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Looking for colour advice for exterior of this unique 50s house?

4 years ago

We recently moved into this house and it desperately needs new gutters and a completely new colour scheme. Once house is painted we will landscape the front of the house and possibly (budget pending) replace the driveway with gravel.

We have to keep the tiled roof (council regulations) so thinking of gutters in Monument (or Woodland Grey), and would like the render painted a shade of grey and eventually we will replace the windows (to black frames). And do we paint the walls and the funny fins next to big windows in same colour as main part of house or a complementary colour? Any colour advice would be most welcome!

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Comments (4)

PRO
Dr Retro House Calls
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
With all due respect I think that your home looks more like 1980's than 1950's. 1980's homes tend to be lots of brickwork, and 1950's are often more lightweight materials. My crystal ball says that the colours that you are looking at are going to date as we move through these grim times as pre-pandemic colours. After World War Two there was a general movement to lighter palettes and brighter colours, so the cliched Monument trim, grey render and black window frames will be going out of fashion.

Here is an example of a 1950's home with a joyous use of colours. Some of these colours were also popular in the 1980's so if you want to be true to the original era you should do some historical research.

For many people it is hard to visualise how colours will work on their home, which is why what has been done to death before is often repeated. If you need a hand with colour selections then perhaps you should contact a Dulux colour consultant or other design professional.

Best of luck

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls

and Dr Retro Virtual Visits.
Kate
4 years ago
Get out your colored pencils and make some prints of photo and get creative. See what it looks like with that balcony fence in darker colour with gutters etc.
you have the blade walls and dark window frames I’m guessing from photo.
Woodland Grey is a warm grey, I have it on my gutters with barnfloor walls (a green Grey) and suede nueveax (pale cream) windows with some timber accents on rear verandah
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Picture 1 , I can't tell if that is tree branches or timber rot showing on the front right area ? Anyway , I quite the colours , they are quite period and suit the house . Having said that , if you do have to replace weather boards and repaint , then my response would be different , BUT assuming they come up okay with a pressure wash , I'd stick with them . What I would change is the barge board around the top , and the wrought iron -- I'd go charcoal on both . I just feel it would freshen and balance the look . Then I'd do some landscaping -- 5 or 6 two metre tall shrubs/trees , maybe a bark garden or white chip stone . Wait a year or two , and re-evaluate .
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Kate
4 years ago
Try also painting the gutters white, to contrast with walls. Just walked past a house with white trim and pale cream walls, looked lovely.
Ruth BT
4 years ago
Congratulations on a fantastic home! It feels a bit Hollywood Regency to me. Look for images relating to this style - not so much the Palm Springs style but SOCAL generally. That will give you lots of ideas.

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