You've pretty much got the colour that's going to go with the santorini blue and terracotta already on the house. If I was going to change anything it would be the blue, by going over it with a nice dark earthy tone. But since the window frames are in that colour there's little point to painting the rest out.

Honestly? I'd put the money into landscaping instead. It is what it is, an ode to the 90's.

Thank you, honestly I have played around with keeping it, but hubby is hoping to change it... however I have been saying we will move in and live in it for a bit before any changes are made so who knows how he’ll feel in a few months!

you can paint the windows

I don't think the windows are a problem -- they only look about half the 'wattage' of the posts and gutters ! It is a searing blue , and distracts from everything else .

Have a look at Dulux Orange Pounce or Sweet Mandarin -- they are oranges with hints of brown , even burgundy tinges . Do the gutters , poles and verandary bits in that -- the existing wall has orange tones , so you end up with all 3 elements with differences but around a common theme . I personally doubt the windows would look out of place -- they'd be 'interesting' , but in a positive way .

I'd love to say go bright citrus orange , but you'd have to move if you did , but it would look great IMO .

Of course , you can do the walls and/or roof , but some schemes won't suit the windows , so you'll spend $15k ( or $30k plus if you change windows ) and it will look different , but will it look better than my $2k option ? I have no idea . . . . . . .

They are very bright blue aren’t they? Would a blue like ironstone be any better? I’ll also check out the colours you suggested, thanks I would never have thought of going that way....

You missed the point pottsey, someone mentioned that the window colour was a problem so painting the posts wouldn't help. You can paint the windows along with everything else, I vote that you paint all trims and windows white, with sand coloured walls. KISS keep it simple

Unless your colour chart is different to mine , ironstone looks like the drabbest nothing grey with a very light blue hue .

If your windows or fences or paving were in charcoal / monument , then maybe go ironstone , but then again I reckon the walls would look pink against that drabness -- you don't want the walls to be the standout feature IMO .

It's your house and you can do what you like , but even against darker charcoals , I'd do the pergola bits and poles and gutters in a lighter tone like surfmist -- its a brighter grey but with the blue tinge to reference the windows and door , but then again , no I doubt I would haha .

I'd do the trims a really dark muddy olive colour and see how it looks with the terracotta. if it was me I'd relieve the terracotta with a paler sage/khaki colour. I think that would all still work with your roof colour.
I agree about avoiding the ubquitous greys I think earthy tones will be your saviour.

If you read the original brief sirius , you'll see Nicole wanted a colour that would work with the roof and the blue windows -- she possibly meant the walls , but I said what I thought the bit that most needed help was , and made a suggestion based on that .

Sure , you can change the roof or the walls or the windows or the paving or all the above , but like I said , I reckon the blue trims clash , so by changing that , the rest should be okay -- a big change for little $$$ .

Could try Casper white quarter. But live with current colour a while

Thanks to everyone, they are all great comments that have given me idea's I hadn't considered to be honest. I am going to re read the covenants again today to make sure where I stand re colour, but I do know they cannot be bright, whether that is just the walls though.

I was thinking of working with the windows to try and save money and effort, but we will be in this home long term so they may be changeable as well in the end.

I have always loved cooler tones, but am moving past the grey phase, and inside want to use navy which is one of my favourite colours to play with (there are terracotta tones in some tiles - cannot change - I don't think - underfloor heating).

In my last house, I painted the interior doors black, and am thinking of having these ones navy, and so wondered if having the blue tones move outside would work. Having said that, there are quite nice gardens around the side - and I do like the sounds of the sage / khaki!

I like navy / royal blue , but I wouldn't do all the doors in it .

Blue and green should never be seen , so the old saying goes . So you 'can't' have green in the whole house . Any furniture , any coverings , any accessories , any curtains .

Others , like blue and yellow , blue and orange , blue and red , only work in corporate logos and kindergartens . So you end up with white , offwhite , and 1342 shades of blue . In every room . If you've totally given up , maybe grey . But you couldn't even do charcoal or black , or it would look like someones beaten up your house , and its all black and blue now haha .

So I wouldn't do navy doors . Or mid-blue . Or green . Or mint . Or even yellow , red , purple , violet . Wood , yes . White , yes . Black , yes . In fact , I think I'd prefer a slightly metallic dark charcoal to black , but it would be hard to do properly . But thats about it , unless you are doing a kids room , and then a fun colour works , but just one door .

Hmm thanks. I hadnt thought about the impact of other colours. I may look at a deep charcoal. I loved having dark doors and really want to have them again, so perhaps it’s that or back to black.

Sorry Pottsy, re windows, Nicole did think not to paint windows, but I think it would be well worth the effort for little cost, Going by photos the lovely julie herbert painted hers black and they look amazing (hope you don't mind JulieH). That old adage Blue and Green should never be seen died a timely death years ago, it works . For a quick referrence look at the blue posts and the green plants. Talking about posts the cylinder posts tell the age of the house, which is lovely. Black and a dark navy always look good, just add white

Hi Siriuskey, I too wondered about the cylinders and am thinking of squaring them off, perhaps even doing them in stone, although this is also a fad that will eventually date.

I did see that they have the paints for the aluminum now and would like to update the frames potentially, as well as the roof, which I think could be done within a realistic price range.

Hubby is dead against the wall colour, so we are looking to change this (have painted exteriors ourselves so happy to DIY) with colours I had flagged so far as surfmist, shale grey or athens, which I think would all go with either the blue windows or a black window.

