A Colorful Craftsman Bungalow

The small Takoma Park, MD Craftsman bungalow, on a hill above the street, faces north, and is surrounded by mature trees.  In the shade and low sunlight, the house can easily melt into the background.  Previously the owner addressed that problem with a warm yellow gold main color accented with a brick orange and sage green (see before pictures, at end).  The roof is a deep brick-red. 

My client, a friend and neighbor, was ready for a change.  I had previously consulted on her interior palette – replacing her off-whites with cool, sophisticated tones of greyed green (see interior colors).  Delighted with the varied, soft transitions of her new interior, she found that the exterior colors didn’t really mesh with them.  So she came to me again for an exterior color consultation.  While still wanting a bright, welcoming feel to the exterior, she wanted the palette to extend seamlessly from the outside to inside.  

 

A colorful palette -- Blue/Grey Primary, Sage Green Secondary, Firey Red/Orange Accent

If you’ve followed some of my other color conversions, you know that I usually prominently incorporate a “near-complement” accent color.  Instead her interior is composed exclusively of tints and tones of a single complex greyed-green.  The exception is a warm off-white color on all the wood trim.  I used this subdued, sophisticated palette in her interior because she has a lot of reddish/orange artwork and antique furniture with a reddish patina.  Thus, the artwork and furniture became the “near-complement” accent. 
 

Accent Windows With Color Instead of Typical White Trim

The exterior palette gave me the opportunity to highlight a near-compliment accent — a fiery red/orange (Benjamin Moore 077) — alongside colors analogous with the interior shades (blue/green) but much more saturated than her interior.  The main color is a saturated blue/grey (Benjamin Moore 2129-40) – analogous to the interior greens but more saturated.  The secondary color is a greyed green that I used as the deep accent  color in the interior.  It’s more saturated that the other interior colors and is sufficiently saturated to coordinate well with the exterior shades. 

The Firey Red/Orange is a Near-Complement to Blue/Grey Primary Color -- which makes both more vibrant.

 
Note that I also had the pleasure of doing this with a Takoma Park bungalow – a community and a house style that welcomes bright colors.  This exterior color combination would not be welcome in many communities and house-styles. 

The blue and green fit well into the shady environment while the fiery red/orange makes these colors more vibrant and sets the home apart from the shade.  The blue and green exterior provides a vibrant echo of the interior tones.  Blue and white pottery visible as you enter bring the exterior blue indoors.  The red-orange is picked up in flashes of the vivid, warm colors of the owner’s folk art collection.

Exterior Colors Coordinate with Interior Accents

 

My client says:  “My humble little house is as beautiful as any palace.  Marvelous, harmonious colors turn the inside and outside into one glorious whole.  The outside is more vibrant and welcoming, and the inside more calm and relaxing, just as I would want them to be.  I wouldn’t trade it for all the granite countertops and stainless steel appliances in the world.”

 

Before - View 1

 

Before - View 2 - Notice How much more Vibrant The Red Roof Looks with the New Blue/Grey Than the Original Yellow/Gold

A dramatic palette of aubergine, grayed green, grey and creamy white

3 Elements – color, furnishings and lighting – turn a row house in the Glover Park neighborhood of Washington DC into a stylish new home for a young professional couple.  The photos were all taken by the owner – Margaret Allen – a very talented photographer .  Margaret and her husband were equally involved in the selection of the furnishings and accessories.  It all happened in the course of a few months over this summer while the couple took turns traveling overseas on business.  I developed the color palette and made suggestions about fabrics, furnishings, coordination, and tradesmen.  [Note: the “before” pictures are from before the couple purchased the home.]

The palette complements the tile of the fireplace and natural oak flooring

Living Room “Before” the Couple Purchased the house

My Clients Achieved the “West Elm” Look They Wanted Without Cookie-Cutter Selections

This palette conforms to my usual prescription:  Entries and transitions should be deep tones.  This reinforces the sense of arrival and passage through the home.  The tones become lighter as you move through the house and toward the daylight of larger windows and doors on the back of the house.  This creates a much greater sense of space.  While each room is a different color, the colors blend into a harmonious palette that complements the wood of the floors, the tile in the fireplace and the tones and textures of the other “built-in” features.  The walls are all a Matte texture.  The matte sheen absorbs more light yielding richer tones and hiding imperfections on the wall surface.  The accent color – in this case a very deep purple – acts to both accentuate the space and delineate purpose.  It is such a deep tone that in many lights it almost reads as a neutral color.  A mixture of textures and subtle patterns keeps the palette exciting.  A white-toned trim color highlights the architecture of the space especially the stairway and bookshelves.  New recessed lights in the living room and soffits help accentuate the wonderful photography and provide a delightful ambiance. 

