Brick House Trim Colors
December 26, 2012 § 338 Comments
Creamy white trim with black shutters (and door) give brick houses like these on historic Nantucket Island in Massachusetts a classic traditional look that is timeless. But for a more contemporary look, use the brick itself for your trim color inspiration. Choose a color that you see in the brick or the grout– tan or taupe or another earthen color. If you select a color from the brick, it will blend with the brick and provide less contrast than the white. The overall effect will be soothing and contemporary but it will call less attention to the architectural details. The Boston building below is hardly contemporary, but the color scheme is taken from the brick and grout and is one example of using coordinating trim colors instead of contrasting trim.
Your Home & Color Coach 
Hi. A day after I wrote you with a request for assistance, I found this article. Just wanted you to know that I found it very helpful, but I still need your help. Our house is a brick ranch style house, with the brown replacement windows and trim, It is solid brick in the front with an attached garage and siding on the sides and back. We need to replace the siding. What colors should the siding be? Should it be a dark tan? Some companies call it wicker or a touch darker??? Should the front door and side door match? What color should the shutters be? Should they match the front door or the siding?
By the way, sorry to read about the death in your family. Please accept my deepest sympathies.
Thanks again,
Barbara D.
We recently bought a small row house. It is similar…though not as large or elegant…to the first of the houses you have posted here. Our roof is flat, we have no porch overhang and our front door is double. We think the house was totally renovated in the 60’s. There is now a bow window on the first floor and the one window above the front doors has been closed in with glass blocks. The three upstairs windows all have shutters. Everything other than the brick (all the trim, shutters, and doors) is now painted a creamy white which needs to be repainted. I was thinking of painting the shutters black (or maybe very, very dark green), the trim again a creamy white, but don’t know what to do with the doors. If it were a single door I would go with the same color as the shutters. For some reason having it double bothers me. I will try to attach a picture though I don’t currently have a good picture of the whole front.
Maybe a red front door would be better than either black or white? Of course the brass will all be polished and perhaps changed.
Thank you for all the suggestions that you give to those of us so concerned with making the best of our house by using good paint colors.
http://picasaweb.google.com/diannecolgan/Townhouse?authkey=1ZyEZICv87g
Hi Dianne,
What a great house! Personally, I would go with black shutters unless everyone else on your block has them too. Then either go with black for the double doors or the same red as the roof of your bow window. The red should be right out of the brick, not too red. Since you have the red roof already, I would stay away from dark green. You already have enough colors going on.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Who would have guessed color choice could be so hard! My wife is now having “roof color” nightmares. We have just bought a very contemporary brick house — pinkish bricks with a cedar shake roof that needs to be replaced. We have decided to put up a standing seam metal roof and are thinking about champagne for the main color, with gutters and trim in medium bronze. We know light color roofs are better for reflectivity, but she is worried that the roof is supposed to be darker than the brick. Is that a rule of thumb? Front of house has a courtyard, so three sides with too dark a roof could also be an issue. I’d post a photo, if I can figure out how. Any thoughts?
Carey C.
Hi Carey C,
The fact that your house is very contemporary allows you lots of flexibility when it comes to color and materials. There are plenty of light roof colors, especially in warm climates (look at Bermuda with all white roofs) so I would not worry about having the roof darker if you think it would overpower the house. Champagne will make the roof almost invisible but if it complements the pink brick, it’s fine. I would love to see a photo. You can email it to me at bmeglis@yahoo.com if you wish and I’ll respond there.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Hello! I was so happy to see your website as I am seeking some assitance with determining whether to paint our columns in the front of our new home, as well as the faux balcony bannister above it. We recently moved into a home with a beautiful “burnt-orangey” color brick. The brick has shades of beige and brown in it. The trim of the house was stark white and the shutters were maroon. We are having the trim painted the beige in the brick and the shutters painted the dark brown in the brick. My dilemma is that while I don’t want the front of our home to look odd, I’m concerned that if I have our contractors paint the four columns in our entry way and the bannister for the faux balcony atop the eve that covers our front door (the columns support the faux balcony) the same color of the trim, that the columns will no longer stand out as a beautiful architectural accent. On the other hand, I’m concerned that leaving the columns and bannister white will look like we forgot to paint them the same color of the trim! Please advise! I’d appreciate your insight. What would you do?
Thanks so much!
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
Try a rich cream for the columns and balcony. That should provide enough contrast to stand out from the beige trim color as well as the brick. White will look unfinished, you’re right.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I have a maroon colonial brick house. The trim is cream, and the siding on the garage is cream. I just got a new front door, and need to paint the door. The shutters are a horrible kelly green, so I want to paint them too. I was thinking of going with a tan for the door and a brown for the shutters, because I think cream will be too light. The other idea was a darkish royal blue, like you’d find in Greece.
Help! Thanks in advance. I can send a photo if you like.
Hi Michelle,
From your description, I think the tan/brown combination sounds great. But I would love to see a photo. I’m intrigued by the royal blue idea but would need to see your house first.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I just bought a small one story red brick home in the country. Currently the trim, columns, shutters and garage door are painted white but are very dirty since we live on a dirt road. I want to paint the trim, etc but don’t know what colors to go with. I see that you have suggested painting the trim a creamy white which I like but since we live on a dirt road the white tends to get dirty quickly. If I go with a color from the brick what color should I paint the garage door and shutters? If I go with painting the trim a creamy white and the shutters black then what color would you suggest for the garage door? I could really use your great adivse 🙂
Hi Liz,
Try the grout color for your trim. It may seem a little drab, but with a black door, shutters, and garage doors, it will look sharp. And the taupe color will not show the dirt at all.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
We are updating a 1970 brick ranch home that is mostly tones of red. We had custom built cedar shutters made and are going to have the columns in the front made chunky to match. The problem I am running into is the trim for the windows, surround trim and the front door. I am pretty certain we will use a solid wood door and stain it the same cedar color. I am lost on what to use as the trim colors however, as the roof shingles are green. The roof was redone shortly before we bought the home and cant see replacing it at this time to fit my wishes. What do you suggest?
Thanks for your help.
Hi Shannon,
Consider cream for your trim. It looks terrific with the red brick. You don’t want to introduce another color since you have red and green already. But cream is a little warmer than white.
Good luck. Sounds good!
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Thanks for the advice on my trim color. I was considering khaki but didnt think of cream.
I have a new color question for you now. We are completing a bonus room add-on that was started before we bought our home. It was originally a carport that was enclosed. There is a step down from the kitchen into this room, making the walls about 12 feet high. We are putting in new sheetrock and a wooden beadboard ceiling that we are going to stain. The carpet is berber with a small mix of green. I wanted to originally go with a warm khaki color or possibly a light green but am scared that the tall walls will keep the room from looking warm. This will be our family room and where we will spend most of our time.The room is 14 feet by 20 feet. Any advice?
Thanks for your help.
Shannon
Go with a medium tone on the walls. Nothing too light or it will just feel massive in there. Any of the Ben Moore historical colors (Kennebunkport Green?) would be just right in your room. Staining the beadboard ceiling will bring it down a bit so the room will feel cozier than if it were white.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
Our home is a 1970’s, brick ranch. The brick is a mixture of light and dark brown tones. I guess the overall look is a light tan or dark sandy color. There are 4 large columns across the front porch. The portion of roof over the front porch is raised above the remainder of the home’s roof. The previous owners had the house roofed with rust colored shingles not too long ago. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s the most completing color to the house. The trim, shutters, and doors are all white. The yard has many trees and not a lot of grass, so in the fall and winter, the house just disappears into the surroundings. I want to update the look of the house by using color, but I am at a loss of what will look good. I’ve considered a softer shade of green for the gables, doors, and shutters, but what color should be used for the trim and those huge columns? Any suggestions as to a totally different color scheme are welcome as well.
Hi Becly,
I would go with cream for the trim and columns. That will look really nice. Don’t forget black for shutters if you’re looking for a change. They would look really nice on your house.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
We have a two story brick house with black shutters.
We are banging our heads trying to get a a color scheme for the front door. The doorway is recessed on the fornt entrance way and give the appearance of being very small.
We recently replaced the door and for now it is a bright white. The walls of the entryway have 2 panels on each wall. As of this typing those panels are also a bright white. Where we are stuck is what to paint the “walls” and the trim and door.
The front entrance needs all the help it can get.
If you would like a picture I’ll be glad to send it to you.
Thanks in advance,
Bland
Dear Bland,
With the recessed door, you should stay light (cream would work if your trim color is the same) or pick a color that advances (a warm color). If the trim color is white, I would stay with white for the side walls and go with a brick red door. (Make sure to match the brownish red of the brick and don’t go too red). Every other door color (except white or cream) will recede too much into the shadows.
If you end up with a cream door, just keep a wreath on it all the time (for various seasons). That will add some color to the area without darkening it up too much.
Good luck.
-Barbara.
Barbara,
I can’t believe I found this site. My wife and I renovated an 1890 home in Chicago last year. The home is a two-story brick building with metal cornice on top. We’ve painted the cornice black along with a huge double front door. It looks great with the black windows throughout the home. My question is this: What color to paint the unattached garage? Is there a general rule to stick with on the unattached garages? The garage is wood siding and window mullions in the side door are black (matching the homes windows). Someone told me it should be the color of the interior of your home if the view of the garage is prominent from inside the home (a wall of windows face the garage from the kitchen area). Is this a rule?
Thank you!
Paul
Hi Paul,
The only guideline I use is to relate the garage to the house somehow. And since yours is brick with a black door, I would paint your garage doors black too. As for the siding, you can keep it natural stained wood for a natural look, paint it the grout color for an earthy contrast, or paint it brick red to match your home and blend. Any of those options will work.
I’ve never heard of painting the garage an inside color. That could be a little funky in some cases depending on your interior palette. I would stick with coordinating the outside colors: house with garage.
Hope that helps. Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Barbara,
I have a new room to color!!! We are done with our bonus room and have moved on to our dining room. I really want to have a room that is blue and brown with maybe cream accents. I have a really dark mahogany solid wood table that is bland and I thought the room could use dressing up. My question is this, the rest of the house is in the khaki,green,yellow family, would the dining room stick out like a sore thumb if I didnt stay within the same color family?
We are looking to resale this home in about two years so I want to keep that in mind also.
Thanks in advance
Shannon
Hi Shannon,
What about painting tone-on-tone cream vertical stripes (6-8 inches wide) around your dining room. I would use two similar shades of cream or you can use the same color cream in two different finishes (like flat and satin– I would use two different finishes regardless of the colors). The stripes will dress up your dining room without adding another color to the palette (better for resale). Then you can add ice blue linens and accessories to the mahogany table and you have a REALLY elegant dining room.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara
Its me again (smile) and well what the heck, though I would throw this question out there. The exterior of our home is predominantly brick, a color called Shellman’s Bluff (made by cherokee brick) with buff mortar. It’s more of a brown brick with lots of earthy splotches. On the one gable and dormer we have, we have hickory colored siding which has a gray undertone (versus tan) and it really compliments the brick. We did go with white trim on the soffets since our windows were white and it really pops and looks crisp. And our roof shingles are a color called weathered wood which is not grey, not black, not brown….but well…..it looks weathered…..and again is a nice compliment to all the exterior choices we made. So what’s my dilema? We will have 3 sets of shutters……one on the gable, and two sets on windows that are bricked. And I have the front door to paint. Our door is full leaded glass and it’s the darker patina of oil rubbed bronze, with two matching sidelights………..our door knob will be ORB. Our exterior garage carriage lights and hanging front door light are a wonderfully aged looking cross between beat up bronze and aged copper….just really rustic looking which is what we wanted given the brown brick……Given all that……what would be a good shutter color (they will be vinyl shutters) and the exterior portion of the door that frames the leaded glass? Our front door is fiberglass with a simulated wood grain…. If I left it up to my builder ……he thinks black shutters but hasn’t given an opinion on the front door exterior color…….and everyone seems to have red doors around here though I am not sure that would stand out like an open wound if I did that.
Hi Sandy,
I do like the idea of the black shutters to really add the finishing touch on the house. Black really dresses everything up. But as for the door, you might consider a nice rich brick color. Not exactly red — more earthy. But warm, and a compliment to the copper and all the other earthy shades.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
This is a great site, thanks for giving brick house owners a source for color coordination not easily found anywhere else. I have a 1922 bungalow with two layers of distinct brick – the bottom layer is the original, very dark brown brick, and the top, smoother layer of brick was painted a dingy white when I first bought the place. The concrete foundation was painted a fading terra cotta and the whole thing was topped with a dingy, very old light gray roof which gave the place a sort of four-layered nightmare wedding cake look. To try to tone the layers a little, I replaced the old roof with a new black shingle roof, painted the top brick a captivating cream, and the foundation a very dark brown color that is more in keeping with the dark brown brick than the terra cotta color did. I painted all of the trim white and the porch columns and ceiling the same captivating cream as the house, and painted the siding on an addition at the back of the house, the same captivating cream. There is also some wrought iron work around the porch that is black.
Now I face the task of reinstalling gutters and fascia after the roof re-do. Should I go with white shutters? I am also needing to replace the rickety white picket fence around the property and haven’t the first clue as to what color the new fence should be. Any advice you can offer is terrific.
Hi Rae,
Great job on reworking the color scheme.
I would suggest black shutters since your roof is now black. I know you have dark brown brick and foundation, but that’s okay. Black against the cream will be terrific, and it will really dress up the house. And with the wrought iron accents, you’ll pull the whole house together.
As for the fence, I’m not sure if you want to replace the whole fence with another picket fence or go with something else. You can do wrought iron, or you can paint a new picket fence dark brown, which will stand out less against the house and be less of a focal point than white.
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color coach
Hi Barbara!
First off, let me tell you how how insightful this website is! My husband and I bought our first home a few months ago and are excited to freshen it up a bit since it looks a bit tired. We own a one story brick ranch with earthy toned brick (tan, rusty brown, black, etc.). The shutters, garage door, roof and front door all need replacing so we’re wide open to any color scheme. I’m thinking black shutters, roof and garage door. I think a black front door would look good too, but do you have any suggestions on a door color that would pop? Also, the trim is bright white by the way…should it be toned down?
Thanks so much for your help!!! 🙂
Karla
Hi Karla,
Thanks for the kudos. It sounds like you’re definitely on the right track to a very classic (and classy) look for your home. Black will work for the shutters, roof, and garage door. It will also work for the front door. But you can try a rusty red (on the brown side) to pull out the rust in the brick if you’re looking for something warmer. Just make sure the color is actually in the brick, and you’ll be fine.
As for the trim, if you notice the white too much, then it sounds like it’s a little to stark against the brick. Again, if you soften the white so it’a a bit more like the grout color, the whole house will gel.
Hope that helps.
Good luck.
-Barbara.
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
I have purchased my first house and can’t wait to dig my teeth into a few things, such as painting the siding and trim. It is a red brick facade, I would like to paint the siding and trim something exciting, I know that the mushroom/taupes and other earthy colours are the conservative approach. However I’d like something that is different but not ugly. Blues, greys etc
Any suggestion?
here is a link to a pic
Thanks in advance for your help
Peter
Hi Peter,
You’re lucky. Your brick is a very uniform color so you have loads of color options for your siding.
Since a bit of dark roof runs right through the middle of your house, I suggest painting the siding a dark color. That way the house will nolonger look chopped in half. You know about the earthy colors already (a dark chocolate brown with cream trim would look sharp). But if you want something different, you could go with a dark blue or dark green, again with cream trim. Gray would work, but it might be a bit blah. My vote is the dark rich chocolate brown.
And don’t forget your door. I would paint it the same color as your siding color just to pull the whole look together.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I am so excited to find your advice! There isn’t much color advice out there for brick homes.
We will be painting our house this spring. I could use some color suggestions. I’d like to keep the shutters, gutters, and storm door all black. I need some help with the windows, front door, and garage door.
As you can see from the photo, the brick is an orange red with gray tones.
Also, we will be replacing the roof in the next year or two. If you have any suggestions for coloring there, I’d love to hear them.
Thanks!
Hi Lara,
I suggest painting the garage door a taupe color, almost the same as the cement wall along the driveway. The effect of that will be to camouflage that area and make it less noticeable (since it’s kind of stuck down and off to one side). It will also help to balance the house and make the black shutters and brick stand out more.
I would paint the front door a shiny black and the window trim the same as the garage door. For the roof, I suggest a dark charcoal color that’s in your brick but darker than what you’ve got now. Just give the front hedges a nice haircut in the spring and you’ve got great curb appeal.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I am remodeling a home that has 1 story darker brick face up to a tall black roof, with center 2-story entry with 4 pillars and siding. Double door is mahogany. New white windows with grids. Balance of exterior sides are stucco up to siding peaks.
I am planning to do siding and trim in a cream or off-white. I may also do shutters on front. Where do I go with Stucco color. I’m open to any other ideas. -Larry
Hi Larry,
Since your windows are white, you’ll want a little more contrast between the windows and your siding/stucco color. I suggest bumping up the cream to a light tan or taupe (depending on your grout color between the bricks). Then keep siding and stucco the same color and use white for trim and pillars. What you really want to accent is your entryway with the pillars and mahogany double doors. Spectacular!
I would use black shutters and wrought iron accessories to dress up the house.
Hope that helps.
Barbara.
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I’d like to get your thoughts on our home. We have a red brick, ranch style home with a light gray roof. There are some blue-gun metal grey bricks scattered in with the red bricks. Right now the facia, shutters (window boxes), front door and porch hand rails are white, but we want to re-paint soon.
I was thinking to use medium light grey for the facia and porch hand rails, and a darker gun metal grey for the shutters, window boxes and front door.
What do you think? I could send you some pictures if that would help.
Thanks
Hi Lila,
I like the idea of a light grey for the facia and porch hand rails. You didn’t mention the color of your windows, but I suggest either a dark grey or almost black for the shutters, window boxes and front door. That way there’s enough contrast between the bricks and the shutters, and you dress up the house a bit with the black.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello,
Here is a photo of my house.
Sorry about the flamingos. They were a prank and I had no other photo. As you can see this house needs help desperately. The yellow really bothers me. I will be removing the orange tiles from the porch and resurfacing with colored concrete as well as replacing the old sidewalk with colored concrete. Could you advise me on the color for concrete ( I thought maybe grout color). I also liked your advice about using darker trim colors to give a more contemporary look. Can you advise me on this. Should I stay light, or should I go dark? What color for shutters? Notice the door has some vertical wood siding that will need a color and please help with the door color. Lastly should I do something to make that vent and dentil molding pop on the porch gable? I am desperate for advise.
