Exterior Painting - Color and Details Matter

When you're painting the outside of your house, one of the decisions to make is what to accent and what to hide. It's a decision every bit as important as choosing the right colors to flatter the permanent elements in the house, such as the roof or stonework. Here's a look at one of our projects that will show you what I mean.

On the right you see a house where just about everything had been accented.The list includes all, and I do mean all, the banding boards, the shingles in the peaks of the garage, the garage doors, the downspouts and many small details. Instead of looking unified and harmonious, the house appears to be an assemblage of bits and pieces, not only because of all the accenting, but also because of the high contrast between the dark gray wall color and the white trim.

Here's the house after Roger painted it a medium taupe and accenting was limited to the door and window casings, certain secondary doors and the fascias. He also painted the foundation, the deck posts and the lattice under the front porch in the wall color so they would like more like part of the structure, and less like distracting (or overlooked) details.

In the entryway every banding board originally was accented, as were the mounting boards for the light fixtures and the tiny strips of molding in the corners between the sections of wall, detracting from the beauty of the porch and front door.

When Roger painted the house, he made all these details "disappear" by painting them in the wall color. In addition he refinished the front door, the bead board ceiling and the porch.








Along with the peaks in the gables, the large garage doors were originally painted white. They dominated the area and unfortunately were the first things that greeted visitors. The front door is down a path to the right.

Today the garage doors, peaks, banding boards and downspouts are painted the wall color. An arbor has been added at the beginning of the path to welcome visitors and direct them to the front door. It's the first step in renovating the landscaping in this area, with more planting to come.




As you can see, choosing attractive colors is just the first step. Equally important is making the correct decisions about what to accent and what to hide so that the result flatters the architecture of the house and looks cohesive . When you hire us to paint the exterior of your house, a color consultation and recommendations about how to treat the details are a free part of our service.

Working together, Roger and I made a significant difference in the curb appeal and value of this house, and we can do the same for yours. To schedule an estimate, call me at 828-685-0560.