The Deep Purple Accent Color on a Duct Chase Helps Accent the Transition Between Rooms

The deep purple is used again to accentuate the transition to the family room & kitchen

The Family Room Has the Most Natural Light and is the Lightest Color

Notice how the Dining Room Rug Reflects the Accent Color and Blends it with the Natural Oak Flooring & the Lighter Tones of the Upholstery in the Adjacent Living Room

The Deeper Tones of the Living Room Wall Are a Perfect Foil for the Wife’s Photography

Notice How the Deep Tone on the Walls and the White Risers Create An Architectural Statement in the Entry

The Stairway & Entry “Before”

Remodeling Doesn’t Always Mean Moving Walls and Renovating Kitchens.  It can be a simple refreshing of surfaces with paint and fabric to yield a remarkable “new” home.

Notice How the Grayed-Green Walls Show Off Art & The Exposed Ceiling Detail

A neighbor and friend in Takoma Park, MD was planning to paint the interior of her home.  It’s a wonderful craftsman – small but with lots of nice details. I had always thought the house was a bit washed out with a light, monochromatic color palette.  I asked if she was open to something new.  Here’s the result and her own words about the change:
 

AFTER - The small home feels larger with more detail

Off-White Walls Lack Depth & Interest

 
“My house is a tiny Craftsman bungalow with small rooms.  It’s filled with an eclectic collection of art, antiques, and other stuff I’ve inherited, collected, or made myself.  There’s no theme, period, or color scheme.  With this much variety in little spaces, I thought I needed a uniform, neutral background like khaki and white.

“The house feels bigger now.  The darker walls recede.  When I walk through the house, there are subtle changes in the wall colors and light, so it feels like a journey in several stages.  That captures my senses and makes the walk seem longer.

“I’ve always loved the beam and board ceiling in the living room, but it never really showed up like it should.  Now it reflects light, shadow, and paint colors as the light changes.  I find myself slouching in my easy chair, looking up, and enjoying the show.

“I especially enjoy the contrast between the tiny kitchen and the largest room, the living room.  The kitchen ceiling, painted dark gray green, feels lower than it really is, and makes it seem cozy.  Then when I walk into the living room, the white beam and board ceiling seems much higher and bigger than it actually is.  Welcome to Versailles! 

“My collection of art and things looks good against the gray green walls.  I wasn’t surprised that the reds really sing, but I was delighted at how good the greens and blues look.  “
 

Notice How the Contrast of Trim and Room Transitions Enhance the Experience

Add Depth & Dimension with Wall Color

Artwork is Enhance with Wall Color

Wall Color Enhances Artwork

I follow certain rules when I develop a palette for a home.  The transition areas (foyer and hallways) are the deepest most intense color within the palette.  The wall color gets lighter as you move through the home toward the rooms with the most daylight.  All wood trim is painted the same color for continuity – usually an off-white that coordinates with the paint.  In this case, with a palette of greyed-greens, the white has hint of yellow for a soft crème to contrast with the walls and the wood blinds.  I prefer quite complex colors – ones where it’s hard to say what’s in it.  These colors provide the greatest variability on the wall reflecting different hues depending on the light source and value.  Shadows and highlights are shown to great effect.  I also prefer matte finish because imperfections in the wall surface are less visible and they absorb the most light and therefore reflect the best color.

Consider the following sets of pictures — Each a “Before” and ” After”.  The first 3 sets are from homes that I remodeled for clients.  These pictures represent areas that had the smallest structural changes but in each case the original white walls/white trim were repainted with more color and contrast.  In each case the home looks larger after the white walls were painted with color.

Set 1:  Living Room

"After" - Taupe Walls Provide Contrast and Perspective

"Before" - White Walls & Trim Make The Home Look Smaller

Notice how the distances between the furniture and the walls and the front room and room behind feel larger in the “After” photos.  This entire effect is created with color and contrast.  The contrast of the off-white trim and the taupe walls as well as the smaller area rug make the living room feels larger.  The Sun Room, behind, is painted a much lighter color and therefore feels farther away – making the whole home feel larger.

The artwork has changed between “Before” and “After”.  However, you can also notice how the darker walls, help intensify and therefore make more noticeable the contrast with the creamy color of the mat and also the family photos used (although rearranged) before and after.

Set 2:  Living Room

"After" - Color Enlarges This Home

"Before" - White Walls & Trim Make the Home Look Smaller

You see exactly the same effect by use of color “Before” and “After”.  The room behind looks further away and the artwork is more defined and more of a focal point because of the greater contrast and definition.  Our eye requires definition in order to perceive distance.  An all white room lacks definition and therefore is actually made to feel smaller.

