Exterior Paint : It's Gotta be Done

I’ve been thinking a lot about paint these days. Exterior paint, to be exact. My poor old farm house still looks like it always has from the outside. And while that’s been a definite asset for our property taxes, it really would be nice to pull into the driveway and smile instead of sigh. My neighbors would probably be happier, too. 

Three very different directions have been rolling around my head. First, there’s the clean look of white. 

My brother tells me, “Sis, a nice coat of white paint makes all the difference in the world. Everything looks nice and tidy.” He’s right, of course. And my house is definitely a prime architectural specimen for white paint. This old folk Victorian has plenty of peers the same color. Plus, there’s something nice about a simple white house. 

Farmhouse Exterior

But then my bohemian side pokes out her head. She likes bold colors. She likes RED! That’s a new thing with me. I spent over a decade clinging to all things taupe and taupe-adjacent. A former landlady used to laugh and say that no matter where I lived, she would always know my home just by walking in the front door. Because every house of hers that I lived in, and there were a few, I painted taupe. 

Or taupe-adjacent. 

I do love this red, though. I’m not a fan of cherry red or burgundy red, but I love a warm, sort of barn red. 

Farmhouse Exterior by Little Rock General Contractors Bret Franks Construction, Inc.

Once that’s settled down, my sensible side kicks my bohemian side in the shins and says, “No, no, no. You want blue!” Ok, not true blue, not primary color on the color wheel blue. But blue adjacent? I think grayed-down blues are very nice. I remember a long time ago, seeing a paint chip that was called "Federal Blue," and that's always been my bar for gray blue. 

And with white trim, blues can also look very clean. It’s the contrast, I imagine. I really do like the idea of a blue house. And the neighbors might not be as shocked as they would with red.

Oh, but then I remember my poor hubby. He likes red, but maybe not for the whole exterior. He is “meh” about white. I can't even consider anything in the same zipcode as brown, since he hates it so much. And I’m not sure what he thinks about blue. What he likes is gray. 

Not grayish something. Just plain old gray. Battleship gray. Bless his heart. But I do think that maybe, with the right level of gray, that might work, too. Especially with a bright colored door. 

Farmhouse Exterior by Providence Architects & Building Designers Union Studio, Architecture & Community Design

I’m just not sure. I mean, I am sure that the house must be painted. Baby poop brown, which is what I've got now,  is nobody’s favorite. And I really am tired of having the ugliest house on the block. 

What do you think? 

This really shouldn’t be as difficult as it is.


XOXO

Paint can image credit: United Soybean Board https://www.flickr.com/photos/unitedsoybean/