Gorgeous Exterior House Colours That Break the Rules
These homes manage to use colour successfully on the outside, while echoing the same palette inside
Australians tend to be conservative when it comes to exterior house colours. It may be the tall poppy syndrome coming out to play, a fear of how an unusual scheme could affect their home’s resale value, or simply be because council regulations limit the colours that can appear on a particular house or street.
These architect-designed homes and extensions show just how effective bright colours can be when used judiciously on the exterior, especially if the colours reappear in clever ways throughout the interior as well.
These architect-designed homes and extensions show just how effective bright colours can be when used judiciously on the exterior, especially if the colours reappear in clever ways throughout the interior as well.
This colourful north-facing extension to a traditional home is designed to capture the winter sun, expand the homeowners’ living space and deliver the element of surprise. The external cladding colours accentuate the extension’s angles, not to mention provide a fun backdrop to the pool and outdoor entertaining area. The house also has a six-star energy rating.
Cherry red makes an appearance inside, too, most notably in the bathroom.
Take a look around this house
Take a look around this house
This beach house, on the south coast of NSW, harks back to the area’s history as farmland and is “unashamedly not modern”. “The brief was clear and precise,” says Tony Trobe from TT Architecture. “The house was to be a home, an easy-care, low-maintenance, inviting and family-friendly place to hang your hat.”
What is modern, however, is the bold and vibrant use of colour on the window louvres and barn-like garage. “The house stands as a beautiful echo of a simpler past,” Trobe says.
What is modern, however, is the bold and vibrant use of colour on the window louvres and barn-like garage. “The house stands as a beautiful echo of a simpler past,” Trobe says.
Pops of red used on the exterior reappear throughout the home for a sense of continuity.
Architect Marc Dixon’s clients didn’t ask for a colour-filled extension to their four-bedroom Melbourne terrace, but the citrus shades that appear throughout the home have made this home bright and inviting, and completely original.
The door frames, painted a sunshine yellow, bring colour and life inside and out.
“We love using colour,” Dixon says, adding that it’s an inexpensive way to set a home apart and give it some originality.
“We love using colour,” Dixon says, adding that it’s an inexpensive way to set a home apart and give it some originality.
The homeowners admit the colours in the bathroom took them out of their comfort zone, but is now one of their favourite rooms of the house. The citrus shades also reappear in small details throughout the house, from the front doormat to a chartreuse leather couch.
The couple who lives and works in this new Byron Bay hinterland home had a clear motivation when it came to using exterior colour – they wanted to make the house more fun.
Step inside this house
Step inside this house
As well as the fuchsia wall alongside the pathway, there are splashes of lime green …
… and sunny yellow.
Is it just me or does this South Fremantle home remind you of a retro caravan?
What better way to echo the orange exterior stripe than with a glass splashback in the same bright orange.
If you’re worried about making too brash of a statement from the street, splashing some colour on the back of your house is an easy compromise. Studio 74 architects opened up the back of a house and extended it to the north-west boundary. Now the homeowners have more space for living and a separate zone, with its own entrance, to run a business.
Painting the front door yellow is enough to link the front of the house with the back.
See more of this house
See more of this house
This new two-bedroom Victorian holiday house uses corrugated sheets trimmed in orange for a modern look that blends into the landscape without being boring.
YOUR SAY
What’s your favourite colour for a home’s exterior? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
MORE
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YOUR SAY
What’s your favourite colour for a home’s exterior? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
MORE
How to Pick the Right Paint Colours for Your Federation House
How to Stop Procrastinating on Paint Colours
To Paint or Not to Paint: Exposed Brick Interiors