Set 3:  Bedroom

"After" - Color & Details Enlarge Bedroom

"Before" - The White Walls Make the Bedroom Feel Smaller

We painted my client’s formerly white condo, several saturated and pale shades of green with a very saturated reddish brown entryway and accents.  Everyone who comes in thinks the condo looks much larger.  One even asked if she purchased the unit next door and broke through!

Our eye needs depth landmarks to perceive size.  In the “Before” image, the individual large pieces of furniture against the off-white walls makes things feel crowded and close together.  In the “After” picture, the contrast and details make the room feel larger.  In addition, the light bounces off the semi-gloss paint of the built-in bookcases sending light further into the room.  Granted, some of these effects would be true if the built-ins had been painted white but the effect is accentuated by the addition of color.

Notice, also, that the objects displayed in the open shelves also take on more definition against the deeper color.

In the “After” room, the ceiling is painted a bluish-violet.  It reads as a nice shadow effect and also enhances the green of the walls.

Set 4: Living Area
I’ve taken the next 3 images from the web.  I’ve doctored  the “After” image by adding an intense blue ceiling and an accent of deep rust.

"After" - Blue Ceiling Lends Perspective & Scale

"Before" - All White Ceiling and Walls is Devoid of Scale

In the doctored image, the room feels larger; Our eye needs boundaries to perceive scale.   When we don’t see boundaries and something beyond the boundary, we perceive areas as smaller.

In the image, below, from the same home, the white is balanced and given scale and depth by the black and white checkerboard floor in the background and the foreground straw color of the seat cushions.  Although, again, an intense blue ceiling would add additional perspective and depth to the room.  Click Here to see read more about this home.

Contrast Adds Perspective

Set 5: Colored Walls and Artwork

Colored Walls Enhance Artwork

White Goes With All Artwork - But enhances Few

The first image is accurate; I doctored the 2nd image to achieve a “white” wall.  To my eye, the artwork is enhanced by using the greyed-green on the walls  — a near complement to the predominant rusts and reddish-browns in the paintings, the mantle and sculpture.  Even the artist commented that the paintings never looked better than in this setting.  Gallery walls are white because no single color will enhance all artwork.  And white will not clash with any particular artwork.  In your home, though, you have the flexibility to select the right tone to bring out the best in your artwork and furnishings.

Now on to the last 2 myths:  All white can be unsettling and not restful if there isn’t sufficient contrast and focal points on which our eye can rest.  Imagine the room, below, without the accent of the yellow desk and the high contrast of the artwork on the back wall.  Our eye would be searching for a place to land.  As it is, the dark floor serves the same purpose as the blue ceiling in one of the photos above – the ability to perceive boundaries.  And the yellow focal point and the graphic art gives our eye the contrast and resting place that we need to feel comfortable.   See more of this office here.

White Needs Contrast to Work

It is for all these reasons that it’s not always best to paint your interior all white or beige when you’re getting ready to sell your home.  You certainly don’t want to paint the ceiling turquoise but you do want to provide sufficient contrast and interest that the buyer perceives the size and scale – or ideally perceives even greater size and scale that what you offer.

I’m not in any way suggesting that you shouldn’t use white.  But when you do, make sure you add sufficient contrast and detail to relieve boredom.

Here is some additional reading for ideas about how to select a color scheme that works.

• What Makes Color Work
• Color Concepts – Another Palette

1 – Take the doors off one or more of your upper cabinets:

Remove Cabinet Doors for A Kitchen Facelift

In this kitchen, we sanded the cabinets, painted the interior white and used a water based sage green stain on the exterior and use plate racks to display everyday and colorful dishes and bowls.  A microwave and whimsical wine rack complete the picture.  But you could also use square baskets to hold cereal and other food items, or use wine glass holders or other specialty fittings to display your special kitchenware.  You’ll probably want to do this only for cabinets and items that get frequent use so that dust doesn’t build-up.

2 – Paint the Walls and Ceiling:

Add Paint to Refresh Your Kitchen - Don't Forget the Ceiling

Sometimes all a kitchen needs is a new coat of paint.  The turquoise of this kitchen is a perfect complement to the white, brown and grey of the rest of the palette.  See other color ideas from Emma Christensen here. And don’t forget the ceiling – whether you paint it an accent color (like here) or a pale complementary color to the walls—think about something other than ceiling white.

3 – Stain or Paint the Cabinets:

We took builder-grade golden oak cabinet and gave them a custom mixed stain somewhere between ebony and red mahogany – it feels like a completely new kitchen.

