There’s not any principle (unless your homeowners association includes one) that houses need to be painted beige, grey or ecru. And why should insides have all the fun when it comes to colour?
In the Mediterranean, Latin American and the Caribbean, there is a long history of painting exteriors in bright, good-time colors. But really, colour can operate on any style architecture, from colonial to contemporary boxy. It’s just a matter of figuring out exactly what goes where and how bright you wish to go.
Here are 18 examples of exteriors gone wild. And the results are equally eye-catching and encouraging. Start dreaming.
Shannon Malone
Pinks
A medium pink adobe-style residence. The colors and architecture work together to evoke Mexico and the Southwest.
Chad Chenier Photography/Make It Right
A pale pink beach house. The colour of cubes and sunsets.
This Victorian is much more dominating in dark salmon than it’d be in a more subdued colour. Victorian houses have a long and illustrious tradition of wacky colour.
David Gauld Architect, PLLC
Yellows
A yellow house isn’t too unusual, but a glowing yellow house is something else. This is vibrant and eye catching and cheerful.
I like this strip of sunshine yellow against the charcoal house and the wide-open, neutral landscape.
2SL Design Build Collaborative
Craftsman houses are often painted dark colors, like maroon, brown and dark green. This muted yellow house is given a major dose of joyful with those glowing yellow pillars. Implementing different tones of the identical colour is a good way to highlight architecture and provide a house some colour without going too glowing.
Robert Sanders Homes
A greenish yellow against a greenish grey. It gives this house a very contemporary, contemporary appearance. Imagine it in white and beige. Meh, right?
Lendry Homes
Blues
A Caribbean-style house the colour of the Caribbean Sea. Something about aqua blue and palm trees just seems appropriate.
David Coleman / Architecture
A dark turquoise accent on a really modern exterior. Lovely.
Warline Painting Ltd..
Purple
A plum Victorian. And why not? It looks elegant and playful.
Dotter & Solfjeld Architecture + Design
Greens
In a great deal of contemporary architecture, bright colors are used to make lines pop. In reality, the colour functions as an architectural element in itself.
OKB Architecture
A three-toned green wing. It’s contemporary and playful, and it functions to add architectural attention to what is really just a box.
Kenny Craft
Here is another example of how using different tones of the identical colour can add interest and keep the house from looking like a block of green.
Kropat Interior Design
A glowing leaf green against slate blue. This simple bungalow has gained a great deal of character.
Lauren Mikus
Rainbow
in case you decide to go with a multihued strategy, it is sensible to hire a color consultant. The appearance can be absolutely astonishing and changing, but you want to get it correctly.
Louise Lakier
I just adore this vivid, cheerful paint job, but I would not have the courage to get it done unless a professional designed it.
Watch more of the house on Vashon Island, Washington
House + House Architects
Multiple colors bring out the architecture on this gorgeous Spanish colonial.
Marco Antunio
If the Jetsons was a little groovier, this is exactly what their house would have looked like. It’s a little bit futuristic, a small bit tropical (those are bamboo pillars and palm trees) and a whole lot of original. Wow.
Watch more of the São Paulo, Brazil, house