Good painted house

1/17

Selecting a single color for your home's exterior can be difficult enough, but trying to find two or more hues that work well together in a whole house color scheme makes the decision even more challenging. Whether your aim is to highlight architectural details or simply to find a complementary shade for shutters and trim, the choice is an important one. 

"Color can make a big impact on the look of a house," confirms architect Jim Rill, principal of Rill Architects, in Bethesda, Maryland. For inspiration, consider your home's style and scale as well as architectural styles typical of your neighborhood and region. "The best exterior colors are contextual to their environment," Rill observes. Here, 15 color scheme combinations that hit the mark.

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1. Two-Tone Olive

2/17

Deep natural colors that recede into the landscape are typical of Craftsman-style houses. For this renovation, Rill Architects chose a duo of Benjamin Moore olive greens: Gloucester Sage (HC-100) and Dakota Woods Green (2139-20). A yellow-orange stain on the front door adds a lighthearted dash of color. "Front doors should always have character and draw subtle attention to themselves," Jim Rill points out.

Related: Welcome Home: 11 Fresh Ways to Spruce Up Your Front Door

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2. Straw and Sage

3/17

"A balanced look always provides plenty of curb appeal," says interior designer Kerrie Kelly, principal of Kerrie Kelly Design Lab, in Sacramento, California. "Starting with a neutral shade in straw yellow sets a welcoming palette, while accents in sage green give a lively look to traditional architecture. This combination is an approachable classic year-round."

Related: 9 Ways to Crank Up Curb Appeal with Nothing But Paint

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3. Putty and Gray

4/17

Older neighborhood dwellings guided the color choice for this Midwest home. "We chose a soft neutral for the body of the house that would allow it to stand out and yet still complement the other homes around it," reports Kristen Schammel, interior designer for Highmark Builders, in Burnsville, Minnesota. "This exterior is simple, traditional, and admired!"

Related: 7 No-Fail Exterior Paint Colors

highmark-builders.com

4. Red and Black

5/17

"Red is a classic color," says interior designer Cindy McClure, owner of Grossmueller's Design Consultants, in Washington, D.C. "I love using it on smaller homes because they handle the color so well. Black accents like the front door and shutters look great when set off by white trim."

Related: Before and After: DIY Facelifts for 8 Home Exteriors

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5. Gray and Blue

6/17

"Gray is a great neutral that can match just about any style of home and is a beautiful complement to brick," says Jackie Jordan, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams. "The slightly more saturated shutters and door provide a sophisticated accent and bring in the tones of sky and sea." Seen here are Sherwin-Williams's Comfort Gray (SW 6205) and Rain (SW 6219).

Related: The Most Popular Paint Colors in America

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6. Green, Cream, and Burgundy

7/17

"The combination of green, cream, and burgundy is a favorite for Victorian-style homes," reports Erika Woelfel, director of color marketing for Behr Paints. "The bold color scheme gives this home a dramatic yet warm appearance." The trio of Behr colors used here are Ivy Wreath (QE-46), Terra Sol (QE-20), and Country Lane Red (QE-07).

Related: 18 Victorian Homes We Love

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7. Charcoal and Lime

8/17

A wonderful way to make a bold color statement on modern houses—even the smallest ones—is to start with a strong neutral and add a bright pop of color on the front door. This home, designed by Ana Williamson Architect, in Menlo Park, California, combines two Benjamin Moore hues: Gunmetal (1602) for the siding and Tequila Lime (2028-30) on the door.

Related: 9 Bold Rooms That Will Make You Rethink Black Paint

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8. Greige and Teal

9/17

You can still achieve a modern look without using shocking hues if those colors just aren’t for you. Here, greige—that’s gray and beige—with a teal door and natural wood and stone accents puts a modern spin on the traditional neighborhood home. This combination still looks warm and welcoming without feeling dated.