Stain Cabinets for A Kitchen Facelift

Paint Cabinets for A Kitchen Facelift

For more color ideas, check out this post by Jill Connors on This Old House:

Dark Transitions Make Rooms Brighter

Yesterday’s article (link) covered the major elements that make color palettes work in architecture using a home with a bold, bright color palette.  This home uses the same conceptual elements with a more somber palette of grayed-greens, deep wine, and a touch of creamy yellow.  This home also features two elements that weren’t as apparent in the other home:  The effectivness of Darker Transitions and moving from Dark to Light as daylight increases.

In the image, above, notice how the dark wine colored transition beyond the kitchen makes the kitchen all the more brighter — highlighting the architecture and separating the kitchen from what’s beyond.  Similarly, the dark transition from the family room to foyer (right hand side of the image) has the same effect.  The sunny yellow/green of the kitchen is a near compliment of the wine transition — stengthing the impact of both.  Similarly, the grayed-green of the family room is also a near-complement of the wine transition.  We also move from darker to lighter shades as we move from the enclosed transition to the family room to the kitchen with light streaming through skylights and windows on 2 sides.  This accentuates the effect of the light.

Color Elements At Work

Notice the view from the Living room through to the Family Room and to the Side Family Entrance.  The main foyer (where the dog is lying) is a similar grayed-green of the family room except many shades darker.  [Notice how it accentuates the artwork above the mantle.]  Notice also the darker transition before you get to the family room and we’re pulled through the transition to the lighter room beyond.  The transition is both lower and darker — the ceiling is also the dark wine color.  Notice the same wine color on the angled wall coming into the living room from the Family Side Entrance.  It leads one from the entrance through to the living room.  The living room’s color is similar in intensity to the family room but with more yellow to better match the southern exposure.  And finally, notice (below) how when moving from the Family’s Side Entrance through to the kitchen how another dark transition area again pulls you through to the kitchen.   For reference, also see the floor plan.   

Floor Plan

Use of Near Complements

We looked at this home yesterday and I promised to discuss what makes the color scheme work.  I’ve used several bold colors but none overwhelm.

I’ve listed, below, the main elements I use when selecting a color palette for a client.

Look at these additional images of the home (click on image to view larger).    Each demonstrates one or more of the elements of color composition.   After the images, is a fuller explanation of each element.  In other articles, I’ll talk about the same elements using dramatically different color palettes.

Energy Level & Taking Advantage of Light Exposure
Some of want to be in an energizing environment and some of want our homes to be a serene refuge.  This is the most critical decision in the selection of a palette.  Obviously the owners of this home sought energy and vibrancy but not so much that it would overwhelm their living.  While many of us have learned that greens and blues are cool colors and reds and oranges of warm colors, it’s not as easy as that — in part because the colors are additive and relative.  The soft pumpkin color of the living room is calming compared to the brightness of the breakfast room.  The kitchen itself is quite calming even with yellow tiles — in part because they have a hint of green and because it is calmed by the blue in the countertop.  Similarly, the blue of the countertop and green of the walls helps calm the red and oranges.  The wood tones — while golden — are calming not energetic.

So in this home, the brighter red and orange were only used near the patio door on the south side of the home.  On the north and east side of the home, I only used less saturated tones.

All images courtesy of Braitman Design/Build

Using Color to Create Boundaries

This home uses a bright, energetic palette without being overwhelming.  Let’s look at how the use of color sets the stage and creates visual boundaries. 

Color Demarking an Entry

The only place red is used is on the column dividing the kitchen from the breakfast area.  The column is necessary to hide a structural support, a waste stack and ductwork.  The deep red marks the transition between the working Kitchen and the sitting area of the breakfast room.  While providing a transition, it doesn’t block the view of or sense of openess with the eating area.  It does however create a visual boundary with the back patio door.

The ceiling over the patio door (not visiable but evident because of the light streaming in) is dropped one foot and painted a bright orange.  Again, the only place the orange is used.   [The large bright circles in the ceiling are suntunnels.]  The orange creates a welcoming entry and, along with the drop ceiling, separates the entry area from the sitting area.  The sitting area is framed with 54″ high, flat-panel wainscotting painted the same white as the rest of the trim.  The wainscotting is the same height as the top of the glass tile over the counters.  The walls are a creamy green.  The blue of the upholstered seats mirrors the indigo concrete countertops. 

In a very small space, we’ve created 3 distinct areas demarked by structure and made apparent with distinct use of color.

Read on to learn why the palette works without being overwhelming.

Photos courtesy of Braitman Design/Build