# Help me decide what color to paint my house **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 19, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597 "2012-06-19T01:31:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/21 "2012-06-19T19:03:21Z")
I gotta agree with the sage green - white trim. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/22 "2012-06-19T19:06:37Z")
I like the gray/white combo. It would look beautiful on your house. Victorian didn’t link to house. Main Street is a great idea! I have tons of magazines if you want to flip through looking at pictures. You are welcome to them. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/23 "2012-06-19T19:18:54Z")
**Brynda** - We need to get together for lunch or dinner one of these days, anyway. You can bring mags and we can brainstorm. Are there any movies out that you’d like to see? I like the sage, too. With cream trim. **TriPolar** - If I add a railing to the porch, then I think I’d need to add some balusters, too. In the summer I often hang ferns between the posts. StG ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/24 "2012-06-19T19:20:32Z")
[Here](http://sereneseneca.blogspot.ca/2009_12_01_archive.html) is an example of a nice sage green. You have to scroll down a bit to get to it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/25 "2012-06-19T19:25:43Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > **TriPolar** - If I add a railing to the porch, then I think I’d need to add some balusters, too. Yes, and maybe flowerboxes on top of the rail. If would draw the eye to the front of the porch and make the house appear larger overall. I don’t know what kind of paint is on there now, but if it doesn’t interfere, you might want to whitewash the house. Whitewash can be colored, and leaves a hard, long lasting finish that would help preserve a beautiful old house like that. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/26 "2012-06-19T19:37:38Z")
**TriPolar** - I didn’t know they still made whitewash - I thought that went out with Twain. Although boxes would be nice, I don’t have a green thumb. That’s why I want hydrangeas - once they’re established, they just do their own thing. **Ludy** - That has a very Craftsman feel about it. StG ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/27 "2012-06-19T19:49:51Z")
Your house wants to be yellow. It’ll be nice and cheery in the spring/summer but it’ll also look awesome with fall foliage. Gray will be way too depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/28 "2012-06-19T19:51:20Z")
Holy crap, that rainbow house is amazing. I’d go with blue because blue is my favorite color. Something like [this](http://i.imgur.com/5nshY.jpg). Or [here](http://i.imgur.com/LJRqZ.jpg) is a really dignified, dark blue. Even if you stick with white, at least go with a bright accent color (blue or red or sage green, as above). Don’t paint the place gray, though, haunted houses are gray. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/29 "2012-06-19T19:54:57Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > **TriPolar** - I didn’t know they still made whitewash - I thought that went out with Twain. It’s basically hydrated lime and water, and a few home grown additives like eggs, milk, or wheat starch. Modern commercial preps are basically paint, but they don’t quite have the penetrating preservative effect of lime wash. It’s more self healing than paint, but may lose it’s luster over time and require recoating more often. The house probably has modern paint on it, and it would be easiest to continue that way. Just please don’t cover it with vinyl siding. > [@](#): > > Although boxes would be nice, I don’t have a green thumb. That’s why I want hydrangeas - once they’re established, they just do their own thing. Plastic flowers. They’re magical. They even bloom in the middle of winter. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/30 "2012-06-19T20:03:35Z")
**TriPolar** - It’s very possible the house has only ever been whitewashed. The old lady who died there before I bought it was 100 years old when she died (I should be drinking the sulfurous well water!) and had lived there her whole married life. This was a working farm couple who never spent money they didn’t need to. **rachelellogram** Definitely no on the first one. THe second is very cool, but would dwarf my house. And I’ve lived in old homes my whole life - ghosts don’t scare me. Sometimes I like to think that old Mrs. V would be happy with what I’m doing to her house. StG ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/31 "2012-06-19T20:12:39Z")
Stupid question but I can’t really tell with the snow on the roof: what colour is the roof? This is pertinent. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/32 "2012-06-19T20:23:46Z")
**perfectparanoia** - The roof is tin and needs resealing, so it looks a liitle rusty but is sound. I’m having trouble finding someone to work on it. StG ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/33 "2012-06-19T20:28:44Z")
I think your house wants to be a brighter color, rather than gray. Any of the yellows, blues or sage greens suggested so far would be fine. I also agree that the color of the roof is material (unless that is going to change) and would affect the color choice. May I recommend that if you use a blue like the “Victory in Style” victorian that you linked to on the Behr page, you paint the inside of the porch a much lighter shade of the same color. Your porch from this photo appears to be very shady and hard to see due to the shrubbery and the overhanging roof, so a lighter color will help it be more visible and welcoming. And don’t forget a really bright color for the front door! Roddy ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/34 "2012-06-19T20:37:38Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > [Rainbow](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2285/2150060539_78557a83a5.jpg). How ridiculous of a person am I for liking this? I’d never paint my house that way, but I enjoy looking at it. I’m for deep greens with brownish hues. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/35 "2012-06-19T20:54:33Z")
I find this site really great for trying out different palettes. You can even [upload a photo of your own place,](http://www.valsparatlowes.com/en/explore-colors/color-selector/index.html?screen=painterScreen#) though I’ve never tried that . . . [http://www.valsparatlowes.com/en/explore-colors/find-ideas/styles/victorian/victorian-homes-1.html?index=0](http://www.valsparatlowes.com/en/explore-colors/find-ideas/styles/victorian/victorian-homes-1.html?index=0) Really useful though, to see the same house in each palette. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/36 "2012-06-19T21:12:47Z")
Ohhh… **TruCelt**! That upload a photo seems like a great idea. I’m going to try to take a decent picture of the house to play with. StG ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/37 "2012-06-19T21:29:44Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > [Pink](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bgzx01urva8/TaBUT4ryYwI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4KCE8DYUAJo/s1600/simple_life_pink_house.jpg)or [Purple](http://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/5712626)or [Rainbow](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2285/2150060539_78557a83a5.jpg). I love that rainbow house. It would make me so happy to see that every day. Our little cape is dingy vinyl-siding white with faded green vinyl shutters (sigh). However, the _inside_ is painted mostly the colors in **StGermain** ’s cheery yellow house – warm tannish yellow with white trim, which I picked out five years ago, and I still love it. It is sunshiny. We have one room a deeper yellow, and the bathroom is green and sort of turquoise for a nice cool contrast. **Foggy** ’s other two examples show the importance of good contrasting trim colors, I think, no matter what main color you use. At least two trim colors looks damn good, hugely better than none and significantly better than only one, if you’ve got the architectural detail to put it on. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/38 "2012-06-19T21:52:20Z")
Yellow, with white trim. I was on my way over to help, until I saw the snake pictures. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/39 "2012-06-20T00:29:29Z")
It took me over a year to decide on the colour of our house. In the end I decided on a lovely soft blue for the siding, with white and grey trim. I like the three colour thing. In the end, one of the most deciding factors is how it will fade. Look around your neighbourhood for the ugliest paint colour you can find. I promise you it started out a lovely toned paint chip, and was wonderful when freshly painted. Nothing changes that, though they now make paint in every imaginable colour, all paint is always affected by the sun and weather. Unless you like getting the house painted, my tip to you is, pick a colour that will still be attractive when it fades. It was a good tip when I received it, and, several years later, I still like the colour of the house. Something to think about. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597/40 "2012-06-20T01:50:04Z")
Those round-top windows are screaming for a white house with dark green shutters and two tone green trim. Another area local to you to cruise for color ideas would be the Lockland Springs neighborhood in East Nashville. A lot of houses of similar vintage as yours that have been restored. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-decide-what-color-to-paint-my-house/625597.md?page=3)