Choosing the perfect paint color for any home can be a daunting task, and when it came to our beach house, the decision was exceptionally challenging. For weeks, we found ourselves immersed in a sea of options, sharing various photoshopped mock-ups on our social media channels like Instagram and Facebook, seeking feedback and inspiration from our community.
Our podcast listeners were privy to even more of the behind-the-scenes dilemma, hearing all about the influence of neighboring house colors, our unwavering desire to preserve the original wood front door, and a myriad of other factors complicating our choice. Episode #28 delved deep into these initial considerations, setting the stage for what would become an extensive exterior color quest. You can catch up on all the early discussions by playing it below. Note: If you’re using a feed reader, you might need to visit our blog post directly to access the audio player.
The saga continued, with our podcast community being the very first to discover our final decision in Episode #31. In that episode, we walked through our initial instincts, detailed how our perspectives evolved, and revealed the unexpected object that ultimately inspired our definitive choice. There’s no turning back now; the decision is made, and we couldn’t be more thrilled!
Consider this comprehensive article a visual and detailed recap, expanding on many of the discussions from those two pivotal podcast episodes. Our approach to navigating this design challenge was methodical: we meticulously addressed each potential color, or color category, one by one, carefully weighing its pros and cons in the context of our specific beach house and its vibrant community. Let’s dive into the journey of discovering our perfect exterior hue.
Exploring Initial Paint Color Ideas for Our Beach House
The Existing Green-Gray: A Starting Point
When we first acquired the house, it sported a subdued green-gray siding complemented by creamy yellow trim. You can glimpse its original state in our “before” photos here. Our immediate instinct was to brighten the exterior by painting the trim a crisp white, a common and appealing choice among our neighbors that instantly evokes a fresher, more coastal feel. While we initially considered preserving the green-gray siding to honor the home’s original character, simply refreshing the trim didn’t quite achieve the transformative look we envisioned.
Ultimately, the existing color palette felt somewhat muddy and lacked the vibrancy we desired for our home in a lively beachside community. Compared to the array of colorful houses surrounding it, our home seemed to blend in rather than stand out. We firmly believed that a new exterior color would be a powerful statement, signaling to the neighborhood that this house was undergoing a complete revitalization. After all, if we were investing in replacing rotted siding and a full repaint, selecting a completely new, exciting color was an integral part of the fun and the overall design journey. Of course, this fun came with its own set of anxieties, as second-guessing every choice became a frequent occurrence!
Considering Blue: A Familiar Favorite
Our profound love for blue is no secret; it’s a color that consistently finds its way into our design projects. We’ve incorporated various shades of blue throughout our previous homes, even painting our showhouse a deep, striking blue, and our current home proudly features a bold teal front door, as seen on Instagram. Given its inherent connection to the ocean and sky, blue is an undeniably popular and inviting choice for a beach house. The vast spectrum of options, from serene light blue-grays to classic navy, vibrant cobalt, refreshing aqua, and playful teal, all held considerable appeal for creating a beautiful coastal aesthetic. However, a significant challenge quickly emerged.
Our house is one of four identical structures on our block, sharing distinct architectural features like porch columns and stained glass windows. As it turned out, the other three houses already sported various shades of blue. While we briefly entertained the idea of joining the “blue house team” and creating an ombre-like progression along the street, our intuition strongly suggested a different path. We yearned for our home to possess a unique identity, to be recognized as “the _____ house on the street” rather than “yet another blue house.” Furthermore, many charming areas of our town feature homes with a distinct “painted ladies” vibe, celebrating individual color expressions. This desire for distinctiveness guided us away from blue and prompted us to explore alternative color families.
Evaluating Green: A Close Relative
Following our exploration of blue, we naturally gravitated towards greens, hoping to find a shade that captured the essence of coastal living without duplicating our neighbors’ choices. We were particularly drawn to minty and seafoam greens, imagining them evoking the tranquility of ocean waves. However, as we experimented with various tester swatches, a recurring issue arose: nearly every green we liked felt too closely aligned with blue on the color wheel, particularly when viewed alongside our neighbors’ homes. Even attempts to shift towards yellower greens, reminiscent of avocado tones, failed to provide the desired contrast against the dominant blue palette on our street.