Related: America’s 50 Favorite Streets

Zillow Digs home in Edmonds, WA

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9. Blue, Red, and Tan

10/17

Blue is a popular exterior color for homes in waterside settings like this one. Adding red and tan to highlight trim and architectural features was a eye-catching choice by designers at New Urban Home Builders, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The trio of hues also gives the lakefront compound a Scandinavian feel.

Related: 11 Paint Colors Designers Pick for Their Own Homes

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10. Black and White

11/17

Black and white never goes out of style. Whether you have an old home or a new build, this classic combo looks fresh forever—plus it really pops against a green lawn.

Related: The Most Popular House Styles in America Right Now

Zillow Digs home in Laguna Beach, CA

11. Black and Taupe

12/17

A twist on the traditional black and white color scheme. If crisp white and classic black looks classy, swapping in taupe warms up the look and brings a touch of warmth and coziness to your home exterior.

Related: 12 Outdoor Upgrades That Make Your Home More Valuable

Zillow Digs home in Rancho Santa Fe, CA

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12. Yellow and Blue

13/17

Some might think that a double dose of primary colors is too bold for a house, but when executed with finesse, it’s a real charmer. Here, aqua blue and mellow yellow keeps play off each other for a quaint effect.

Related: 9 Paint Color Rules Worth Breaking

Zillow Digs home in Coronado, CA

13. Brown and Sand

14/17

Nearby houses inspired the color scheme of this charming home. "The sandy color on top resembles the muted tones common on neighboring houses," says architect David Neiman, of Neiman Taber Architects, in Seattle, Washington. "The brown is a darker complement that provides a strong visual base. Red window frames add an extra punch of color."

Related: 19 Rooms That Prove Beige Isn’t Boring

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14. Turquoise and White

15/17

Turquoise is a fun choice for those who live in warmer climates; it evokes sunny skies and the sea. If you’re nervous that it’s too bold of a color for your neighborhood, cool it down with white accents. When used in combination, the palette is bright and cheerful.

Related: 15 Tiny Beach Bungalows for Your Next Vacation

Triton Builders; Uneek Images

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15. Taupe, Red, and White

16/17

Honor the history of your home with a simple palette. The white columns maintain the old house charm, but the soft taupe and red give it a 21st century twist. 

Related: 13 Homes from the Original Colonies that Still Stand Today 

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A Perfect Match

17/17

There's a color combo perfectly suited for every kind of design preference and home style. 

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How to properly paint a house using old paint

How to paint a house using old paint
4. 1. Repainting a house painted with antiseptic or moss
4.2. Repainting a house painted with covering paints

1. Paint life on a house

A wooden house painted on the outside with even the best quality paint will need to be repainted after a certain time. For high-quality facade acrylic paints, the actual service life is approximately 10-15 years and can reach 20 years, subject to preventive inspections and measures. For glazing (translucent) antiseptics and facade oils, the service life is approximately 6-8 years and can reach 10 years. Such a service life on the outside of the house is provided by Finnish Teknos facade paints and these are not advertising promises, but the result, proven by many years of practical experience in the practical application of Finnish Teknos paints. nine0003

Every year our company sells about 400,000 liters of facade acrylic paints for wood, glazing antiseptics, oils and waxes for wood, which are used to paint several thousand wooden houses every building season. We have good feedback from our customers, both individuals and construction companies, who are very positive about the quality and durability of Finnish Teknos materials for painting a wooden house.

