Full Saturation
Thinking of painting the house this summer? Try a new shade or two for a change of pace. A bright and cheery coat gives any house instant va-va-va-voom. If your neighborhood isn’t ready for juicy, lollipop-hued picks, maybe choose just one—say, a touch of cobalt blue on a particularly beautiful window frame on your otherwise neutral-colored abode. (Always check with your community association to see if there are any restrictions on what colors you can use.) Read on for gorgeous—and sometimes almost glowing—inspiration for your instant home makeover.
Red Hot
A Craftsman bungalow coated with cherry red and trimmed with watermelon pink works unexpectedly well. The key is keeping the colors in the same family.
Sweet and Succulent
A blood-orange show stopper. Cobalt blue paint on the door, stoop, and window muntins make it extra sharp.
True to The Past
A “Save This Old House” post-rescue, painted in the Gothic Revival’s original 1860s colors.
Neutral Plus
Just a cheerful dash of acid green around the attic’s vent and on the Adirondack chairs out front won’t leave neighbors tripping.
Cheery Dose
Pepto-Bismol pink and light blue are sure to cure winter blues when it’s too chilly to hang matchy pink flowers from the front porch.
Primary Colors go Mellow
Barn-red shingles and deep-yellow trim atop a slate-blue foundation make for a pleasing palette.
See how this Crafstman-style cottage is green—environmentally friendly, that is—on the inside.
Warm and Delicious
Another case of bright done right: Hubbard squash edged in burnt orange.
Pitch Perfect Restoration
Proof that Kodachrome colors existed long before the advent of colored film.
See more shots of this post-Katrina French Quarter remodel.
Pro Tip: Louis Aubert, interior designer and colorist who worked on TOH’s New Orleans project, explains the thinking behind bold color choices in post-Katrina neighborhoods: “We decided to add some life, both color and life to the street.” The Caribbean-influenced palette, Aubert notes, reflects the deep cultural roots of the city: “It’s a bit Caribbean, we have a Caribbean influence in New Orleans.”
Swagger in a Can—or Two
A few deft touches of sugar snap green and royal purple give instant street cred.
Find out how a family used salvaged parts from demolition houses to flip this run-down $1 Italiante.
Pro Tip: Architectural color consultant Amy Wax notes that homeowners often overlook what bold paint can reveal. Of one Victorian makeover, she observed that “the homeowners didn’t realize what they had”—diamond-pane windows and stickwork hidden in the gables that came alive with a modern take on classic Victorian-era color schemes featuring crisp, defining lines of contrasting hues.
Bold color choices like these can transform even the most modest home. When Steve and Joann Paul tackled their tired 1886 Gothic Revival in Wichita, Kansas, they tested 18 paint swatches on the house before settling on a five-color palette—Sherwin-Williams’s Garden Sage for the base, accented with darker-green Meadow Trail, cinnamony Tanbark, and golden White Raisin. The result: a formerly drab facade that reclaimed its proud Painted Lady heritage.
You’ll Want a Slice of This
Gingerbread details pop with hits of turquoise, muted violet, and optic white.
Classic British Style Made Thoroughly American
Unlike in England, Tudors here don’t have to be dark and dreary. Here, a Red Sox fan wears one of his team’s colors on his house.
Slammin’ Salmon
Appropriately perched above a river, this salmon-hued Italianate rounds out its look with ginger and cream trim.
Read about how a full-time restorer of houses took on this 1840s historic fixer-upper as a personal DIY project.
Honey-Spun and Gilded in Green
A saturated yellow amps up a classic color combination.
Cool as a Cucumber
A refreshing coat of cool green breathes new life into an old Craftsman.
Learn more about this unaltered American foursquare’s amazing transformation.
First-time homeowner Bradley Huber bought this formerly wan-white 1930 Craftsman for a song and set out to give it a rich new palette. But the road to that refreshing green wasn’t smooth. “The color was supposed to be an olivey green with ivory trim and gold accents,” says Huber, who painted nine swaths of sample greens on the garage before settling on one. After finishing an entire side, he stepped back only to discover his top pick had dried to the color of pea soup. “It was awful!” he says. The final palette—Behr’s Pencil Point on the siding, Chocolate Froth on the pale trim, Slate Gray on the porch floor and ceiling, and Charcoal Black on the dark trim—was worth the struggle.
Truly Turquoise
Plenty of accents in white and a deeper tint of green-blue make this work.
See how an extended roofline and rearranged windows turned a lakeside ugly duckling into a show stopper.
Paint it Pink
For some, it’s the only hue that’ll do.
Killer Color
Deep, neutral brown becomes the perfect foil for touches of peach.
Seductive Citrus
Lemon, lime, and a little ruby-red grapefruit makes this house fruit fresh, any way you slice it.
Heighten Architectural Highlights
Touches of peach against muted yellow highlight one of the details that make Craftsmen houses so special: intricate muntins.
Restored and Highlighted
Sunny yellow trim outlines a colorful Queen Anne backdrop for a vibrant garden.
Serious Eye Candy
Slurp on the luscious popsicle shades on this classic bungalow: orange, cherry and grape (on the porch skirting)!
Bright and True
This Double-porched Greek Revival gets dandified with a spiffy paint job.
As Joyous as Jelly Beans
A trio of wee homes make their presence known with a sweet yet vibrant palette.
Bring On the Blues
Blues get piled on without detracting attention from decorative star cutouts on white railing.
Festive Hues Year-Round
Pairing neutral shingles with colors often reserved for Santa and stockings keep this home from looking too serious.
Underneath, Not Understated
Oft-overlooked cornice brackets get some fiery treatment on this cool yellow dwelling.