Missy
I think your website has been most helpful! I haven’t found a spot where I can send you a picture of my house for your opinion on what color to paint it. Can you help me out??
Thanks a bunch.
Can you help me with some paint colors instead of yellow?? The brick is orangey/dark brown/white. What about the trim color, garage door?? I want a wow factor here!!
[IMG]http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii231/rlb12345/IMGP2156.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii231/rlb12345/IMGP2160.jpg[/IMG]
Hi Missy,
Love the flamingos! As for your house, you have a very stately front entryway. I would use either the grout color (hard to see what it is in the photo) or a warm gray for the concrete porch. Then take another color from the bricks (one of the medium tones that you like and that goes with the roof color) and use that for the siding up under the roof and for the triangle of your portico. Then use rich cream for the window trim as well as the columns, the vent, and the moulding.
The result should be spectacular. I love your house!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Glad I found you! Hope you can help me decide. We just bought a red brick home built in the 60s and we are getting all new windows in a light tan color. The current trim is white and includes the garage door and large front porch. Should we match the trim to the windows or try another color? Please help, I’m color challenged!
Barbara,
I am so thankful to have your answers to my questions. I can’t wait to try your advice. I have updated my photo (sorry no flamingos this time) so I might ask more detailed questions.
Here is the link
http://s265.photobucket.com/albums/ii240/missyphoto_227/
I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your direction.
One-I want to make those down spouts disappear so do I use a separate color for those? I already (per your suggestion) have a trim color and a siding color for the eves and portico triangle. That doesn’t count a door and shutter color.
Two-That wood paneled siding in the portico around the door-what do I do with that? Is it trim color, is it door color?
Three-Can you recommend a door and shutter color?
Four- You said use a rich cream trim. Any Benjamin Moore color numbers so I can get an idea of what you mean by rich cream.
In case it’s not obvious, I had nothing to do with the exterior of this house. We bought it about 5 months ago and you would have thought we were blind folded.
Oh I can’t tell you too many times how grateful I am for your site. I think I’ve read almost every entry. You are a blessing!
Missy
Hi Roxanne,
First the good news. I really like your house color. I think it goes great with the brick. Now the not so great (read: expensive) news. The problem with the house is not the house color; it’s the roof color. At least from the photos I’m looking at, the roof appears almost a purply-red-brown color, and that clashes with the rust of the brick. So no matter what color the house siding is, the roof is still going to stick out. You can see it best on the photo of the back of the house, where the roof and chimney meet.
When you get a new roof (I know it’s not something you do just because of the color…), I suggest a dark brown or charcoal color that is right out of the brick. That will make everything look terrific.
For now, you might consider adding two sets of shutters for the upstairs windows and pulling a color from the brick for both the shutters and the garage door. That will dress up the house. But the big wow will come when the new roof arrives.
(Pray for rain… maybe there’s a leak somewhere that just has to be fixed!)
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Mary,
Your house will look more pulled together if the house trim either matches the window trim or is a version of it. At the very least, I would paint the trim cream, but the tan color will work just as well.
You might like a perked up front and garage door. Maybe black, dark brown, or dark green. I prefer black, personally, but any of those colors will dress up the house.
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Missy,
If you haven’t already purchased the paint, I suggest something like Ben Moore’s Shaker Beige (HC-45) in low lustre for your house siding and spout. Also include the triangle of siding above the portico.
Then try something like Navajo white for the trim, columns and around the front door area (as long as it appears to be trim material and not siding). I would do a Shaker Beige door but in semi-gloss paint finish. The shutters and roof are perfect as is.
I think that will tone down your house and make it quite spectacular!
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara you’re the best!! Thank goodness a professional is doing the actual painting. I was surprised just how bent out of shape I got about color selection. I can’t thank you enough!!!!
I’m looking forward to sending you a photo of the before and after so you can see your advice in the finished project. The painters come in a couple of weeks.
Missy
Thanks, Missy.
Dear Barbara,
I have a large two story Georgian home. The brick has pale pinkish tones. There are no shutters and very little wood siding. The wood trim is beautifull dental molding (or whatever it’s called). The roof color is a charcoal with dark blue/gray hints and it is very steep.
The trim is currently white and the downspouts are a dark cream/tan color that blends with the grout. I want to tone down the white, but am afraid of making it too dull (the color scheme). The front door is in the red family because the house faces south.
The color of the window trim and everything other than the downspouts is white, even the garage doors and gutters. Any suggestions? I’d like the architectural details to show through, e.g., the traingular shaped stone peices over each window that are a shade of offwhite, grayish stone.
Thank you for any suggestions you may have!
Rita
Hi Rita,
Consider adding black shutters to your Georgian home. I think it will do everything you’re looking for: tone down the white, accent the moulding, and show off the other architectural details.
And I would paint the garage doors black as well. You’ll be amazed at the transformation.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I wrote to you a few months ago about exterior trim color suggestions. I wanted to update you on my plan. I’ll try to attach a link to a pic of the house so you can see it here.
Here are our color selections:
Front Door: Sherwin Williams (SW) Rookwood Red 2802
Secondary Trim – SW 6108 Latte – movable parts of windows, side lights of front door area, trim around garage, sunroom French door’s movable parts..
Primary Trim – SW 7520 Plantation Brown – Main roof trim/Soffits/gutters/down spouts, garage door, mudroom door (side door near garage), kitchen door, top trim of sunroom, trim around sunroom French doors, and chimney.
I would love your opinion on these selections. I’m going for a French country rustic look.
[IMG]http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l94/baf70/IMG_3291garden8.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l94/baf70/IMG_3285garden5.jpg[/IMG]
Thanks, Barbara!
Bonnie
Barbara – I don’t think my photobucket links worked in my original post. Try this:
http://www.share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0IZM2Llq2aMXHw
Barbara, I’m sorry, please disregard the Shutterfly post/link, it doesn’t work.
This one should…
http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l94/baf70/
Hi Bonnie,
I think you’ve nailed it! Send photos when you’re done!
-Barbara.
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
The house is painted and I love it! I feel like it’s a new house. It seems so much more warm and inviting to me!
Here is a link to pictures of it…
http://ratemyspace.hgtv.com/SNC/viewitem.aspx?pguid=6db6be3f-1720-4ba3-a081-999042c09b6b&itemGuid=0375c4dc-b3be-4343-b75d-22ad0a370018
Thanks for your help and I hope you like it!
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
Ooh la la. Nice job. Now all you need for your French country cottage is plants, pots, vines, flowers, and more plants. You also might want to replace the white shade in the window with a slightly softer beige.
Tres bien.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara–
I was hoping you could help me with a color for our shutters as well as the overhang above the door and eventually our trim. But first we’d like to tackle the shutters I’m not crazy about the style of our house and would like to make it look a bit more modern. Some of the shutter colors we have considered are dark gray, a dark taupe, or possibly brown. The wood door needs to be refinished as well, but it and its side panels will eventually be replaced. Thanks for your help.
Wendy
Hi Barbara,
I need serious help! I stumbled across your site- thank goodness. We bought a brick home in the country. I need serious help with accent colors. I’ve never had problems with my previous houses but this is the first time I’ve been up against brick. Its very tough. The brick color is pinkish/salmon. The roof is a light brownish color.(which we will be changing in a few yrs- my husband wants a metal roof). The roof color looks wrong. But what can I do now? Its a very small house from looking at the front. It has 2 bay windows below and 2 upper dormers. We are having alot of construction done so forgive the pics. We “beefed” up the upper dormer overhangs and will be changing the front stoop and beefing up that and adding a porch that will extend from bay to bay. I am lost with the color. When we bought the house, it was white/creme on the bay windows & stoop. All you saw were the windows. The brick was lost. Its part siding and that along with the gutters are painted pinkish/salmon. Yuck. So I tried a darker color. Now it looks depressing. The sun is not hitting it well this morning so I apologize for the dark pics. Theres no place for shutters so I cant bring that in. We have closed in the sunporch with windows and doors and covered the exposed carport area. (which will need paint) Help! We dug up all the front bushes too because the type plants they used attracted bees. So it looks really plain now. Plants will be another challenge. I’ll put 2 rockers on the front porch when done. My husband wants a “lodge” look since we are high up in the mountains and you can see it from a distance. I like a “warm homey” feel. I’m not country decorating style- my interior decor is golds and black and white prints. I like cozy, modern, even part cottage look. I’ve debated adding window boxes but may make it look too country. Help! I could use any and all advice!!
I have my pics posted on snapfish temporarily. You cant link in- you have to view my pics through my acct. Username is mouldertwo@frontiernet.net – password is exterior. “Go to photos”. ( I dont mind sharing this- its temporary)
Barbara,
My wife and I have worked hard inside & out of our home, and the next step is getting the trim painted this spring.
What recommendation can you make for a colour choice on the trim?
http://ratemyspace.hgtv.com/SNC/ViewItem.aspx?pguid=6db6be3f-1720-4ba3-a081-999042c09b6b&itemGuid=4a526eb7-f763-4cc9-887f-031afe18fd44
Thanks
Mark
Hi Wendy,
Sorry for the long delay!
I suggest removing your shutters altogether for a more contemporary look. Shutters of any color will just give you the same colonial look that you have now. Going without will not detract from your house but will remove the more traditional trappings (ie. shutters).
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Wendy,
Sorry for the lengthy delay. Hope you get this okay.
First of all, I suggest settling on one siding color and one trim color. It may be the photo (and the light) but it looks like there’s a siding color (new porch) and a garage color (doors) and they’re not the same. I suggest you paint the siding on the porch and the dormers the same dark brown as the garage doors. Then find the grout color (a sand color) and use that for the trim around the garage doors and windows and even the soffit/trim under the roof. Also, you can lighten up the bay windows with the sand trim color (but it’s not crucial). The dark brown blends better with the house if you don’t want the front to be all windows. But I would paint the porch trim sand as well as the columns. The front door area really needs to be lightened up. If you paint all the trim sand, you can leave the front door brown. The contrast will help.
I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but I hope it helps. You don’t have to repaint all at once, but I think you’ll be happier with a limited palette.
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Oops that last post was meant for Denise, #54. Sorry about that, Denise!
Hi Mark,
Congratulations on all your successful projects. As for the trim color, you can either do white since your siding color is white (that’s the most conventional choice), or you can use the sandy grout color which will bridge the contrast between the dark brick and the white siding and compliment your stonework. Either one will work.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I recently bought a white brick house with front porch colums.. i wanted to change the exterior color from the pinkish color it has. The colums are also that pinkish color, the roof top is dark gray and it really takes from the whole house… What colors will the exterior trim as well as the porch colums be if i go another color,, please give any advice you have..
thanks Arturo
Hi Arturo,
I suggest painting the columns and trim white. They will look stunning with the dark gray roof and really stand out against any color you choose for the house itself.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We live in a red brick ranch house built in 1970. It has a black roof, white windows with black shutters, white eavespouts and a white garage door. We’re in the process of doing some updates and want to paint our shutters. We’re not sure whether to repaint them black or to paint them white.
I would be most appreciative to have your opinion.
Thanks!
Linda
Hi Linda,
Black is much dressier than white, particularly with a black roof. I’d stick with black for a nice classic look.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi, I live in a brown/redish brick ranch (front only) with beige siding – cant see the siding from the front. The two car garage doors, shutters, front door, windows, sofit, gutters, etc. are all brown. The roof is also in the brown family. I was wondering….can I use dark green on any of these items like the shutters or garage doors? There is no green in the brick, but I was wondering what else I could do. Thanks, Chris
Hi Chris,
Sure, dark green will be a nice accent for shutters and front door. But I would paint the garage doors the same as your siding color unless you have some really spectacular garage doors.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara!
I’m hoping you can help me since I’m having panic attacks over here! 🙂 We are having the house painted in two days and my husband is out of town so I’m in charge of picking out the colors.
We have a cedar split level with a little bit of brick in the front. The brick and roof are brownish red. The mortar is a tan color.
Currently the house is tan with a darker tan trim. So is pretty much every other house on the street. Because of this my husband would like to do something different colorwise.
I was thinking of using a red from the brick color along with a tan color from the mortar but can’t decide – should the trim be the light tan color and the cedar panels the brownish red? or vice versa? or is there another color you recommend??
Thank you in advance! Love your site!
Kris
Hi Kris,
How about a nice soft green, like Ben Moore’s louisburg green (HC-113)? I know I usually say to paint the cedar and trim with colors that come directly from your brick, but it sounds like you’ve already done that, and a red house (with red brick and roof) might be a little much.
The green is a complimentary color to the red brick and should really look nice. Then you can use the light tan as trim color.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
My wife and I are about to paint our house and are in desperate need of paint color ideas. The house recently had a black roof put on it with the light brown/sand color bricks. This was done by the previous owners and it drives us nuts! Can you suggest a color scheme to help with this issue? I was thinking of incorporating the black into the house by painting the shutters black. Please help! 🙂
Btw, my wife and I love color, so almost nothing would scare us! 🙂
I like this one, but the black roof on our house throws it off. Maybe substitute the brown for black and go with the same yellow or would that look horrible in your opinion? (yellow is my favorite color btw)
What a great idea! Thank you so much for the quick response!
Hi Jeremy,
One of the issues you’re facing is how dark it looks back there in all that lush vegetation. Your windows are dark and now the roof and shutters.
So, okay, I would pick a light color right out of your brick, whether it’s something like putnam ivory (BM-HC-39) or something with a touch of seashell (like home sweet home BM 1088) and paint the facia under the roof line and the gable INCLUDING the trim on the gable. I would not continue to highlight the geometric design on the gable because I think it detracts from the nice lines in your house and the brick. Just keep it all one color. It’s okay to bring the black down to the shutters. Once the trim is painted, you’ll be all set.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Jeremy,
Sure, you can try a yellow but one chosen from your brick, not the same bright yellow as in the other photo. As long as you choose a color from your brick, you’ll be fine. The house will lighten up and I think you’ll pay less attention to that black roof. You might even try lightening up the shutters to one of the lighter brick colors (instead of black since I think you’re sick to death of black already). Just stick to the brick… hmmm… my new slogan!
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Interesting idea to no longer highlight the design on the gable. So are you recommending using a single color for the entire thing (all trim, the gable, the porch rails, etc)? If so, I hadn’t even considered that yet. I guess I’ve just see the design as it is now and haven’t considered that idea yet.
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy,
Yes, I’m suggesting getting rid of the geometric design on the gable either by painting the gable all one color or by removing the trim on the gable. I think it makes the house look a little busy and a bit more rustic than I think you want it. The brick is really pattern enough.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I’ve pulled up your color choices as well as a few others from the brick. My wife and I are going over those now. I do think it looks busy and that the gable would look a whole lot better being one color. Thanks a lot for the advice! We were sort of stuck on this issue and you’ve really helped us by coming up with an idea we hadn’t thought of. 🙂 I’ll try to post a picture when we are all done.
Jeremy
Hi,
Just found this site and would love your thoughts on how to paint the trim, front door, garage door, white area leading up to the roof line, and ceiling under the eaves and above the front door. The grout is a light gray and the roof is gray too. I was thinking black in some places but we already ordered white plantation shutters for the window to the left of the front door so now I’m not sure if I need to stick with white? I’m kind of bored with the white garage door and white and would like something different (but nothing crazy). We need to replace the gutters too. So, basically I’m looking to do a complete overhaul of the paint, gutters, etc. but leave the existing roof.
Any thoughts you have would be great!
Thanks
Hi Liz,
Keep the white shutters and I like the white doors as well because it’s kind of dark on the porch area. But I suggest painting the garage doors either the same brick/red brown as your brick color or the same color as your grout to make your house look bigger and make the garage doors less prominent.
I might also suggest painting the white board and batten trim on your porch the same color as you choose for the garage doors to better highlight the front doors and even out the house.
And you could use a nice big outdoor black rocking chair and black accent lighting (instead of brass). That would really finish off the house. I might recommend, also, planting some orange flowers instead of the hot pink. The orange will really look spectacular with the house color.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks for the suggestions. I’m kind of bummed that something darker wouldn’t look as good but I obviously want to improve the look of the house. I like the idea about the orange flowers. I’m not crazy about the landscaping in general but suspect it would look worse if I start messing with it without having a plan so it’s nice to have a place to start. Thanks so much for your response!
Dear Barbara,
Help me please! I have just found your site and I think it is a wonderful thing that you have helped so many people. I do hope you can do the same for me. Like so many others, the painters are coming tomorrow! They put me off so many times because of the weather that we never got around to picking colors (mostly because I really didn’t have any idea about where to start!)
We purchased our beautiful brick home in Missisippi a little over a year ago and are finally getting it painted. We love the home but the trim colors aren’t to my taste (too yellowy on the stucco) and they are, at best, mis-matched because of an addition and an incompleted exterior paint-job by the previous owner.
Anyway, based on the brick and grout color, I was leaning towards a greyish color for the front porch stucco, gables and the back bonus room and chimney. But I am scared to go gray (and how dark of a grey) because it is such a contrast to what is currently there. And what color for the addition? The same color as the porch stucco or a lighter shade of that color similar to what is there now?
And what about the trim? I assume an off-white similar to what is there…we’re fine with that….do we paint the stucco on the columns the same as the eave trims? All to match the color of the clad windows? Or should the columns be a little darker?
And there is the front door….I’m not opposed to the idea of a very dark grey or black door…I think that would look sharp assuming I get the stucco the right color.
Am I going in the right direction with the greyish colors (driven by the grout color and some of the brick tones) or should I be sticking more with browns (just not yellowy) like are there now?
Lots of questions I know…I’m so sorry. I just have no idea where to begin and my husband is no help whatsoever because he basically has no opinion other than “that’s ok I guess”. I’ve uploaded 3 pictures of my house at the link below. And I’ve added notes to each that attempt to explain what you are seeing. Any help you can give me would be so appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Hi Nancy,
I’m not sure if it’s just the photo, but I see a lot of green in your roof. How about a gray-green for your stucco, something like Ben Moore’s sag harbor gray (HC-95). The gray-green would compliment the brick, but more importantly, go well with your roof. Unless that roof is really true gray and it’s just my screen turning it green. In which case, the light warm gray would work well for the stucco. I do like the warmth of the gold but your brick is quite pink, and the gold really doesn’t work. A light gray would be fine. Not too dark.
