I had it all backwards. I’ll admit I, I’m not always right, in fact, I’m always learning. When we painted our last home, it completely changed my perspective of it.
We waited over two years to paint it, focusing on the inside first. I don’t regret doing so, because we spent countless hours inside those walls, but I always felt myself apologizing for the exterior.
As they say, “first impressions are everything” & there wasn’t anything impressive about the exterior of our old home – before we painted it. When it was complete, I felt complete. A sense of pride & accomplishment. I loved driving home & pulling into our driveway.
When we purchased our yellow & brown Tudor this summer, I felt that same feeling in my gut. Seeing an exterior that needed so much work, I was immediately overwhelmed every time I entered our home. We decided to do it a little different this time, painting the exterior first.
Okay, we painted the interior first, but we committed to painting the exterior before we did any major renovations inside & I’m thankful we did! Taking care of the exterior issues & painting it to a pristine & neutral color palette set the tone for inside our home – similar to an invitation. {Below, pre-landscaping}
I do not take color palettes lightly. It’s a huge commitment that takes a lot of consideration. Tudor paint colors are tricky because the trim is equally as important as the base color.
I may have tested 7 combinations, 12 paint colors onto our home before finally making a decision. Combined with yelling at woodpeckers all day, I’m sure our neighbors think the new people from Kansas are one flew over the cuckoo’s nest.
What color did we decide on? Paint combo #2, you know, the colors we selected the first of 4 times to the store. Exterior paint colors vary significantly with the time of day, depending on how the light hits it and the colors above and below it were too grey, which originally made it stand out in a negative way.
Eventually, I had Chris test the colors on their own and I immediately knew that it was exactly what we were looking for.
I worried, I texted, phone a friend & finally decided before Chris gave up on me. I wanted to retain the original character of the brick, but also had to tie in the grey roof with green undertones. When I pulled in the driveway last night, I realized it was exactly the color palette I had hoped for. Whew! What a sigh of relief!
To make the Tudor a little more timeless and charming, we chose base and trim colors that were only slightly different. We selected Sherwin Williams Everyday White and Sherwin Williams Realist Beige. To save money, I had Lowe’s make them with Valspar’s satin exterior paint.
If course there’s always plenty to do, but I feel more at ease knowing that our home is protected from the elements this upcoming winter. We look forward to adding a lot of landscaping, light fixtures and planters in the future. I’m going to focus on the interior for now, one project at a time.
Oh, and those pesky, but adorable woodpeckers? So far so good. Fingers crossed.
You can see all of our home before and afters here!
Love the colors! What do you think of painting the brick? I have a similar house and am thinking of painting the brick the same color as the field color on the second floor.
I love brick – it has to be unmanageable for me to paint over the character and charm brick provides. That’s why I worked to find a color that would compliment it rather than compete with it…but it can look beautiful painted.
You did a beautiful job with your house! I love the colors you used. I have a similar house and I’m thinking of painting the bricks the same color as the field color you used on the second floor. May I ask why you didn’t paint the brick? Do you think it would look strange or okay? I’m having a hard time imagining it. Thank you!
Love the outside colors. My house is brick but would like to consider this trim color. I also have window shutters, what color would you recommend?
I love going 2 shades darker for shutters or a soft, dusty green, or even natural wood. Enjoy!
Well, we are FIVE years into owning our home and I am still in this crisis of WHAT COLORS DO I GO WITH!? We currently have an off-white base and ugly green trim. The stone on the bottom is a mix of neutral brick colors. We replaced all our windows last fall and went with white because the cost to “upgrade” to a colored vinyl was just too much. I love the windows (we stuck with casement for the character) but it has made the color choice even harder. You’d think it would be easy to match with white but I’m not finding it to be! I’m sure our neighbors think I’m nuts because I have various paint colors all over so I can see them in all different lights. I will need to try your base color. It doesn’t look white in the pictures but it may go better with our windows. Why oh why does this have to be so hard??!!
Send me a photo! I’m happy to make suggestions.
Julie,
Your article was very comforting to me. We live in a Tudor style cape cod. Too many different areas to match. The faux stucco is the worst. Long story short, we painted the trim Buff and stucco Dover White. First coat we used a brick color on the trim and it was too bold. I was afraid this would be too pale and bland. Then I saw your house. It’s beautiful and stately. A new twist on Tudor . Thanks for sharing.
Sounds beautiful, thank you Rob!
You have made amazing changes to the exterior of your home. I love the paint color and the landscaping is maturing beautifully, Just something that I like to see. Great work.
Love the colours. My husband and I would love to know what the paint and codes are for the two tones…
thanks from Canada
I don’t know the codes, but the brand and color is within the post. You should be able to have them made anywhere.
Oh my, Julie! I started reading this post and it’s like you were talking about me!! lol! This is our story through and through except that we haven’t made it to the painting part yet. 🙁 One day though! I love your new colors! Great job!!!
Thanks, Lauren! I’m so thankful we did. I feel less overwhelmed with the exterior polished. What’s the saying? 12th time is the charm?
I love it. I just love it. I know everyone is entitled to do what they want with their home, but I am NOT a fan of Tudors that have contrasting trim colors. I love how yours is just a hint of a difference shade. An accent. Not overwhelming. It looks very rich, very stately. Can’t wait to see the porch. Well done my friend! Blessings!
Thank you, Robbin! I clearly am not a fan of dramatic differences either. I appreciate your kind words! Have a great weekend!
It’s amazing what a little paint can do! Looks great!