Unfortunately, along with a large number of positive reviews, we receive several "reclamations" (claims for paint) per year, in which buyers are not satisfied with the quality of painting the facade of their house, peeling and peeling paint on the outer walls of a wooden house. Despite such a minimum number of complaints, we consider it necessary to explain in detail what are the causes of such defects and how to avoid them. nine0003

2. The importance of following paint instructions

For a long time there was an opinion that it was enough to buy high-quality paint and the issue of painting a house would be solved for many years, since anyone can handle painting a wooden house. Currently, most buyers come to understand that for long-lasting painting of a wooden house, in addition to acquiring quality materials, it is equally important to pay due attention to the painting process: follow all the manufacturer's recommendations for surface preparation and applying paint and appropriate primers. Otherwise, none of the most expensive paint will provide a good result. nine0003

Employees of our company, when communicating with customers, always pay attention to the need to study the information on the label on paint cans before painting a wooden house and more detailed information in the Technical Specification (TDS) for the purchased material, which can be found on our company website and on the website Finnish manufacturer Teknos.

Based on the experience of using Teknos materials for painting wooden houses and factory painting of facade boards, the information received at the annual meetings in Finland at the Teknos factory of our employees with Finnish specialists, we consider it necessary to share additional most important information on the correct painting of a wooden house, so that our buyers avoided cases when high-quality paint begins to peel off after 1-2 years and has film damage. nine0003

3. House painting steps for a durable finish

A well-prepared wood surface is a guarantee that high adhesion (adhesion) of the paint to the wood will be ensured, which will not allow the facade paint to peel off after a short time.

A QUALITY PAINT IS AS GOOD A SURFACE IS PREPARED FOR PAINTING - a phrase well known to professional painters.

The following are important steps to follow when preparing outdoor wood surfaces before painting:

1. The wood surface must be free of dust and dirt.

   Unfortunately, this simple advice is often neglected and painting is started without cleaning the surface of the walls of a house that has stood for several months or more. The surface of the walls may look relatively clean, with no visible contamination, however, in order to understand how clean the surface of the street walls is, you can run them over them before painting with a light-colored cloth and the result will be obvious. After 1-2 months, a significant amount of street dust accumulates on the walls of houses. Painting a house when there is a layer of dust between the wood and the paint cannot provide a high-quality and durable result. Recommendations on how to clean house walls before painting are given on the labels of the cans and in the Technical Specifications for Teknos products. nine0003

2. Remove resin from wood.

   Coniferous wood is used for the construction of wooden houses: mainly pine and spruce, which contain resin. Resin under the heat of the sun, due to the capillary effect, comes to the surface, fills the pores of the wood and can form an invisible resin film. The resin that has come to the surface significantly reduces the adhesion of the paint to the surface and leads to its rapid peeling. Mechanical sanding of wood is the best way to remove the resin film. nine0003

3. Prevent long-term weathering of unpainted wood.

   Lignin, a substance that binds wood fibers, is destroyed in wood under the influence of UV. The surface layer of wood is damaged, loosens and cannot provide high-quality painting. Our Finnish colleagues from Tikkurila experimentally tested how the quality of painting decreases depending on the duration of UV exposure to wood. nine0003

   The results of the experiment unambiguously show that wood exposed to aggressive UV exposure for more than 6 months needs to remove the destroyed surface layer by mechanical treatment.

   For mechanical processing - grinding of street walls for covering paints, it is not recommended to use emery material with a number higher than P80, since an excessively smoothly sanded wood surface has worse adhesion to paint than a rough surface. nine0003

   Mechanical sanding opens the pores of the wood to improve adhesion. A well-known among professionals is the condition for achieving maximum durability of painting: wood painting must be carried out no later than 48-60 hours after mechanical sanding. This condition is observed during professional factory painting of facade boards and largely ensures a higher quality and durability of factory painting.

nine0005 Paint dry wood.

