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Outdoor Palette

Today I’m joining a few other bloggers over at Remodelaholic, chatting about how all our kitchen cabinets have held up after painting them several months ago. Be sure to check out the reviews if you’re thinking of painting your own cabinets.

But before you head over to see them, I want to share with you a little color theory, and how it can help you pick colors for your home. We have been trying to get motivated to paint the exterior of our house for about 10 years now, ever since we moved in. Let’s just say that the home’s exterior is not what attracted us. But I’m a firm believer that a coat (or two or three) of paint can fix almost anything, so one of these days we’re actually going to get around to it. I’m sure our neighbors will be thankful. It’s not terrible, it’s just a dingy shade of off-white, and could really use a bit of color and personality.

This palette is based on natural colors, and it looks a bit weathered and neutral. You can’t go wrong with choosing nature-inspired colors for the outside of your house.Outdoor-Palette

Photo credit: bulbocode909 / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

The trick with choosing colors for your home’s exterior is: less is more. With any paint color, the color that you admire on the paint store’s 1-inch swatch will look a lot more intense when you paint it on a larger area. It’s always a challenge for my clients to visualize what the color on the swatch will actually look like once it’s on a wall. That reality is magnified even more when you’re painting something really large, like the side of a house. What you really want is the color that you like, but slightly toned down. Add a little gray or brown to neutralize the color. Trust me, your eyes and your neighbors will thank you.

That’s the quick tip of the day! For now, I’ll leave you with this wonderful infographic that Senator Windows recently shared with me. It does a great job walking you through those important exterior paint decisions. Be sure to pin it for future reference…

Colour-Projects-for-the-Home-Infographic

Ashley

Thursday 8th of October 2015

I love that neutral palette! Thanks for sharing these great tips with us at the Merry Monday link party. I hope you'll join us again next week. Sharing your post on Twitter!

Meredith

Tuesday 13th of October 2015

Hi Ashley, thanks for commenting and tweeting! I missed Merry Monday this week because we were out of town, but I'll definitely be there next week...

Susan cooper

Monday 5th of October 2015

I love this color palette for the outside of the house for sure. I like the idea of it blending in well with nature, as if the house "belongs". Inside it would be a bit too muted.

Meredith

Wednesday 7th of October 2015

I agree Susan, it's nice to blend in to your surroundings a little, at least for the neighbors' sake. ;)

William Rusho

Friday 2nd of October 2015

Great post, I learn so much each week from you. Makes me look forward in doing a little renovating to my house. Cannot wait to start painting.

Meredith

Wednesday 7th of October 2015

Thanks William! I'm so glad to be of help!

Barbara Hoyer

Wednesday 30th of September 2015

Oh, I love that color combo! Dh wants to update the outside of our home, and we've been tossing around ideas. Your tips were a great reminder that we need to consider the size of the house when making color choices.

Meredith

Wednesday 7th of October 2015

Thanks Barbara! It can be daunting to pick just the right color, but I'm confident you'll get it.

Anita C. Lee

Wednesday 30th of September 2015

Wow, imagining your house in a pale taupe or cream with taupe accents. Mmmmm. You know how I love taupe--or is that "Mushrooms on Holiday" or some such name the creatives at the paint-naming department come up with. :)

Meredith

Wednesday 7th of October 2015

Mushrooms on holiday... I like it!

ABOUT MEREDITH


Creating a color-filled life. Conquering my little world one DIY project at a time. With lots of coffee and chocolate. Albuquerque NM. Pinterest ~ Instagram ~ Facebook