You asked...about exterior paint colors in Victoria : Annie Elliott Design

Q: Hi! I came across your blog on line and liked your attitude! Can you help me pick an exterior scheme for my house? I live on the west coast – Victoria – where pretty much anything goes. I tend to favour greens and am also contemplating a pink house…but I am nervous about getting it wrong and hating it.

Here’s a picture of what my place looks like now, using a couple of palettes I tried on the Benjamin Moore colour viewer. The first is with Texas Rose and the second with Terrapin Green. I got some body colour on, but had a hard time figuring out how and where to put accents.

I like the idea of a couple of greens with a mahogany accent and maybe I can get a pink door in there. What do you think? (Door is not visible from the front).

Thanks! Julie G.

A: Hi, Julie! Thanks so much for sending these pictures of your charming bungalow – and for including the glimpses of your neighbors’ houses. I agree that going with pink as the predominant color is risky. It has nothing to do with this particular shade; I just think you’ll tire of it.

Let’s work with the 2145-20 Terrapin Green as the primary color. It’s an interesting green with a lot of yellow in it, so we want to stick with yellow-based complements. I like the creamy-khaki color your photo is showing as the trim; take a look at 2148-50 Sandy White for that.

Now here are the places we can have some fun: the daub between the timbers under the roofline, and the front door. A good option would be to paint the daub a green that’s a couple of shades lighter than the Terrapin, such as 2145-40 Fernwood Green.

Then I’d get punchy with the front door, with a shot of dark orange or pink. Be careful not to go too red or you risk Santa Claus jokes for the remainder of your occupancy. 2169-20 Orange Parrot is a color to consider,

as is 2086-30 Rosy Blush.Right about now, you might be wondering if I deserve the broad artistic license you bestowed upon me; this solution might seem a little tame. But your house is so architecturally adorable that quite frankly, I don’t want to junk it up.

If you feel your personality will not be expressed adequately through these 4 colors :) you COULD take one of the colors from the stained glass windows in the front and use it on the daub. 2051-40 Majestic Blue would be interesting if it works with the windows – it’s the same value (intensity) as the green but ever so slightly clashy.

Bold.

Just for fun, you might want to check out a previous post about exterior paint colors.

You asked…about exterior paint colors in Victoria