You could also go a slightly more sandy taupe for the stucco, something that resembles the small pebbles in your front yard. Also a nice color with your brick and okay with the prominent roof.
Keep the white trim. And you might want to add some black or slightly off-black shutters for the front porch windows. Very Southern. And the same color for the front door. I like your columns the same white as the trim color. That’s a given.
Hope I’ve helped a little and in time.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I’m hoping you can give me some advice please. We have a 1954 Brick Ranch with a new roof that desperately needs curb appeal so that we can put this house on the market:
We need to have all trim, facia and garage doors repainted but aren’t sure what colors would go best with the brick and roof (or do we repaint using the existing colors?)
After painting, our plans are to get gutters (they were removed during the new roof installation), add front and side landscaping and spiff up the black top driveway.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thank you so much!
Tammy
Hi Barbara,
We are currently in the process of purchasing a home ,contingent on whether we can make the exterior look better than it presently does.
The house has never been lived in and has a great interior plan. The price has been reduced various times and has been sitting on the market for over 141 days in a highly desirable area.
We had a stone mason come to the site and give us his imput but I’m not sure of how to proceed with this project. The brick is an orangey/red with some green/taupe undertones . The roof is a charcoal grey and there are grey shutters on some of the windows. The doors are wood and the garage doors have been left unpainted in white. It has a pop-out window over the garage that is beige! So you see, a little bit of everything is going on! We are desperate and would like to make this work. Any imput would be greatly appreciated. Tried to send a picture, but it wouldn’t copy. It can be seen on Realty.com MLS # 3609290.
Thanks,
Marie.
Hi Marie,
Nice house! I suggest removing the shutters as they’re really only calling attention to the different sizes of windows and not adding to the overall look. Then paint the garage doors the same khaki color as the shingles on the bump-out over the garage. That establishes a warm accent color and a slightly more contemporary feel which goes along with the house style. And you’ve got wrought iron for your metal. And that’s terrific.
As for the stone mason, I bet he suggested redoing the front steps so they’re not brick. They really ought to be flared (with a curved railing) and something sandy colored, either stone or concrete, to make the entryway more inviting and more noticeable against all the brick of the front facade. The front landing is a little small too (if that’s possible to change with the overhang).
The rest is all about landscaping, as I see it anyway. The front lawn is huge and sloped and the little mulched bed has only one type of shrub with a tree in the middle. There needs to be more color and BIGGER color to make the house look and feel like an old established Southern home.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Tammy,
The brick is tan and the roof is gray (not my first choice) but given that, I suggest painting the garage doors the same color as the farmer’s porch, kind of a medium tan. That will blend the garage doors in with the house. I would stick with cream for the fascia and trim as a bridge between the gray and tan.
Then, if you have more time and money to devote to this curb appeal renovation, I suggest taking out the brick wall and kind of skimpy columns along the front of the porch. That will open up the entryway and make it seem more welcoming. Put in a full-view front door and add a cream-colored bench or a couple of cream-colored chairs to the porch to make it look inviting. Also a large cream/gray pot of flowers will help as well.
Good luck selling. Hope I’ve helped.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you so much, Barbara, for helping me!!!
I agree with you on the roof. Unfortunately, my husband and I listened to the advice of the roofer and went with the “shingle-color-that-goes-with-everything” (according to the roofer.) Since the roof used to be a brick red color, the gray looks so much better than before.
We just had a painter over this weekend and they are suggesting that since the roof is gray, we should try to incorporate a light gray in the porch area (keeping the trip cream). Would you agree or do you still suggest keeping the tan porch and painting the garage doors tan with the rest of the trim cream?
By the way, I love, love your idea about opening up the porch area!!! If we were planning to stay here, we’d definitely keep that in mind!
Thank you so much for your help!!!
Tammy
Hi Tammy,
I would still stay with the tan porch as it’s so much warmer than gray. Then incorporate gray into the scheme with a big gray planter and maybe some carefully placed rocks/boulders in the yard. Use gray as a neutral accent color, but I would keep the warmer paint colors.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Yes, that does help me!!! Thank you so much for your help and your time!
Tammy
Tammy… I know this is an old post, but do you have any after pics? I have basically the same color brick and am looking for trim colors. Thanks!
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for the great site!
I had chosen to bo with black shutters and doors, with white as the main trim color on our brick home prior to finding your site, but I have a couple other color problems:
1. I own in Tucson, in a mid 60’s brick rancher with a very low pitch roof (11 degree slant, white roof). The brick color is a light pink-peach with white flecks. Because of the extremely low pitch roof (very common in the southwest)., by painting my trim major the same color as the roof, I ***feel*** like I run the risk of a vanishing horizon. There is a 2″ piece of aluminum flashing that could be painted black. Do you think this will be too over-the-top…should I just paint the trim white and roll with it, keeping in mind the doors and shutters will be black.
2. The yard is surrounded on each side by a concrete block wall with 1″ thick concrete block caps (also very common in the southwest!)….I am at a total loss on what color to paint the wall (I hate the grey concrete blocks, they look too industrial). I don’t want to introduce a fourth color, but I really feel like a dark grey (darker than the concrete block) with a black cap will not be too bad if I do….whereas white may be too much overkill with all the other white trim I will have on the house.
Thanks in advance!
Todd
Hi Todd,
How about painting the trim/flashing a medium tone, something like the grout color on your brick. That way there will be some color up next to the white roof, but not too much contrast (as you’d get with black). I would still use white for the rest of the trim as you’ve got white in your brick and white will stand out best.
As for the wall, why not paint that a sandy/earthy color maybe in two tones so that it blends with the surroundings and doesn’t stand out as a feature in your yard (as it will if you paint it dark grey and black). If you want it as a feature, then go ahead with the dark colors. But I would reserve black for the shutters and door and any ironwork on the house or in the yard. Also you could use black lawn furniture. But black should truly be an accent color for features you really want people to notice.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
Thanks for the suggestions! 🙂
I think going with the grout color for the trim/flashing will work out great; the grout is concrete color (grey), but not very dark at all, more shaded towards the white side than the black.
Thanks again for the insight and advice!
Todd
Barbara,
We are in the process of painting trim and replacing shutters on our house. The trim color is Buckskin Beige; I wouldn’t mind keeping it a similar color. We planned on painting the inner window trim white, since we have white vinyl fencing around our porch and pool areas. I wondered if we should bring in some white to the front porch area, and if so, where would it look best? Could you suggest colors for the shutters and front door as well? We are attaching some pictures; all the landscaping in the pictures has been removed and will be replaced with new plants.
Thanks so much for your help,
Margaret
Hi Barbara,
I hope you can help me with some color choices.
I have a modern colonial style house built in 1987 that I have owned for 2 years. It is mostly white vinyl with brick across the front of the first floor. The porch is currently painted forest green and the shutters are green as well (but the greens don’t quite match). I would like to repaint the porch and the shutters to match and am interested in a warmer green – a sage or olive color, but I am not sure it would look good with the stark white vinyl siding.
Do you think it would work with the warmer greens?
I know black works with white and brick, but am not sure I would like a black porch.
Do you have any ideas?
I have attached three pictures of the house.
Thank you for your time!
Beth
http://s287.photobucket.com/albums/ll126/bgatti/pictures%20of%20house/
Hi Margaret,
Sorry for the delay. You can add white certainly on your front columns and perhaps the sidelights on either side of the front door. It looks like a white storm door anyway, so that would make some sense. The other place to put white is on the railing above the front porch. Using white as a highlight color in combination with the cream trim will tie in your white elsewhere.
As for shutters, black would look very classic, but you could add some punch to the front door area by painting the front door the red brick color. Make sure there is enough brown in the red to make it look like brick and not tomato.
See what you think.
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Beth,
First of all, I like your shutter color. If you need to repaint them, I would stick with that nice warm olive color. Next, I suggest painting your porch railing a warm white. It would certainly stand out better against the brick front. And you already have white trim around the windows and front door.
Having said that, you might also consider painting the railing the grout color (same color as your cement porch — a warm tan color). It would stand out better than the green, but would blend as well. And that would allow you to paint your garage doors the same tan color. Painting the doors a warm neutral will blend with the grout/steps but will make the house look warmer than the cold stark bluish white that they are now.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We just replaced dryvit with a dark red/brown brick and dark red grout. I have some stucco on the front in the doorway arch called “buff” which turned out tan with a little too much yellow in it. Right now my trim is off- white and my front door is black. Way too many colors. Should I paint the door, gutters and eaves dark? Should I go with the color of the grout or a shade off? Can (or should) I change the color of the stucco?
I have a 1950s plain brick rambler with light green trim and siding on the ends. The fairly new roof is a greyish tile. There are no shutters. My question is two-fold–(ignoring the blue door that will be replaced by) what color would you recommend for the trim and siding on the ends and should I consider shutters? You usually comment that black shutters with white trim is nice and traditional. I agree but I’m hoping for something a little less traditional. I’m also looking for more curb appeal–not for selling but for my own use. I’m considering removing the straight concrete walkway for something more flowing and easy on the eye. Any other ideas or suggestions to spruce up a dated house and landscaping.
(The inside is currently under a big remodel but we decided to keep the same footprint and not built out or up. )
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Hi Mary,
If it really does look like too many colors, you might paint the door the red grout color, but I would paint the gutters and eaves your trim color. Except for the downspouts, which should be grout color or a shade darker to really blend into the brick.
As for the stucco arch, it sounds fine. If it bothers you, why not try more of a natural tan (concrete) color. That will not stand out quite so much. But with the dark red/brown brick, a yellow-based tan should look fine.
Send a photo if I can be of further help.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Robert,
If possible, I would paint the window trim and the house trim the grout color (a light tan). Then paint the siding a darker gray green (something like Ben Moore’s Louisburg green HC-113). The green will coordinate well with both the roof and the brick and will add more color than what’s there now.
As for shutters, they can only go on your two small windows on the left, but sure. Bringing the green down to the shutters would help to distribute the accent green around the house.
You mentioned replacing the blue door, but I would first replace the storm door with a tan full-view glass door. That way you can see the painted door behind it. Again, green or brick red/brown would be nice for the door.
I would replace the current mailbox with a black metal one and replace the current numbers with black numbers place above the door on the trim facia board (so you can see them). The black porch light is fine.
It looks like you need another wrought iron railing on the other side of the steps and the low bushes in front should eventually be replaced with a variety of shrubs and perennials in a mulched bed that can curve around your yard (not go straight across the front).
Hope you can decipher my suggestions and hope they help.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We are completely remodeling our 1890’s 2 story red brick farm house in innesota. We have replaced all the windows and doors which now have white vinyl trim. We are planning on putting a metal roof on it but are having difficulty with the color. We would like to play down the red and bring some of the darker colors out of the brick.
We also added a largedeck on the side and a covered porch out front, what color would you suggest for them?
Should we paint the attached garage the same color as the decks?
We are replacing the gingerbread, any suggestions for that color also?
Jenni
Hi Jenni,
Sounds like quite a project. I suggest either dark brown or dark gray for your metal roof. If you go with the dark brown, you can paint the deck and porch floors dark brown as well as the garage siding. Then use white for the trim color since you have white windows already. The garage doors can be dark brick red or another color from the brick.
As for gingerbread, that is usually the trim color (white) as you want to notice that architectural feature (if you’re keeping it, that is).
Does that help a little? Obviously, if you go with a charcoal gray roof, you can use gray as your second color (as with the brown above).
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
That helps a lot! I really appreciate your advice, I’m leaning towards the dark brown with white trim. We are keeping the gingerbread, it really adds the final touch. This farm has been in my family since 1864, so it is well worth the work.
Jenni
Hi Barbara,
We need to repaint our 1963 tri-level and I’m hoping for help with color choices. Our house has very dark brown brick with light grey colored morter on the lower level, old wide white siding, white trim, black shutters, aluminum windows, plain concrete foundation, and a light grey roof. We also have a faded redwood-colored composite deck. Doesn’t sound great – and it isn’t!
I’m trying to give our stark house a more organic feel. I was thinking some sort of green for the siding? But which green and what for the trim and front door? And what color should the garage door be? Should the shutters stay black? Should we paint the foundation – and will the paint adhere well to the concrete if we do? (It might be easier to hide it behind showy perennials).
If it helps, we’re not afraid of color – we just painted our kitchen cabinets a rich sun dried tomato color and it looks fantastic (pale yellow/cream walls, black/green/gold granite, tawny stone tile floor).
Thanks, in advance, for any ideas you may have 🙂
Theresa
Hello, I have a ranch house which faces the street with the short side. The front of the house is a red brick with scattered white throughout the brick. The curb view includes the garage door, front door and a bay window. The garage door and siding on the rest of the house is called clay, which is a taupe color. The front door is called jalepeno, which is a brick red. The trim around the doors is the clay color. The replacement windows are white. Everything works really well together, except I just had the bay window replaced and it is white. Now, the front of the house looks unbalanced, as one side is predominantly the white bay and the other predominately the taupe garage door, with the red brick color door in the middle. How can I balance the curb appeal of the house, as right now, all I can see is a gigantic white thing on one side of the house. Can I paint the vinyl window taupe? I’ve read that some folks think its a good idea, some not so much.
Hello again, I have figured out how to get you a picture of the house so you can see what I mean. It would have saved you a lot of reading if I had done this in the first place!! Gail
Hi! We just built a home. It has white siding and a rust/red color brick on each side. I am really struggling on what color shutters to go with and what color to paint my door…it is currently white. I was thinking black shutters and a red door.
We are getting new front door but I need help, I have a red brick Cape Cod style home – all the trim and railings are in white, but I was thinking I need something other than a white door. Also I would like a screen door – yes or no? We do have a screen door there now, and since our windows do not open in the front room, I would like to have a door that lets in air. I was thinking a wood door with a stained glass pane. What do you think?
OH BY THE WAY The house was built in 1930 if that really matters, but all homes in the neighborhood are older!
Hello,
My house is pink brick – very pink – with white trim and a light purple front door. The roof is a sort of brownish color. The white looks fine, but it is sterile. I am getting a new roof and painting the trim and would like some advice.
I’m thinking about the following combinations:
1. grey or black roof, olive or pale green trim, some sort of darker front door color
2. grey or black roof, white trim with a hint of purple, dark purple front door
Do these sound like they would work and what other suggestions do you have? I realize that getting a new roof gives me an opportunity to change a major element of the color scheme, so I definitely am interested in hearing thoughts on a grey or black roof with pink brick.
Thanks!
We have just painted our shutters black and now are wondering what to do with the front door and garage doors. Do we keep them the same?
Presently front door is BM Cottage Red, Side lights, Garage Doors and window trim are BM Turret R9993, header above front door is fairview taupe HC85. Wondering if header should be painted black as well. Here are some photos to help. Thank You for your advise.
Hi Barbara–
We have a Georgian colonial brick home (orange brick with traditional mushroom grout) which we just had painted. The trim, doors, and shutters are ALL now a bright white. The front door is slightly recessed with sidelight windows and there is one window on the first floor on each side of the door. The house has shutters on the first floor windows only as the second floor windows are all dormer style. So there are only these 2 sets of shutters. I wondered if a color on the door and shutters would look odd since there would be no color introduced on the second floor. There are also white gutter downspouts which flank each side of the front door which I find distracting to the eye. (There were originally copper gutters on the house. Maybe we will be able to replace them one day, but this is cost prohibitive at the present.) The paint job itself is fine, but I am wondering if we should have gone with a softer white or even beige with black or dark gray on the shutters and front door. There is a large area of wood siding in the back of the house upstairs which we kept that bright white as well. I don’t wee going with a color back there but the softer white or beige might have worked, I think. Is white the crisp clean look I was going for or a little too harsh or is there just alittle too much of it? Is one trim color an acceptable updated look of today? And any advice on those downspouts? Painting them a color close to the orange brick?
I appreciate your help!
Maria
Hi Theresa (103),
A couple of ideas come to mind. You can certainly do green (look at louisburg green by Ben Moore) which looks great with the environment. But you might also consider a blue like buxton blue (also Ben Moore) that would look terrific with the brown brick and also would blend well with the aluminum windows and gray roof. For the garage and front doors, I would match the brown brick. Stick with white trim to match windows and keep the foundation as is. It is easy to hide with perennials.
As for the shutters, although they don’t match the roof, you could try brown as well. If the blue/brown is too trendy a color combo, then stick with the green. Any olive shade will work.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara:
I am in desperate need of help on choosing an exterior paint color (s) for my house. The brick is a white/cream color and the trim and shutters are currently blue. I have had new columns and a front door recently replaced that have no paint on them at all. There are 2 rockers on the porch that are white. The gutters and the garage doors are an off-white/beige color that blends with the brick. Part of the back of the house is hardy plank which is currently painted blue. When I decided to repaint, I immediately went back to the blue color family but after 3 quarts and 2 gallons of different colors, I am severely questioning if this is the right color at all. Can you guide me to a new color scheme for the trim, door, shutters, and rockers that will offer great curb appeal?
Hi Gail (105),
I have to agree that painting vinyl windows is dicey. Although I love the taupe trim and garage door, since you have white in your brick, I suggest you paint the trim around the front door and garage door white and see if that does the trick. If not, you can always paint the garage door white (I don’t often say that, do I…). That will balance the big window.
The other idea is to paint the trim around the doors white and choose a darker color for the garage door, something that will blend in more with the brick. A darker brown perhaps. That way, although the trim is white, the garage door will not be so prominent and there will be less conflict between the colors.
See if that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Julie (#106),
That sounds great. I love black shutters and a red door. Just make sure the red is brown enough to go with your brick. Not too tomatoey. Try some samples before you go ahead with the door painting.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Donna (#107),
It all depends. I love the idea of a wood door for your Cape style home. I’m not sure about the stained glass though as it’s really not part of the Cape architecture, and frankly, it’s like picking out art. Some people like it and some people hate it. I would rather put the money into a nice solid wood door with maybe one of those vintage-style screen doors in front of it. That would add a little character to your home without going too far.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi keltyg (#109),
Do you have shutters or plans for shutters? Because with a black or dark gray roof (perfect), I would introduce black shutters to dress up the pink brick and give it more of a classic look. Then, as for trim colors, green will make the pink brick even pinker since green and red are opposites on the color wheel. The light purple tint with the dark grape door is a better option if you like lots of color.