The surface to be painted must be dry and the moisture content of the wood must not exceed 20%. When painting wooden houses from solid wood: profiled timber, gun carriage, logs, etc., it becomes difficult to determine the moisture content of the inner layers of wood. Moisture meters allow you to measure the moisture in the surface layers of wood, but the moisture in the inner layers of wood can be much higher and it is not possible to measure its value. nine0003

If the moisture content of solid wood was above 20%, then as a result of heating by sunlight, the wood begins to dry out, moisture actively comes to the surface and its excessively large amount passing through the acrylic paint film leads to paint separation and the formation of bubbles, inside which moisture accumulates. This process is greatly enhanced if the walls of the house are painted in a dark color and the surface is very hot. The formation of bubbles and peeling of paint occurs primarily on the south side of the house, which is most heated by the sun. On other sides of the house, such defects are usually absent. The reason for such defects is not the low quality of the paint, but the excessive moisture content of the wood, since such defects are not observed on the architraves and other elements of the facade made of boards of normal humidity, painted with the same paint. nine0003

For the first exterior painting of a wooden house built from solid wood, it is preferable to paint with Teknos glazing preservatives or facade oil for wood, which, unlike acrylic paints for wood, do not form a surface film. DETAILS

4. Choosing the right wood for building a house.

   In addition to preparing a wooden surface, the quality and durability of painting a wooden house is greatly influenced by the quality of the wood used for construction. Our Finnish colleagues said that in Finland the quality of wood for the outdoor side of the house is regulated by state standards. According to Finnish building standards, stable wood must be used on the outside of the house, which is minimally subject to deformation and delamination under the influence of atmospheric loads. nine0003

   The issue of ensuring maximum durability of the exterior painting of a wooden house is of interest to almost all buyers.

   Quality wood facade paints and adhesive primers from TEKNOS can ensure the service life of painted facades up to 20 years! READ MORE...

   In our country, any available wood is used for construction. As a result, we have to deal with cases when, after a year, damage to the facade paint layer is observed, which is caused solely by the problems of the wood itself - the delamination of its surface layer. This is most often encountered when painting frame houses when using tangentially cut facade boards, which are highly susceptible to delamination under the influence of atmospheric loads. nine0003

   Frame houses are very popular due to their non-shrinkage and fast construction time. The facades of frame houses are sheathed with facade boards or imitation timber.

   Façade boards and timber imitations can be painted on site or in the factory. READ MORE...

5. Avoid design errors when building a house. nine0002 The structural solutions of a wooden house should protect the wood from getting wet and ensure the rapid removal of moisture from wooden surfaces. Otherwise, no facade paint is able to provide a long service life.

   In order for wood paint or glazing antiseptic on the facade of the house to serve as long as possible, all European manufacturers of paints and varnishes and our Finnish experts TEKNOS (Teknos) recommend paying attention to environmental conditions and working out the design features of the house READ MORE...

   We especially want to draw attention to the problem that is most often observed in the budget housing construction segment. Builders, seeking to reduce the cost of building a wooden house as much as possible, reduce the length of the roof overhangs to 0. 2-0.3 m, which leads to frequent and prolonged wetting of the walls of the house due to rain and snow falling on them. High-quality Teknos facade acrylic paints withstand the effects of atmospheric precipitation well, but constant wetting of the painted surfaces, together with other negative factors, contributes to faster damage to the facade paint. With constant wetting of the walls, mold forms and grows even on the walls of the house sheathed with vinyl siding. As a result: the minimum savings during construction turns into serious problems in the operation of the house. According to the recommendations of Finnish building standards, the length of the roof overhangs of a wooden house should not be less than 0.5 m.

6. Observe the painting technology.

   Compliance with the technological sequence of application of primers and paints recommended by the Teknos manufacturer is very important. In addition to the temperature and time conditions for applying and drying primers and paints, it is important to comply with the Teknos manufacturer's recommended material consumption rates, which are indicated on the labels with cans and in the Technical Specifications for Teknos products. nine0003

   At the manufacturer's recommended consumption of materials, a protective coating with a layer thickness of approx. 80 - 100 microns, which is a mandatory standard for a long service life of the facade coating and protection of wood from getting wet and from the damaging effects of UV.

