eaves at the roof line a darker shade of the body color, or a darker contrasting color. A darker color on the eves will make the front of the house look longer and lower. It doesn’t have to be very very dark, just noticeably darker than the body color.
The front door I would do in some contrasting color that goes well with the main color. Make the door “pop” with a splash of color.
The garage door is a special problem. One option, if you feel like learning new skills is to “grain” the door. IOWs, make it look like it’s made of wood by painting grain lines on it. You can do it fee-hand, but you have to be good, otherwise it looks cartoon like. Or you can get one of those rubber graining tools – I’ve seen people get pretty good results with those. I’d probably go with a mahogany look if I were going to go that route. You might do the garage door and entry door both in a mahogany grain.
Another option for the garage door is to paint it body color, as you have it now. On the plus side, body color minimizes the garage door as a detail in itself. On the minus side, it gives that part of the house a massive look.
Roundhouse Sarah says
Considering the warmth of the brick, I’m seeing the siding in a warm golden yellow tone. Then the trim could be emerald, teal, cobalt, aubergine, or barn red. Whichever color you like best essentially.
Roundhouse Sarah says
Still thinking of the perfect colors… But I wanted to say this, please jazz up the garage door. I’m seeing the raised grid painted the same as the trim color then every other square given an interior square to mimic the look of the front door pattern. It would be awesome.
Robin, NV says
I agree with Sarah – whatever colors Allison chooses, the garage door should played up to mimic the front door. I also agree with Andrew regarding the window trim. But if Allison doesn’t want to mess with the siding, maybe she could try shutters to give the windows a little pazazz (they could be painted to match the door and garage door).
Personally, I’m liking the idea of a nice pea green for the body of the house. Something like Sherwin Williams’ Plymouth green. How about a two tone color scheme with the top 2/3 of the house cream and the bottom 1/3 in green (perhaps at the same visual line as the brick).
Robin, NV says
I also think cream and orange would look smashing on this house (in the two tone color scheme I mentioned above). Having lived in Seattle, I agree with others that a bright color is the way to go.
Kkmk says
I agree with your idea to consider the brick when choosing paint. I am wondering about painting the garage a color that “reads” like the brick color. I think it could make the overall design look more balanced, especially if your landscaping plans exposes even more brick than you can currently see from the street.
Daniel Bryant says
If money isn’t a huge constraint (like it is with me) I might consider replacing the siding altogether. It may not even be the original siding on the house. Maybe something more vertically oriented, or possibly even a square pattern of some type?
If it’s just paint, I would definitely consider a pale blue with a dash of green in it, I guess seafoam is the name for it. It would definitely add colour to a house which isn’t meeting it’s potential like it should, without being too gaudy.
Jenny says
I agree! Seafoam would be a better green than the minty one Kate selected. (Nothing personal, Kate!) A blue-grey might look nice with that peachy brick, too.
Olive green looks great with that shade of brick too, but I realize olive is not everyone’s cup of tea.