Frankly, what I would suggest is the classic pink brick, black roof, black front door, and white trim (or a slight pink tint). Black shutters always a plus depending on the style of the windows and house.
But if you really love the pink and want to add more color (instead of tempering it with the white and black), then stick on the same side of the color wheel (pink/purple, not green).
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi JD (#110),
I would paint the front door black to finish off your classic look. Then paint the header above the door the same color as the trim. Keep the garage doors as is so you won’t call too much attention to them.
Make sure you keep a colorful wreath on the door — the colors will look really sharp in front of the black. You might also want to add some wrought iron around the yard like a bench or a planter along the driveway. That will pull all the colors together.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Maria (#111),
It sounds like you’re experiencing Painter’s Shock: that period right after the painters leave and you stare at your home wondering if you’ve made the right decisions. Some of that initial shock will fade with time, and it sounds like you can’t go completely wrong with white, bright or not. But, yes, you’re noticing the nuances of the “color” white and its many varieties. A softer (yellower, greyer, or beiger) white gives an aged look to the trim which often fits better with an older home. But as your new paint job ages with time, the color will blend better with the brick and you’ll be happier.
As for the dreadful downspouts, painting them a color that will blend completely with the brick would be preferable to white. They will go away, at least from the street. That should help a lot.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Debra (#113),
I think you’re right. The blue is not the greatest color. I would paint the back of your house over with a shade that’s slightly darker than your brick color (have a look at Ben Moore’s bradstreet beige HC-48). Then paint the trim around the house and garage white. Including the beautiful columns out front. For the shutters, you can add some punch with something like a georgian brick (HC-50). That will add warmth and will coordinate well with not only your roof but your neighbor’s house.
I would leave the rockers white. As soon as the trim is white, especially those nice columns, the chairs will pop out too.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks for your reply, but I need further clarifying please. Are you suggesting to paint the soffit, fascia, columns, guttering, and garage doors white? Or should I leave the guttering and garage doors the light beige color that they currently are so that they blend in with the brick? What color do I paint the front door? Do I paint it white also or do I paint it the same color as the shutters? I really like the idea of painting the hardy plank in the back a shade slightly darker than the brick. Since there are so many shades of “white”, what hue should I get…. a very bright white?? I am sorry to sound so confused, I just want to make sure I have everything clear in my mind. I must admit that I never thought about using white on any of the trim since the brick is an off-white. As you can tell, I am definitely “color challenged” and need all the help I can get!!!
Hello Barbara,
I would appreciate any help you could provide regarding painting the stucco on my house. My house has an orange (terra-cotta) brick façade halfway up the house, white stucco, white aluminum windows, a white front and side door and grey/taupe shingles. The concrete at the base of the house is currently painted the same colour as the brick. At the side of the house, there is a huge ugly orange-bricked double chimney which is an eyesore. The rest is white stucco except at the peak where it is wood that is stained red. The back of the house is all white stucco with the orange concrete at the base. I would like to know what colour to paint the stucco in order to make that horrible chimney disappear and tie in the shingles with the brick. I have photos but I’m having difficulty including the link.
I would be grateful for any help!
Thanks,
Christine
Barbara,
Here’s at attempt at those photos:
[IMG]http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o404/sahmdiva/100_1481.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o404/sahmdiva/100_1480.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o404/sahmdiva/100_1479.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o404/sahmdiva/100_1478.jpg[/IMG]
Hi Christine (#122),
I suggest a tan or caramel for the stucco color. Either one will blend with the brick better than the current white and at the very least make that chimney seem a little less obtrusive on that side of the house.
I would repaint the foundation the same color as your stone garden wall in front of the house. That will make that bottom color all the same and will tie in with the roof color.
A light cream trim will also blend better than the white, but start with the stucco color and see how you like it first.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Can you help me choose a front door color please?
http://i334.photobucket.com/albums/m403/pblauser
Hi Kyla,
I suggest painting the columns the trim color, a light gray, and the door black to coordinate with the shutters. I hope you didn’t just paint the columns but they’re a little too stark against the house. The light gray should stand out enough to highlight the architecture without going overboard.
The black door will be elegant. If you have a chance to add wrought iron sconces or maybe a black pot or two, that would help to tie the whole look together.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your advice. I wouldn’t have dared to try two different colours for the stucco and foundation! I have access to Benjamin Moore paint in my area. Could you suggest a specific tan or caramel colour? I’m not sure how dark to go.
And just one more thing. On the side of the house, should I paint the entire side the tan/caramel colour, including the area where it peaks?
I feel very fortunate to have found your site. You are amazing!
Cheers,
Christine
The overall look of the house is very nice. Has an old world charm to it…The colors are soothing and the brick finish suits the architecture.
Hi Christine (#127),
Have a look at the historic colors in Ben Moore’s palette. I was thinking of either Wilmington tan (HC-34) or Roxbury caramel (HC-42). And yes, I would go all the way up to the roof with the color. It will make your house look bigger and less chopped up.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
For our Tudor: We’re looking to paint our stucco very dark charcoal and the wood trim very very dark charcoal (almost black). The garage would be very dark charcoal, but we would not get fussy with the trim pieces on it – solid color. The side house and “bump out” that you’ll see in the pictures are wood siding with brick below. We’re not sure what to do there, either. Perhaps match the brick?
1. What do you think of the dark color choices?
2. Because we see lots of wood when we’re on our deck, we thought we might not want that so dark. Thoughts?
pictures at: http://tudordudes.com/first_impression.aspx
Thanks,
Guy
Hello,
We are repainting our house for the first time since we moved in. We would like to change the color scheme. We are not afraid of color but just do not know which way to go. Please advise on color for trim, shutters, door, garage, etc. Also siding color, although you can’t see any of the siding from the front of the house.
We would like the front door to be more of the focus than the garage or shutters if possible. Not sure how to do this since the shutters are only on the left side of the house, and the garage to the right. Typically seen the shutters and front door painted same color on houses like ours which makes the front door less dramatic.
Thanks in advance. Here is a pic of the house:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=2AauXLRyzaMXPA
Hi Noreen,
The left side of the house looks great, but I understand about the garage doors being so prominent as they are literally in front of the house.
One suggestion is to paint the garage doors, siding, and shutters a darker version of the grout color, a dark sandy tan. Similar to the key above the doors and windows. That will blend those surfaces in with the brick. Then darken up the front door to a shiny black. Keep the trim white as is. That should really call your attention to the front door. Or since the front door is recessed, you might opt for a dark brick red door. That would be less formal but would certainly call the eye toward the entry. Either way, the garage doors have to be blended in with the brick to avoid becoming the focal point.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Guy (#130),
Have you considered painting the stucco and the wood siding an earthy green that would coordinate with the brick and blend beautifully into your environment? How about something like Ben Moore’s Gloucester sage (HC-100) or Crownsville gray (HC-106). Then you could use the traditional tudor dark brown trim. You could even paint the garage door dark brown to blend it completely into the house, reserving the color for the accent peaks. And since your deck area and fencing are all brown, the green would be something a little more interesting in the backyard.
I know your roof is gray, but painting the stucco a dark gray will make that peak look like part of the roof and will draw the eye to the color (the brick) and I’m thinking that the house will appear smaller than it really is. Too much roof.
Also dark charcoal trim against the orange of the brick might look a little too much like Halloween.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara:
Well I bought the 2 Benjamin Moore paint colors that you recommended (#120) but still not sure what exactly to paint white. I have guttering on the front and part of the back of my house that are beige. The guttering does not go all the way around the house and as you saw in the picture (#113), my garage doors are beige also. Do I leave them as they are so that they blend in with my house, but paint the facia and soffets white as well as the trim around the doors? Should I also paint the door the Georgia Brick color? You have no idea how much I appreciate your help. This blog was such a God-send to me and I value your opinion. Thank you so much for your guidance!
Hi Barbara, I’m not sure I can paint the garage door, as it is vinyl as well (or whatever they make garage door of that isn’t wood). I am also not a huge fan of white. Would shutters help? Maybe the same color as the front door?
Hi Debra (#134),
Sorry, Debra, I think I missed a follow-up request you sent awhile ago. Glad you wrote back. Yes, I would leave the garage doors and gutters as is. But paint all the trim around the doors, etc, and the columns out front white. It doesn’t have to be bright white. Something like White Dove (Ben Moore) will work fine. It’s an aged white. And yes, you can paint the shutters and front door the same brick color. I hope you’ll be thrilled at how good your house looks!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi again Gail,
I just reread your posts above and realize now that you have taupe/clay siding on the rest of your house. Same as the garage door. So you don’t need to paint that.
You can try putting up shutters — I would use clay to bring more of that color to the other side of your front face. That leaves the red for the middle. Maybe that will be enough to balance the colors without painting trim or painting the window.
For the record, I have done both: I have painted my metal garage door (use TSP cleanser and a good prime coat first) and I have painted over the edges of my white vinyl windows. (Not the part that touches the glass, just the outside edge.) I know warranties nolonger apply and all of that, but I’m an aesthetics person and can’t help myself.
But I don’t want to tell you it’s okay to paint your windows because there’s enough evidence out there that it’s not a great idea. Try the shutters and see if that helps you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara:
Thank you so much for the suggestion. I am so excited and cannot wait to get started. I’ll let you know the outcome!
Thanks again!
Hi Debra,
Hope you can help me. I have a 70’s brick ranch with traditional red bricks (dark and lighter red bricks) with a dark gray brick thrown in here and there for contrast.
There are 2 wood triangle gables,roof line overhead trim-front and back, one large picture window which have trim, and a wood panel wall on the front porch-the wall faces the street and the door entrance is in brick at one end of the wall, two windows at each end of house, one in the brick with a black shudder, (the picture window in the center of the house front set in brick with no shutters) and a window set into the wooden panel on porch. It’s a square ranch. The roof currently is light gray-but I will go back to black in a few yrs. when it needs replacing.
The paint color is currently a beige cream. I have never liked it and yet it seems to be a popular choice here besides white. The brick grout is dark beige.
The painters are arriving soon!I would really like to change the color to a glossy sage green color for everything but the door. The windows are wood–so they have to be painted as well.
I would like to paint the door a different color but can’t come up with one. I have a black wrought-iron storm door (think New Orleans) and a wood main door with 1/2 glass panels.
I’d love your opinion on the sage green and a suggestion for the door. Also, I will have to buy new gutters and hoped to buy them already painted so that color needs to be coordinated as well.
Thanks if you have any suggestions I really appreciate it-my head is spinning trying to come up with something more appealing than beige or white!
Hi Sandi (#139),
The sage green sounds great with your brick and wrought iron. You didn’t mention the trim color, but either cream or white will work fine. As for the front door, you can use the brick for inspiration and go a shade darker than the darkest brick. Just make sure the red is brown enough and not too red. That color should coordinate well with the green and really show off that front door.
Hope it works for you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi – We need your help! We would like to update the trim color on our 1940 red-brown brick house. Right now we have the white trim/black shutters look.
There were alot of great suggestions on this site, but our problem is that we have some vinyl windows that are white. We’ve been advised not to paint these, so that means that we are stuck with white as the color for the inntermost frame around the windows. We can still paint the wood outer frame, gutters, downspouts, fascia etc.
We have warm, light beige siding on the top of the house, so we need a color that will look good with that as well as the white of the inner window frame and the brick colors. We could also use suggestions for the door and front porch which are currently grey.
Hmmm – I’ll try one last time to copy the photo
Hi Mandy (#141),
Since you’d like a change, why not try the grout color or a shade darker (as long as it’s a darker tan color) on the trim around the gable and the perimeter of the house, leaving white around the windows. The darker tan should be a bridge between the paler siding and the roof color so that the outline of your house will not be quite so prominent. That will make the house look bigger.
As for the porch, it is asymmetrical so I think I would leave it white with the white columns and paint the porch floor the dark tan color. Leaving the porch and sidelights white will tie them in with the white windows. Changing all the trim to tan will only make the white windows stand out too much.
I suggest a nice brick red for the front door.
As for shutters, try dark brown that will go with the roof.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
This is about a 9- or 10-year-old image of our house, but the paint’s the same. We’ve added some landscaping, but need to repaint.
While not a great shot, it conveys the general colors.
http://snipurl.com/37qoq [www_ustaxdata_com]
A tri-color brick veneer…main house paint is a buttery yellow, but the neighbor has claimed a warmer yellow with darkish red shutters.
Our windows are white, shutters and non-descript front door are a very dark and dull charcoal (not jet black by any stretch). There is some yellower siding around back (not visible).
I’m torn between losing the shutters (I hate non-functioning things) but worry our modest home will resemble a brick trailer.
I’m also thinking that more colors of the era (’68 construction), a la something blue (tiffany-aqua blues) might be fun…but I don’t know if I’m that big of a risk taker.
We have a street mailbox now, so the one mounted on the exterior wall is a vestige of times gone by and will go away.
I plan on some sort of new storm door (just full glass?) and a more contemporary light fixture (the one that came with the house is unpleasantly faux colonial/towne light like).
When I’ve tried variations on the virtual color visualizers, I hate most every combo. Using my computer’s basic Paint program, I did my own eyedropper sampling from the bricks and arrived at some complementary palettes, but they’re rather dull to my eye.
I appreciate any guidance you might provide!
Hi rebrad (#144),
I suggest a more robust gold like Ben Moore’s Richmond Gold (HC-41) to balance out the brick and warm up the facade. I’d avoid the retro look (just in case neighbors think you’re REALLY serious about aqua) and stick with colors that will enhance the brick. The gold will work great. Feel free to punch up the shutters to a full black and get a larger wrought iron front light for the entryway.
Then I would certainly put in a full-view glass storm door. A glossy black will work for the front door but if you feel like you need more color, you can go with a rusty red. Sometimes that shows up better behind the storm door.
With new plantings out front, you have an upgraded look. See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Just happened upon this site while trying to come up with some brick options for our new home. I am hoping you can help since I do not have a knack for decorating and putting colors together as you do. 🙂 We have already decided on the Buckskin siding color and I did pick out a stone that I really liked but it looks like the stone will exceed our budget so now I am frantically trying to pick a brick that will match. I know there are tons of brick options out there but are you familiar with any that would compliment this color of siding?
Thanks so much for your insight!
Mary Ann
Hi Mary Ann (#146),
I wouldn’t worry about matching the brick to the buckskin siding color as I’m not sure that’s possible anyway. I would select a brick color that coordinates with the buckskin and choose a GROUT color that matches the buckskin. That will tie the house together just fine.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
please help; i have a brick ranch small red, like a true brick color, we are putting a new roof; im not sure as to the color to do. we have only two windows in the front a kitchen window casement ; and a small round window in bathroom; our new windows are white and garage doors white, i want the house to look bigger. our neighboorhood is million dollar homes and ours is 50 years old , the only one in the neighborhood, we are on a lake. thanks im having a hard time with this. tricia
Hi Barbara,
I stumbled upon your website while trying to figure out what color to have my shutters painted. I am going for a meditarranean feel both inside and outside of my house (slow process as you can see). This is the only window facing the front besides the two long and narrow ones on the sides of my front door. I’d like to bring them out a bit more. Thought of painting them a dark brown or but I don’t know if that would be way to dark cosidering the white stone. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
-Rebecca
Hi Tricia (#148),
I would stay as tastefully traditional as possible in your neighborhood of million dollar homes. I love the white trim on the windows but I suggest painting your garage door to make the house look bigger. If you go with a dark charcoal/black roof you can paint your garage door and front door a shiny black which will dress up your house and help it fit right in with the McMansions.
Since you have casement windows, you don’t need shutters, but I would continue to dress up the house with black lights/mailbox, etc.
That should help, I hope.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Rebecca (#149),
I would get rid of the shutters if you’re going for the Mediterranean look. Painting the window trim a dark brown is an excellent idea as the windows will stand out against the stone. I think that will help a lot.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
I wrote you asking about using sage green for my brick ranch ( I’m#139) and have since tried two samples from Sherwin Williams. (SW 6193 & SW6192) one is too dark the other seems too blue.
Do you have a sage green (or any green) that you recommend? My husband vetoed SW’s “garden sage sw7736” as being too dull-muddy looking. I wish I had written you months ago you have such great taste and my painter is biting at the bite to get started but the above colors just don’t work.
Now I know why everyone in my neighborhood chooses plain old white!
I will use your suggestion for the door. Thanks so much if you can help.
Hi Sandi,
Have a look at the Ben Moore Historical greens, like louisburg green, saybrook sage, and the others. They’re very sophisticated on the house and look great with brick. Louisburg is my favorite. (I don’t have my SW fan deck for a specific color from that company — hope you have access to BM).
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I am SO happy that I have found your site. I am trying to sell my house in a very difficult market. I have renovated the entire inside and it looks nice. The problem is that I have neglected the outside and now have no roadside appeal. So, people are not coming in to see the wonderful renovations that have been done.
My problem is that I need to repaint the shutters and front door (maybe the garage) and I do not know what colors to use.
I have hired a landscaper, so hopefully this problem will taken care of. However if you have any suugestions whatsoever, I will be so grateful to hear them.
Thank you so much!
Alexa
Barbara,
I’m so glad I found your website! I have had similar problems figuring out the best color scheme for my 1967 brick, colonial home.
The brick has a light beige wash over it and my shutters, trim, siding, doors and gutters are currently a cream color. I was hoping to bring in a little color to liven it up. I’m contemplating using a dark espresso brown (almost black in some light) for the shutters, such as benjamin moore’s Wenge or the Sherwin-Williams equivalent, a deep red just for the door that matches the brick, cream for the trim and perhaps a light taupe for the siding. I just want to make sure that the colors I choose don’t highlight my gutters and don’t clash with my rust, brown roof. I’m not sure what color to paint the garage door, same color as the trim? Here’s a picture of my house. http://s525.photobucket.com/albums/cc337/ReneeFried/House/
(I’m new to this website, I hope it works)
Any thoughts? My painters are currently doing prep work on the house, but I don’t expect them to be able to start painting until next week at the very earliest. Thanks for your help!
Renee
Hi Alexa F (#154),
I would remove the shutters altogether. All three windows are different sizes and the dark shutters just call attention to that. I think removing them will also lighten up the house a bit. Then if you can manage it, I would replace the garage door with an updated model — garage doors are getting very stylish these days and yours is outdated. But if the budget does not allow for a new door, I would paint the existing one the same color as the siding — it looks like cream. A brick red door (like Georgian brick from Ben Moore) would be a nice entry color.
