Lakeshore Advance, 2011-05-04, Page 1514 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, May 4, 2011
How to choose amatch exterior colours on your home
The challenge in choosing exterior colour been made by the time you get to choosing
is to find the right balance between standing exterior paint colours: the brick, the stone
out and fitting in, elements, and your roof. '1'o help you see
Often the biggest colour decisions have these materials as colours, match each of
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them to a paint chip. This is a quick and
effective aid to developing your home's
exterior palette. Add a paint chip for the roof
and you are ready to go.
Next, choose your main trim colour, and
when you do, be extremely wary of white,
There is very little white in nature so stark
white can look artificial and inelegant. Be
sure that any whites you use are what
designers call "toned"whites like Moth Gray
(PPG Pittsburgh Paints, 515-4) or Ashen (PPG
Pittsburgh Paints 516-4). 'These look off-
white or warm grey as paint chips but will still
look very white against brick and stone.
They're softer and more pleasing to the eye.
Make the laws of colour perception work
for you when assigning colours to the archi-
tectural features of your home. light things
grab our attention and they also tend to look
big (which is why some of us favour black
workout clothing), Take stock of your facade
and assign the brightest trim colour to its
most attractive trim features, such as
decorative mouldings, window sashes,
brackets, and columns.
If you want to calm your facade then the
rule of thumb is to reduce contrast. Tone
down your trim with natural -looking neutrals
in a deeper range of colours, like Sharkskin
(PPG Pittsburgh Paints, 513-5) or Eiffel Thwer
(PPG Pittsburgh Paints 521-5), both the
colour of stone.
Make the details you want to be less visible
recede with a warm off -black like PPG's
Gibraltar Gray (530-6). These shadow colours
help create harmony in your palette.
Sometimes, toning down unattractive
features won't he enough. 'l'o make utility
doors, down -pipes and truly unsightly things
disappear, you need outright camouflage.
Ilse the colour that you matched to your main
building material (brick, siding), as the colour
for all ugly things.
Dramatic or eye-catching accent colours
should always be used sparingly, The front
door the welcome to your home - should be
prornint+nt,•sn this is where you on break
loose, Classic reds, dark burgundies like PPG
Pittsburgh Paints Burgundy Wine (534-7),
and navy blues like their Black Flame (545-7),
are magnificent, but also consider Autumn
Fern (PPG Pittsburgh Paints 311-7), a khaki
green that complements the rusty colour of
red brick.
If you prefer a monochromatic palette, add
drama by choosing a really dark door colour
like Sarsaparilla (PPG Pittsburgh Paints,
527-7) or Black Magic (PPG Pittsburgh Paints
518-7), both of which look handsome in a
gloss finish.
Generally, there are three rules for garage
doors: Always avoid bright colours, Always
avoid high contrast with the dominant colour
in your palette. Never match them to your
front door, (If you think you want to use a
stand -out colour on your front door,
camouflage your garage door so it doesn't
compete,)
For shutters, you need to choose between
blending them In and making theta pop. 'lb
blend, use your shadow neutral. For pop,
match your shutters to your door colour. 'this
will draw more attention to your home so be
sure your facade is up to it.
White windows can be a curse. They are
too bright to work well with brick or stone. If
you are stuck with a brick house and white
windows, then choose a toned white a little
deeper than the white of your window frames
and save your deeper shadow colour for areas
non -adjacent to the windows,
Invest in the highest- quality exterior paint
you can afford. Painting the exterior is f
expensive, or time -consuming - usually.
both, look for an exterior paint that's hacked
by the strongest warranty you can rind, like
the Manor Mall 'Timeless line by PPG
Pittsburgh Paints, which is backed by a
lifetime warranty against cracking, peeling
and flaking. At a premium of about $10 to $15
per gallon over standard exterior paints, this
is a modest incremental Investment sec to
deliver a big return.
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