   In the practice of our company, there was a case when the buyer sent us a written complaint about the quality of the paint, because peeling and peeling of the paint occurred on the wall of his house. Teknos specialists, together with our employees, went to the site to inspect the house and the existing damage to the exterior paint layer. The thickness of the paint layer on the facade of a wooden house, measured by Teknos specialists, was approximately 40 microns, that is, it was more than two times less than the standard value of 80-100 microns, due to which moisture from atmospheric precipitation penetrated into the wood and this was the reason for peeling the paint. nine0003

4. How to paint a house with old paint.

4.1. Repainting a house previously painted with a glazing antiseptic or wood oil.

If a wooden house has been painted with glazing antiseptics or facade oils on wood, it can be repainted both in a glazing color and in a covering color. In case you want to repaint the house and leave the wood visible, we recommend that you follow the following scenario:

If the old glazing coating on the house is not in a satisfactory condition, then it is not possible to repaint it in a new glazing color without completely removing the old glazing coating. The most practiced way to remove the old glazing coating is mechanical grinding. After grinding, the wood should be immediately treated with a primer antiseptic, and then with a glazing compound.

The greatest demand among our customers is the glazing option for painting a wooden house: WOODEX AQUA BASE priming antiseptic in one layer and WOODEX ECO facade oil in two layers, which provides the most durable glazing painting due to the increased content of protective oils. nine0003

There are cases when the glazing coating on the south side of the house burns out and needs to be renewed, while the glazing coating on other walls of the house is in good condition. Alternatively, you can update the glazing coating only on the south side with the same composition that was used to paint the house. But such, working, requires a lot of professional training in order to maintain a uniform glazing shade on all walls of the house.

Repainting an old glazing with covering paints is the least labor-intensive option and therefore the most frequently used. For repainting in a covering color, Teknos facade acrylic paints can be used: NORDICA ECO, NORDICA MATT, ACRYLIN or VUDEX AQUA SOLID opaque antiseptic. Due to the high hiding power of facade paints, it is possible to repaint the old dark glazing coating into a light color and vice versa. nine0003

It is recommended that the old coating be lightly sanded and dust removed. It is not necessary to completely remove the old glazing coating. The exception is the old glazing painting with facade varnish, when the removal of the old layer of varnish is mandatory. In this case, the labor costs for removing the old facade varnish will be very high.

Applying various types of chemical washes to wood to remove the old coating is bad advice from non-professionals!!! Such washes work when removing paint from metal and mineral surfaces, and on a wooden house they are absorbed and destroy the wood. nine0003

4.2. Repainting a house painted with covering paints.

If a wooden house was previously painted with covering facade paints, then in almost 100% of cases it is repainted with covering paints. Otherwise, if you want to repaint the house in a glazing color, you will need to completely remove the old paint from all walls and facade elements, which is a labor-intensive and expensive process.

Internet articles on this topic, usually written by copywriters who are not experienced in painting wooden houses, usually recommend that you first determine what type of paint the house was previously painted with, since there is a possibility that there will be no adhesion between the new and old paint. In articles like this, you can find "tips" on how to identify the type of old paintwork, for example, by visual differences in the destruction of old oil, alkyd or acrylic paint. Others advise trying to set fire to the old paint and determine the type of paint by the nature of the burning. nine0003

We do not recommend doing such experiments for a simple reason: Teknos facade acrylic paints: NORDICA ECO, NORDICA MATT, ACRYLINE have good adhesion to both old alkyd and acrylic paints and are successfully used for repainting a wooden house without much difficulty.

A rare exception is old linseed oil based paints, such as PUNAMAALI paint, which can only be repainted with the same paint.

The correct and inexpensive option to determine the compatibility and adhesion of new and old facade paint is to purchase a small amount of facade paint, make a test painting on the wall of the house and this will allow you to judge the possibility of using this paint to repaint your wooden house . nine0003

A general advice for preparing surfaces previously covered with covering paints is to remove any old paint that has loosened from the wood. Apply TEKNOL 3881 adhesive primer or NORDICA PRIMER to fresh wood areas.

