Fun with Paint Colors Part 2
The colors I showed last week were a good jumping off point.
By the time I shared this, I was already pretty much sold on dark window sashes though. It’s a more historically accurate look that I might have been scared of 5 years ago, but now I’ve warmed up to it. Also, my boyfriend said, “How about something more tan instead of the grey?” And he was right. I picked the grey to complement or blend in with the marble, but the marble is clearly a warmer color than that.
Then Eric (Architectural Observer) had a detailed critique. He said exactly the same thing about the grey, and said that it wouldn’t complement the marble. He has a sharp eye because I wouldn’t pick up on that just from a picture. He also said that Rookwood Sash Green reads more 1980’s than 1890’s, an opinion that was confirmed when I… carried the color card outside and looked at it in the sun. His advice? Yes to the dark color, Rookwood Shutter Green, but use it on the cornice, too. (Sorry Mom.) And for the trim, a warmer color that complements but doesn’t match the marble, like Sandbar.
So I grabbed a color card for Sandbar and discovered that it’s actually a nearly perfect match for the marble. That’s not what we wanted, but I’m now using sandbar to stand in for the marble, which I hope to leave unpainted, when picking out other colors to go with it. Sandbar was also not right for picking out details on the cornice because I think it would be too stark of a contrast with the very dark green.
So, I made like 3 more trips to the paint store to pick up color cards. Luckly, it’s only 2 blocks away. Who would have thought it would be so hard to pick a neutral? Basically everything I picked looked good inside the store but was too light to contrast satisfyingly with the marble when I took it home and looked at it outside. You’d think I would have learned to just look at the color cards out in front of the store, but you’d be wrong. This is still tentative, but Tavern Taupe seems to be working well. It’s dark enough for the marble to jump out against it, and it jumps out against the dark green without looking glaringly bright.
Then there’s the front door. Eric suggested charetreuse, which would be ballsy, or sticking with the teal I was looking at before. Mary Elizabeth suggests red. We might have lots of time to keep brainstorming this one because I won’t be surprised if I run out of time and/or money and put the door off into next year (Sorry Ross). But anyway, here’s Eric’s suggested colors, with the neutral we picked out in person. Note that if the goal is to be true to the period when my house was built, this green probably wins.
This time I’ve painted the marble Sandbar in the image; this is a stand-in for no paint as I think the color is close. The door color, Humorous Green, definitely prevents it from looking too stern. The odd way I drew in the colors is because I won’t have a storm door. (Remember I’m using a different house on the street as a stand-in for mine.) And I still want to add window boxes next year, so we can figure out a color for them. And for the ironwork, the boyfriend proposed a natural-looking finish. I’m open to this idea, but still waiting for an answer about what it means. Here’s a photo of the color cards in real life, which may or may not be any more accurate than the computer paint job.
So what do we think? I’m nowhere close to ready to paint in real life and I’m getting better at painting in the Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer, so we can play with a few more of these.
12 Responses
To me, the natural color of iron is rust. So maybe a color close to your brick?
Traditional ironwork is painted black but maybe another warmsark green would work.
I was wondering about dull grays and browns or the color of brick, but not sure. It needs to be painted this year though because I gloppped paint stripper on it and now the end nearest the wall is starting to rust.
I like where you are going with the historical colors. Do keep me posted. I think the next step would be to get small samples and paint them on scrap wood that you can hold up to the windows–maybe set on the marble trim–then stand back and look at them in the light in front of your home.
By the way, the red I would suggest is New London Burgundy, which is a Benjamin Moore color and also, I believe, a Sherwin-Williams color also.
I was actually trying out the green you suggested with a burgundy next. I’ll check how close the color you siggested is to the one I picked. I’m planning about 3 months ahead at this point
Ooooooh! I really like the way that Shutter Green and Tavern Taupe look alongside the marble… very nice! I’m not as happy with the chartreuse as I thought I would be… it might be too bright. I think a less vibrant version might work better… something a bit more dusty like SW 6698 Kingdom Gold might do it. It’s kind of brassy and more traditional than chartreuse, but still unexpected. You can play around with door colors for a while… it is a lot easier to re-paint one door than the whole freakin’ cornice… try a lot of different colors, maybe on scraps as Mary Elizabeth suggests, and you will know which ones resonate with you. Have fun!
And also the door might get pushed into 2019
Many of my projects end up pushed into the future as well. Sorry about the double comments – I didn’t think my first comment went through, so I wrote another one almost like it. Will you experiment with paint colors on the existing door?
I’m thinking not. I want to try to sell the door and think it would be worth more unpainted. Most people seem to think I’m lucky to have it you know
I know a lot of people like it… and it is a nice door, but it doesn’t do your house justice. It would be a credit to a newer house, something built after the mid-1980’s. I’m looking forward to seeing the burgundy version, too. I’ve found that t’s always easier to pick colors for someone else than it is for your own house!
It’s 28 inches wide. It was definitely not made for a new house
Hey! It’s so nice to see you are still blogging. I always enjoyed your posts. You struggle with too many choices and not wanting to waste major money on lots of mistakes. I love decorating just to have an environment that is attractive ( probably only to me.) Good luck with your choices and happy you have a partner. It’s so nice to have company through life. very sharp,your new site.
i really like the green inside the tan for the windows