Colors for houses

[yarborough house]

So, here is a question- what color do you love houses painted?
Like what color always draws your attention and you say- wow I'd love my house that color?
Just wondering..

[Lisa S]

It's never just a color that attracts me, but colors that work together. We painted the lake house a dark brown with dark green trim and a red door ~ it's a perfect woodsy look. My friend has a great Cape Cod style house that she painted yellow with white trim and a red door... Maybe I like red doors!

[ChapterTwo]

I agree - the color that looks "right" on one style of house, in one location, might be all wrong for another home in another place. Last year I painted my current house brown with tan trim (flesh colored, actually). Now that I'm moving, I'm thinking of a smoky greenish/blue with white trim, shutters, railing for the new (to me) house.

I go with what I feel, and it really doesn't take me that long to decide.

[shabbychick]

For me it's yellow. I'd probably set up shop in an outhouse if you painted it yellow. I also like bright greens. My dream house will be bright yellow with a blue metal roof, white trim and shutters, and a green door.

[yarborough house]

Shabby that sounds like a nice but "fun" house. I also seem to stop and look twice at yellow houses. It must be the sunny disposition of them. We will be painting our house again within the next 2-3 years. The painting company that painted this for the last owners did a horrible job and I guess them being novices of home reno didn't realize they were being taken. So, some areas the paint is coming off...I am not sure what color I would paint it. I tend to lean in different areas there- gray, yellow, red, taupe, white...too much thinking. :)
I was just wondering what color tends to stop you in your tracks to look again? Mine probably is yellow.

[Heather]

Yellow is nice. I think red stops me in my tracks. I like grey - not the old 80's grey that Grandpa picked out but a deep, but light grey. Make sense? What colour are you leaning towards? I took pics of the front and back of my house and I used my Paint program on my 'puter to change the colour of the house and see what it would look like. I could do that for you, if you'd like!

[Lynzee]

I am always pulled toward the ones that are grey. The house we live in now is a bluish-greyish color with white trim. The "blue-grey" has faded in some places--almost as though it has been whitewashed. When we get ready to paint the exterior--you know, like if we ever finish the kitchen--I am hoping to match the original blue-grey color.

[Zuzu's Garden]

My house is bird's egg blue with white trim. I do slow down for butter-yellow houses.

:)
Zu

[cheapdiva]

oohhhh, do you all remember when I was blogging . . . I was always posting photos of yellow houses. And many of them had red doors. Just love that combo. But I agree, it really depends on where the house is located, the design of the house and what features should "pop".

[mac78]

I too like yellow houses, but it has to be a creamy soft yellow. There is a small ranch house down the street from me and the lady painted it yellow, only it is a sick bold yellow with lime green shutters. Very cottagy, to go along with her beautiful flowers. It looks nice, if you like those colors, but would look so much better tones down.

[Heather]

Hey you know what? Y'all say color and we say colour.

[yarborough house]

Yeah but what the heck are you saying y'all that is a southern term and dear you are no where near the south. :)

[Heather]

Oh I must be lost...

[chyna]

She's southern Canada. ;)

I'm partial to pink cottages but seem to be more attracted to creamy yellow also. Colors that don't recede into the background.

[amy4565]

Only single color can't be good. There should ba a nice color combination like light yellow and green border and dark brown doors. I think it is the best combination of color for a sweet home.

Holiday Cottages (http://cottage.reservations.co.uk/) Learn Holiday Cottages Scotland (http://cottage.reservations.co.uk/scotland.html)

[LindaLK]

Good Morning Ladies, :)

I love a multitude of colors. I dislike houses that are all one color. Boring! I agree that the color chosen has to fit the house. And the colors have to compliment one another. I also think accents are just as import as color. I love white fences, window boxes, shutters, arbors, bird houses, and lots of flowers in a yard. I think all of these tie in to the house, making it all say ``WOW!``

Enjoy the day!


Hugs,
Linda :)

[cheapdiva]

Okay - go check this out!!! LOVE these colors!
http://theoldpaintedcottage.com/pages/cotm.htm

Is that ooohhing and ahhing I hear?!:D

[Zuzu's Garden]

Yes! Those pics are from the blog I posted about a week or so ago. For more ooohhing and ahhing, you can visit her site directly here...

Chez Fifi (http://fabulousfifi.typepad.com/)

Oooo, ahhhh!
Zu

[LindaLK]

Good Afternoon Everyone, :)

Cheap Diva, I can not tell a lie. Some of the ``Ooohing and Ahhhing`` came from me. If it is at all possible to hear drooling, I am guilty for that as well. :D Thanks for sharing.

