Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2011 · 603 posts · 130 votes
Just got this house in Cleveland Heights. Trying to dress up the front. Looking for color ideas for the porch and possibly the house, the white is pretty dingy.
Flipper/Rehabber · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2008 · 489 posts · 300 votes
10y
You could power wash the siding and brighten it up. Then as Joy mentioned, paint the trim and all of that green a nice gray color. I love Collonade Gray by Sherwin Williams or Agreeable gray is another nice one. I would also cut those bushes back to show off the craftsman style columns and I suggest painting the brick to give the house a more uniform look.
Or you can paint the house a nice neutral gray and compliment it with white trim. It all really depends on your budget.
Contractor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2015 · 379 posts · 740 votes
10y
Greys are very hot right now.
Sherwin Williams has a great pocket size sample book called Designer Expressions. It's designed in sections with various base colors and various accent colors. It's kinda like Garanimals - as long as you pick colors from the same section, you know they'll coordinate. I use it on my houses and love it. At home, my girlfriend doesn't let me pick anything, and neither did my ex-wife. But when I'm in "contractor mode", soccer moms hang on my every word and ask me to suggest all kinds of design selections. For paint colors, that book helps me keep 'em happy. (And who doesn't want to keep the hot soccer moms happy?)
Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
10y
Go on to Sherwin Williams and use their visualizer. I like the examples shown above. remember you have a gray roof you're working with, so the darker gray (you don't want it to be like the neighbors) might be nice, with a white, black or darker red door.
Investor · Richmond, BC · Member since 2013 · 316 posts · 133 votes
10y
I hate to tell you but, if @Nicole Pettis hadn't mentioned that this was a craftsman style home, I wouldn't have recognized it as such. I thought it was a cute little gingerbread house - which could easily have suited a turquoise door. But it's not a cottage, it's a craftsman, and craftsmans are pretty classic as far as colours go. 'Cute' colours not being what first comes to mind. Earth tones and neutrals (although not white except for accents) are usually most suitable. For examples, google "craftsman style" under the 'images' heading and you'll get lots of ideas. You might be able to get the book that @Michael Hayworth suggested but they often will only make them available to designers. The book would be a great help in choosing colours once you see a combo you like, but, don't worry, most major paint lines have similar tone combining systems - you just have to ask how to use them.
Agreeing with Nicole again, you really need to capitalize on those columns if you want the integrity of the house's style to shine through. Those (very ugly) shrubs in front completely hide them. Not only do the shrubs detract from the style of the property by obscuring those columns, they also confuse the eye with their symmetry, The most important aspect of the curb appeal of any house is the front door. Everything that can be done to highlight the door and lead the eye towards it is important. The door on this house is not centred which the symmetry of the shrubs suggests. It's misleading and weakens the welcome and curb appeal of the residence.
When it comes to landscaping, don't allow anything to come in the way of the door. Accenuate that the left side is the 'important' side of the house by having more extensive (but low growing) foundation plantings as well as a nice sweep of bark or groundcover curving around the sidewalk and side of the house. Something tall on the left of the house/porch (beside, not in front). Echo those foundation plantings on the right side but cover only about half the diameter. A tree with a base of matching bark or groundcover would do well planted in the centre of the right side of the yard to balance the larger garden on the left side. Simple, repetitive plantings look best.
Another pointer is that the front door should usually be either the lightest or darkest part of any colour scheme. In this case, as it's under the shade of the porch, it should probably be the lightest (of 4 colours) because, especially not being centred, it really needs to catch the eye.
I hate to tell you but, if @Nicole Pettis hadn't mentioned that this was a craftsman style home, I wouldn't have recognized it as such. I thought it was a cute little gingerbread house - which could easily have suited a turquoise door. But it's not a cottage, it's a craftsman, and craftsmans are pretty classic as far as colours go. 'Cute' colours not being what first comes to mind. Earth tones and neutrals (although not white except for accents) are usually most suitable. For examples, google "craftsman style" under the 'images' heading and you'll get lots of ideas. You might be able to get the book that @Michael Hayworth suggested but they often will only make them available to designers. The book would be a great help in choosing colours once you see a combo you like, but, don't worry, most major paint lines have similar tone combining systems - you just have to ask how to use them.
Agreeing with Nicole again, you really need to capitalize on those columns if you want the integrity of the house's style to shine through. Those (very ugly) shrubs in front completely hide them. Not only do the shrubs detract from the style of the property by obscuring those columns, they also confuse the eye with their symmetry. Symmetry is a great way to highlight things that are equal or centered. The front door on this house is not centered however, so the symmetry is misleading and detracts from the curb appeal of the residence. The front door is the most important part of any house.
Speaking of which, when it comes to landscaping, don't allow anything to come in the way of the door. Accenuate that the left side is the 'important' side of the house by having more extensive (but low growing) foundation plantings as well as a nice sweep of bark or groundcover curving around the sidewalk and side of the house. Something tall on the left of the house/porch (beside, not in front). Echo those foundation plantings on the right side but cover only about half the diameter. A tree with a base of matching bark or groundcover would do well planted in the centre of the right side of the yard to balance the larger garden on the left side. Simple, repetitive plantings look best.
Another pointer is that the front door should usually be either the lightest or darkest part of any colour scheme. In this case, as it's under the shade of the porch, it should probably be the lightest (of 4 colours) because, especially not being centred, it really needs to catch the eye.
Developer · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 898 votes
10y
@Adam Craig Like a few others, I also think grays are hot right now. I would do a light gray for the siding (careful not to match the roof too much), with a bit darker/bolder trim. Gray also goes well with the brick, although I would personally paint the brick.