18 Home Exteriors Gone Wild With Color
Technicolor dreams play out beautifully with these exterior paint jobs, showing that color confidence has its rewards
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There is no rule (unless your homeowners association has one) that houses need to be painted beige, gray or ecru. And why should interiors have all the fun when it comes to color?
In the Mediterranean, Latin American and the Caribbean, there is a long history of painting exteriors in bright, good-time colors. But really, color can work on any style architecture, from colonial to modern boxy. It's just a matter of figuring out what goes where and how bright you want to go.
Here are 18 examples of exteriors gone wild. And the results are both eye-catching and encouraging. Start dreaming.
In the Mediterranean, Latin American and the Caribbean, there is a long history of painting exteriors in bright, good-time colors. But really, color can work on any style architecture, from colonial to modern boxy. It's just a matter of figuring out what goes where and how bright you want to go.
Here are 18 examples of exteriors gone wild. And the results are both eye-catching and encouraging. Start dreaming.
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by Shannon Malone
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| Pinks A medium pink adobe-style house. The colors and architecture work together to evoke Mexico and the Southwest. |
A pale pink beach house. The color of shells and sunsets.
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This large Victorian is even more commanding in dark salmon than it would be in a more subdued color. Victorian homes also have a long and illustrious tradition of wacky color.
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Yellows
A yellow house is not so unusual, but a bright yellow house is something else. This is vibrant and eye catching and cheerful.
A yellow house is not so unusual, but a bright yellow house is something else. This is vibrant and eye catching and cheerful.
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I love this strip of sunshine yellow against the charcoal house and the wide-open, neutral landscape.
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| Craftsman houses are often painted dark colors, like maroon, brown and dark green. This muted yellow home is given a major dose of happy with those bright yellow pillars. Mixing different tones of the same color is a great way to highlight architecture and give a home some color without going too bright. |
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A greenish yellow against a greenish gray. It gives this home a very current, modern look. Imagine it in beige and white. Meh, right?
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by Lendry Homes
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| Blues A Caribbean-style house the color of the Caribbean Sea. Something about aqua blue and palm trees just seems right. |
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| A dark turquoise accent on a very modern exterior. Lovely. |
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| Purple A plum Victorian. And why not? It looks elegant and lively. |
Greens
In a lot of modern architecture, bright colors are used to make lines pop. In fact, the color serves as an architectural element in itself.
In a lot of modern architecture, bright colors are used to make lines pop. In fact, the color serves as an architectural element in itself.
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| A three-toned green wing. It's modern and lively, and it serves to add architectural interest to what is really just a box. |
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Here is another example of how using different tones of the same color can add interest and keep the house from looking like a block of green.
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| A bright leaf green against slate blue. This simple bungalow has gained a lot of personality. |
by Lauren Mikus
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Rainbow
If you decide to go with a multihued approach, it is wise to hire a color consultant. The look can be absolutely astonishing and transforming, but you want to get it right.
If you decide to go with a multihued approach, it is wise to hire a color consultant. The look can be absolutely astonishing and transforming, but you want to get it right.
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by Louise Lakier
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| I just love this vivid, cheerful paint job, but I would never have the guts to do it unless a professional designed it. See more of this house on Vashon Island, Washington |
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| Multiple colors bring out the architecture on this beautiful Spanish colonial. |
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by Marco Antunio
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| If the Jetsons had been a little groovier, this is what their house would have looked like. It's a little bit futuristic, a little bit tropical (those are bamboo pillars and palm trees) and a whole lot of original. Wow. See more of this São Paulo, Brazil, house |
Ideabook published on Dec. 12, 2012.
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We have some traditions we custom to and wouldn't go to funerals in red dress and I didn't see any bride on her wedding in black dress, wouldn't it look inappropriate to most of us?