White Delights on Home Exteriors of All Styles
You can't go wrong looking on the bright side for a home's exterior — white exteriors like these have been succeeding for hundreds of years
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I am licensed to practice architecture in Illinois, Florida, New Jersey & Wisconsin and I am a certificate holder from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). Since 1996 I have worked from my home office and provide full architectural services exclusively to the single family residential market. My passion is to transform my clients' houses into their homes. I strive to have the "new" home accommodate my clients' lives without fighting them at every junction. I look to add curb appeal to encourage a beautiful streetscape. And I design any addition to look and feel like it has always been there.
Our projects have won numerous design awards as well as having...
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located... More »
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From tropical to traditional, classical to contemporary, the color white has been used with great success on home exteriors. What is remarkable is how white suits so many home styles. While it may not be appropriate for many late-19th-century homes, where a polychromatic approach is best, certainly every other style from the 17th to 20th centuries would look good in white.
White is the color we associate with purity and innocence. But beyond this symbolism, it provides a stark contrast to the colors found in nature, whether it's the blue sky or the greens, browns and oranges found in the landscape. Clearly, a white house is separate and distinct from much of the natural world.
White is the color we associate with purity and innocence. But beyond this symbolism, it provides a stark contrast to the colors found in nature, whether it's the blue sky or the greens, browns and oranges found in the landscape. Clearly, a white house is separate and distinct from much of the natural world.
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| White is perfect for a Cape Cod house, as it will make a modest-size home seem larger. With its associations of purity and innocence, white also works well on a simple Cape Cod house because if there's any house style that evokes notions of a simpler time, it's this one. |
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| Home styles from the 18th and early 19th centuries are perfect candidates for white exteriors. Whether colonial, federal, Georgian or Greek revival, these home styles are emblematic of the age of enlightenment and the search for truth. Cerebral and cool, white plays to these styles' formality. |
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| White is also a great color for homes in the tropics. It repels the sun's heat and stands out against the deep blue skies, lush green landscape and azure water. Few things look cooler than white stucco walls, coupled with a soft accent color, reflected in a pool of deep blue water. |
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| White is ideal for where you want to see a lot of texture and shadow. Whether it's the lap of each siding board or the moldings at the eaves, windows and more, shadows will be accentuated against a white background. This will go a long way in articulating a design's richness of detail. |
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by LASC Studio
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| A home with a basic and simple gable shape, almost like a child's drawing, is made clearer and stronger through the use of white. And white can be a reflection of our more rational side, so the overall design is more abstract and pure. |
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Keeping the exterior all white can play to the design strength when the home's form is simple and strong. White plays to the lack of any detail or texture in this case, allowing the overall form to be the dominant visual feature.
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| The "white box" created by the Europeans in the early 20th century and popularized in the States as part of the International style used white almost exclusively. It was clear that the design of the homes was driven by an intellectual purity and a machine aesthetic. |
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| The International style still continues in homes today. Rational, cool and looking machine made, these white boxes provide a sharp contrast to the natural world and, in the process, celebrate the modern age. More: Help! What Color Should I Paint My House? |
Ideabook published on Nov. 15, 2012.
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Climate does matter. Because of the extremes in the upper midwest (in the dead of winter, the north side of a building can be frozen solid while the south side is warm, causing havoc on the materials), the types of materials and finishes used are really important. Best to consult with some professionals in your area that have the expertise to steer you in the right direction.