Friday, October 1, 2010

Color Schemes for Victorians

The paint on our building is chipping and old. Unfortunately there are 14 different paint colors on our building, and estimates range from $60,000 - $100,000 to repaint! Who knew it was so expensive?


Our building. There are greens, purples, blues, whites, creams, golds. It all adds up to 14 colors.
Luckily there are four apartment owners, so we get to split the cost four ways. Consensus is that if we are going to drop $100K, we might as well pick a color that we like. One of my neighbors identifies the current color as “blue-green-gray” and another said we need to “bring the building color out of the early 90s.” Dean and I agree.

Because Victorian homes have so many colors, and painting is so expensive, it behooves everyone involved to hire a color consultant. These people help pick your color palette and painting plan, preventing a $100,000 disaster. I have heard that color consultants charge a one-time fee of about $500. Seems like a bargain, but I guess we will find out!

A few weekends ago Dean and I took a walk in our neighborhood to look at other Victorians and see how they are painted. We identified some that we like.
This home is a simple seafoam green with white trim and gold accents. I like.
A light gray house with lots of white and ivory trim, and a navy blue crown. Very tasteful.
Simple whites and creams. A timeless way to go.
Yellow with coral accents is so cheerful. But I worry that I would grow tired of it. Maybe in lighter shades
it would have more longevity?
Navy blue seems to be the only dark color I gravitate toward.
Everyone likes light blue.
Tan, red, brown and white is attractive. But this is the road to 14 colors on your home!
What colors do you like on ornate Victorian homes? If you have pictures, send them our way!
-Andi

2 comments:

  1. Too bad you couldn't put a color palette up against the building, like you did for the insdie walls. It's hard to judge from my monitor color palette, but the current main color apears to look good. I seem to love what others pick out so I am anxious to see what the decision is. Good luck!

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  2. I have to say that I normally gravitate toward brighter/lighter colors for exteriors, but I really like the navy blue one you shot... I am sending this to my mom, she always has cool color insights.

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