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Dear danica,
Help! I just painted my exterior and it is too bright white. I can’t afford to repaint the entire thing at this point. Is there any way to tone it down to look less stark?
– Emily
Perhaps it’s the charm of the crisp white New England homes I’m surrounded by now that is impacting my opinion, but I actually don’t find your home to be too stark! It’s charming and bright and the richness of the shingles compliments the white color quite well.
None the less, I have some ideas that might help your opinion of your home. Maybe I’m way off base, but I have a sneaky suspicion that you’re overwhelmed by the quantity of white rather than the color of the white. What I mean is, since everything on the home is white, perhaps you’re feeling like it’s just too much white? If that’s the case, there’s is an easy remedy that you can accomplish this fall!
Add Landscaping
Currently, the only focus of the home is the color. So I would recommend adding layers to the exterior elevation to create further points of interest. Billowing plants around the perimeter of the home will not only add immense charm, it will also break up the monotony of white. I would lean into the cottage charm that your home already has with a more whimsical approach to plants rather than a sparse, symmetrical approach. Pretty Purple Door has a great guide for plant placement.
Beach House Living (seen above) would be a great example for you to follow. Her approach to gardening is very natural, whimsical, and layered with in-ground plants, trees, and potted plants. Now is a good time to plant too as the season is coming to an end and nurseries are offering sales.
With landscaping, I suspect your opinion of your home will change quickly!
Planters I Love
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I would paint the bottom concrete part (that is painted white) black, black magic or tricorn black by sherwin williams are true black colors. I recently did black magic and loved it. Tricorn black is the blackest black I’ve seen.