April showers bring May flowers!! Right? Isn’t that how the saying goes? I sure hope those flowers are gorgeous and abundant and worth all the setbacks because those darn April showers sure are hindering our exterior schedule! To be fair, it’s not just the rain’s fault. We also have crazy high winds to contend with along with freezing nighttime temperatures and frost. ‘Tis the season!
Besides contending with the weather, which, as we’ve established, is causing a less than stellar start to our exterior season, I’ve had the opportunity to do a few Color Consults this month. Along with these Consults I’ve noticed the Green trend has made its way to the Midwest. Green has always been my favorite color and I admire many of the shades and depths green offers especially on a home’s exterior. I’ve actually painted one of my own homes green; it probably won’t be the last. During consults, clients are asking about green. They’re showing me homes that they’ve found on pinterest that are green or pictures of houses around town that are green. Like I said, I’ve noticed a trend. So, I thought I’d share some of my favorites with you. Here are my go-to greens for exteriors:
Evergreen Fog SW9130
Sherwin-Williams color of the year for 2022 is Evergreen Fog SW9130. It’s a beautiful, cool green that has a little bit of gray and a little bit of blue mixed in that give it a calming vibe. I’ve offered this soothing color to many during Consults in the past, but for interior purposes. Now, I’m starting to offer it as an option for exteriors.
Retreat SW6207
Retreat SW6207 is a green I’ve been talking to clients about for years. It is also kind of gray, kind of blue, but more so than Evergreen Fog. It’s also darker. I usually refer to this as a muddy or earthy green.
Link Gray SW6200
Speaking of muddy green, one of my favorite green recommendations is Link Gray SW6200. It’s one of those colors that you look at and can’t decide if it’s gray or green. It is one that I pair with Pearly White SW7009 trim and a Baked Clay SW6340 front door. This combination really grabs attention in an authoritative way.
Rookwood Dark Green SW2816 and Avocado SW2861
Craftsman and Victorian style homes are my favorite types of homes to use green on. Two of my favorites from the Sherwin-Williams Historic palette are Rookwood Dark Green SW2816 and Avocado SW2861.
Rookwood Dark Green is just that, a dark green. It has a bit of a gold undertone that gives it more of a true green feel. If your home is in a wooded area and you’d like it to disappear, this is the perfect color to achieve that goal. It will blend right into its surroundings.
Avocado is what some might think of as an “olive green”. I happen to like both olives and avocados, so this is just fine with me. Avocado has a gold undertone and pairs beautifully with dark grays like, Thunder Gray SW7645 and whites. Truly a commanding combination of strong colors.
Green is somewhat versatile and neutral. It can be used on homes with brick or stone. I like the look of warm greens with rock or stone that have hints of gold. I like a mid-range depth of green on homes that have red brick, and a lighter, minty green on homes with orange brick.
One of the things that folks who are interested in painting their homes green have questions about are the front door colors. They feel limited in color options. I’m here to tell you that is not the case. As I mentioned before, green is fairly neutral. Here are some options: Oranges, Corals, Buttery Yellows and Golds, Browns, Navys, Blue Greens and Reds. I even like a light blue front door with the right green body color.
If you want to be super cool and follow the current trend you might want to use green on your exterior. Ha! Ha! Of course I’m kidding. I’m sure you are super cool without having a green house. You must be, you’re reading my blog! 😉 If you still need help picking out that perfect shade of green, give me a call for a consultation. 816-500-7759.