Paint that adheres well to the walls of the house can be left on. For better adhesion, a layer of old paint is recommended to be matted with light sanding. The new Teknos facade acrylic paint: NORDICA ECO, NORDICA MATT, ACRYLIN can be applied by spraying in accordance with the recommendations indicated on the label and in the Technical Specification or by brushes. For water-soluble acrylic paints, the bristle of the brush should be synthetic or mixed. nine0003

5. Conclusion.

Practical advice and detailed written instructions for the correct application of impregnations and primers for wood, paints and antiseptics for wood, oils and wax for wood, as well as for repainting a wooden house, taking into account the selected Teknos materials, can always be obtained from our employees, which will help our customers to achieve high-quality and durable results in painting a wooden house.

It is worth remembering that for high-quality painting of a wooden house, it is worth considering and not neglecting four main equally important factors:

• building wood quality,
• correct house design,
• conscientious worker
• to choose high-quality paints and varnishes, among which Finnish Teknos paints are among the best.

2020

Article author
Technovix LLC
The information presented in the article is based on the personal experience of Teknovix employees and many years of studying materials for painting wooden houses, conducted numerous interviews with the heads of large house-building companies, companies for the factory painting of wooden boards, and with the participation of Finnish and German specialists in the field of development and practical application of materials for professional coloring of wood. nine0003

Articles written48

John Grisham.

Text: Maria Karpeeva

• Translation: I. Danilov
• AST, 2006
• Series: The International Bestseller
• 384 pages
• ISBN 5-17-037680-4, 5-9713-2900-6, 5-9762-0295-0, 985-13-8014-8
• Circulation: 15000 copies nine0006

Encyclopedia of Farm Life

American writer John Grisham is considered the founder of the legal thriller genre. Probably, at some point, Grisham wanted to get rid of this stigma and become not just a “mississippi paperman”, as Stephen King unflatteringly dubbed him in his time, but a novelist in the full sense of the word. And then Grisham began to write The Painted House, a book that, although fundamentally different from his earlier works, unfortunately does not make any breakthrough in American fiction. nine0003

It is generally accepted that every more or less literate person is able to write one really good book in his life, and this book is an autobiography. Of course, The Painted House cannot be fully considered an autobiographical work, because the novel takes place in the early 50s, and Grisham himself was born only in 1955. However, seven-year-old Luke Chandler, with his thoughts and experiences, is undoubtedly a writer in childhood. John Grisham was well acquainted with the hard everyday life of Arkansas farmers, with the annual cotton harvest, with Sunday trips to church and Saturday trips to the cinema - in short, with all the customs of that time and those places. nine0003

The novel describes the life of the Chandler family in great detail, however, for all its seeming realism, it is not very truthful. It is difficult for the reader to believe that the protagonist of the book is only seven years old - Luke's judgments about life, all his actions and interests give out in him a boy of ten or twelve years old, but not a seven-year-old.

Of course, the Painted House could not do without murder, but even the most superficial reader will understand that here it plays a secondary role. The annotation to the Russian-language edition says that after the murder of Hank Spruile, the boy's life "turned into hell." Firstly, this statement is too pretentious, and secondly, it simply contradicts reality. The younger Chandler dreams of a baseball career, a Cardinals jacket, Coke and ice cream, and Tally Spruile's naked body. He worries about his uncle Ricky, who is fighting in Korea and with whom fifteen-year-old Libby Letcher recently had a baby. Of course, having witnessed the murder, Luke is going through a strong shock, but he does not feel sorry for Hank at all. He suffers only because he cannot share what happened with his parents; besides, it is unpleasant for him to know that Tally connected her life with the killer. In the end, Luke tells the truth to his grandfather, after which, together with his parents, he leaves for the north of America, where all people live in painted houses. nine0003

What the reader can definitely thank Grisham for is the vivid pictures of the life of an American farming family, thanks to which the book acquires not only artistic, but also historical value.

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