Oh, hi there. Me again. (Did you see today’s Thrifted or Grifted results?)

So, um…I believe that I’ve failed to mention something rather momentous around these parts:

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Yeah, that would be a our new house garage.

2,200ish sq./ft. of a place to park our cars + a workshop + living space upstairs.

It’s been in progress for the last 6 weeks or so, and we’ve still got some left to do, obviously, but it’s getting there.

You wanna hear the best part?

We didn’t build it.

I mean, I know that’s not nearly as attention-grabbing as a “we built our house from scratch” post, but let me tell you, when you have built an entire house from scratch and know what it’s like (totally worth it but crazy-exhausting), it’s kind of nice to not do it the second time around.

Not to downplay all the prep-work, electrical work, and supervision that my husband has done—because it’s been significant—but it’s still nice that he’s here, instead of somewhere else hammering nails and laying floors all day.

ANYhoo, I promise I haven’t been trying to keep you guys in the dark about our new addition, but the opportunity hasn’t presented itself to talk about it until now (one of the limitations of having a blog with themed days).

And I’m mostly talking about it now because it’s time to paint.

And I need your help.

Our current house-color is a deep, saturated green as seen here:

 

And I like it.

I do.

But I don’t loooooooooooove it and never have.

Part of that is because the plan was always to add shutters in an earthy coral tone like this one:

coral

That may sound like an…unusual…combo, but I’ve seen it before on a couple of houses in my home town, and I love it.

But we haven’t gotten around to the shutters (yet), so my vision for the house has never been fully realized, which skews my view of the color a bit.

And now we have the garage addition that needs painting, so I’m faced with the question of whether to stay with our original color and add the shutters as planned or repaint/paint everything a different color and go from there.

I chose some options yesterday at Lowe’s from the many I have swirling around in my brain, and while I don’t know that any of them are it, I’d still love your feedback to get an idea of what would be most pleasing to the eye of the many (although, I’m not promising that I’ll go with the majority, since in the end, our family is the one that has to live in it : )).

So, here we go with 5 possible paint options for our house:

OPTION 1: Current Color (Ancient Bog by ???)

Option 2: Silver Sage (Restoration Hardware)

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OPTION 3: Pier 14 (Valspar)

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OPTION 4: Opera Glasses (Valspar)

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OPTION 5: Urban Pulse (Valspar)

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And just to give you a little more perspective, here’s the panned out shot (on a VERY sunny day, mind you):

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So…the question is: 

 Which color should I paint my house?

You know me and my love of polls but also my love of explanations.

If you want to leave me a comment telling me why a particular color struck (or didn’t strike) your fancy, I’ll send big, sloppy air-kisses your way in return (now, there’s an incentive).

Oh, and after having seen my color scheme, you think you have the perfect color for me, suggest away!

P.S. Our Feature Friday FREE-FOR-ALL (including my faves from last week) will be live at 7AM again tomorrow (sorry to all you non-early birds).

0 Comments

  1. I am completely in love with your house, the windows, the deck, the paint colour… so I think paint the addition the same… because it looks gorgeous as it is. 🙂

  2. Either option #3 or #5 would look well with the coral tone shutters you have in mind. Anyway, I love the color of your roof. The shade of purple you selected perfectly complements the overall construction, and design of your house.

  3. I like either #1 Silver Sage or #3 Opera Glasses. Personally, I like a front garden/flowers/trees to stand out from the house. That way, in my opinion, each plant/flower/tree makes a statement rather than blending in with the house.

  4. Oh, forgot to say that my words have to be taken with a grain of salt…..I have an all-brick house, and am terrified of the prospect of painting an entire house! So that’s where I’m coming from, as well!

  5. I chose option #1, also due to cost. I’m thinking of it in terms of Thrifted or Grifted. The current color is sorta like Thrifted…low cost, works just fine. A new color is Grifted (or even….gasp…..retail!) with lots of money and time involved. So…..(see where I’m going?)….if it’s not a huge difference, why pay a huge difference? Just food for thought! (Doncha hate it when people toss your words back at ya?)

    I love love love reading your blog everyday!
    Judy

  6. Cute house you have! I think option 4 because it’s not too dark and not too light. And I think just about any color shutters would go with it, including your earthy coral tone. 🙂

  7. I had two choices so could only pick one, #3 & 5. Is #3 the current color? Cause I like the current color. Congratulations on your garage addition.

    ~Bliss~

  8. While I love your current colour, just for fun I wanted to give you my opinion on the remaining choices. I voted for option 3 because I think the white and pale grey are too safe. Option 5 just doesn’t have the dimention of colour that option 3 has. I also think option three would look the best with coral-coloured sutters! Good luck making this decision!

