Expert: Rikki Nyman - 8/13/2009

Question
Our 30 yr. old Cape Cod house siding needs painting.  I can't decide what color.  I need help whether to paint the same as it was or choose a different color.  The house needs a "face lift".  The roof, eaves, & garage doors are all dark brown ; the window trim & fascia are creamy almond. The original siding was a reddish/rusty brown and is very faded now.  A new screen door is on order but I'm not sure whether to go with the almond color to set it apart from the porch area or if it should be the same color as the painted siding.  Any ideas would be appreciated.  Thanks.

Answer
Hi.  It's really tough to give an opinion about color without a picture. If you liked the effect of the dark body/light trim, you could easily freshen the whole house by repainting with the same colors. If you want a complete change like going to a lighter color, you'll need to work with the elements that won't change ... in this case the roof. Depending on the exact hue, dark brown should be fairly easy to work with.

Cape Cods tend to be most attractive in two or three-color neutral schemes. White is traditional and extremely pretty when set off by an emerald green lawn, bright flowering plants, and the proverbial white picket fence. Other colors that are nice include butter yellow or gray with white trim. If you want something more modern, taupe or sage green are good. While walking this morning, we noticed a Colonial Rambler home in our neighborhood had been freshly painted. It had a gray-brown roof, white trim and shutters, and the body was painted the color of key lime pie. It was both unusual and very handsome, so don't hesitate to experiment.

When you narrow down the colors you prefer, buy some samples then paint a sample area to get a sense of what it will look like. You can usually find a spot at the rear of the house that gets decent light and includes the trim from a door or window, siding, eave, and fascia. A workable patch is going to be at least 4'x 4'.  Look at it in various lights: morning, day, and evening, in sunny and overcast weather. It will give you a good idea of what the overall effect will be and you can adjust the shades at this point if necessary.

Hope this helps!
Rikki Nyman
www.antiquehomestyle.com