Our goal was to contribute to the joyful, almost rainbow-like aesthetic often found in vibrant beach towns. To achieve this, we realized we needed a color that offered a clear distinction, a complementary hue rather than one so close to blue. This insight solidified our decision to move past greens that risked blending in and to continue our search for a truly distinctive and impactful exterior color.
Considering Neutrals: Gray and Beige for Coastal Calm
It might seem contradictory to discuss a “rainbow feel” for a beach town and then consider a neutral color like gray or beige, but we hold a deep appreciation for well-executed neutrals. In the context of our beach house, a neutral exterior could serve as an elegant canvas, allowing us to introduce vibrant pops of color through porch furniture, planters, or even architectural accents like painted eaves, porch ceilings, or window details. We also pondered whether a serene neutral could provide a much-needed visual balance amidst the bold blues that characterized our side of the street. During our drives around town, we observed numerous light tan and gray houses that exuded a timeless charm, making us reluctant to dismiss neutrals prematurely.
Sherry, with her extensive collection of inspiration folders filled with magazine clippings and Pinterest boards dedicated to beach houses, found herself continually drawn to light gray and tan exteriors. These homes, often paired with crisp white trim and layered with colorful planters and outdoor decor (even a strategically placed, colorful bike!), maintained an undeniable beachy appeal. Our observations in Cape Charles reinforced this idea; while the town boasts many colorful homes, the soft neutrals with their clean white accents felt perfectly at home by the water, evoking a sense of classic relaxation. We circled back to neutral ideas for a while, partly because they represent a “safe” choice—a descriptor that, in this instance, also suggested classic sophistication and a relaxed ambiance, rather than a color that might unexpectedly clash with the neighborhood. Perhaps a less “in-your-face” approach to color was the answer after all? The thought lingered.
The Allure of White: Crisp, Classic, and Challenging
Delving further into the realm of neutrals, white presented itself as another compelling option. Sherry’s Pinterest boards, already abundant with gray and tan beach houses, practically overflowed with white exterior pins. Our visits to Cape Charles further cemented this interest, particularly after encountering an immaculately maintained white bed & breakfast that radiated undeniable charm. We began to seriously consider white, envisioning it paired with our dark roof, the unique tin roof of our front porch, and strategic bursts of color from a porch swing, vibrant planters, or cheerful Adirondack chairs. The idea of a crisp, undeniably beachy white exterior was gaining significant traction.
However, two practical considerations eventually poked significant holes in this seemingly perfect vision: maintenance and surrounding greenery. On the maintenance front, a friend who had installed white HardiePlank siding on her own house a few years prior (which you might have seen on our Instagram) shared a crucial insight. While she loved the aesthetic, she warned that white exteriors tend to show dirt much faster than desired, necessitating frequent power washing. For a rental property where our primary goal was to minimize ongoing maintenance time and costs, this revelation was a significant drawback.
Furthermore, we realized that many of the pristine white beach houses we admired, both online and locally, were often enveloped by lush, vibrant greenery. This verdant backdrop allowed the white to truly pop and create a striking contrast. Our beach house, situated in a row of closely spaced homes with limited space for substantial landscaping, lacked such a natural setting. Beyond a few medium-sized bushes, our property couldn’t be described as “lush” or “nestled in the trees.” The final blow to the white exterior dream was the realization that our porch’s beautiful, ornate columns, a key architectural detail, would simply disappear into a white-on-white scheme, losing their distinctive character. Sacrificing such an important design element felt wrong, pushing us onward in our color quest.
Yellow: A Sunny Contender with a Twist
Yellow emerged as one of the most popular choices in our Instagram and Facebook polls, despite warnings from many about its tendency to fade quickly and show dirt easily – a common concern, we sensed, with any lighter siding color. We held a personal fondness for yellow, partly due to a cherished painting of my grandmother’s house (rendered yellow, though white in reality, because she adored the color and the artist loved to match homes to their owners). The idea of having our own “yellow house” carried a sweet, sentimental appeal.
Around this critical juncture, a significant development occurred: our contractor informed us that the entire house required residing. This major renovation, detailed further in podcast Episode #31, introduced a new variable into our paint color debate. We opted for HardiePlank fiber cement siding, renowned for its superior durability against moisture, termites, and cold temperatures, and its impressive fire resistance. Crucially, HardiePlank requires far less frequent repainting than traditional wood siding, promising significant long-term savings in both cost and maintenance. This decision presented us with the option of choosing from a selection of stock, factory-finished HardiePlank colors.