  9. Here’s my professional opinion, or lack there of, actually, because I’m not chosing an option, but asking you some questions for you to answer to yourself…
    1. What color is the roof and any other permanent things that the siding will need to coordinate with.
    2. I like for the outside of a house to somehow introduce what’s going on inside the house, so what colors from the inside of your house do you want to introduce your visitors to initially?
    3. What is the climate and surroundings like where you live? I think a home’s exteriors must work with those elements. including the style of the other homes.
    4. and a little paint tip: The opposite of when you select a color for the interior, when you select a color for the exterior, the sunlight ‘fades out’ the color, so a soft pastel will be super soft etc.
    good luck! Little Bit from DecorateWithaLittleBit.com

  10. Hi Abbie! Well, I didn’t vote one way or the other because I don’t really know the area where you live, so it’s hard to make a decision. You see, if you live in a warm climate, with mild winters, then I would go for a colour that makes you feel cool and refreshed. If you live in a climate that has positively freezing winters, deciduous trees (which I think I spied in one of the photos), etc.then I would go for something a bit more warm and snuggly looking. Options 2 & 3 are cooler colours (at least on my monitor they are), and 4 & 5 are warmer tones. What does your hubby like? Why don’t you let him edit your choices so you have less to choose from? 🙂

    P.S. The lazy in me would stay with what you have got – the “I want a change” in me would likely go for options 2 or 4 since I don’t go much for dark colours on houses unless it’s trim. There’s my 5 cents worth! 🙂

  11. I really like Pier 14. I think the fall foliage will just pop against this color. Hope you plan to paint the house and garare the same color. What you got going on with the yellow and green is very interesting. 🙂

    But all your new color pics are very fresh looking!

  12. Option 5 because you could put just about any color shutters with it, second choice is option 3. Of course, I really like the color it is right now too…sorry, I’m no help 🙂

  13. Hmmm… You know what I think? I think you need to put up some coral shutters and see how it hits you. Not even on the whole house. Just one or two sets of windows. I think the color you currently have is so…you. It relates well to what’s happening on the inside of your house. It gives your kitchen amazing context. I say no, definitely no, to the silver sage. Your roof isn’t right for that one. Three is along the same lines as what you currently have. (but would work with your roof!) To repaint that big ol’ house you now have for such a subtle change isn’t worth it. (At least in my opinion!!) Four…I like it, but it’s more ordinary. Do you want ordinary? Really, Abbie?? You…and ordinary???? You two are simply not besties!! And five. It’s ok. Just ok. You could probably add some funky spice and make it unexpectedly great. So, there is always that. But, I’m still thinking what you have is pretty fantastic. Just needs a little infusion of some coral! (????) Just my humble, little, ol’ opinion 🙂

  14. I would stay with the current color and add the shutters! I agree with those that said the other colors are a bit expected and boring (I know that shades of gray are the “IT” thing right not, but why do what everyone else does?). So, in my opinion, stay with your current color and spend the money you save by not painting the whole house on the shutters!

  15. Option 3 is a little too blue for me, and I think option 5 will be too close to your roof color. I would either stay with the current color or go with option 4. I like option 2 also, but more for inside than for out.

  16. Oh No – don’t change the color Abbie! I LOVE the color it is. It is so whimsical and fun like you! The other colors are waaaaaaaay boring (except for Pier 14 but it looks similar to what you already have). Option 5 is winning right now but I think it is too dark and drab! Just one girls opinion:)

  17. I love the #3 and it would look good with the coral accents! You could keep your window trim white since it goes with the “window” or try BLACK glossy paint… how much dust gets kicked up by your road?

  18. I love Silver Sage but it’s pretty pale and washed out looking. I also like your original color with the coral shutters. But it you wanted something new I’d go with option 4…seems cleaner and crisp looking than the dark colors…maybe make the house seem larger and the windows stand out.

  19. The color you’ve wanted for your shutters would still look good with Urban Pulse, that’s if you decide to paint your whole house.

  20. I chose option four because that color would be a perfect backdrop for the coral you are planning to paint the trim.

  21. This is EXACTLY the exercise I’m going through for our house now…and oddly enough your original color is also the same as our original color (of course, minus the horrible weathering caused by 6 years of winds and 104 degree summers). I voted for 5 but like 4 and 5 together, sort of in a combination. I have been using the Sherwin Williams site and it’s great to test out combos, I like lighter on house but darker on eaves, etc. https://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer/

  22. I chose the first option because #1 you have not finished with it with your shutters and #2 because then you wouldn’t have to paint everything-just the addition. Savings of money and time.

  23. The pier 14 is dark enough that your shutters would pop if you stuck with the coral or even if you chose another accent color to pop.. but not so dark that its too much.

  24. I really like the color you have with the coral shutters. I looked at your garden and I think that the color scheme you have goes good with your garden. The colors you have are ok but kind of a bit blah (just my opinion). With the nice detail your house has, I think the current color (or a bit of a more brighter color) would work really well. If I had to go with one of the colors you picked I would go with options 4 and 5, but add some colorful trim.

    Congrats on your new garage I bet it will be nice to have the space. 🙂

  25. I like the Silver Sage. It’s very bright and clean but without feeling sterile and cold.

I love hearing from you guys!