By: Erica Browne Grivas

Read the full Seatle Times article here.

A fresh coat of paint transforms your home’s look and curb appeal, acting like a greeting card that conveys energy and style. When we decided to paint our home’s exterior, I was excited to pick colors, but the sheer volume of options was paralyzing. It wasn’t until I got some expert help that the project came together. Here, local experts share how to create an exterior palette that truly works, from accenting your home’s architecture to complementing its surroundings. “Paint color has the biggest impact, whether exterior or interior,” says color consultant and interior designer Sara Eizen. “Even though it’s expensive, it’s still the least expensive way to make a big impact.” Honor your home’s style Certain colors link strongly with architectural styles — avocado green for midcentury modern, earth tones for Craftsman, sea and sky hues for coastal cottages. Researching palettes that complement your home’s style helps ensure a cohesive flow, but breaking rules can also work effectively. “The color palette should be designed to work specifically with the home’s architecture, regardless of the period,” says interior designer Becky Ducsik of The Phinery. “It’s about defining the architectural elements you want to highlight,” she says. “Some have tons, and it’s about identifying which need to be center stage and some lack those character elements.” Also, consider adding character elements with paint, such as distinctive garage doors, window boxes or enhancing the trim to add personality. Create the feeling you want It’s easy to get bogged down thinking about resale, color trends or how the house blends with the neighbors’ homes. But the most important thing, unless you’re selling immediately, is that you enjoy it. Color consultant Renee Adsitt at ColorWhiz starts by asking clients about emotions. “The first place I go,” she says, “is, ‘What are your passions? ‘Where do you like to go on vacation? What are you hungry for in life?’ I never start with just picking colors.” People easily define their dislikes, so then she asks, “What don’t you like about the current color?”Build a palette that sings For many homes, a simple three-color palette makes sense: body, trim and door. Modern homes skew more minimalist in form and color, while the rich details of Victorian and Craftsman styles offer opportunities to expand your palette. If you want blue, will it be sky, slate or navy? Once the color deck swallows you, you’ll be swimming in a million fine-tuning decisions — degrees of dark versus light, warm versus cool. Adsitt suggests skipping colors that say, “That’s a safe bet,” and finding the ones that make you say “Ooh — I love that!” Ducsik says that, in Seattle’s climate, she tends to avoid colors with a Light Reflecting Value (LRV) below 20%, since they absorb most light and may fade faster than lighter colors. Yet going too bright can be headache-inducing. Dark colors visually recede and can make your lot appear larger, notes Adsitt, while also helping your garden colors stand out. In contrast, white homes tend to advance visually, sometimes feeling closer to the sidewalk. When evaluating colors, experts agree that a two-inch printed paint chip won’t do. Once you’ve got two or three good contenders, it’s time to put them on the wall. It’s crucial to see large samples on all four sides of a home at different times of day and weather. Ducsik says cloudy days offer the truest look at a color, but full sun matters, too. Don’t paint a swatch on the current color; it will muddy your decision. The easiest way is to paint large boards or paper of at least 2 feet square that can be moved around the house and viewed up close and at a distance. Compare your samples against fixed elements like your walkway, brick columns or metal roof. Include prominent landscape elements like your neighbors’ gold conifer or mauve rhododendron. Speaking of the landscape, landscape designer Courtney Olander suggests letting either the landscape or the house take center stage. If you have a busy rose collection, consider a simpler palette. Once you have your body color, find the trim color that works best next to it. How? Ducsik says it’s about finding a balance of contrast. “I would say contrast can be defined as being able to separate visual elements from each other — you need to achieve just enough; you don’t need to go too severe,” she says. “We want to create cohesion. You want those elements to be in harmony.” Where to be bold Designers say entries, windows and main pathways are key junctions to highlight. These are the elements you want to stand out. Accordingly, doors, gates, arbors, shutters, window boxes, containers and mailboxes are ready for a creative touch. You can choose whether they repeat a theme or make a new statement. With a bold approach, repeat that accent intentionally through the space. “I think there’s a great opportunity,” when using color, says Olander. For example, you can choose an accent color for your front door and then echo it throughout the space with décor like the address plaque, doormat, containers, plants and more. “The door acts as an anchor,” she says. As a focal point, the door is a favorite place for a pop of color. They are also easy to repaint, so they’re a low risk if you decide to swap orange for lime green. What about things you want to see less of? Take a cue from restaurants with exposed ceiling pipes — paint it to blend in! If the offending item is next to the house, match it to the body color. If it’s next to the trim, match it to the trim color. Eizen tends to paint belly boards and the corner trim the house body color. Other examples could be gutters and downspouts, storage boxes, waste bin covers and sheds. If it’s a stand-alone item not worth highlighting, paint it in a sophisticated dark color, which will make it visually recede. To tone down a fixed color like brick, choose a similar, muted shade; in contrast, complementary colors, like green, will highlight it. A color case study Our 1924 Craftsman needed an update, and with the painter already hired, I was overwhelmed by choices. My husband favored the existing Aegean blue, while I wanted a richer navy and softer cream trim to ease the stark white vinyl windows. After struggling with online tools, I hired a graphic artist on Fiverr to mock up three palettes. Though helpful, one navy-on-navy option was so stark our painter joked it looked like “the Death Star” — and he laughed about the volume discount he got on all the paint samples I ordered. Next, a free Sherwin-Williams color consultation made a big difference. Asking for a happy medium-dark blue, the consultant offered three balanced options for the blue body, off-white trim and yellow door. Comparing these with the rose-pink brick columns helped us choose the right palette. The yellow was tricky — my vibrant gold versus my husband’s lemon — so our painter (going above and beyond) mixed custom shades until we settled on Sherwin-Williams’ Dress Blue, Classical White trim and a golden hue matching Benjamin Moore’s Golden Groves. For a truly customized experience, working directly with a professional color consultant or designer can save time and help you build a color scheme that works beautifully with your home’s architecture, light and landscape. Choosing colors that make you feel happy, calm or at home is the first step. “I feel most people play it safe with their exteriors, but I want you to come home every day loving what you choose,” says Eizen. “One of the beauties of owning your own property is that you get to do what you want.” Gray isn’t black and white Gray — a dominant exterior color trend in recent years — divided our experts. Some question its use in Seattle’s often overcast climate, especially for homeowners sensitive to Seasonal Affective Disorder. Others see charcoal as a sophisticated neutral: versatile, timeless, and a striking backdrop that makes landscapes pop.