ᐅ Show us your exterior wall colors!

Costruttrice schrieb:

Do you think houses are often white or painted in muted colors because of a lack of courage? That never occurred to me before. For me, it’s definitely a matter of personal taste. I never liked colorful hair either because I never liked how I would look with it.

It’s similar for me with more striking house colors. I think a Rococo-style palace in pink is beautiful, but I would never paint my own house pink because I don’t like it and find it completely unsuitable for the style.

I also believe it’s just a matter of different tastes. Personally, I don’t like more colorful houses either, but I can easily understand why some people do. I find sage green a very nice color, but I prefer my house to look as clean and modern as possible. I’m happy with white and anthracite, and inside it’s more of an industrial-minimalist style. That makes me feel organized, mentally clear, and comfortable.
Others, on the other hand, really love decorations and fill their entire house with them until it feels cozy for them. It’s the same with colors as well.

Costruttrice schrieb:

Do you think there is a lack of courage that houses are often white or painted in more subdued colors?

I actually believe that by observing others, an unconscious rule forms in the mind that prevents such ideas from even being considered. Neurotypical people don’t want to stand out and want to fit in. There was a study about how strongly people follow the herd instinct. I can’t recall all the details of the experiment exactly anymore. But it involved about half of the participants refusing to point out obvious errors (in a drawing, I think) if they had previously heard from a sufficient number of other people that everything was flawless. And this was despite being previously explained what errors are and how it should look correctly.

And this was a conscious thought process! So imagine how much stronger the effect is subconsciously, especially when you’re not told beforehand that you are completely free to decide. Of course, there are even zoning regulations or building permits/planning permissions that specify colors. Honestly, I find that unacceptable (except for surface designs related to health or safety, such as strong reflections).

For our house build, I briefly suggested a strong green or something like that. But first, it would have been much more expensive, and second, my wife was against it.

Let's just say: colorful houses are something you have to be comfortable with – we decided to go for it and have never regretted it for a day. When I used to work every day in my home office overlooking the street after the new build, I always enjoyed seeing the looks from passersby who really rubbed their eyes because our house (back then still completely detached, without any hedges or vegetation) definitely stood out from the "50 shades of white" of the other houses: The original plan was Schönbrunner Yellow (also known as Habsburg Yellow, Imperial Yellow, mistakenly called Maria Theresa Yellow). The color is an earthy reddish yellow. It corresponds to the shade you get when coloring with the pigment gold ochre in lime.

After a long and very exciting discussion for both sides with the color master from a very large paint manufacturer (she thought it was really cool to discuss colors with someone and was delighted that someone actually painted a house like this) and three slightly different test coatings on site, we chose "Quitte 3" and combined it with a dark green front door. I enjoy this house color every day.

Recently, my son’s classmate came by. He said, "It took a little longer because I didn’t know how to get to your place at all. When I got lost, I just asked a passerby if he knows where the yellow house is. He knew the way right away and that’s how I found you."

Cool story, please feel free to show your house...
I might even go as far as to have an Escher-like pattern painted on the facade, provided I have the budget for it. Although that might pose some safety concerns...

I would also appreciate a photo of Quitte3 =)

I need to look for a photo to share, which is always a bit tricky because color rendering varies so much. During the construction phase, we sometimes knocked on doors of complete strangers to ask about wall paint when we liked the color in real life. It was also important for us to consider the influence of the neighboring house, which had a colored facade as well.

Searching for "Sakret Rygol Quitte 3" should yield some results, and if in doubt, you can request a color fan deck from Sakret Rygol. We still keep ours as a toy for the kids. Afterwards, we had the plasterer cover some styrofoam panels matching the facade and painted them with three related but slightly different colors. We then held these panels up at different times of day around various spots. You should always keep in mind that large surfaces have a strong visual impact. What looks nice on a 1m² (11 sq ft) sample can be overwhelming on an entire facade.

In the first one to two years, the color appears quite intense; now it has settled slightly.

We deliberately did not use any other “color” on the facade or similar areas, only the dark green of the front door and the leaves of plants and grass. All metal attachments (canopy, railings, balcony railings) are zinc-coated, so “my color is no color.” All patio, walkway slabs, and window sills are shades of gray. On the south side, I have large red rose bushes growing along the facade, which provide a significant splash of color—I wouldn’t combine any more than that.