Need to tone down orange exterior

5 years ago

Hi all, looking for advice on the best colour to paint our window frames, fascia etc to tone down our very orange house. Originally all the trim was a dark brown but we painted it Dulux Basalt thinking that would improve the look. All it's done is highlight the orange even more. We're also about to put in a picket fence - is painting it white our best option? Or should we match it to the trim? Any advice and tips appreciated.

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Dr Retro House Calls

5 years ago

The problem is that you have a classic 1960's triple-fronted brick home, and you are applying a contemporary colour scheme. These homes always looks smart and crisp with Dulux Vivid White to the window frames, which I would also continue to the fascias (but keep the gutters Basalt), which will slim down the visual thickness of the eave. The previous brown paint was not original but was probably added in the mid-1970's when mission brown was all the rage. Your roof looks like it has been resprayed at some stage, and is adding to the orangey-ness of the house, so I would consider redoing the roof to a darker colour that works with the Basalt.

Think carefully about the cost and ongoing maintenance of your timber picket fence. I have some clients who have a little Houdini as a child and they have just put in a very plain pool fence which they are disguising with Pittosporum hedging plant. Save the money on your timber picket fence and put it into landscaping.

Best of luck,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

Comments (20)

legendaryflame
5 years ago
These are my thoughts. I would suggest pressure cleaning your diveway and painting or having some stamped concrete or similar in your Basalt. Update your letter box to something larger and more the basalt tones. Your current one does not suit the brick pillar. And I would landscape. I picture something in the middle of your lawn, a statue or water feature etc. Julie Herbert is sure to be along soon with a heap of great ideas and pictures. I wouod do a front fence in basalt however do you really need one? The money would be better spent on landscaping if you don't imo. And I am not convinced on a picket fence. I may well be wrong though!
Clio C thanked legendaryflame
legendaryflame
5 years ago
I think your entrance needs more highlighting too. Maybe remove some of the bushes so its visible from the road and highlight your front door?
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Clio C
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

Thanks @legendaryflame. We have two young kids, one of whom is a bit of an escape artist, so the fence will help save my sanity. This is the style of fence we're getting. I'd be a bit worried the baalt colour would be very dark? Good point re the letterbox and pillar - they'll be gone once the fence is in. We're going to plant hedging behind the fence and build a garden bed around the front of the house with low lying shrubs (mostly green, which i think will complement the orange brick). I'm not great with design and colours, I guess I was just wondering if a pale grey might be better for the window frames and trim, to lighten up the look of the house
kbodman14
5 years ago
The white linings of the curtains are making the orange stand out. If you take a photo with the curtains pulled back and see if that makes a difference. The window trims could be the same as the brick ledge, so it does not add to the mix. Greenery tending towards the more mellow shades will soften the orange hues. It appears that you are on a slight rise, if so you are drawing your focal point up, consider the colour bands that you want delivered .
legendaryflame
5 years ago
I like that style of fence. Its different to what I had mentally pictured. And obviously there is a need for it! I am undecided about colour. White might bring out the orange even more? Hopefully some others have some suggestions.
Clio C
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Thanks for your feedback @Dr Retro. I think you're right, a contemporary colour scheme isn't going to work. I'm open to non the windows and fascia, but vivid white is so stark - do you think a warmer white (say Dulux whister white, natural white or snowy mountains half) would look as good. The tiles below the front windows are mission brown, which I hate. Do you thinthink they'd look good painted basalt? We're keen to redo the roof but I've heard painted roof tiles don't look great after a few
KK1000
5 years ago
Hi , I agree with most suggestions above and I am thinking that you don’t need to paint windows. White lining of the curtain is sticking out so white frame would do the same . So I think you should cut your shrubs down to just touch the bottom of the window frame and hew more so it covers the whole wall under the front window. Also show the entrance , remove the plant in front and paint the door gloss back . I have added some photos of simple aluminium fence against red brick to show you that dark is better then white. You can plant some hedges behind it and have a beautiful front, you might want to invest in electric gate if you’re worried about child escaping. But what is he doing in the front of the house by himself anyway, lock the front door.
Clio C
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for the feedback @KK1000. Don't worry, my son isn't out front playing by himself! But he likes to help us when we're out there working etc. The plan was to get an electronic gate too, just to be safe. A lot of the orange brick houses around here have the trim and windows painted white but it's very stark I think. Perhaps a very pale grey or warm white would do the job. The basalt is too dark imo. And definitely we need to spend some money on landscaping to improve the front of the house
julie herbert
5 years ago
I love legendaryflame ‘s ideas, I think a basalt fence would look great, plant behind with Lilly pilly or pittosporum, these could be trimmed to a height that suits, silver birch would look beautiful, they have a gorgeous white trunk underplant with viburnum for a lush look, a gorgeous water feature (cut a piece of rio in shape of bowl that fits just under water to safeguard little ones) could complete the picture could look gorgeous
PRO
MB Design & Drafting
5 years ago
Landscape!

I would repaint the facias, gutters, etc. as noted previously.

A white picket fence for me.
legendaryflame
5 years ago
I am thinking that by combining Dr Retro's and Julie's ideas you could end up with a really nice looking house. You already have white in the curtains so white on the window frames would avoid the current 'chopped' look. Respraying the roof would reduce the orange considerably. Then pool type fencing with brick posts and pittosporum or similar and a feature item in the centre of the yard.
legendaryflame
5 years ago
Oh and highlight your eentrance! Dr Retro's picture is a good example of how to highlight an entrance.
Clio C
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks all for the advice! I'm going to spend on landscaping, I think it'll make a big difference to have a nice garden bed and hedging. I love silver birch, I was worried it might be too tall a tree but maybe it would look good over on the side near the fence. I'll look into painting the roof too, a dark roof would definitely improve the look!
julie herbert
5 years ago
Sounds great, plant your birches in three, five etc. always odd numbers , plant in a copse they are the most beautiful trees, don’t think they would be too tall, if you get them bare rooted it is a lot cheaper, could look stunning in all seasons.
PRO
Paul Di Stefano Design
5 years ago
dark windows can look great in certain contexts, but not on this type of residence. Lighter is always better on these. The problem with the tiled sills is more the window colour clashing with them, rather than the colour themselves. I'd be inclined to change the window colour rather than paint the tiled sills. The orange roof colour should be reconsidered because the orange overload is due mostly to this aspect.

Perhaps it may pay to invest in some professional design/architectural consultancy to help balance all the various elements involved - they all need to be working together and be complimentary, and colour will play off adjacent aspects one way or the other and it would be worthwhile for you to get experienced advice and work through options.

Best of luck

Cheers PD :)
dreamer
5 years ago
This in an example of white windows, and a darker roof. Looks fresh and clean.
Clio C
Original Author
5 years ago
That house looks awesome @dreamer! I'm going to use that as inspiration and go with the light colour windows and trim and a darker roof. And rather than spend on a big front fence that wouldn't fit the style of the house I think I'm going to source some orange bricks and rebuild the little wall that the previous owners knocked down.
Clio C
Original Author
5 years ago
That house looks awesome @dreamer! I'm going to use that as inspiration and go with the light colour windows and trim and a darker roof. And rather than spend on a big front fence that wouldn't fit the style of the house I think I'm going to source some orange bricks and rebuild the little wall that the previous owners knocked down.
HU-365212000
3 years ago
Hi would be interested what you have done to your place.