As for the landscaping, I’m sure your professional has some great advice, but adding some color to the front will help draw people in. Right now everything is just green. Removing the old shrubbery and replacing it with a variety of smaller plants and shrubs in a mulched bed will be just what the buyers are looking for. I LOVE your palm tree!!
Good luck selling.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Renee (#155),
Your color choices sound excellent. Just make sure the taupe you choose is right out of the washed brick. I would use that same taupe for the garage door and gutter downspouts. The dark shutters will really dress up an already formal house. And I might change out the light fixtures to either wrought iron or bronze to pop off the brick. Yes, the roof is brown, but with the dark almost black shutters, I think your eye will be less drawn to the roof and more to the front of the house.
Hope that all comes together for you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks Barbara for getting back to me so quickly! You read my mind. I was planning on switching out the light fixtures to either wrought iron or bronze! I’m trying to match the taupe as you suggested and I’m having a hard time. Those tiny paint chips sure are deceptive. The color I put up today was far more yellow than it looked on the card. Do you have any suggestions?
-Renee
Dear Barbara,
Thank you SO much!!! You don’t know how much your suggestions have helped us. Hopefully, the changes will give us the curbside appeal we so desperately need.
Alexa
Hi Renee (#158),
The color nuances are really subtle so it’s hard to tell exactly what color to use based on the computer screen, but have a look at the Ben Moore historical taupes that are more gray-based than yellow-based. Try shaker beige, lenox tan, and bradstreet beige for starters. There’s also butte rock (AC-8) and adobe beige (AC-7). The point is to create a contrast between the siding and the trim color and choose a color from the brick so the brick is enhanced. Hope one of these colors works for you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Renee (#158),
The butte rock number is AC-eight just in case that little smiley face (?) is there for you too.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi there! I really am enjoying reading your great advice and ideas! A few months ago we purchased a 1923 Brick House. I’m so excited about the potential of this house. When we bought it, it had bright mint green trim and doors. In order to secure our loan, we had to paint the house before we could buy it. We chose cream for the trim and kind of a lighter sagey green for the dormers and siding, which are only visible from the side and back of the house. Now, I’m left with my doors – the front and side. My biggest concern is the front door. I had originally thought to paint it the same sagey green to tie the whole thing together, but then I got to thinking that black would look very sophisticated. I shared this with my husband and he was NOT excited about a black door. I know you probably don’t want to get involved in marital disagreements :), but I’m just curious what your thoughts are. The other thing I was thinking was that maybe black would be too dark, since it’s on the front porch? Hopefully the attached pic helps. Thanks!
Hi Cara (#162),
Since the front door is behind a storm door and also up on the porch in the shadow, I suggest keeping the door a nice fresh cream, just like the trim around the windows. You won’t gain anything by painting the door black or even brown or red (although I agree with you that black doors do lend some sophistication to a house — but not this particular house).
Also, it looks from the photo that the porch ceiling is mint green? Could be just my screen, but I would paint the ceiling white/cream if it’s currently another color. You will get much more reflected light in the porch area with a white ceiling.
Now, having said all that “white” (not typical for a color coach), you can add color in your landscaping and on the porch with a pot of flowers by the door. Lots of greenery to go with your sage siding. Then I think you’re all set.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I have a brick home on a cylnder block foundation at most points you can see two cylnder blocks high from the ground up to the brick. What color should I paint the block foundation to go with the brick. I was thinking Black what do you think?
Hi Liz (#164),
Actually, I would probably leave the foundation its natural color and just put in foundation plantings (about 18″ away from the wall) all around the house to camouflage the cinder blocks.
You can plant all kinds of shrubs, bushes, and flowers, and end up with barely any foundation showing at all.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
The problem is It was already painted a few times so I just want to go over it with one color but one that would look good. The last color was a marroon redish color. I have standard red brick with White trim and a sandy brown with red specks roof (how it was when I bought it) I will be changing the roof maybe to black…but that not for a few more years. So if I have to paint what would you recommend. Thanks for all your ideas.
Hi again Liz (#166),
Oh, I see now. It’s already been painted. Then I would go over it with as close to a sandy gray/tan as possible to give the impression that it’s the natural color. Anything close will be fine — just not maroon. You’re smart to get rid of that!
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thanks so much for your help. I did end up using a taupe with more of a gray base from Sherman Williams.
-Renee
Hi Barbara,
We live in a southern plantation style home with double porches. It is deep red brick and for now has a green front door unit with white side lights and fan, green shutters on the windows and white trim (there’s a lot of trim with the railings and columns). We are about to paint and I want to change the whole front door unit to black, sidelights and all. The shutters to black and the garage doors to black. The upstairs porch has 5 single french doors going across with shutters. These line up with the windows and shutters on the lower level. I am thinking I should leave those doors white to match the windows below and the porch railing/columns. Our roof is black or a really dark gray. Does all this sound right? My painter suggested that I paint all the exterior doors black but I think that would look funny with the white windows lined up below on the porches.
We do have 3 other exterior door on the side and back that you can’t see from the front. One of those doors you can see from the side by the garage doors. Should I paint those black?
What do you think?
Thanks!
Hi Renee (#169),
With such a classic home, I suggest a classic paint palette: white trim everywhere including front door sidelights, black shutters, and black main doors (wherever people enter and exit). Doors to the cellar or other extraneous doors can be kept white to blend in and avoid attention. And you can paint the garage doors black as well. A nice shiny black to reflect light and give your house the sophistication that it so rightly deserves.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I really like your replies to the previous posts. I have a brown brick 2 step ranch. I am replacing the gutters, soffit, and fascia. The current gutters are brown, but I wanted to go with a lighter color to give the house a lighter, more contemporary look. I was intrigued by your idea of matching the grout color. Is that something that would be appropriate for my home?
-Lisa
Hi Lisa (#171),
I love the idea of using the grout color for features like gutters and soffits. Blending those features into the grout will make them stand out less and will simply make the house more color coordinated. White or cream will work as well. If your downspout is along the trim, that’s fine, but if it runs along the house, be sure to paint it brown to match the brown brick as you really don’t want to notice the downspout running down the house.
Sounds like you’ve got a plan.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I think this is great, it’s so nice to have someone to come to with questions about your home. And you seem really nice and helpful.
Attached are a few pictures of our house, I’m looking for some suggestions for trim color, door colors, the eves and our small jut out addition (seen over the garage door). The windows are vinyl clad white so no changes can be made there. We’re just looking for something to jazz up the house, keep it fairly neutral but not so blah white. These are fairly old pictures, the landscaping has been tamed and the front walk removed. But they should work to get ideas. Oh and other changes we plan on making are to redo the railing on the front of the house it’s very unstable and getting new shutters, any suggestions you might have would be appreciated. Thank you.
http://www.shutterfly.com/jsp/proceserv.jsp?uid=8AZOG7Vi1aNh&rostate=67b0de21e60178a1d4b7&co=-1&js=1225820260740&ps=1&rs=6
http://www.shutterfly.com/jsp/proceserv.jsp?uid=8AZOG7Vi1aNh&rostate=67b0de21e6d513b2150c&co=-1&js=1225820348695&ps=1&rs=6
http://www.shutterfly.com/jsp/proceserv.jsp?uid=8AZOG7Vi1aNh&rostate=67b0de21e6cb5b86d4b3&co=-1&js=1225820442477&ps=1&rs=6
Oh In case you can’t tell, the front door is set back in a little vestibule area that is currently all white as well. so I guess that needs to be considered too. I apologize for my rambling…I’m terrible at trying to describe what I’m looking for in writing.
Hi Barbara,
We have a traditional center-hall colonial red brick house (1940s). The window trim & soffits are white. The (functional!) shutters are blue-grey and the door is a maroon; seems like the previous owners were trying to match the door with red brick.
We’re having the shutters, soffits and doors stripped and painted this week! I really like the traditional blue-grey shutters, but I’m not crazy about the door color. Our neighbors have a very similar brick house with a sage-colored door, and it looks surprisingly great! I’m considering white for the door, but do you have any suggestions for another door color?
I have an orange brick front home, two story traditional. We are replacing the siding on the sides and back, and need to decide on paint colors. The orange brick is our dilemma. We currently have it painted in a medium tan, creamy white trim, dark blue shutters and front door. But I am not in love with the siding color.
Garage doors are on the front of the house, and are currently painted the same color as the trim. Roof is charcoal/almost black.
Any ideas for a fresh color scheme?
Hi Margaret P (#173),
Sorry for the delay!
Why not try a nice warm cream like Ben Moore’s cameo white. Even though you have white windows, the cream trim will give your house a little more warmth than it has now. As for shutters, I still like black with your roof and brick color.
For the addition on the back, you might consider bumping up the color to a monroe bisque or shelburne buff (both historical colors). Changing out the white will really help.
See what you think…
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Susan (#174),
Have you thought about blue-gray for the front door? Yes, it would match the shutters and make the house look quite historic, but it would be very nice and a LOT better than white. Using a color on the front door helps to accent the wonderful trims. White just blends everything together.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Carol S (#175),
How about chocolate brown or dark olive green for your siding color. Both colors look terrific with orange brick and creamy white trim. Then you could paint your front door a dark rusty red (on the orange/brown side of red). I think that would look great!
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
First off…thanks for the help. My wife and I remodeling our 1950’s rambler. Currently the house has the red brick, white windows/trim, and black storm windows. The house also has an addition which is new hardyplank. The house just seems so traditional with the red, white, black. Can you please help us decided on some colors to liven this place up.
We’re open for all ideas. Shutters will be added soon, the roof is grayish IMG_0581.JPG
thanks again for the help
Hi Barbara,
I am so glad I came across your site! We have a brown brick one level home on a hill with a large covered front porch. There are two windows on the front porch with shutters on either side. the front door is set to the side instead of in the center which makes it hidden and not really visable from the street. I love the sage green/gray colors and am wondering if this would look ok for the porch with black shutters and front door. If I do this what color should i paint the trim along the roofline? Should it also be sage green or should I do that in a cream color? Would sage green even look ok with brown brick? If you have any other color ideas I would love your input! Thanks!
We have a white brick ranch house with the bottom 3 feet being red brick. The roof is hunter green shingles. The trim is currently an off-white (almost cream) color.
We are looking to repaint the exterior woodwork. Rather than go with the standard white, I was wondering if there was a color that would contrast/stand out more.
The red in the bottom layer of brick almost brings out a pinkish tint in the white brick.
Any help is appreciated.
Hi Brian,
Sorry for the long delay. Hope you’ve swung back around to check the blog.
Have you considered a gray green, like Ben Moore’s Louisburg green, for your new hardyplank? The green would add some color to your traditional home but not so much as to distract the eye. I still like black shutters with your house. I know it’s traditional, but you should look at your house as a historic treasure and embrace its charm.
One way to make an old house look more contemporary (without destroying its character altogether) is to re-do the landscaping and make sure the old shrubbery is replaced with a variety of fresh plantings. That will work.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Sara,
I think the sage will look great with the brown brick. I would use a medium sage, not too light. Then use cream for your trim and you’ll have a great look for the house.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Daryl K,
You’re right. I would not use cream again if your white brick has a pink cast to it. But with a hunter green roof and red brick on the front, I would not introduce another color for the trim. Just too much. So blending is the way to go. Have a look at either Atrium white or Sand dollar (OC-71), both by Ben Moore. Those colors have a warm tint to them and should blend nicely allowing you to bring the dark green down from the roof to your front door. The three colors should look great together. Feel free to use black as an accent, either in shutters or metal.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you so much! I have been going crazy collecting paint sample cards and can not narrow down the right sage green. I think I know what you mean by a medium color, but would you happen to know the name of a good one? I have problems getting the right shade sometimes! Thank you so much again and I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge with everyone on this site!
Hi Barbara,
We have a fixer-upper built in 1950 made of dark chocolate brown brick. The shutters, front door, and roof are also dark brown. The trim and windows are white vinyl.
Here are a few pictures:
So my first question is… What colors should I paint the shutters and front door? Initially, I thought of black, but then realized that I usually see black in more stately or traditional homes. The front of our house is low to the ground and hidden at the downslope of a hill behind tall trees for a natural look. I like an earthy, yet classy feel. Would combinations of tan, red-brown brick, sage, or gray work? Or should I stick to black, which does go well with the white trim, or the chocolate brown that they currently are? What would you do to bring out the best of this house?
As for the back of the house, we have an add-on room that is covered in white vinyl siding. It is really cheap-looking, too bright, and too prominent. The back of the house is taller than the front of the house and it is highly visible to a busy street from our corner lot. I plan on removing the vinyl siding and adding more windows around the room. What color should the new siding be? And the garage is under the add-on room. What color should the garage door be?
(By the way, I’m not sure if this will be relevant to color choices, but the cars will not be parked where they are now. The aluminum carport and the adjacent asphalt will be removed in favor of a backyard with tall wooden fencing.)
Thank you so much for your expertise and being here to help! I love your ideas for the other houses.
Olivia
Hi Olivia,
I suggest removing the shutters for a more contemporary, unified look. Your window style really does not need shutters. As for the front door, you might try a color pulled right from the brick, either a maroon like Ben Moore’s New London Burgundy (HC-61) or Hadley red (HC-65). If the brick is more of a rusty brown, then you could try Georgian brick (HC-50).
As for the siding color, consider going more toward the sandy grout color to blend with the brick better. That neutral will still look good with white trim, but the siding won’t stand out quite so much.
If you can safely remove the post from your front porch, you will open up the entryway. A black door mat will finish the look.
Hope I’ve helped.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
hi barbara,
I was wondering if you knew the name of a good medium sage green like you suggested. I’ve been trying to pick the right shade! thanks,
Sara
Hi Sara,
Oops, I missed your last note. Sorry about that. Have a look at Ben Moore’s Louisburg green HC-113. Hope that works for you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
hi barbara
my boyfriend and i recently purchased our first home and are trying to figure out some colors for the exterior. it is a single story red brick house the roof is different shades of brown and the shutters are a horrible blue green with terrible pepto bismal pink siding. i was thinking of painting the siding a cream color but dont know what color to paint the shutters. am i headed in the right direction? any ideas i can submit a picture if necessary.
thanks
Stephani
Hi Stephani,
Well, you’re definitely on the right track to get rid of the pepto bismal pink. That’s for sure. Cream will be fine, but don’t overlook some of the richer shades of tans and taupes and lighter browns to coordinate with the roof color. As for the shutters, black or dark chocolate brown will dress up the house without adding yet another color to the palette. If you do go richer with the siding color, consider cream for your trim color. Sounds like you’ll have the house in good shape soon.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
We have a hard time to choose a color to change the color of shutter. Our house is a mixture brick ranch with siding. The new siding’s color are antique parchment, the front door is red (single one), the current shutter are black. We are thinking about changing a color for the shutter but couldn’t make a decistion for it. Could you help us? Sorry I dont’ have a web to post my picture.
Thank you,
Wei
Hi Wei,
Personally, I like black as it tends to dress up the house and tie in with the roof color. But if you’re tired of black, you can choose a dark chocolate brown or if your brick has lots of different colors in it, choose the darkest shade from the brick to use as your new shutter color.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi, Barbara,
Thank you so much for your quick answer. I may like the black shutter stay with the black roof. I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge with everyone on the site.
Many thanks,
Wei
Dear Barbara,
Thank you so much for your quick answer and expertise. I may like the shutter stays with black color because my roof is also black.
Many thanks,
Wei
Hi. We have a red brick house with white mortar. I think I want to paint the brick, what do you think? The trim and gutters are white. The mortar is very large between the bricks, so you see a lot of white. Any advise?
Hi Jean,
I’m not sure how to advise you because whether or not to paint brick really depends on the house, the age and style, as well as the neighborhood. Generally, I have no problem painting brick, but if the house is historic or in an historic neighborhood, painting the brick would be a huge no-no. So if you could send a photo, I would be happy to let you know whether painting should be a go or not.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
We recently purchased a brick home with maroon trim and shutters. We’ve replaced the exterior doors and need to paint the doors and re-do all of the trim. (not a fan of the maroon). We prefer a clean modern look. I really like the lower picture above with the taupe and black but I am a little concerned about having a black front door. Can we do the shutters black, the trim taupe and then go with a white or cream door? Or do you suggest we just go with a black door? Any other suggestions?
My other question is do you think a dark charcoal color would look good in place of the black?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Jamey,
Since you’re shooting for a modern look, you might go with taupe for both trim and front door since black is very traditional and white/cream will really stand out a lot and may even look unpainted from the street. You might even remove the shutters if the style of the house will support that as shutters make the home look more traditional and less modern. Then you can dress up the front door area with silver-tone metal accessories (lights, etc.) instead of traditional black. That will look smashing!
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
I’m looking for some advice on what color to paint the trim of our brick ranch home. Most of the home is made of tan brick and along the bottom of the house is red brick. We recently had our windows replaced with green clad on the outside. The front door is mahogney. No shutters.
Thank you.
Hi Juli,
Sorry for the long delay.
It sounds like you’re happy with the two different brick colors on the house, but you might consider (at some point) painting the whole house one color. It would unify the color scheme, make the house look bigger from the street, and allow you to tie in the green windows and door with the siding.
In the meantime, you can paint the trim the same color as the tan brick. That will help to pull the color scheme together without introducing another color and will keep everything in the earth tones.
Hope that works for you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Please help! We just recently had a new roof put on our house and the color is terrible. The color of the shingles is weatherwood – GAF Timberline Ark 30 year. We have a brick house. The brick is maily earth tone colors. Our trim and windows are beige and our shutters and front door are dark green. Our windows are replacement windows and we do have have the option to paint these. Please help us fix this terrible mistake we have made. The previous color of our roof was black and I wish we would have kept the same color. Thanks for any help you can give. I feel like everyone thinks we really messed up our house.
Hi Lori,
Don’t panic. Weatherwood is a wonderful roof color. What you need to do now is take down your shutters right away. See how the house looks without them and if you really want them back up, then have them painted, either black or a dark tone that comes out of your brick. Another option would be more of an olive green that will pick up the roof color. Then paint your front door the same color you pick, either black or the earth tone.
