by Jeanette Joy Fisher
Choosing an exterior
color scheme for your home can be a pleasurable or frustrating experience.
For instance, I anguished over the colors to paint
the exterior of our Queen Anne Victorian house. I ordered every book on old
house painting that I could find, only to find that they all contradicted
each other on the basic "rules."
Finally, the color combination came to me: paint the house my favorite
colors! I love amber and red, so, fair gold and burnt red our home became,
along with temple green, dark-shutter green, dark amber, white, and black
outlined windows.
You might be
thinking: "So what? What does this have to do with my house colors?"
The exterior colors you choose influence the way you feel about your home.
Understanding the color psychology behind color schemes will help you make
informed home makeover choices.
Color Schemes and Psychology
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Monochromatic color schemes, using varying shades, tones, and tints of
the same color, give the impression of different colors and provide variety and
interest. A single color scheme gives a unified, peaceful, and harmonious
response. Monochromatic colors effectively establish an overall calming presence
while tying things together, but can become boring or dull because of the lack
of color contrast and liveliness.
The analogous, or side-by-side, color scheme adds depth, energy, and
visual appeal. Using two or three related colors next to each other on the color
wheel, analogous combinations are both flexible and attention-grabbing. The
relationship of the related colors brings harmony to the setting. One problem
with this type of color scheme is that inadvertently adding a fourth color
spoils the effect. Analogous color combinations of yellow, red, and orange,
although full of life, constantly heat up the space whereas, blue, teal, and
green always visually cool a space.
Complementary, opposite, or contrasting color combinations come from
opposite sides of the color spectrum. A warm color, combined with a cool color,
creates an interesting combination, such as yellow and purple, red and green, or
blue and orange. They are also visually pleasing to most people. Because the two
colors contain all three primary colors, the color scheme is complete and
well-balanced.
There is a lot of information devoted to color schemes, but if you're like me,
the more you read, the more confused you can become. In the end, it's sometimes
best just to do like I did with my beloved Victorian home, and begin your
deliberations by thinking about the colors you personally like best. Using both
cool colors and warm colors will give you balance all year long.
More Information About Our Painted Lady for
Old House Lovers
Temple green paint for porch ceilings, believed to keep out evil spirits, is a
historic Southern superstition and tradition. Our local historic art museum even
had the electrical junction boxes painted Temple Green. Black outlining of the
muttons and mullions (the wood window dividers) highlighted the antique
lead-glass and added depth to the windows. This type of paint outlining is like
eyeliner -- a makeup enhancement. The flat front edge of the window trim was
painted in the sash trim color.
Traditionally, Southern porches were painted gray, but I like to feel grounded,
so we painted our porches a deep green with extra black pigment. This color
anchors the porch floor to the green lawn. During hot summer days, dark green
visually cools. When the grass turns brown during winter, green porches offer
the promise of a green spring and relieve gray days.
Even though we no longer have the privilege of
living in this circa 1878 home in Palatka, Florida, the last time our family
checked, the house is still painted in our seven colors.