Being that we have time, we can do it all a bit at a time so it won't be too much all at once.

Forgot to add though, the garage door is also blue - so I do wonder if the blue is something I just learn to work with?

The round cylinders, could be boxed in with timber, but I would just change the colour and perhaps had a vine to trail around them, JulieH will know which one depending what climate you are in. I wouldn't paint the roof but would paint walls windows and trims and the garage door. I think that the checkered paving needs to go and be planted out

we are near Canberra, so would love a suggestion for a vine. Hubby is also hoping to add in some grass, so maybe we pull up the checkers and add grass / plants

I used a Star Jasmine in Sydney, you would need to use a small wire mesh or such added to the posts for the vine to climb and cover, great perfume and beats having to use pots that can dry out. Julie H is in MEB so would be able to suggest others

Knowing now that you want to change the main wall colour ( I was trying to be 'clever' and work in with the existing colour and the windows , and you have mentioned surfmist . Every house and picture I have ever seen seems to be surfmist with monument or woodland or similar ( light / dark greys ) , and I don't think it would really work with the existing blue , but a more conventional mid blue would probably work , be pretty easy to do , it would still tie in with the windows , and maybe even do it in 2 stages -- 'just' the walls initially , and see how it works , then the mid blue .

The other option with surfmist would be to do the trims in monument , the poles and gutters and garage door etc , but then the windows will look out of place , so do you paint , do you replace , do you just sell up haha ?

As Black Bamboo said on the very first post , your colour combo was fairly unique , and that particular shade of blue doesn't really work with greys , and looks too cold and corporate against whites , and too dated in pretty much the existing combo .

Hi Pottsy99,

I was also trying to work with what we have, however think that we need to look at the blue going to make anything work. The issue is, and I think you have touched on it, is that then we have the reddish roof, reddish driveway etc etc. so either we embrace the colour scheme, work with it or spend the money for the complete overhall.

So maybe we eat this like an elephant - one bite at a a time....

I wondered if this Magnesium from Wattyl or a similar tone may be the way to steer. Obviously will need to get samples, samples, and more samples...!

Nicole -- I think we are on a similar wavelength . I originally suggested changing all the blue to a reasonably 'earthy' orange , for 2 reasons -- it would work in with the existing wall and roof colours ; but also its probably the smaller area too . I don't think the windows would look out of place either .

Then you added that hubby hated the wall colour and wanted that changed . Now I can't think of any combo that would work with the roof and windows , and the blue . So you then have to change the walls and the pergoda and gutters .

Then you added the garage door and driveway . That makes me even more certain that you need to change the blue , but also that checkered look paving . I still think an earthy to bright orange / tangerine would work , but then if you are going to change the walls to say a red or grey or blue or even white , the orange with the windows won't work as well ,

If you are just doing 1 at a time ( the elephant eating ) then I reckon start with changing the blue , but again , if you have to repaint all the walls , start there if you have to , or enquire about divorces haha . . . . . . . . . . .

Thanks pottsy, unfortunately now I need hubby to pay the mortgage... for awhile anyway ;)

What about if I looked at changing walls and roof - that could reduce costs but keep the other half happy...

Maybe a charcoal / dark blue roof and walls similar to the wattyl magnesium? Or a bluer toned colour maybe?

Edited to add, then I would work on the driveway etc....

Big terracotta pots with lemon and orange trees next to the posts and in front of the blue down pipe. I like the blue and would be nice with a Mediterranean lush garden. Or a tall tropical garden next to the posts with heleconias and such.

Not sure if this helps, but this shows the inside with the blue windows against a white wall.

The blinds are a bigger sin than the windows haha -- I could live with the windows !

Bwahahahaha, I know right!

I’d go with your original thought of a warm white. I’d use it on everything that can be painted including the windows. Leave the roof. Beef up the greenery, a white Happy Wanderer climbing vine would look great. Maybe some black outdoor light fittings.

Warm white the walls theN take stock

I have a garage door and roof in the same colour blue. To shift away from the blue, I painted the walls a deep charcoal colour around the garage door and then I painted the rest of the house white. Translating this to your house, I would paint around your garage charcoal plus the pergola in charcoal and then white around your entrance. I’m assuming your eaves are clad in colourbond so leave these blue. Your fence could be either charcoal or white.

That’s awesome, thanks. I actually hasn’t thought of using two colours but I like it.

Google 23 Leonard St, Margate, Qld and have a look at the blue similar to yours which has been paired with ironstone.
In a nod to mid century modern and the beach, that house used to be the bright blue on the bricks underneath the patio, at the side of the house, the stairs and front door which was just too much. By changing the brick work, the stairs and the front door to ironstone (and the fences), it toned the bright blue down and now looks so much better.
I think if you painted your house warm white, left the gutter and fascia plus the windows the bright blue and changed the pergola, pillars, garage door and front fence to ironstone or charcoal, you probably could leave the roof alone. This would be cost effective as you could do it yourself. I really think toning down the blue is the way to go in your case too. By the way I think paint the downpipe in whatever colour you do the house. Down pipes should blend in.

Ahh yes, that’s super. Thanks. I like the ironstone and think we may end up using it on the roof eventually to match as well maybe so good to see it ‘in the wild’ with the bluer blue. I do like that it will match the roof as it stand though.

Thank you kind internet stranger!

I looked down the street , and saw 19 Leonard Street haha .

Oh yes! It obviously was in fashion in that street too!

my goodness, real estate there is so cheap!