Five reasons I think the color scheme and attention to details make this adorable Victorian stand out.

1.  The homeowners had the confidence to use a bold color for the home’s exterior.

While a color this strong might be disastrous on some homes it is exactly what this home needed to keep it from getting weighted down or lost under the roof.

The bright gold was the right color choice for the main home exterior paint color.  A dull or muted gold would have ‘aged’ this home in the same way using the wrong foundation color ages a woman.

2.  They chose the right white for the trim color

With a gold that is clear and clean rather than grayed or toned down painting the trim white rather than off white was the best choice.  It looks crisp against the gold.

3.  They created a welcoming entrance.

The purple doors are perfect in both style and color.  Purple and gold are complementary colors, which is one of the reasons that the purple stands out against the gold and creates a focal point on the home’s front and side facades.

The purple is repeated in the flowers in the hanging arrangements that flank the front door.  Thriving plants at the entrance of the home not only add color and texture but tells the world that the home is alive and being cared for.

4.  They clearly defined the entrances

Since this property is on the corner you not only see the front door but also the side door.  You can see how the homeowner has chosen a planter and trellis to the left of the door rather than repeating the hanging arrangements used at the front door.  This helps to define the two entrances and keeps people from being confused about where the main entrance to the home is.

5.  They respected historic color schemes but weren’t dictated by them

Although many Victorian home in New England today are painted all white during the era that these homes were being build bold color schemes that were inspired by nature were the norm for a home’s exterior.  While many homeowners enjoy researching their home’s history and duplicating the original colors I prefer to look at the past as inspiration and choose colors befitting the home today.  I believe that is the same approach these homeowners took when choosing their color palette.

This scheme is build from the complementary color combination of gold and purple along with neutral gray.  The red-orange may seem like an unlikely color choice for the accent color but I think if you were to try other hues with the gold and purple you would find that this is one of the most appealing choices.

The right green could have also worked but because of the amount of green surrounding the home it would not have stood out as nicely.

Are the colors on your home exterior this sensational?  If not, I’d love to help.  Simply click here to contact me for more information and pricing for a personal color consultation for your home’s exterior.

Titled A Pennsylvania House in Gorgeous Grays the article by Mimi Read begins “Jeffrey Bilhuber envisioned a modernist version of a barn when he designed this soothing, monochromatic abode.”

I think modernist barn is a great way to describe this home and the rich gray palette.

Here are a few pictures of the home from House Beautiful but click here to see the entire gallery…

The color scheme continues on the tabletop with a slightly redder orange.  I think this is a nice addition to the palette.  Julie found many great items in this color at CB2 catalog shows them on Live In Full Color.

Even an ardent urbanite could be tempted to live in a barn when it looks this good.

Here are some photos from Domino.com in the blue and orange combination.

These use blue on the walls but Kim over at Desire to Inspire put together a collection of rooms with orange walls so if you would prefer the orange on the walls check out the pics.

If you don’t want to go with this scheme in a room how about on your tabletop? “Autumnal colors just pop against a blue and white tablecloth,” says Carolyne Roehm in House Beautiful magazine.

Or how about the Etch bedding from Crate and Barrel?  It would look great against blue walls or with some blue accessories.

While blue has long been a favorite in the home orange has more recenlty come into its own and looks great in an entire range of colors from bright and bold to muted and earthy.  All of the many hues of orange look great when paired with blue.

I was taken with this snippet from the banner on the blog Half2Know and used it to develop my inspired color palette for today.  You can see the palette here.

And earlier in the day I had saved the following photo from Flickr that I was going to write about as an interesting color scheme for a kids room.

As I was looking at the picture this morning I noticed that it is a variation of that same color scheme.

How funny to have saved both of these images on the same day.  The effects of color on our mind will never cease to amaze me.  Can you see the similarities?

This is a fun way to illustrate how if you like a particular color scheme that simply by using different values of the hues it can change the mood and work in different types of rooms.

Photo reference:

The banner snippet is from Half2Know

The photo from Charles St. was found on Flickr by urbanbicyclist

It also spawned Christmas decor in these colors but this year the look is being updated with the addition of traditional red.

I really like this combination and was pleased to see how Caribou coffee took the aqua and brown that is their signature color and added red to create their holiday decor.

I just added many pictures and a little laugh at myself that you can see on my color journal Sensational Color Pro…

The color scheme includes:

SW 6400 Lucent Yellow for the walls
SW 6399 Chamomile for the trim
SW 6163 Grassland for the ceiling

Besides just having a color scheme that works this room shows several things that can be used to make a space appear larger:

• The neutral scheme with hues that blend beautifully in a low contrast palette.
• Careful placement of the black to move the eye around the room.
• Smooth rather than rough textured fabrics and surfaces.
• The mirrored coffee table “disappears” rather than stopping your eye.
• They also used a fine black pinstripe on the molding that draws the eye up and around the space.

Picture from House Beautiful

I am really struggling with this – trapped by brick around the lower half of my house (yellow-beige with almost no variation in the brick) and dark brown vinyl window frames. Currently the siding, doors and trim around the windows is painted dark brown as well. We would like to go lighter on the siding but are really stuck about what might fit with the two “set” colors. Most of the neighborhood is 1960’s muted – whites, taupes, grays. Both of our neighbors have mostly white houses. Any ideas?

