Help me choose exterior house paint colors!

[smiles33]

We decided it's time to re-paint, especially since several neighbors have done so recently and it really makes a big difference.

This is the current color scheme: off-white with dark red/burgundy shutters (which complement the Spanish tile roof). There is also a random gray stone pillar on the left side on the way to the front door (it seems to fade into the background right now).

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2478/3547178041_ae06d1511d.jpg?v=0

DH hates the red, even though I think it complements the roof color well. He's leaning towards a gray/gray blue scheme, maybe similar to this:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3540/3547178227_db31e32473.jpg?v=0

However, with our red roof, won't that look funny?

Many of the homes in our neighborhood have more earth-tone colors, like this one:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2461/3547986948_282b7dd577.jpg?v=0

I just don't think it "pops" very well. The one existing color scheme I like in our neighborhood was already chosen twice in our court (by both families who recently re-painted!) so I'm avoiding it. It's a darker beige/brown color with a high contrast white trim but it complements a different house model without the shutters.

I like this color scheme, but am not sure if I would use the dark brown color for our shutters:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3409/3547178261_94c7862898.jpg?v=0

Any input? Other color ideas? TIA!

[WatchingThemGrow]

We just repainted the exterior of our house in the last two weeks and I love the colors! Tell me how you inserted actual pictures and I'll show you what we used and the other "samples" we have. I can't get my pics to attach or upload.

[jayali]

How about the last option with red as the accent? It would match the roof, which I think you are keeping and would solve the brown issue.

[smiles33]

WatchingThemGrow: you have to upload your photos to a photo-hosting site like Flickr (they offer free accounts). Then, once uploaded there, right-click on the photo to copy image location. Then come back here and when posting a new message (in the advanced options screen, not quick reply), click on the insert photo icon (yellow rectangle w/mountain 5th from right in the second row above the message box. PAste the link there and voila! Looking forward to seeing your pics!

jayali: my DH has an irrational hatred of red (he's a 4th generation Cal Berkeley grad and very anti-Stanford), so red it completely out. Frankly, I almost thought he wasn't going to agree to buy this house 3 years ago.... If he had his way, he'd paint the house blue. Yeah, he's a little weird.

[jayali]

How about gray (like a steel gray) with a deeper/lighter gray for the trim and black shutters. I think the roof is what is giving me concern for green or blue.

[LBW]

Do you need to keep the shutters?

I'd lose them and go with the last scheme you posted, or something similar. I got rid of the shutters on our house a few years ago when we resided, and I love the way it looks now.

[smiles33]

How about gray (like a steel gray) with a deeper/lighter gray for the trim and black shutters. I think the roof is what is giving me concern for green or blue.

Ooh, that sounds really cool... I wish I could figure out how to Photoshop the colors to see how it would actually look. I didn't even go there, as I keep feeling like this stucco/Mediterranean look needs to stay in the warm color tone.

LBW: Hmm, it never occurred to me to get rid of the shutters, either. I wonder if the HOA would allow that. Would it look too plain then? Do you have before/after photos of your house? I'd love to compare and contrast....

[WatchingThemGrow]

Thanks for the "how to" explanation. That's what I thought I understood to work, but I've tried to create a photobucket acct and couldn't get it to actually upload with the operating system DH has on this laptop (Ubuntu). And...I can't figure out how to put it on our Flickr accts without making all our pics available to the general public. I'll work on it tonight..

SW Quietude (a green) and Dover White (a cream) with a darker than Quietude accent are the colors we went with. Black door, black railings. It looks really good with our red brick, which is kinda similar to your Spanish tile roof.

Just curious...1) does your HOA have a palette to choose from? 2) are you trying to get it painted before our due dates? :)

[justlearning]

I think a golden color (either light creamy yellow or a darker mustard color) would look nice with your red roof.

[smiles33]

Hi again!

WatchingThemGrow: I set all my Flickr photos to friends/family only when I upload them....Good luck making it work! No, the HOA doesn't have a palette. The colors I've seen in our neighborhood include an ugly peach and tan trim combo, shades of brown/tan and white trim, gray and white, yellow and white, and our off-white and red combo. No one has the gray with black shutters (and white trim?) combo but our HOA president lives next door so I wanted to come up w/some options and go over and talk to him. When we last talked, he was complaining how the last 5 houses to get painted all chose the same shade of brown with white trim. It makes the neighborhood look monotonous. And no, I'm not planning to have it done in time. I'm getting induced June 3, and this is likely a project that will happen over the next few months or so while I'm on home on maternity leave and can "supervise."

justlearning: I have this fear of yellow after painting my DD's nursery yellow. We went through so many shades of yellow trying to find the right shade and it never looked right in the different types of light....Plus, one of the neighbors painted their house yellow recently and it's fading fast after just 2 years. Might be the quality of paint, but I'm hoping to go with a darker shade to stand up to the bright California sunshine....


I found this, but we don't have siding, just stucco. Plus, our roof is red. But I LOVE this color combo!

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm135/parkejo_album/Augusta_Taupe.jpg

[LBW]

I'm not sure how the grey/blue tones will look with your roof. Personally I'd stick with warmer colors.

I'm not sure if I have a picture of our house before and after the siding job. If I can find one, I'll post it. Keep in mind that you can have the painters take the shutters down, paint the enter house, and then live with it for a week or two. If you hate it, you can always have them rehang the shutters.

[LexyLou]

I'm not liking the grey tones with your roof or style of house.

I really like the "Spanish" tones. Like browns, tans, deep reds, etc.

I found this link and while there aren't pictures on the houses, it shows the color schemes that I personally like for your style of house.

http://www.valenciahoa.org/HouseAndTrimColorPalette.htm

What about a cream, with a darker tan trim and a greenish door?

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/usercenter/designarticles/images/paint%2Bcolors/photo01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/usercenter/designarticles/paint%2Bcolors%2Bexterior.html&usg=__4UQp-1dMlASZZnQnm4FWtXxyvAQ=&h=318&w=400&sz=45&hl=en&start=43&um=1&tbnid=rymsV6kjBQOuXM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstucco%2Bhouse%2Bpaint%2Bcolors%26nds p%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D36%26um%3D1

[LBW]

Try this site. There's a house with a reddish roof similar to yours (maybe a bit more brown).

http://www.sherwin.com/visualizer/

I really like the combination you get when you choose color 7528 for the body of the house. But, I have a thing for orange doors!

[cvanbrunt]

Sherwin Williams has a nice site. If you go to the color visualizer there are a couple of Spanish Revival houses you can paint.

[smiles33]

That SW site is awesome!

LexyLou: I think you're right--the cool grays/whites/blacks make me think New England in the Autumn or houses with siding, not a Mediterranean-style house in warm sunny CA. I like that color scheme you linked to--not sure how I feel about the dark green door, but I like the tan and cream combo.

LBW: I like the color you mentioned, but I'm not a fan of orange....

Oh, this is so hard!!!

[baileyboo]

I am looking for exterior paint finishes...in taupe and ran across the picture you said you liked...do you know the colors by chance? it is hard to get the right colors...and I would hate to end up with a different color than what I am wanting...it is a taupe with white trim..but I need to find out the color.

Thanks!

[smiles33]

How funny this old thread came up! Sorry, no I don't know the names of those colors.

I never came back to update because i had DD2 about 2 weeks after this thread. We ended up with a sandstone body, dark brown/black/eggplant (it's s weird shade but complements the colors week) for the shutters, and a lighter mocha type color for the trim. Sounds a bit weird but it was inspired by the last photo of my OP.