Freshening Up a 1959 Tri-level in Madison

Hello,

We have a 1959 tri-level in Madison, Wisc., and we need to repaint.  At some point someone painted it the current paint scheme, a redwood color and white with contrasting colors for the windows.  We feel the way it is currently painted divides the house up to much.

The brick we have has an orange-ish tint to it.  I have included a close up of the brick as well as the back of the house.

We would like to stay true to a period color scheme and would welcome any suggestions you have.

Thank you

Rebecca R.

Madison, WI

Hi Rebecca,

Thanks for your question . This is one of the times (and there are many) that I wish I could be there with my color palettes in hand.  The fifties were a time of optimism and light airy pastel colors - we were trying to put the drab and sad war years behind us.  I know that you want to stay true to the period but I hope you will allow me to tweak it a bit.  No pale blue, lilac or seafoam green for you I'm sure!  I do however think, with the rusty orange brick, that a green (let's take a cue from the greens of the period and go with a bluer casted one) would be really uplifting and smart.  I would go with two greens that are essentially the same hue or color but vary in value (lightness or darkness of a color) - what I would call a color and a let down or tint of that color.  Because the colors are in the same family and one is really a lighter version of the other, when you paint the two sections of your home (I would still paint them different colors because of the vertical siding on one and the horizontal on the other) it will not look choppy as it does now.  I would use the deeper green for all the trim, top and bottom, the white horizontal siding and the garage door.  I would use the lighter green for all the red color siding.  This distribution of color will look great, with the darker color on the bottom of the house (the trim will not contrast here - same color) and the lighter green shade on the top with just a bit of the deeper green trim contrasting to tie in the bottom. Take a look at Benjamin Moore Cambridge Green #468 for the darker shade and Ben Moore High Park #467 for the lighter.  Hopefully these will work but at least they will give you an idea of how much the colors should vary. Good Luck .... and keep us posted on how it goes!

Do you have a color question that you would like to ask Bill? Please send them to info@modernismmagazine.com

Spruce Up Your Home Front

We just bought this lovely modern house in Indiana. It need to be painted and we want to use colors of the midcentury or post modern period. The stone is currently accented with turquoise and the siding is a dark brown. We would like to use a turquoise but perhaps a fresher color on the siding. We are thinking something toward a brown/gold. There is a lot of wood paneling inside so feel we should stay with something to compliment that.
Thank you for considering my request,

Chris


Hi Chris,


Well, first off, I love your house! Though the picture is hard to make out, my initial thought is that your "home front" needs continuity. There are a lot of linear planes both horizontal and vertical giving the appearance of sections and one dark "chunk" off to the right that looks to be your garage. I would tie everything together with a light, warm, grayed neutral (take a look at Benjamin Moore's tapestry beige #975) and then use an analogous color (colors that lie close to each other on the color wheel and give a harmonious effect) for all trim (like Benjamin Moore's coastal fog #976) for a subtle accent. These light color choices will help bring your home to the foreground (light colors tend to advance while darker shades recede), keep your roof supported left to right and really add to the curb appeal. Let me know how it goes!



Do you have a color question that you would like to ask Bill? Please send them to info@modernismmagazine.com

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