Barbara suggests:

Try something earthy but not of the same color family as what you currently have that can’t be changed.  Perhaps a gray-green-something mossy or sage type. Maybe it could be just a little deeper in color than the brick.  It’s hard to say exactly, but this could be a color direction you might try.

Another idea in a different direction: Rust type. But as I often say, it’s hard to make a recommendation without seeing even a picture, so you will have to test,test,test, on large areas, and view the colors at different times of day on different areas of the house – to see what looks good.

Suggestion: Use Tru-Hue test boards or poster boards, at least two of each color and at least 24 inches square for your testing.

If you use poster board prepare them just as if they were the actual siding by starting with a coat of prime.  If you use the Tru-Hue test boards they are already prepped so you can skip the Prime.  Then roll two or three coats of your color.

You will be able to move them around, tape them to the siding, etc.  Do NOT do little brush strokes of colors on the side of your house, it won’t give you a true idea of the color and just leads to being more confused.

I want to do my daughters room with a beach tropical theme. i would like ideas for the paint color for the walls. Thanks Kathy

Kate suggests:

When thinking of tropical colors luscious and relaxing colors come to mind.  I am always drawn to the blues and greens of the sea surrounding islands or the shores of exotic destinations. But colors of tropical blossoms or the lush green of foilage can also be used to create the look.

Palm tree, beach or nautical prints could be incorporated but I recommend keeping these obvious elements to a minimum and using furniture, fabric, textures and accessories that are instead simply suggestive of the theme will keep the room from looking cliché.

For a younger girl I like colors that are brighter as shown in the from from Bungalow Beach Designs.  The walls are soft sandy pink and the accessories are kept fun yet not over done.

If your daughter is a bit older you could go with a scheme that is warmer and not so vivid as shown in this poster or you would even go a bit stronger with some of the colors as shown in the striped pillow.

I adore shells and you could put some in glass bowls or jars, place the on a shelves or tabletops or hot glue some to the frame of a mirror.  There are some helpful instructions on Martha Stewart Living.

Coral prints or embroidered pillows also add to the tropical feeling and give a nice shot of color.

Coral Pillow from Ballard Design

For the furnishings use native dark wood pieces, beach house white or light wood, painted pieces, wicker or a mixture of different styles and materials.

A large plant, especially palm trees, can fit in and accessories in bamboo, wicker and rattan add to the scheme quite naturally.

My Signature Color ‘H2 Ahh!’

Ralph Lauren ‘Tea Rose’  or Benjamin Moore ‘Sandy Shores’

For the walls I suggest either a sandy beige or a blue green that has an ethereal quality like my “H2-Ahh!” from Ellen Kennon’s Full Spectrum Paints.  You might even consider a very soft, warm pink.  A grass cloth might be used for the walls if you are going for a more sophisticated look.

Using one of these colors will create a relaxing resort feeling and a perfect background for your fun and colorful tropical decor.

Purple reigns supreme, as togas in rich shades were worn by all the powerful Roman Emperors and it was a favorite color of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Spiritually, it reflects pure thoughts and symbolizes intelligence and creativity.

The U.S. Military awards the Purple Hear, a decoration given to soldiers wounded in battle to recognize bravery.

Several hues of the purple palette include grape, lavender, lilac, orchid, plum and aubergine.

Purple commands the eye to take notice and is prevalent in home interiors today. Using softer tones as a backdrop or as an accent color brings a regal air of beauty and harmony to any decor.

I’m going to turn this into a bistro. Would love some suggestions.  The theme is Mediterranean ( mostly Italian). Inside decor will be darker (mostly reds and browns) Any suggestions would be appreciated.– janemuir

Kate suggests:

I think this home will make a cute bistro.  While the darker colors you mention could work on the interior I would start with something a bit lighter on the exterior.  It will not only make the place look a bit bigger but will give you a canvas to add some details that can carry your theme to the exterior.

I’d start by painting the main part of the house with a color like Valspar 3004-8A Oatlands Gold Bluff or the slightly lighter 3004-6B Oatlands Yellow.  Use a creamy white for the trim that has the same undertone.

I would go with a toned gray for the shutters.  Something with a bit of color in the gray but not too much.  5001-4C Slate Court could work nicely but before putting it on slap on a coat of reddish brown first and let it dry.  You don’t have to do this to carefully because it is an undercoat.  Just avoid sloppy paint spills or drips.  Once dry give the shutters a nice coat of Slate Court.  When completely dry…and I mean completely…hit some of the high points with sandpaper to allow some of the undercoat color to come through and give you an aged look.

You can do the same thing with the door.  You could use the same undercoat color as long as it looks different enough from the door color or you could go with a shade of blue or even use the leftover paint from the shutters.  Again give the door a nice coat of a color like Valspar 1008-5A Belle Grove Flamestitch Red and then give it an aged look with a bit of sandpaper.

You can try out the look on a piece of scrap wood to make sure you like the way the undercoat looks when it comes through.  You should also test out the main exterior, trim, door and shutter color on test boards so that you can confirm that the colors work perfectly before you begin painting.

You don’t mention if you are going to keep the awnings but if you could match them to the main house color, the trim color or do something a bit creative.

Giving the aged finish to the door and shutters will begin connecting your guest with the theme before they even get inside.  A bit of landscaping to anchor the house and a few planters that look like they came directly from the Italian countryside and I think your place will say “Italian Bistro– Come on in!”