ZuZu, I missed this link that you had posted before. Thank you for reposting it. Now you both know what I will be reading today.

Does anyone know if those white hanging flowers are ``Trumpet Vines?`` I think that is what they are called? I wonder how they would do here in CT? I loved her garden and the picket fence.

Enjoy the day. It`s raining here again. :(


Hugs,
Linda :)

[chyna]

Single color houses, now you've done it. The old timers may or may not remember this but I've been eyeing a house down the block from me for years now. the whole thing is painted this charming color of battleship grey. Drives me nutty, mem is in charge of getting me out of the pokey when I snap and go down there and paint the trim on it. :D

[LindaLK]

Hi Chyna, :)

Well....they say ``two`s company.`` I would be happy to bring a paint brush along. We could go in disguise. I have two dark over coats and extra sun glasses we could use when we carry out the deed. Let me know. ;)

Do you think Memme has enough to bail out the two of us? Actually, the more I think about it. A day or two in the pokey wouldn`t be so bad. I want solitary confinement with no visitors. That`s one way to get a free vacation away from home. I could finally read my C&B in peace with out hubby and the kids pestering me. :D I prefer the orange jumpsuits to the striped ones. Stripes are not flattering to those of us with full~figures.

Enjoy the day!


Hugs,
Linda :)

[amy4565]

I like light yellow color very much. There should be combination of green color like walls should be light yellow and boarder should be green. I like to see my house like that.

Holiday Cottages (http://cottage.reservations.co.uk/) Learn Holiday Cottages Scotland (http://cottage.reservations.co.uk/scotland.html)

[ChapterTwo]

chyna...I DO remember that monotone house you mentioned! On my street, someone actually did the same thing; they put paper on the window glass, and sprayed the whole thing gray, a few years ago. YUCK! Thankfully, new owners came and painted it gold with white trim. Okay, that's kind of humdrum, but it sure does beat all graaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

[Heather]

Well Chyna and Linda count me in if you're get in some trouble!

[LindaLK]

Good Morning Everyone, :)

It sounds like a plan Heather. Glad to see another color enthusiast amongst us, and a brave one too!:D Make sure you bring your new issue of C&B with you, so if we do get hauled off to the pokey, we will have something great to read once we get there. I hope we all get to share a cell. Whoo~hooo! A girls get~a~way weekend. I wonder if the sheriff will let us decorate our cell? Hmmmmm.....

When the news media asks us why we did it? We can tell them that we are ``The Cottage & Bungalow Crime Fighters. It`s a crime seeing a beautiful house only one color.`` :D

Enjoy the day ladies!


Hugs,
Linda :)

[Heather]

Imagine what we could do to a jail cell!!!!!!

[LindaLK]

Good Morning Everyone, :)

Heather, the possibilities are endless. :D
Enjoy the day!


Hugs,
Linda :)

[Heather]

Oh no!!! I painted my well house the same as I'm painting the exterior of my house and now it's like the house that Chyna has down her street - all grey!!!! What in the heck should I do with it??? The only thing I can think of is paint the "roof" part darker, I can't plant anything around it because on one side the earth is quite soft (nice, eh?). Ladies?

[CohenCottage]

Maybe you could hang something on the sides that has some color? Like a barn star or old shutters? Or you could nail some trim pieces up to create the look of paneling and then paint the inset of the paneling a different color?

[vintage girl]

How tall is it? You could turn it into a little mini-house, using shutters as suggested and than putting windowboxes under the shutter and planting seasonal flowers in the windowboxes. A red roof and red shutters would look great. Or coordinate it with the colors of your home. You said your house is grey. What are your trim colors?

[CohenCottage]

If it's small, you could make it look like a dog house! Our neighbor's did that and the intention was to have it look like a replica of their house (tin roof and everything). It could have been cute, but they aren't very handy so it kind of looks like Snoopy's dog house.

[Heather]

Oh good ideas, thanks. I'm WM (without man) for just awhile longer so I was hoping I could do something to it myself.... if not I'll plan something for Himself to make!

On another note CC, I was curious about barn stars but didn't know what they were called until you wrote it. So cool, I want to make photo ones now and I think it will be my Christmas presents that I can make for everyone this year! So thanks for getting the ole' ball rollin'!