Once you get the dark green shutters and door painted, you’ll begin to relax. Nobody will even notice the roof. Then you can focus on your landscape, add some new flowers or shrubs and maybe replace any outdated lighting you have on the house.
Changing the roof is a big shock. It will pass soon.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Dear Barbara,
Wow, I have looked everywhere on the web for advice and your site is the single best resource I’ve found for paint color consultation. Thank you!
We are remodeling our front porch and repainting our brick house (pictured below). Previous homeowners painted the trim, exterior siding (on dormers and gables) and garage door a light tan color with an orangish hue. I don’t care for it (it takes on strange orange appearance in certain lighting) and generally want to lighten it up. I’m aiming for a creamy white. We are putting up new black shutters and will repaint the front and side doors in black semi-gloss.
I have two questions:
(1) Selecting an actual siding/trim color has been difficult for me. I want the paint to look creamy (not white but also not yellow). I like Sherwin Williams Creamy (SW 7012), but I am nervous about it being too light. Is that a good choice for a creamy look, or do I need to look for something with more color in it?
(2) I plan to paint my siding (on dormers and gables) the same color as the trim. Should I use satin paint for the siding and semi-gloss in the same color for the trim, or use satin all over? My painter is encouraging me to use satin all over, but I think that makes his life easier. 🙂 What do you think?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Here’s a photo of our house pre-renovations:
Thanks,
Ashley
Hi Ashley,
The SW creamy may be a little light. Have a look at Ben Moore’s Cameo White. It’s a little richer in color but not too yellow. It looks great as trim.
Montgomery White is even richer and I’ve used that for trim as well. Either would work on your house.
As for finish, I think it’s fine to keep satin for both siding and trim since your house is brick and the focus is there. But use semi-gloss for your doors.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you, Barbara! I agree with you 100%. After getting a bunch of quart-size sample and painting them on my front porch columns, I find the SW Creamy and even the BM Navajo White a bit too white and pasty looking against my orangish-red brick. I have found a color that is similar to BM Cameo White in depth (but with a bit less of the orange tone) that I think I’ll use. It looks like a truer cream on the house.
Funny how colors seem to change so much from the swatch to practice! I appreciate your help.
We are buying house that has a morbid grey color as the trim. The brick is rose and very few white faced bricks here and there, The shingle roof is dark grey. What colors can uou suggest for our house. I need to paint the trim, garage door & front door. Any input is much appreciated. The grey color on it right now is very depressing. It is a one story and has no shutters.
Thanks in advance,
Gwen 🙂
Hi Gwen,
With rose brick, I would paint all the trim white and your front and garage door a shiny black. You’ll be amazed at the transformation.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
So excited to have found this article!!!! My husband and I are purchasing a 15 year old French Quarter design house. It is A-framed with dark red brick with gray mortar and sporatic grayish bricks. The roof is black and the trim is white. The shutters are gray and the wooden front porch is also gray. The garage door on the front of the house is white as well.
I would love to paint the shutters and front door (which is new and unpainted) black, but I’m not sure what to paint the porch or the garage door. The porch runs the length of the front of the house and the garage door is huge. These are definitely the first things you see when you pass the house. I’m not opposed to the idea of painting the trim, but the windows are white, so I’m kinda stuck.
Any suggestions?
Hi Mandy,
Go ahead and paint the shutters and front door black, and I would go ahead with the garage door as well. If you think the garage will stick out way too much doing that, then paint it gray. That will blend with the mortar and bricks and let the black shutters and front door stand out. I suggest painting the porch railings white and the floor gray. Keep all trim white everywhere, even around the garage door.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I have a 2 story house with red brick on the lower portion of the front. The rest of the body is currently white with dark green shutters/door. We have dark gray shingles.
I’m trying to decide between a tan for the body, white trim for windows and either white or brick red for the shutters/door…..or….
Dark gray for the body and white trim for windows/door and maybe black or white for shutters.
Which would be better, gray or tan for the body. Most houses in the neighborhood with red brick are like mine currently—white body. I want something different yet stylish and more up to date.
Hi Rhonda,
I would go with the tan body, white trim, and brick red for the door. Make sure the red is on the brown side so it goes with the brick. Not too cherry tomato. I love black shutters on a house like yours as they add a bit of formality to all the colors. Not crazy about gray with brick red. Go for warmth.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
https://yourcolorcoach.wordpress.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php#comments-form
Thanks for the advice. One more question. What do we paint the overhangs. If I have white trim (gutters and so forth) should the entire overhang be white or should it match the body. My husband thinks the body. I’m not sure.
The bottom overhang buts up to the brick as there will be no body paint on the lower front either since it is all brick.
I can’t wait for Spring to begin painting……thanks
Hi Rhonda,
Generally we paint the overhang the same as the trim color. In your case, white. That gives you nice reflected light at your entry and adds to the overall look of the trim. But it doesn’t have to be the trim color. It could even be a third color. But I wouldn’t paint it the same as the house — two shades darker would work.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I haven’t seen this one yet…so here goes. I bought this beautifully styled rach house, but I am having a problem with the exterior. The front of the house is mostly true red brick, however the sides and back of the house are all wood siding. It is current;y painted this hideous shade of turquois and I would dearly love to get rid of it. Any suggestions?
Hi Monique,
Yikes. Paint will certainly help. Consider a golden tan like Ben Moore’s Roxbury caramel (HC-42) which should complement your red brick and add some neutral to your overly vibrant house color. See what you think. Olive green will also work.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I have a brick ranch with red tones.`my roof is sort of a grey/brown color. I`m having my gable ends sided. The color so far is going to be desert sand ‘it matches the grout, sort of a beige” With pebblestone clay ‘a medium brown’ for the octogon vent. My friend thinks I should use red to match the brick so now I`m afraid the colors I`ve picked won`t look right. I`m going nuts. What do you think?
Hi Sue,
It’s hard to match reds (paint and brick) especially when you switch materials (brick to siding). So I’d stick with your complementary color scheme since it goes with the grout color. You really cannot go wrong when you do that and I’m sure you’ll like the end result. If you (or your friends ;–) feel like the color scheme will cut the house in half visually, then you could consider beefing up the beige to more of a medium tan or caramel color and use whte for the octagon vent (especially if you have white trim). Send a photo if you need more help.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi, I am so excited I found your blog. My husband and I cannot decide on what colors to paint the exterior, trim, shutters, front door and garage. We would love your advice on a color scheme to match the brick. Thanks in advance!
Here is the picture: http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o249/marcekr/Front-2.jpg
Hi Kristina,
Have a look at Ben Moore’s Roxbury caramel (HC-42) — that color will blend with your brick and make the house appear bigger. Since you have white windows, you can stick with white for the trim or a light cream, again to blend. If you want shutters at all (and you don’t really need them on your style of house), the color you have (looks like a dark chocolate to go with the roof?) is fine. I would paint the garage door the same color as the new house color.
Another color that you might like is Nantucket gray (HC-105), a very sophisticated gray green. That color will highlight the brick, however, unlike the caramel.
One thing that will help the balance on your asymmetric architecture is to add some hedges on the right side under the window and remove the hedges from in front of the farmer’s porch. That will add weight to the right side of the house to counterbalance the other side (with the garage) and lighten up the entryway. Just a thought…
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I am so excited to have found this site and I hope that I am posting this message correctly. I included 3 pictures of my home.
file:///Users/tomsartorio/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/2008/08/28/IMG_0451.JPG
file:///Users/tomsartorio/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/2008/08/28/IMG_0453.JPG
file:///Users/tomsartorio/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/2008/08/28/IMG_0450.JPG
We are planning to have the house painted in May and I met with a color consultant. She suggested the following:
HC 77 (alexandria beige) for the siding, black shutters, china white trim, and HC 156 or cottage red for the door. The roof is currently a light gray and will be replaced in about 5 years to a black color. As soon as she left, I had a mini panic attack. Do you think that HC 77 is a good choice? My gut is saying that it is too dull and perhaps dark. I love greens but am not confident. There are sooo many to choose from. What do you think about HC 116, 117, 118, 119 or any other from this collection???? Since painting the exterior is so expensive, I am anxious about my decision. Any direction or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Mary,
No need to panic. I do love the alexandria beige with your brick colors and feel that it would really make your house look spectacular. There would be less contrast with the brick and the house would look bigger (less chopped up into thirds). I also like the china white for trim and the black shutters. But at least on my screen, I would go with a less burgundy and more rusty door color — something like Ben Moore’s Earthly russet (2173-10) instead of cottage red. But, again, I’m looking at a computer screen and not the actual brick. The door color should be the darkest brick color.
Now, if you absolutely hate the taupey alexandria beige, have a look at Richmond gold (HC-41). It’s wonderfully rich. I would use a cream trim with it; cameo white is good. Same black shutters and maybe a black door.
Just another option. I would not paint your house green. Use the beautiful colors in the brick to round out the house.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara- I am repainting the trim/garage doors, etc on my white brick house. The house is on a wooded lot. The first thing you see when you drive up the winding drive is the side of the house and two garage doors. A weathered stockade fence abuts the side of the house as you come in the drive. The front has a stone courtyard and large stucco porch with arched openings and white columns. Currently, all of the wooden elements (and stucco porch addition) are stark white, which makes the brick look dirty. The front door is a medium blue. Can you please advise regarding trim, garage door, stucco, and front door colors?
Thanks!
Mary
Hi Mary,
Not exactly sure what that brick looks like, but have a look at Ben Moore’s Manchester tan (HC-81) for the trim. Then look at Bleeker beige (HC-80) for the garage door and stucco. To add color on that side, you could put terracotta pots by the garage doors. To warm up the monochromatic look on the front, you can use Georgian brick (HC-50) for the door. I think that palette would look great on your wooded lot.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
HELP!!!!
I am terrible at this — so bad I’ve waiting 18 years to decide to make a “change” to the exterior color.
I have salmon color brick on the entire ranch. The roof (I made a mistake there too) is black, grey, reddish…yuck…. architectal shingle, kinda of a random color.
I have white siding trim above the brick where the roof pitches over the dining room and the same white siding trim where the roof pitches over the garage.
I have white windows, doors and gutters.
What color should I change the “white” to? I have been shopping for new windows & storm doors and don’t know what color to choose. The color white is cheaper and colored trim for windows & doors are special order (alot more expensive). Will it matter if the windows & storm door is white?
Thanks so much for anyone who is willing to give me advise!!
Hi Holly,
Why don’t you try a cream trim (like Ben Moore’s cameo white) to bridge the two warm colors on the house (the brick and the roof). White windows are okay, but if you can get almond (some brands are the same price for both almond and white), that would look spectacular. Same for the door. Then use black for your metal (lights, etc.)
Doesn’t sound so bad. Send a photo if you’d like.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
OOPPPSS…..I forgot to mention the wroght iron posts on the front porch along with wrought iron fenced area in the front of the home….
Hi again Holly,
Wrought iron is perfect for your house. Keep it!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi! Took your advise about the white octogon instead of brown with my beige gable ends and it looks great!I`m lousy with colors so I`m really glad I found you. Thanks again!
Sue
hi,
we are refreshing on 1950 dark brick ranch it is really long and has whitesiding at the peaks white rod-iron white garage door maroon shutters and a red door i will try to post a pic later …….i was thinking a sage green on the white sideing but reallly don’t know what to do with the garage door trim ect your help would be nice
thanks kitty
Hi Kitty,
Sage green sounds great. If you’re keeping white trim, then the white garage is okay although it would be nice to paint that if possible to either the green siding color or black. I suggest black shutters to dress up the ranch and either a black door or a brick/brown door (not too red). That’s a classic, timeless look.
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I have a brick home that was painted white with blue gray shutters and gray/blue gray roof. We wanted to paint it this year and are have a hard time agreeing on a color. We want to warm it up by going to an earth tone with white trim. The gray roof seems to limit us. My wife was thinking a blue-gray (slate) with white trim and black shutters or maybe a brown. Im at a loss. Your opinion would be much appreciated.
http://s626.photobucket.com/albums/tt342/bigernie71/
Hi Bill,
A slate blue would definitely work, but you also might take a look at something like Ben Moore’s Boothbay gray (HC-165). With crisp white trim and your roof color, it might look really good and would make the house look bigger since it would blend with the roof.
I would stay away from anything brown. Stick with grays — gray blues/ gray greens/ or other warm grays.
See what you think.
-Barbara.
Your Home & Color Coach
Thank you very much, we have been going round and round with this. We were leaning towards a gray blue or more than likely a gray green. Your suggestions have helped build our confidence. I will post pics of our final decision. Again thank you very much.
Bill
We are updating our 70s brick ranch. Help, I have no idea what to do. Right now the trim is white, the shutters are black and the brick is shades of brown. Pretty basic. We have a white rod iron porch railing (no portico). The majority of the house is this brownish color brick except some taupe colored siding on the sides of the house twds the top, the back of the house AND on both sides of the front door. About 4 ft on both sides (horitzontal). I hate it but we can’t afford to change it. The color isn’t too bad, but a bad place for the siding when everything else in the front it brick. There are three large windows across the front with the current black sutters. We just ordered a new fiberglass front door. I have no idea what color to paint. We are replacing the brass light fixtures on both sides of the front door with something black or rubbed oil (dark) because that is the color door knob/lock we went with.
Only a few houses in the neighborhood are brick. All others are various shades of siding, so we kind of want to keep the ugly brown brick vs. painting the brick. Any color ideas in terms of shutters, front door, trim, color to paint the rod iron railings that would match brownish brick and taupe siding?
Thanks!
Hi Heather,
It’s okay to keep the brown brick. And the taupe is fine too. I suggest keeping the black shutters and white trim, even around the new door. The iron railings can be painted as close to the door knob as you can get — a brown/black. Then for the front door, how about something a little outside the box. Take a look at Ben Moore’s Jamestown blue (HC-148) which will really give your brown brick a kick.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I asked your advice back in November and loved your color choices. So we finally went to paint this past week and my husband wimped out and told the painter to go to white. I was not happy when I got home and saw the stark white back, but anyway what’s done is done. We did switch out our green shutters for Black so that part looks better. Oh and we’re taming the wild landscaping and getting ready to do some serious planting.
BEFORE:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b6da22b3127ccecd93e50ad09b00000020O08AZOG7Vi1aNge3nww/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
AFTER:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9dd00b3127ccec6ff1d88464600000050O08AZOG7Vi1aNge3nww/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
I was wondering since it’s still white if you had any advice as to what to do with our eyesore on the side. It’s still a giant white box. Would shutters or a door without windows might help out a little? Obviously we’re not going to paint again soon…silly husband…but I thought if there was something, anything you could think of I’d greatly appreciate it.
And here’s the full on view…I guess it wouldn’t be so bad, but we’re on a corner lot so this ugly side of the house is on full display. Please ignore the storm window off to the side that needs to be put back in place 🙂
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9dd00b3127ccec6fe616be7e700000050O18AZOG7Vi1aNge3nww/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D1/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
Thank you again for your time, this may be a lost cause, but I appreciate any thoughts you might have.
Hi Margaret,
The black shutters look great and so does the white trim. Not to worry. The problem on the side is that there are five different elements and no symmetry at all. I think black shutters on those windows would bring a little continuity to the side. If your husband ever feels like painting some weekend, the side door and the garage door could be black (with white trim). That would ground the house and pull the black squarely around from the front to the side.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I recently purchased my first home and am very excited!! However, there are some things that I would like to do both inside and out.
On the outside, the brick is a pink color that I am not very fond of. What could I do to tone-down the pinkish look to the home by way of what color to paint the front door? Shutters (if so, what color), possibly paint trim???
Here is a picture:
Thank you so much!!
Hi Kyle,
How about painting the garage door, shutters and front door a warm dusty Auberge (a mauvey brown that would go great with your brick and because of the mauve undertones, would look okay with the gray roof). Take a look at Ben Moore’s 2106-20. At the very least, the brown would ground the house and make the pink far less noticeable.
See what you think.
-Barbara.
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi-
My husband and I bought dark red brick home outside of Chicago about 3 years ago. It was built in 1924 and has beautiful trim work. The previous owners built and addition and painted it a red brick color. I am not a fan. We are getting ready to repaint and wondered if you had any suggestions? Thanks
Hi Karen,
Have a look at Ben Moore’s Richmond Gold (HC-41) for your addition and garage. With cream trim and black shutters/doors, your brick home will look spectacular. See if you agree.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I should also mention that the roof is black and there is a detached garage, also painted brick red.
Hi Barbara,
We have a small Cape Cod style house with sofy gray vinyl siding and aluminum awnings. The trim is a dark gray and the porch & awnings are gray but I’m tired of those drab colors. We are about to do some major renovations and repainting the trim, porch, and awnings is a priority. I know that awnings are old-fashioned but I love them and want to keep them. Any suggestions as to a lighter color that would look noce with the gray siding? Sorry I have no pictures. Thanks!
Susan
Hi Susan,
I suggest painting the trim and the porch railings white. Then keep the awnings and the porch floor gray. That will perk up the house a lot. Then after that, paint the front door a warm color like raspberry, burnt orange, or sunny yellow. You will be shocked at the transformation!
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I’m renovating a brick house built circa 1902. The trim is bright white now but as I’m rebuilding the front porch, I’d like to at least consider other trim colors. I’ve scraped the front door down to bare wood and am considering black for the door. Your comments/suggestions welcome!
Thanks!
C:\Documents and Settings\Bridget\My Documents\My Pictures\24 North Champlain 006.jpg
Hi Bridget,
I couldn’t see your photo, but you might consider something like either sail cloth (Ben Moore) or antique white for the trim. Either would be appropriate for the age of your house. Stark white is a bit too much.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I hope you are able to see the photo of our house. We have pulled out all the shrubs and replaced with new landscape. When the plants grow it will look good.
I am thinking of painting the trim a deep tan color (Olympic Mountain Trail), which is darker than the siding. I am stuck on the shutter and door color. The current color right now I can”t even describe. I am not a blue person, was thinking of an olive but still not sure. Don’t want a christmas effect either. I am also looking at a glider or chairs and hanging plants. House looks sort of bare right now with the shrubs gone. Any ideas would be appreciated!
Thanks!
