Guest post today from Richard Wills and Dave Stuhlsatz, of Royal Barry Wills Associates, another of this architectural firm’s occasional essays on mid-century architecture, design and related issues. – Pam

Choosing colors can be an exhausting or exhilarating activity for a homeowner.  Few other decisions offer such a bewildering array of choices and have such a significant visual impact. Even for traditional homes, where you can use history as a guide, getting things to look right requires some experimentation—and several trips back to the paint store. No designer or architect can claim the final word on what the best choices may be, but we can share some of our experience on the subject. Heck yeah there is more →

Flickr friend Java1888 is just the best. He found a 1941 paint brochure — 60 pages long — from Sherwin-Williams, and has posted the whole thing on his flickr photostream. These kinds are guides are treasure troves of inspiration about how to decorate historic homes. Heck yeah there is more →

READER JSNUGBEAR adds his paint colors for a ranch house to our growing list of real-life reader stories. In addition, he has been a great reporter and taken lots of before, during, and after photos that show the transformation. Jsnugbear aka John also gets to show off his vintage cloth awnings, I am jealous. Above: A shot of the house, completed. And, do I spy with my little eye: Don Featherstone flamingoes to celebrate a major major item crossed off the “to do” list? Heck yeah there is more →

I‘VE ALWAYS ADMIRED THIS HOUSE three blocks or so from mine. The salmon-beige paint with the red brick looks terrific, I think. On Monday, I grabbed my camera, took a walk over, and knocked on the door in true retro recon style — to find out the brand and name of the paint. They were home and happy to respond to this unexpected request from a stranger. Of course, I live in a small town so we identified a mutual friend within seconds. Heck yeah there is more →

Here’s an inspiring story from readers – Samantha and Dave – who told beige to bite the dust and instead painted their Colorado bungalow / ranch a fabulous shade of Burma Jade — jadeite green — from the Sherwin-Williams Suburban Modern palette. A note on the brick detailing on this house. By the early 50s architects and builders were looking to create a “long and low” ranch house feel on designs of every ilk. Adding a half-wall trim like the brick that runs along the front of this house — and in some cases beyond, as in this house — accentuates the horizontal, even though this house appears to be pretty much a square box. A classic classic mid-century house design trick. Click thru for Samantha’s explanation of their journey. Heck yeah there is more →