Dear Homework,
My husband and I just bought a house, and we’re looking to change the exterior. The house is brick on the front, and the rest is red siding. We don’t love the color of the siding, and we’re having trouble deciding what color to change it to since the roof has red in it as well. When we do decide on a color, do we also need to change the color of the gutters and the wood on the roofline? We also don’t know what color to make the front door and garage door. We would so appreciate your help!
Thank you so much,
—Tired of Seeing Red
Dear Tired of Seeing Red,
My ‘go to’ color for informal houses is a slate green. I think this shade goes well with most brick colors and also helps connect a house to its landscape. Here, I also think it’s a nice complement to the roof and beige windows. A rust-colored front door and recessed garage door panels provide a bit of an accent while also relating to the existing brick.
Some minor architectural upgrades include a Craftsman-style garage door and light fixtures, as well as a tall urn at the front door. The new garage door greatly helps rebalance the front elevation by bringing windows, color and detail to the left third of the façade.
The planting on the retaining wall is redesigned to enhance the overall composition and soften the wall by draping over it.
Hope you’ll find this useful,
—Homework
Homework is penned by Paul Doerner, founding partner of The Lawrence Group. If you would like your home critiqued, contact us at homework@townandstyle.com.