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
How about painting the siding the darker color and painting the trim the same color as the current siding? That would look really warm and updated. As for shutters, anything but blue. The olive green or even a darker version of Mountain Trail would look great.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
What a wonderful thing to get your input through this site! It looks like it has been very helpful to so many people… thanks!! We just purchased a home that has both brick and wood for exterior materials. We had a new roof put on before purchasing it, and had light gray used for the asphalt shingles. Shots of home are shown below:
We are starting to consider changing the colors of the wood siding, trim, and accents (door and shutters). I am finding the light gray roof (cool) and the brick (warm) hard to complement simultaneously. Would it be too heavy to have the trim and siding a darker, slate gray-blue (such as BM Newburyport Blue or Hale Navy), given the light gray roof?
What accent color (for shutters and door) would go well with that choice? Would reversing the color scheme that is there now work well with the brick?
Thanks very much for your thoughts — and Happy Spring!
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
I like the light gray trim with your roof color. But I would tweak a few things. The garage door and shutters could be bumped up to a darker shade of gray. Then I would paint the sidelights on your front door the light gray trim color and the front door the darkest shade of your brick. That will warm up the entryway. Other than that, I do like the color scheme that’s there.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I have an emergency question. After seeing this site , I have concluded that I should have consulted you earlier. The house was built in 2002 in Atlanta. It’s a two-story traditional brick home with red mortar. There are minimal hues of taupe and green within the brick, but I never noticed the green hues until we painted the trim green. Currently, we have black shutters, a black door, with off-white trim. Very traditional!! We wanted a change, and decided to go with Sherwin-Williams Svelte Sage for the sides of the house, garage doors, and keystones. For the trimwork, we went with Connected gray. They look great on the swatch, but when actually on the house, the trim is very dark. (Mossy green) Our house is only seven years old, and our painter said that the new trend was to paint the trim darker than the siding. Any advice would be helpful.
Thank you,
Danyelle
Hi Danyelle,
You’ve probably gone ahead with your painting project by now, but here are my two cents. I like the idea of bringing in a mossy green to the palette as green goes well with all hues of brick anyway. And I think that painting the sides of the house, the garage doors, and keystones a sage color is a great idea. But I tend to like cream as a brick trim color only because the brick is already dark and I like the contrast. Call me old-fashioned, but it’s a classic and it always works. Yes, I see darker trim colors up here too but they tend to be on fairly light siding so, again, there’s a contrast. For contemporary homes, all conventions are off — mixing dark colors together is just fine. But on a traditional home, I like to stick to the old tried and true.
Just my thoughts. Send a photo if you’re still concerned.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I really need your advice. We have a ranch house with brick. It was build in the 1950’s. We are getting a new roof. We can’t decide what color shingles. The whole neighborhood has gray shingles, it looks nice but I want something different. We are looking at slate or hickory colors. I’m not really liking either one. I have to live with this color for along time. So, any advice of what colors would go with our red brick ranch house would be great. It’s like a medium red brick,its not a dark or light red. Thank you for your time.
Kim
Hi Kim,
Try CertainTeed’s Heather Blend — it’s a mix of browns and grays and might be just right for your brick house.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara
When we bought our house it was brown brick one story 1560 sq feet with a rustic red roof, dark brown shutters, dark brown gutters, dark brown trimmings around windows, dark brown doors. Over the years we made some home improvement adding beige/taupe gutters and painting the shutters to match. Not happy with the shutters but did not have the heart to tell my husband. Though it lightened our house it needs more color. We painted our doors white. We wanted to get new windows but could not decide on white trimming or beige/ taupe (?) I love for our house to be cute and attractive but feel hopelessness. One moment I think we should paint our front door, another moment I think of buying a new attractive wooden door. On our small porch we have a brown railing. I thought of painting it black. Not sure what to do. Can you help us?
Thank you,
Jackie
Hi Jackie,
If you get new windows, I suggest the beige/taupe and not white. You’ll be much happier with the result. In the mean time, I would paint the trim the same color that you’ve already started. And then paint the front door a wonderful warm rusty brick red Then paint the railing the same as the trim color. The floor of the porch can be dark brown.
Does that help?
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We have an old orange brick farmhouse built in 1876 here in MN. We are trying to decide on trim colors, if we should have shutters & what color, color for deck, and door colors/type of door also. Please see the link and let me know your thoughts when you can…Thank you, Anna
Hopefully my link works! Also, we are planning on replacing windows in the near future.
Hi Anna,
Got your photos. I suggest lightening up the trim to something like Ben Moore’s Muslin (OC-12)with your doors in Georgian brick (HC-50). Then for the deck, I would stain it ether a warm medium brown or a redwood since it’s so prominent. As for shutters, I would go with black as a nod to your house’s history.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara,
We are purchasing this house and I am in desperate need of advice for this house curb appeal. We have a lot of work to do on the outside. It was built in 1979 and The gray is so drab. I was thnking of a cream trim with balck sutters. Any advice would be wounderful. Thanks so much for this site 🙂
Lori
Hi Lori,
I suggest a medium tan trim (like Powell Buff Ben Moore HC-35) for garage doors and other woodwork and cream for around the windows and other areas where you want a lighter tone. I would not bother with shutters at all because there isn’t much space on either side of the windows and you really don’t need them.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
I really need your help. I recently purchased a brick 2 story duplex in an historical preservation district. All changes to the outside must be approved by the historic board. The house was built in 1930 and is craftsman style (based on some interior features). The brick is red and currently the window frames are stark white. It looks terrible. I want to change the trim color, but must be able to tell the historic board that my choice is ‘in keeping with the period’. I am not sure what colors were used with brick in the 1930s, but I am sure it wasn’t the ugly stark white. The window sashes are stained wood on the inside and black on the outside. There is no evidence that the window sash has ever been repainted. The triple track aluminum storms & screens will have to go when we paint. I hope to get wood storms & screens built for the house like it had originally and need a color for the frames of the storms and screens also. The originals are long gone. The window sills, the squares below the sills and the diamonds in the brick near the top are natual limestone and will not be painted.
I have already gotten permission to replace the front doors and have purchased the doors. I need to decide on a color for the doors and for the window trim ASAP as we intend to send the steel doors to a body shop to be professionally painted. We have purchased 2 of this door without any sidelights. The door comes primed in white.
http://www.midwestmanufacturing.com/MidwestManufacturing/productDetail.do?groupId=0&lineId=11&productTypeId=0&productId=163
http://www.midwestmanufacturing.com/MidwestManufacturing/productImage.do?groupId=0&lineId=11&productTypeId=0&productId=163&imageId=1349
I had originally wanted to paint the doors black, but am not sure black trim on the windows will look right. My 2nd choice is a very dark green.
Please tell me what color you think will look best AND pass muster with the historic board.
Eventually, the gutters and downspouts also need to be replaced and I want them the ‘disappear’ into the brick, not stand out.
I want this house to be the crowning jewel of the neighborhood. This is the only brick 2 story on the block.
Thanks!
Hi Susan,
I’m sure you’ve moved on your decisions already, but I agree that the downspouts need to disappear on your house. The custom doors will look best if done in dark green and you can continue that onto the windows (dark green always passes historical muster). You might want to lighten up the house with a sandy taupe around what little window trim is left (similar to your limestone sills) and I would use that color up on the soffit and fascia as well. I suggest putting in a sandy taupe square pillar on your porch landing for an additional Craftsman detail.
I am interested to know how close your decisions came to this paint scheme since the painters may have come and gone already.
Again, sorry for the delay.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thanks so much for your suggestions. We actually haven’t started on the outside yet as there is much to do inside. Dark green is a great choice and the sandy taupe should be also. I would not have thought of that.
No room for a pillar on the porch. The top of the steps is only 30 inches deep and outside edges of the doors is virtually up against the edge of the steps.
Thanks for your assistance.
Susan
I would love your help. We are getting a new roof soon that will have architectural shingles. Our house is a 10 year old traditional style 2 story home that has red brick with red grout (it is not too dark or too light, but very traditional). Is there anyway to update the look of the house by changing the color of the roof and trim. I really hate to think that I will be stuck with just white trim and black roof for eternity. The grout is what is making it hard for me to figure it out. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Hi Joni,
How about a dark brown roof (architectural shingles) and cream/tan trim? I wouldn’t worry about the red grout — it’s fine. It just means the house is pretty monochromatic at the moment. Not as busy as brick with contrasting grout.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Can you please help me select a nice color for the siding and trim of the house. I’ll eventually get a black roof. The interior of the house is of contemporary style. I want to spruce up the exterior a little too. Here is a pic of the house.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ndembla/OurNewHome?authkey=Gv1sRgCNiXwOfynaKzyQE#5054977564862823522
Any advice will be helpful. Thanks for this great website.
Hi Nita,
I suggest a rich taupe like Ben Moore’s Alexandria beige (HC-77) with antique white trim. That will really highlight the other features of your home.
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I’m writing again to you regarding our home. I feel the earlier photograph did not really show the entire front of the home. Here is one ..
http://picasaweb.google.com/ndembla/MyHome#5343168916901930594
Its sort of difficult to describe the actual brick color ..I think its somewhere between peach and pink. Here is the closest that I found online..
http://www.beldenbrick.com/bbasp/samplerspecs.asp?ProdId=57&ProdShade=Pinks
You had suggested a rich Alexendria Taupe color. Should I keep the trim white/antique white or can I paint it a lighter shade of the siding? Will a gray color for the siding look good? I don’t intend changing the front door so probably the window shutters will have to remain the same. Any other color suggestions will be greatly appreciated. We are painting the house as I write this and I want to get the samples of your suggested colors to see what works best.
Thanks for such a great site!
Hi Nita,
The painters may be all done by now. Hope you like the color! If you went with the Alexandria beige (HC-77) and antique white trim, I think that will look spectacular. Classic but updated. And fabulous with your brick. Hope you agree.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Barbara,
What a wonderful site! I am hoping you can help us pick some trim, siding, door, and even roof colors for our 1940 tudor revivial home w/’clinker’ bricks.
We feel like the overall look of the house is too dark, although because of the newer windows, which are Andersen ‘terra bronze’, we can’t go too light on the frame color. The older window frames are currently black and can be painted another color.
You can see from the side photo that there is some siding on the back of the house. That, as well as the lintels above the windows, is the largest surface area we have for color impact.
The roof is originial and needs to be updated soon as well. And the door, which is currently an odd shade of green, needs to be painted as well.
I posted some photos here, please let me know if you can’t see them:
http://picasaweb.google.com/sbrogan/House
Any insight you have on color would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Sharon,
I suggest a siding/trim color right out of the bricks or grout. How about something like Ben Moore’s Springfield tan AC-5 for the siding on the back and the little bit of trim on the front of the house above the windows and beside the front door? I might even do the same color for the front door since there’s not much trim on the front of the house. I like the dark roof color (charcoal works great for your house or a dark brown).
As for window trim, just paint the black windows to match the replacements and you should be all set.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Not sure how I found this site but glad I did. You have great advice for everyone! Anyway we are looking to update the outside of out red brick home. We are thinking about adding black shudders and a new black door and adding window muttons. Do you have any color suggestions besides black? Also would you suggest keeping the white trim? Thank you!
[IMG]http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n284/libby1208/DSC_0605.jpg[/IMG]
Thanks again!
Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth,
The black sounds great for shutters and adding the window mullions will dress up the windows. How about something like Ben Moore’s Richmond Gold HC-41 for your front door? The brick is kind of cold and a warm door color will certainly warm up the entry.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
My husband and I just purchased a one story home in miami that has parts of reddish brick all over the house even inside and I was looking for some ideas on paint colors. I like a soft white for the outside and maybe paint the roof grey, my father in law suggested like a sand color with brown roof. Is there any other colors or ideas that you may suggest. The house also has a garage. I have no idea what color to paint the family room either, which has a brick fireplace the same color as the outside of the house with open wood ceiling. I wll attach a picture, any suggestions on what to use to clean natural brick??
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2422/3573021319_12f27d6128.jpg?v=0
Hi Evelyn,
The brick is fine for the outside with paint colors pulled out of it — sand and various shades of tan/taupe would be good for your Florida home. Nothing too dark. But inside, I would definitely suggest painting the huge wall of brick a light creamy sand to coordinate with your beautiful floor and really lighten up the room. The professionals in the paint store can advise you on the technique for painting over a brick fireplace.
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Well now I am not quite sure if that color is natural or if the brick was painted…
Hi Barbara,
Was my request on May 9, 2009 at 9:32 pm too difficult for you? It has been nearly a month and I have no resonse from you. If so, sorry I bothered you.
Susan
Hi Susan,
Oh, my gosh, I scrolled back and there was your post. My apologies for the overly long delay. Although I have been extremely busy with my paying customers locally this spring, I do try to answer blog questions within a few days to a week at the most. That was my fault.
Although you may very well have answered your question already, I will go back and address your post right now.
-Barbara.
Calm down Susan….geez you are rude to someone who is providing such a nice service!
I was surprised Barb answered such a rude note as Susan`s.It`s not as if Susan paid and could demand her money back!This is a great service and you helped me a lot with my house, But please don`t let people abuse you! nuff said.
I have a brick fireplace in my kitchen. I want to paint the walls but I don’t know what color would look good with the red brick. The kitchen cabinets are a darker brown with red tone. Any suggestions?
Hi Sharon,
Have a look at Powell Buff (Ben Moore’s HC-35) for one option or if that’s too yellow, try Antique Parchment (959). Both will offer some contrast against the brick and the brown cabinets.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara….Im so glad I found this site…Hopefully you will have an idea for me as well. I have a two story house with cedar shingle siding and a brick front on the first story. The cedar shingles are currently stained with a solid stain chocolate brown with white trim. The bricks on the front are different redish hues ranging from pink to maroon. We are in the process of trying to update the home and Im leaning towards a light tan color for the shingles and leaving the trim white. I am really struggling with roof color, shutters and door. I have thought that maybe a dark slate roof, black shutters and black door may look nice but Im not sure. Do you have any other ideas for a roof, shutter door combo that wont make the house look too busy?
Thank you,
Mia
Hi Mia,
Have a look at a taupe for your siding color — a little more sophisticated than tan and a little more contemporary. Then you can keep the white trim and go with black shutters/door/roof. That will look really sharp. Since you have a lot of variegation in the brick on the front of the house, I would avoid variegation on the roof. Just stick with more of a monochromatic look. Dark charcoal will also work.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello,
I’ve recently bought a bungalow in Chicago. I’m rehabbing the house, including putting in new replacement windows, tuckpointing the masonry, replacing the roof shingles and refinishing the siding on the backside of the house. I’m also going to replace the gutters to coordinate with whatever new color scheme I arrive at.
I have a vision of a more monochromatic, earth tone look. Tentatively I was thinking of regrouting the facade with a deep grey, using taupe in the replacement windows and trying to find a gutter that matches the windows. I’m not sure about the roof color, but have noticed shingles that are mostly brown with grey/taupe accents. Maybe that would work? Finally, I was going to try to find a siding color for the back side of the house (and for an attick dormer planned for the future) that went with the new scheme. I was thinking that the same color as the windows (taupe) would be good. But then I was thinking maybe that’s overkill. Also, it’s very hard to match colors in cementious siding board, windows, gutters, etc., which makes me think maybe i should use slight variations, like cream next to taupe next to brown.
Anyway, any ideas and suggestions for what to do would be much appreciated. Please see my new house in the photo below.
http://picasaweb.google.com/pkassen/House?feat=email#5355582579530317922
Hi Patrick,
You might consider dark bronze for the windows. Then you can have the brown/grey/taupe roof shingles and a taupe/tan (like Ben Moore’s Lenox Tan HC-44) for the siding on the back. That will give you a more historic look and will stay in your earth tones. The steps are light and quite prominent so they will provide the contrast in the front of the house.
You can always add some cream details if needed.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello Barbara! Just like everyone, I am glad I found your site. I have a color choice problem that I hope you can help with. My wife and I purchased a 1979 ranch style red brick home in Florida. It is typical red brick for our area with reds, some greys and creme’s over on the red brick. The problem is the previous owner put a light grey shingle roof on the house. Currently the home has white windows, trim, soffit, facia and garage door with black shutters. The garage sticks out in front of the house about 26 feet and is very plain with only a very high roof peak (about 17 feet) in the center and the garage doors. The rest of the front of the house is 8 foot level with no dormers or ornamentataion. We are looking to create some “pop” and curb apeal with a trim, soffit, facia and shutter color(s). Have tried using some web sites that allow you to upload you home picture and paint colors to see what they look like. Have found none we like yet. The grey tones don’t look so good and we dont feel we can go with cremes or beiges due to the grey roof. Any Ideas?
Color confused,
James
Hi James,
I like the white trim on the windows, soffit, and facia next to the light gray roof. But what about painting the shutters, front door and garage door a warm gold like Ben Moore’s Dorset Gold HC-8? If that’s too gold, take a look at Richmond Gold HC-41. Then you can add even more color with your landscape plantings, perhaps in the purples and rusty oranges. That should help your traditional ranch.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Great site! I too have a reddish brick house, about a hundred year old two-storey. No shutters, but the roof is black and the window boxes, trim etc. are white. The front door is also white. To me this color scheme looks boring. I would like to punch it up with a dramatic front door colour and move the trim from a stark white to a cream to modernize the look.
The front door I would like to paint a colour called “Black Tulip” which is almost eggplant. But I also thought maybe a warm gold (not too 1970’s) would look interesting, or perhaps a navy blue. What do you think of these choices? My favorite color red which is out because I think it will blend in too much, and hubby hates green so that is also out. I have considered taupe but it also seems a bit too traditional for us.
Thanks!
Jodi
Hi Jodi,
You have great ideas. I love the cream trim (not too yellow) to warm up the brick. Then the eggplant for the front door is perfect. I love the purple and red combination yet it’s still a bit edgy (which is a good thing). The other options are nice, but I think you’ll really like the eggplant best.
You’re set to start painting!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
I’ve really enjoyed reading all of your advise. I’ve got a new color conundrum for you if you’ve got the time. We have a 1960s one story brick rancher in the southeast. It isn’t exactly a looker, but it fit the budget. The previous owners put a brand new roof on it! In green! We have managed to fix up the inside after hours of ripping down paneling and putting up drywall and now we want to make the outside beautiful to match, but picking exterior colors is beyond the ability of this do it yourselfer. Any suggestions for trim, shutter, or door colors would be so much appreciated. Thanks so much!
