Going Dark

Picking paint color is not always an easy job. You really need to consider several things before choosing a color that is right for your home.

Today I will be giving you a run down on how I chose my new paint color for the exterior of our house.

Location

Where is your house located? Is it on a wide open acreage, near the beach/lake, in a housing development, in a wooded area?
You may be wondering why this matters. The color you choose should compliment your surroundings and not stick out awkwardly. I believe your exterior should definitely stand out but in a good way of course.
I live in a wooded neighborhood in the Pacific NW where we get our fair share of dark, rainy days. My love of white houses will have to be a love from afar, as it would be a task to keep it clean and not have the moss show on it after a long wet fall and winter. I could probably get away with a white house here in my town, if I didn't live in such a wooded neighborhood where it can be a bit darker than other neighborhoods.

Neighbors

Look around at the houses around you. Make sure you aren't choosing a color similar to theirs. You want to stand out but again in a good way, and it might be difficult to give directions to a friend saying the light grey house when there are 3 grey houses in a row. 

Research

Not sure what color to choose? Look around on Pinterest, Instagram,Google. See a house in town that you love?  Go ahead and knock on their door and ask what color they used. I am sure they'd be flattered. Pick a color that sings to you. I know that sounds weird, but if you don't really love it than I promise in a couple years you are going to HATE the color. Painting a house is not exactly cheap or easy to do, so make this a good choice.
This leads me to my next point however. No matter how great a photo looks like online or your friends/relatives house, it doesn't mean it'll look the same on your house.

Test, Test, Test

Go to the paint store and pick several paint swatches. Bring them back to your home and see what they look like. They will look a lot different than they do inside the store! Narrow it down to 2-4 different shades of what color you are leaning towards,buy small samples and put them on your house in different areas. The sun hits your house in different angles and it will look a lot different on one side of your house than the other, especially during certain times of the day.

Here's my example

This is the look I am going after. A dark gray with bright white trim.

The colors I tested on the house.

 I thought I was going to love the second from top color but when I got it on, it was way too blue for me. Especially on this side of the house. Don't get me wrong I dig a dark gray/blue house, I really do but it was a little too blue and made me a little nervous.
See how different these 4 colors look from just a different angle I was standing in?

 Here's what those same colors look like on the front of the house. The color I chose is the far right, Benjamin Moore's Wrought Iron. It has the dark look I am going for and maybe a tiny tint of blue. The other colors were leaning either too blue or purple to me. My plan is to paint the brick although the husband is fighting it. We will paint the siding first and see what it all looks like but I am thinking it won't look right unless it's all painted. Since it is brick and there's really no going back, I will wait and see before we dive in. I will be sure to show after photos and let you know if any changes have been made in the meantime because I have been none to change my mind at the last second a time or two.

Looking at this photo is so sad with our poor missing post light, our paint swatches, and dangling shutter... sorry neighbors. It will be beautiful soon! Crossing fingers anyway. Stay tuned.