Archives for Renovations

Choosing the Right Home Paint Colors for Your Home’s Exterior

The exterior of your house is as important as the interior. This is your home’s most visible part. Your careful consideration will help you choose the right color scheme for the exterior of your house. You will spend money and time, and you definitely want to get it right. Along with increasing its visual appeal, choosing the right home paint colors might help boost the resale value of your home. Use these handy tips when choosing the right paint colors for your home.

 

Blend with the Neighborhood

Walk around your neighborhood to see how the houses are painted. This will help to guide you on the appropriate home paint colors for your home’s exterior. If most of the houses are painted in brown hues, you should not go for a shiny black. Your house will be the odd one out. The trick is to blend in. Go for a color palette that is consistent with the rest of the neighborhood.

 

 

Consider the Architecture

The colors you choose should reflect your home’s architectural design. An old, colonial mansion painted in bright orange and green might not bring out the desired architectural effect. Don’t be tempted by the season colors. If not sure, you can ask a professional on the color history that is consistent with your house design. The idea here is to have paint colors that bring out the best out of the design of your home.

 

 

The Climate

The climate of your locality should guide you on choosing the right paint color. The exterior of your house is exposed to the elements. The colors should look appealing, yet be durable and resistant to corrosion or mold. The color choice for a log cabin in the woods would be different from that of a beachfront house. Your choice should be guided by the surrounding environment, considering how the climate will affect the color and the quality of paint.

 

 

Create Contrast

Creating contrast with the home paint colors can be easy. Considering the dominant house color, choose a different hue for the windows, roof edging and the window casings. You can then paint the doors and shutters a different color to highlight them. While at it, consider the landscape colors, and the contrast that they bring to the overall picture.

 

 

 

Understand the Surface

What is the texture of the walls of your home’s exterior? The appearance of paint colors changes with the surface, and this will impact the overall visual effect that you desired. When you paint rough surfaces, the colors appear darker. Smooth surfaces will have a lighter visual effect.

 

 

Know the Size

You can use color creatively to alter the mood and perception of your house. You can paint bold colors to create an impression of a bigger house. A handy tip here is to remember that darker or lighter colors have an effect on the size perception of the exterior of your home.

 

When choosing home paint colors for your home’s exterior, ensure that you go for a palette that makes you comfortable, and gives your home the attractiveness it needs. Play with color, and never hesitate to ask for professional assistance, when need be.

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Why and When You Should Paint the Exterior of Your House

gage exterior-smHow the exterior of your house looks determines and portrays what kind of person you are. The right paint job will ensure that the exterior of your house has a fresh and attractive look. There are numerous reasons as to why you should paint the exterior of your house. The following is a list of important reasons which detail why and when you should paint the outside of your house.

  1. The first and most obvious reason is that, paint gives your house an appealing appearance. A well painted exterior will give a good first impression to visitors and prospective buyers.
  2. A coat of paint helps protect the exterior of house from environmental factors such as snow, frost, sleet, and rain which may penetrate and cause cracking, flaking and peeling on the walls . Humid surfaces provide breeding conditions for mildew, and rot on wood.
  3. To increase the value of your property, a well painted exterior would be a good start. Interested buyers will consider your house if it is well painted and hence increase the resale value.
  4. House maintenance is a process that will never end. The cost of maintaining may be high especially when replacing rotten wood, and cracked surfaces. The expensive repair costs can be avoided by applying paint before it is too late.
  5. We all change our minds or get bored of seeing the same color every day. Changing the look by painting the exterior will ensure that you get rid of the old fashioned look. It will also let you try out the latest types of paints which can be even more effective than the ones applied before.

When should you do exterior painting?

To achieve a perfect finish of paint, you should consider the best time and weather to paint the outside of your house. Before you start painting, the surface should be prepared by scrapping off peeled paint if any, and applying several coats before the painting the final coat.

Windy weather causes latex paint to dry quickly and prevent proper film formation. Wind can also carry dust which combines with wet paint and allows growth of mildew and ruins your paint job.

Very hot or cold days are not suitable for painting. Direct sunlight prevents film formation while cold days causes the paint to take long to dry.

Spring is therefore the most suitable season when painting the outside of your home. Employing professionals and buying the right paint will ensure quality paint job.

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