House Colors: Gray, White, Green or Black

Posted on | July 28, 2010 | 15 Comments

Greg and I gathering references to get our roof redone. In the meantime I’m snapping photos around town of potential roof colors. This morning I realized I’ve never shown photos of my potential house colors which to me totally relates to the roof color.

My two favorite houses in town are a shade of gray with dark shutters and white trim. The house above is gray/brown with dark green shutters. How cute is the whale over the front door? The cobblestone driveway is pretty awesome too! The second just a block away from my house is dark gray, white trim, with black shutters. See a photo of inside this house here (my fav wallpaper). Both color combos are traditional but feel a little dressier with contrasting dark shutters.

Tomorrow I’ll share potential roof colors and gutter options.

Category: house renovation, marblehead, paint colors

Comments

15 Responses to “House Colors: Gray, White, Green or Black”

moparbrownstoner
July 28th, 2010 @ 1:29 pm

I never thought about roof color before because my neighborhood is all row houses with flat roofs you can’t see.

They are often painted white or silver because it makes such a difference to the interior temperature in the summer. Much cooler. Then again, maybe the top floors don’t heat up that much in Marblehead?

That reminds me. If you have a dirt floor cellar, Katy, could you do a post on dirt floors? There seems to be very little reliable information about maintenance, moisture, venting, cooling, and other issues.
Ashley
July 28th, 2010 @ 2:18 pm

I love your choices, Katy! The colors seem both appropriate to the period of the house as well as the setting of Marblehead. Timeless, just as all your choices have been so far.

That said, I’m curious if slate shingles are popular in period houses around town? The upfront cost and maintenance, I’ve heard, is great but the look is hard to beat.
Katy Elliott
July 28th, 2010 @ 2:21 pm

Ladies your jumping the gun! I’ll report on all things roof tomorrow I promise–from trends in town to why people choose different colors.

I need to get better photos first!

K
Erica
July 28th, 2010 @ 6:21 pm

You might want to check with your historic commission first. Our hist.comm. has specific colorways for each historic neighborhood in the city, and one can only choose from those colors. Those houses you’ve shown seem to be in the same historic realm as yours, so you’d probably be safe copying them, but who knows — maybe there’s some fab color scheme you’ve never even thought of waiting at the historic commission office.

Thanks so much for sharing all the chimney info — it was really helpful, and the task of doing something with mine seems less daunting now.
Vallery
July 28th, 2010 @ 8:21 pm

I have always loved the look of the lighter grey with the dark green shutters. It is a little softer than black shutters and just seems more inviting. Love the pictures.
kristin
July 28th, 2010 @ 8:25 pm

i love both of those houses, but i think i would lean toward the first one you featured. something about it feels “clean” and i like the contrast of the paint, shutters and trim.

we’d love to paint our house (like tomorrow if we could), so we love looking at the various color combinations in town. i’m always drawn toward yellow houses, but there is something striking about white with a red door or some of the really darker colors that almost look black. our neighbors’ are gray, blue and a beige so in the end we’d probably try to blend in with them.
kristin
July 28th, 2010 @ 8:31 pm

almost forgot about the whale – love, love, love it. that’s got to be a whole other post, right?! cod or whale? which do you think you’ll go with?
Katy Elliott
July 28th, 2010 @ 10:10 pm

Erica–

True in many old towns you have to your house color approved by the historic society–not here! I actually wish they did limited colors used.

Both of these house are just a few blocks from my house and both in the historic district.
Maryam in Marrakech
July 29th, 2010 @ 5:10 am

Love the color patterns. Grey is always classy and never goes out of style. It is a little sober looking, however, as they say in French.
Jessica
July 29th, 2010 @ 7:39 am

The first home pictured is definitely my favorite, simply because it’s unique and more cheery than the others. I encourage you, with your exquisite taste, to choose something similiar but not exactly the same as any of the homes pictured above. I’m quite sure whatever you choose will be lovely.
Katy Elliott
July 29th, 2010 @ 9:38 am

FYI we are hoping to paint next spring. We have to the new roof and fix a hole and rotten wall in the back of the house first.
Michelle
July 29th, 2010 @ 10:52 am

House and roof color totally relate. If I could do it all over, I would paint the trim darker than the siding, b/c that trim looks dirty all the time (ours is white.) I like a crisp look, so dirk irks me.
jaime
July 30th, 2010 @ 6:40 pm

i love the first photo too. the light gray/brown/green color is just beautiful! i can’t believe all the work you guys have done since i have been reading your blog. so impressive!
Erica
July 31st, 2010 @ 5:43 am

Oooh — unlimited color choices makes it so difficult to decide! A friend of mine had her (Victorian) wood house painted (she was restricted in choice by the Historic Commission), and the painter she hired came up with a variety of color schemes for her to choose from. Mind you, she had lots of different shapes and trim colors, so it was more complicated, but maybe a painter can help you decide and can suggest the roof shingles at the same time?
Jane
August 11th, 2010 @ 12:37 pm

I think that you really can’t go wrong with any of the options you’ve shown here. They are all classics and would compliment your adorable house very nicely. The house in the last 2 photos reminds me the most of yours. You are wise to choose darker colors. We have an old colonial in CT and mildew on the exterior is always an issue.