[CohenCottage]

Heather, I'm not sure that's what they are really called, but that's what I call them. There is a great one on a house near my office, and I will try to get a photo later this afternoon...

[yarborough house]

Okay Heather,

Paint the roof the darker grey then paint the trim boards the white like on your house. Once the white boards are dry then find a cute gardening saying and paint that on the white boards all the way around in black.

Then find a cool old window or even screen door and put them horizontally - long wise on the building and paint that black also..

does that help?

[CohenCottage]

That sounds great! I love the idea of using old windows or screen doors...

[chyna]

Perhaps the paint crime fighters will show up on your neighborhood. :D Hey to add insult to injury but the little house just across the street from the battleship house is also all grey. But it has been abandoned for more than a year now so I think we can pull a color addition off without getting harrassed by the "man". :cool: They did the same thing you mentioned about papering the windows and just spraying it but at least they started to paint the window trim white before they left in the night. :eek:

[vintage girl]

Heather,

Here is info on barn stars. I have them on my house. I have red shutters, but in places where I could not get the correct size shutters without special ordering them, I used large barn stars in place of shutters. The site also gives the history of barn stars:

http://www.the-artistic-garden.com/barn-star.html

[Heather]

Ok thank you gals for helping me. Jeesh, I couldn't believe that I had actually made a huge decorating mistake like that!! Well, nobody really "saw" it like that - hidiousley all one colour - I've painted it like Tammy suggested and this morning I'm going to scrounge the second hand shops here in town and see what I can find to nail to it. I'll post after pics so y'all don't think I'm a DD (decorating dilemma).

Now back on these barn stars - I'm very interested now and thank you VG for posting that link. I had no idea that they ment something. Now I'm thinking that the original ones were made in tin and well, hubby is a tin man!! Woo hoo! Thanks again gals!

[LindaLK]

Good Morning Ladies, :)

All of those suggestions to Heather would be great for her to use. I also have Barn Stars inside and outside of my house.

Chyna, do you think it was one of our ladies that did the spray painting in the middle of the night? (grin) It wasn`t me, but it could have been if I lived closer. ;) Two all battle ship grey houses on the same street? Oh the shame! Someone please hand me a paint brush. :)

Heather, the well house didn`t look bad at all being all grey. But once dressed up a little bit, it will shine. You can get the Barn Stars pretty much any where. Michaels, A.C. Moore, Christmas Tree Shops, etc.,. I have one with sayings on it about family. That one is my favorite. They come in all colors and styles. I have one with flowers and another with stars and stripes.

Have a great day!!


Hugs,
Linda :)

[Heather]

Oh Linda I'm up in Canada. We've got a Micheals but they didn't have them....

[RoseMary]

Heather, I think that Tender Heart Treasures (online) has had them recently. They are usually pretty reasonable on their prices. I don't know about the shipping to Canada, though~I know sometimes that runs a lot more:(.

[LindaLK]

Good Morning Vintage Girl, :)

Thank you for the link on ``Barn Stars.`` I knew they had a meaning, but until now, didn`t know what it was. What an interesting article.

Enjoy the day!


Hugs,
Linda :)

[chyna]

Shoot I was hoping we could sneak up to paint your shed. I could use a road trip and would love to visit Vancouver again. Now if you are on the island you can expect my Northern Yankee butt parked on your doorstep. :D

[Heather]

Oh for sure my C& B friend - there's ALWAYS room here!
There's wine in the cellar and food in the cupboard.
Vancouver a beautiful/hectic/wonderful place on but life is way more laid back here on the Island.
Just let me know when, I'm 10 minutes away from the ferry terminal.

[chyna]

Let me see here, air flights take approx 2hrs to Seattle, catch a ferry ..... I should be there by tonight. :D

[Heather]

You DID say you can paint, right?

[cheapdiva]

C & H -
You two are way too funny! Next time I'm in Seattle, I'll join you two!

[Gigi]

Anyone near the Eastern Shore? Or near Washington D.C.?

[LindaLK]

Hi Heather, :)

Sorry that Michael`s didn`t have them. Maybe one of the other stores in your area will??
Have a good night.


Hugs,
Linda :)

[cheapdiva]

Not me, Gigi . . . but I certainly could be convinced to visit! I do get to NYC every fall and hope to meet up with a few of the New York area gals when I'm out in October.

[chyna]

My painting skills are negotiable. :p I think I do a pretty good job but sure there are better. Hey I'm free, can't argue with free help. ;)