While these pre-finished options were pricier than primed HardiePlank (which would then require painting), the overall cost, when factoring in the painting labor, was comparable. We hoped that exploring these stock colors might help us narrow down our overwhelming choices. The HardiePlank palette primarily featured neutrals, but it did include a soft, buttery yellow option called Woodland Cream, alongside various grays, tans, and a light green.
To truly visualize these stock colors, we embarked on a helpful “field trip” to nearby new construction neighborhoods, seeking out full houses clad in HardiePlank. We meticulously held up our samples to ensure we were observing true matches. This exercise proved invaluable, as we quickly realized that beyond a few classic neutrals like light gray, white, and a pale blue-green, we didn’t quite fall in love with any of the stock colors. While perfectly pleasant, they leaned towards a more muted aesthetic, perhaps better suited for suburban environments than the vibrant, fun-loving atmosphere of a beach town. Although we knew we could always order primed siding and choose any yellow paint imaginable, seeing a multitude of yellow houses in person unexpectedly cooled our initial excitement. We couldn’t quite pinpoint why, but that undeniable “this is it!” feeling remained elusive.
The Unexpected Winner: Pink / Coral
Alongside yellow, pink (or coral) was another surprisingly popular pick in the comments section of our social media polls, with over 1500 people weighing in on the color debate! Visually, a pink or coral hue certainly stood out as one of the more “fun” and eye-catching options in our slideshow of mock-ups. However, for us, embracing a pink or coral exterior would be a significant departure from the calmer, more classic blues and neutrals we typically gravitated towards in our decorating projects.
While we incorporate small doses of pink into our interior spaces through art or accent pillows, painting an entire house pink would undoubtedly be a bold statement and a substantial commitment. Yet, as evidenced by one of our very first batches of test colors below, a pink-ish shade had been on our radar from the outset. It instinctively felt like a strong complementary color that would beautifully bridge the gap between the blue houses on either side of ours, harmonize with our preserved natural wood door, and radiate a cheerful, fun, and distinctly beachy vibe. A pink house might feel out of place in a suburban neighborhood, but in the vibrant, eclectic setting of Cape Charles? It felt entirely plausible, even exciting.
The idea of a color from the pink family temporarily receded into the background during our “detour” into trying to fall in love with a stock HardiePlank color (unsurprisingly, there were no stock pinks). But just as we made the decision to order primed boards, giving us the freedom to choose any paint color we desired, fate intervened. We stumbled upon the most unexpected source of inspiration:
Yes, that’s right – a simple coffee cup became the unlikely catalyst that resolved our entire paint color dilemma. This particular cup hailed from Quirk, a charming boutique hotel in Richmond. My youngest sister had stayed there over the holidays with her husband (a brief escape from the joyful chaos of screaming kids!), and this little paper cup made its way to our Christmas Eve gathering. Sherry immediately spotted it, her eyes lighting up as she excitedly asked, “Beach house paint color?” The color itself is best described as a warm peach, yet it firmly resides within the coral family. In fact, the closest match we’ve discovered is a Sherwin Williams shade aptly named “Mellow Coral.”
Less than a week later, we were enthusiastically painting cup-matching swatches directly onto the house. Stepping back, we felt a sensation we hadn’t experienced with any other color: instead of the usual “nope, keep trying,” it was an undeniable, resounding “yes, yes, yes!” When a few neighbors stopped by to observe our extensive collection of 20+ swatches (no exaggeration!), the consensus was unanimous. A peachy coral beach house it would be! The image below is a humble photoshopped rendering, but it effectively conveys the vibrant vision we now share.
We certainly couldn’t have predicted that after such an extensive and often agonizing deliberation, our perfect exterior paint color would be inspired by a humble paper coffee cup. Yet, we’re not arguing with the outcome! We believe this unique and inviting shade will make the house truly stand out, appealing to both renters and neighbors alike. Looking closely at the rendering above, you can see how beautifully it will sit between the two blue houses, proving that complementary colors truly win the day!
So there you have it, folks – the coffee cup that saved the day and one monumental decision checked off our renovation list. Now, with just 572 more decisions to go, the real work continues!