60's Curb Appeal

My husband and I are getting ready to paint the exterior of our home.  We are in the process of scraping much of the wood, replacing what is not sound, and then priming the bare surfaces.  More daunting for me than all this prepping is the task of choosing colors.  We are fortunate in that we will be starting with a rather blank canvas.  Our roof is 30 years old and recently was damaged by falling branches, so it will be replaced.  Hence we can change the color.  The stucco is also in need of repair and we plan on painting this also.  The only feature which can not change is the stone facade to the left of the front door.  (I hope you can see the gray, blue-gray, and rust tones)  There will also be shutters added to the 2 front windows to the right of the front door.  Our home is an early 60's ranch surrounded by older 3 story homes.  Can you give us some direction?

Thank you for your help!
-Rose


This a nice change for me! I love to assess exteriors and help with curb appeal. I am not sure of your taste or approach so I can only assume, since this question is coming via Modernism magazine, that you have an appreciation of the sixties aspect of your home. I am going to work with a palette derived from the stone and throw in a sixties blue (but updated) for authenticity. Let's start with your roof and work our way down. For the roof I would choose a gray that is close to the deepest warm gray of the stone - move away from the present rust tone. To give your home continuity and make it feel larger I would paint the stucco and siding a shade that is close to a mid-tone color in the stone such as a warm taupe (perhaps Benjamin Moore's Willow Creek #1469). Presently your home looks like a white box stuck on the end of a gray/stone box. This color change will join the two in an elegant way and help ground your home. I would paint all trim, shutters, door and garage door a beautiful shade of blue such as Benjamin Moore's Alfresco #1672 to add interest and pull everything together in an upscale way. As an added note - these Benjamin Moore colors are an approximate derived from the photograph you sent me and could change on site. Lastly, now that you have put in all this effort, get yourself a professional landscaper, trim those bushes and show it off!

-Bill