Angela
http://picasaweb.google.com/tomatolater/UntitledAlbum?authkey=Gv1sRgCKj_huqi6JK0iwE#5357366840350456114
Hi Angela,
The white trim is fine since you have white windows. But I suggest painting the shutters black to dress up the house a bit and changing the front door color to a little softer green, something like Ben Moore’s Webster Green (HC-130). That will go with the roof color and add a little sophistication to the palette. You might consider ripping out the raised beds in front and replacing with a variety of foundation plantings (shrubs and bushes in various colors, including reds and pine greens). Then add your mums and other annuals for a splash of seasonal color. If your railing is not ink black, you can spray paint it so that metals and shutters coordinate.
Hope that gets you started.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara –
Great site, wondering if you could help me. I am trying to finish a project off that is already over budget (surprise). We have a 2-story red brick colonial. Our windows have the architectural bronze trim (three standard windows across the second story). The first floor from left to right is our front door, a bay window in bronze trim with a copper roof (we just added this as a focal point to the standard flat front colonial) and a single garage door to the right of the bay window.
Our dilemma is now picking a front door, shutters and a new garage door. Our thought on the shutters is to keep them in bronze consistent with the window trim. For the front door, we prefer a solid door in mahogony color (the budget conscious alternative is painted bronze door). Our feeling on the garage door is that it should match the front door. Should this always be the case? Do you have any thoughts on alternative color options for front door, shutters and garage door? We have thought about a lighter sandtone color, but feel like it may draw attention from the rest of the house.
Any thoughts you could provide would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Hi BK,
The front door and garage door do not have to match, but with a brick house that already has a lot of color (red usually), the doors are often neutral (black/brown/white/green). In your case, since you have bronze windows, it does make sense to keep bronze as your garage door color (trim around it white??). But your front door, being the real focal point of the house, does need to attract attention. Certainly a mahogany door will do that. And bronze paint will be the conservative second. But feel free to branch out a little at the entryway. Consider a brick red door (if your trim is white). Other colors? Dark teal, dark purple, “Richmond Gold” (ben moore), or something else that is inspired by the color in your house or yard. The front door can be different.
Good luck.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi,
I just found your site and I’ve read every post! 🙂 I was wondering if you could help me figure out a good color for my front door? It’s a wooden door not that blends in with the brick. I would like something to really pop. In fall the house is practically camoflauged in the trees because of the color. I’ve debated on whether to take off the glass door so the door is more prominent. I would love some advice from you.
Thanks in advance,
Shantell
Hi Shantell,
Removing the glass door really helps us see the front door color, but it’s probably not practical if you live in a cold climate. But using your flower for inspiration (it really shows up well), how about something like Ben Moore’s Dorset Gold (HC-8) for the front door? (Of course, the flower won’t show up against it, but the door will look great!)
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I have a red brick 1944 small bungalow with detached garage. The grout is med tan and thought about painting the garage tone on tone tan, with the darker tan on the garage and door and the whiter tan for trim around garage door and facade. Also, wondering what you might suggest to paint the metal awnings (5) on the house and the 7″ wood trim on each side of the front door. Thanks so much.
I have a brick wall in my bedroom and the room is not so bright. I want to paint the walls and trim. I chose harvest brown for the walls but it looks yellow no brown at all comes through. what do you suggest? as well as something for the trim.
My husband and I are building a one story brick house (don gardner satchwell). We have found a brick color that we like. It is a copper color with both red and dark brown tones called Old Mississippi. We have already ordered white windows and Mahogeny wood door. We would also like to incorporate the shake siding panels in two of the eaves. We are having trouble picking colors for the shake panels, roof, and shutters. What would you suggest? Thanks for your help.
My home is not brick, but has new vinyl siding the color of a red barn brick. The roof will be a dark taupe color and the windows are also of a dark taupe color. I was wondering what color or stain color you would choose for a front door. I’m not really interested in the red/white/black scheme that I frequently have seen. Thanks for all your time.
Hi Jamie,
How about a light wood stain for contrast with your red and taupe.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
We have a 1980s red-orange brick ranch in the Southwest. The primary windows in front are black with no shutters. The front door is recessed in an entry consisting of almond stucco and the door is a light to midtone oak (with a bad lacquer job). The current trim around the front door, a small window next to the front door, and the garage door is ’80s bright aqua. The garage door is new and almond color. Help! We have thought about painting the aforementioned trim teal or dark forest green. What do you think? What about the front door? Should it be painted (and if so, what color) or kept oak? I could take pictures if need be. Thank you!
Hi Kristin,
Thanks for sending the photo to my email. How about painting all the trim an almond shade like Ben Moore’s Yosemite Sand AC-4 (that would go around the windows and up on the fascia and soffits, everywhere it’s currently beige or turquoise). Then paint the garage door a shade or two darker than the almond, something like Ben Moore’s Springfield Tan AC-5.
Then if you don’t mind sanding down and painting the front door, you could use the beautiful teal color there. Behr has some really nice rich teals like Cathedral 520F-6 and the slightly lighter Harbor 520F-5. I see planters in the yard that same color and maybe you could add a lawn chair. That way you have the rich blue on the focal point but you’ve kept the rest of the house a bit more neutral. It’s a lot easier to repaint the front door if you get tired of the color than to repaint all the trim!
Hope that makes some sense. Thanks again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Your column is terrific — a help to so many! My husband and I are facing the paint selection uncertainties that so many others have expressed. We’d be so grateful for any impressions or advice you could share.
Our home has a small amount of brick on the front. The roof is a warm medium brown. Right now our home is painted a medium yellow which has faded some over the years and is getting dingy. (It’s actually more yellow than the photos show.) The front door and shutters are currently a bluish green. These colors seemed bright and cheerful to us when we bought the house, but we want to freshen the look and figured now is the best time to make a change. We’re leaning towards almond or cream for the siding and a paler bluish green or a blue grey for the shutters. But wonder if there might be better choices to go with the the roof and brick colors. Also, when you drive down our street, you predominantly see the garage door side of the home, so we’re wondering if it could use more interest there somehow. Thank you so much.
2 photos of my house are posted at http://ourhousepix.shutterfly.com/26
Hi Heather,
How about keeping the white trim and going with either a taupey tan like Ben Moore’s Springfield Tan AC-5 for the siding or the lighter grayer Shaker Beige HC-45. Using a taupe will contrast nicely with the warmth of both your brick and the roof color. Then you could pick out the darkest brick color (on my screen anyway) and paint both the front door (keeping the sidelights white) and the garage doors (for some interest coming up the street) something like New London Burgundy HC-61. It’s a purply red that will coordinate with the brick and contrast with the orange of the roof.
Yes, you can certainly paint the house almond or cream — those will work. I just gave you a couple of alternatives with a little more depth to them. Also, you mentioned blue/green or blue grey for the shutters. I would stick with Black for a very classic, traditional look. The pale blues and greens will look a little faded — it’s hard for them to stand up to the brick. Just a thought.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
My home here in St. Louis is approx 37 years old. This year I am planning to repaint the trim. The house is an orange and red brick with shadings of black. There are black shutters and doors which I will repaint black. The roof is wood shingle and has aged to a mellow gray-brown. I was told by the brick mason my grout color is called buff, but it really has a golden cast to it. The gutter is brown and will be painted the same color as the trim which is currently a gold tone. All the gold trim has a dated appearance –I am thinking of painting the trim Sherman William’s Navajo White (SW 6126). But I am not sure if this is the correct color–What are your suggestions?? To push my question a bit further, I was also wondering what color you would paint the trim if this were your home????
Enclosed are some photos of the brick (please note that the grout is a much deeper gold color than shown) and the house. I would appreciate any advice you could give me.
http://s589.photobucket.com/albums/ss337/BelewSkyes/
Hi Patricia,
If you’re not crazy about the gold tone that is there now on the trim and grout, I’m afraid the Navajo White may be a bit too yellow for you. If you look up the paint chip strip you’ll see Restrained Gold and Mannered Gold and those will be the undertones of the Navajo (kind of… gold). I realize that your grout is gold, but the mellow roof color offers an alternative trim option.
Have you seen Divine White SW6105 and Pacer White SW6098? Those two colors come from taupier tans and browns so there is no yellow undertone. The result will be a sandy “buff”? trim color that should coordinate well with your roof and hopefully your grout as well. But since the roof is so prominent, I think that a trim color chosen from that palette of tones is a perfectly good option and one that will get away from the gold everywhere.
See what you think of that. I love your black door and shutters — very nice.
Hope that helps. And thank you.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I need some help on what colors to paint the exterior of our house. We have a 2 story house built in 1979 that has a pinkish roof. We are putting shakers over the wood areas that were on top and around the windows. Everywhere else is brick. We are also picking out a new front door. I’m stumped on what colors to paint the shakers, the trim and door (if we paint the door). We were looking at Shaker Beige for the shakers but thought this is too yellow. We also considered Bradstreet Beige but this may be too light or too pink. Please let me know what you think. Work on the house starts next week so I’m desperate. I sent the house pictures to your email. If you need to receive them another way, please let me know,
Thanks!
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Check out Pismo Dunes AC-32 for a taupe that goes well with your brick and is not too yellow. (Just check to make sure it doesn’t go too pink on you either.) If that turns out to be too pink, try Valley Forge Tan AC-35. Then you can pair that with a warm Sail Cloth (Ext) for the trim and the very complex Caponata AF-650 for the front doors. The door color is a rich eggplant that will look spectacular with your brick!
See what you think.
And thank you. I will look for the interior question next.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hey Barbara!
I would never have picked that color in the color wheel because it looks gray. However on the house it doesn’t look the same and it is perfect! I don’t know how you do that but the colors you chose based on my picture are great. Thanks so much! It is a big weight off my mind as I’ve spent countless hours and money on selecting and buying the wrong color paint samples.
Thanks!
Kathy
Help! We just bought this 1950’s lg brick ranch, & need advice on updating the trim/ shutter colors. We are thinking of moving away from the medium cadet blue trim that it is currently, although I must admit I somewhat like the contrast with the brick. The neighbor beside us has white trim & black shutters, so not sure that we want to completely copy that. We would like to go with white replacement windows at some point. After reading some ideas on here, was thinking maybe a taupe to match the grout for the trim, & maybe still use black for the shutters….but what color for the door?? Please help, stay with cadet blue…OR go with somethinge completely different?? Hope you can see the link below!! Thanks so much for any advice!
http://www.gphomesales.com/realty/index.php?action=listingview&listingID=102
Hi Jane,
Your light gray roof is quite prominent so that factors into the palette decision. I would love to see your columns and trim detail pop off the brick — it’s wonderfully Southern architecture — so how about China white for the trim. It’s white with a touch of gray that will age with the house. Then for the gable and entry area that’s actually siding, how about a taupe that bridges the beige/gray gap quite well. Look at Ben Moore’s Briarwood. That color could be used on the siding above the garage as well. Doesn’t have to be that particular shade, but the taupes should work well with your gray roof/beige grout. For the shutters, you might go to a Kendall Charcoal HC-166, which will provide contrast but will not be as harsh as straight black (since you have such a light roof). You might consider a brick door color, something like Georgian Brick HC-50 — a nice warm entryway.
How does that sound?
Thank you again.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I just e-mailed you a few more pics reguarding post above, hope those are helpful for your evaluation. thank you, can’t wait to hear your suggestions!
Barbara-
That all sounds great! I like the idea of using both China white trim & the taupe color. I am going to run out and get your color suggestions as samples! I think the door in red brick color is excellent as well. I sent you an e-mail, just to make SURE I understand, & get this right! I can definitely see myself using you for more color advice for our other rooms in the future. I will e-mail you a pic when we get it done. Thanks again.
Hi Jane,
Terrific — I’ll go look for your email in a second and respond. But I hope the colors work for you! I would be happy to help you with your interior and other projects. Stop back again soon!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
Thank you so much for this website! 🙂 Our home was built by my in-laws in 1978. We have gutted & redone the inside & now it’s time for the outside! We want to paint the trim & A-frames on our house, plus the wood surrounding the windows & redo the porch posts. The bricks are multi colored tan/brown/black with a little red in them here and there. What color would you suggest for trim (windows & soffit) & porch posts? We had thought of a darker color tan instead of the beige color that we have now, but I think it will be too dark on the A frames. I want a wow factor for the old brick, but hubby’s choices all seem to blend & look blah! I’d also like to replace the shutters, paint the front door, & next spring we will replace the roof. I have pictures, but don’t know how to upload, but I could mail them to you! Thanks so much!
Dawn W. Lowry
Hi Dawn,
You mentioned painting the trim only. Is the gable siding vinyl or can it be painted? IF the gable siding can be painted, I would do that and leave all the trim white giving you maximum contrast between roof and brick and framing out the “A” nicely. If you can paint the siding in the gable, then how about Ben Moore’s Butte Rock AC-8? Then maybe a Cottage Red (Ext) for your shutters so the whole house is not beige. I like the front door!
Now if you cannot paint the siding, then write me back and we’ll go to Plan B.
Hope that gets you started.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Good morning, and almost “Happy New Year!” Just found your
web-site, and thought I could use a tie-breaker. We are building a
classic horse barn and going back and forth over the perfect shade
of “red.” SW Red Barn and SW Sun-dried Tomato are the two tied
favorites for the exterior color. Any help would be appreciated,
and perhaps you have used either of these two before?? The trim
will be Pure White. Thank you!
Hi Theresa,
Although I love both colors, I am leaning toward the Barn Red simply because of the brown undertone that gives the red an aged quality — something you’ll want for your new barn. Hope I haven’t added fuel to your “disagreement.”
Good luck!!
And thanks for visiting the blog!
Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I am so grateful for your website. We purchased this house from a crazy lady and have been working on it for months. She had painted everything odd, different colors, even having 3 or 4 colors on one piece of board. We have finally got the purple off the bricks and now are ready to paint the siding around the bricks. I think we are going with an aged parchment color for the siding and aren’t really sure about the trim, shutters and door. Any help would be wonderful.
Thanks, and pay no attention to the man working on the house or the scaffolding….sorry
Hi Kristi,
If the Aged Parchment is a medium-toned paint color, then I suggest a cream for the trim, columns, and door trim and then an accent color for the front door. You might pick up the roof color for the shutters — something like Ben Moore’s Fairview Taupe HC-85 or Tudor Brown.
Hope that gets you started and away from spray paint blue… yikes!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Sorry, one more question. Should the pillers be the aged parchment as well like the siding or something different? Definitely not spray paint blue.
Hi Barbara,
I need to replace the shutters on my house. The brick is an orangey shade. I already had to add a black aluminum gate in the back, and I know black is nice with brick. But I’m also interested in a green shade (maybe not dark dark) or a dark grey. eventually I want to replace the siding in the gables and was thinking of a coffee or taupe shade for that. The white shutters around the door have already been removed and the tree on the right has been taken down (mostly dead).
I’ve also thought of getting shutters with those arched tops
(like the letter D only flat at the bottom–for the right side of the window; and then the opposite o n the left side). I think something round like that would help, since there are too many straight lines everywhere. But mainly I’d like to be creative with color when doing the shutters for this house. I’d do wedgewood blue shutters (will probably buy ready-made since none of the houses in this area are old enough for the wood shutter), but several houses nearby have something like that.
I’d appreciate any help! Thank you. I’ll email you pictures.
Lara
Hi Lara,
How about a nice gray-green like Ben Moore’s Gloucester Sage HC-100 for your shutters. Then you could paint the siding in the gable something like Shaker Beige HC-45 to warm up that siding area but also coordinate with the light gray of your roof. You might use the Gloucester Sage for your front door as well unless you would like a completely different color.
As for the shutters, you might consider a raised panel style of shutter to coordinate again with the style of your front door. It’s okay to have “boxes” on your house — you soften the hard lines with the rounded shrubbery in front of the house.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Barbara,
those colors sound great! I think they will definitely work. Thanks so much! This is a big help.
best,
Lara
Hi Barbara,
I’ve been fretting about our curb appeal for a year now, so I hope you can help.
We have a 70s red brick bungalow located in a country setting. The foundation wall is about 3 feet high and has been resurfaced all around in gray concrete. Front steps and porch floor are also gray concrete. The roof is black asphalt shingles. On the right side is an attached double car garage also red brick. On the left are two bedrooms with newer white PVC windows. In the middle is a recessed front porch area with entrance door. The large living room window has painted white trim. Two columns support the roof overhang.
The recessed area has been clad in a is rectangular grey-blue & sand colour stone. The garage door is being replaced this week, colour remains undecided at this point. Shutters will be added to the bedroom windows.
My quandary is what colour to paint to bring all this together for. The gray-blue stone is throwing me off as is the white PVC window trim.
Thank you.
Julie
Hi Julie,
Is it possible to paint more trim white to blend in the white window trim a bit more? White trim around the garage doors perhaps? And the porch trim and columns? And what about the fascia and soffit area? Painting more white will help to make the window color more intentional to the overall design. Then I suggest bringing a darker version of the sand-colored stone to the garage doors and shutters. Use the grey-blue as your accent color — on the front door if you like it enough. Otherwise bring that color in with pots on the front step or other accessories (yard furniture, etc.). Use the stone for your palette and the house should come together quite nicely.
Hope that works for you!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi, Barbara! Hoping you can help us pick a roof color for our home! We live in a 1920s era home in Memphis TN. Our home is Georgian style with 10 windows on the front of the home & a slightly recessed front door. There is a porch but there is only a small overhang over the front door. Our home is a medium-to-slightly dark-colored red brick. If you look closely, the grout is sort of pinkish. Currently our trim is painted white but we are planning to change that to more of a light stone color very soon. We are planning to put on a shingle roof that has a more textured, two-toned look than our current roof. We are stumped on color! Would you recommend a roof that is black, dark grey, medium grey or in the brown family?
Hi Cara,
Have you seen Black Walnut as a roof color? It’s dark but has a warm quality to it — I’m not sure it’s available in your area but they’re still showing it on the website. Since it’s essentially black, it’s not as busy as some of the lighter roof colors with more variegation.
As for trim, take a look at Desert Light (1004) — Ben Moore. It’s a gray-taupe with a slight purple undertone that would complement your brick and still contrast with the roof. The cool trim color will balance the warmth of the brick.
Then you might paint the front door something like Caponata AF-650 or Chambourd AF-645. A dark raspberry might work also, something like Warm Earth 1274 or Tawny Port 1281 (both Ben Moore). The other option is a contrasting Ansonia Peach HC-52 or Farmer’s Market 054.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
This site was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that
helped me. Thanks!
Thank you Cindy!
Thannk you for this