Expert: Nazim Nice - 6/1/2011

Question
Hi Nazim - I'm building a small house in Seattle in a semi-Craftsman style (only semi, since I have extreme budget limitations!) The roof is a burnt sienna color & I'm considering dark to medium green siding, with white & black trim around the windows & a naturally stained cedar front door.  Is this too much contrast or just bad taste??  Thanks.

Answer
Hi Matt,

A few things to think about. Burnt sienna and green siding - will it look too much like a christmas color scheme? Red and green can go there, and it generally is not a good look. The black and white trims seems like a lot of contrast too.

I would recommend you look at Sherwin William exterior preservation colors. There are a few that are called 'Roycroft (and then a color name)'. Here is a link below. There are additional Roycroft colors that are not in this palette though. Many of those colors are appropriate for craftsman homes.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/pro/paint_colors/explore/paint_color_palettes/in...

Generally if you are mixing a lot of colors, the contrast between them should be reduced so it doesn't look chaotic.

Good luck.

Nazim Nice
Principal / Architect
http://www.motion-space.com
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