Painting My Home’s Exterior A.K.A “Which White?”
(We looked at adding stone veneer to the foundation of the barn but the cost came is SO eye-wateringly high, we have to shelve it for now. We may cover the side facing the patios with trellis for now and try some fast growing climbing vines.)
So here are some of the colors I’ve been testing. I basically have painted the front of my house all white already trying to figure this out. According to Andrew “it’s all the same color”, but to me, my eyes go sideways deciphering undertones (which is hard on top of a yellow base!) So we’re priming the house in White Dove, as it’s the most consistent color, and then if we want to go with a different paint, we can – but testing on top of the primer will be a much easier way to see the true colors of the whites.
Also, struggling on the shutter/barn/door color too. I pictured it more French feeling, so grey-green – but mid tome or darker? More green or more true grey?
Of note: All my new exterior lighting will be brass and copper! Excited about the copper barn light on the green-grey barn!
Stay tuned!!!!
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Your house is stunning. I think lattice along the bottom with the vines would look beautiful.
Does the reverse work well? As in the dark color for the body of the house and the light color for trim etc?
We did BM Sailcloth and it was great.
I like white dove and check out shoij white (also BM) Love it for exterior!
We just painted our exterior white as well! We tested several colors including white dove but ultimately went with SW Snowbound because it was bright but not too stark, and also not too warm. Our trim was previously white dove and we noticed that in the winter with snow for months, the white tended to look muddy.
I’m sure it will be beautiful, whichever you select! Dying to try Patrick Ahearn white, (shared on his website in 2019) BM 50% China White, 50% Linen White.
Your home will be beautiful. For inspiration, our home is close to town in Wellesley and I just painted it BM Swiss Coffee tone on tone body, shutters and trim.. email me and I will pass along the address.
Greek Villa & Chelsea Grey
These are the colors I used on the exterior of my house. I am thrilled with the result
BM Anchor Gray – Body of house
BM Harwood Putty – Trim
Black shutters and Black side doors
BM Heritage Red Front Door
(BM Simply White is my interior color. It’s the perfect white!)
I love Simply White. (I went through the same dilemma with my house-my 1st idea was to go with simply white & instead I chose Dune White (not Dove) & have Nantucket Grey trim (which is more on the green tones). Every time I look at it I kick myself for doing Dune White-it looks dirty/muddy looking to me.
They are all gorgeous, I am sure whatever you decide it will be perfect!
White stucco is all the rage in Scottsdale, however, I think most people wanting white go to an “eye searing”white. It’s shocking and unattractive. We selected Swiss Coffee, initially thinking it might be too creamy, but it was a very pleasant, clean white—-not too cool but slightly warm enough to compliment landscaping/nature.
#1
After going through a million colors, we mixed SW Alabaster and SW Greek Villa. It’s perfect to us.
I have to agree with Andrew :)
The inside of my house is White Dove, but the exterior sample I did was soooo white – we ended up going Cotton Balls which I highly recommend! It’s a better exterior color IMHO.
I’d vote Greek Villa and Cast Iron! That looks like the richest combo to me! A classic beauty.
I just did SW Porpoise on my exterior wood, and whitewashed the original red/orange brick, and I love it!! Porpoise is a great color, as it’s defined as a grey/brown, but in northern light it has a green cast to it. My family is coming around to it, as they originally thought it should be a dark grey, but I wanted something less ‘been there, done that’. It really looks fantastic, and I’m happy to hear I’m not the only one leaning toward the grey/green color!
Your house is beautiful, and I’m excited to see the end result!
I like # 1 & #3!
My taste immediately goes to antique pewter…I adore copper, brass, bronze…what a braufiful HOME!!! franki
Please post your lighting selections! We are in the middle of a new build and I’m doing copper exteriors too!
I painted my brick house BM Ballet White bc I liked an off white look w/neutral undertone. A lot of whites appear too stark once painted in natural light but this was pleasing to the eye & timeless. I did BM Chelsea Gray for my door & it was a perfect combination & contrast.
We went for simply white- I’m in Wellesley, you can email me for my street address so you can do a drive by :)
I have Chelsea Gray shutters on my house and I LOVE them. We whitewashed our brick in White Dove as the base (so different than yours) but it is a combo that still makes me happy 8 years later. Simply White is my go to interior trim color too so all good choices you have narrowed down. I agree it will be easier to decide once the yellow is gone. Good luck!
My color guru has always been Maria Killam https://mariakillam.com/ You are so right to prime before swatching especially with how yellow you are currently. I have done 2 clients in SW Greek Villa over existing brick with SW jogging path and SW cast iron. The Greek villa is so creamy and pretty and soft. It is not stark at all. Going much lighter than this reads so stark. You are so good, you will make the right choice for you! I have also used SW Marshmallow on concrete siding, not brick, but so pretty as well! Anyway, always swatch darker outdoors than you think you want, which I am sure you already know! Best of luck!
Yes, she is fantastic. I should have followed her on IG before I installed a grey backsplash. 😑 IYKYK
I fourth it on Maria Killam! She’s THE BEST!!
I second the Maria Killian recommendation, she is an incredible resource!
I third it!! Her tecommendation her quartz counter top…7 yeats later..LUV IT!! franki
We had a similar foundation on the carriage house at our prior home and our contractor somehow stamped it to look like brick and then painted it to match the brick foundation color on our main home. It looked great and hardly cost anything!
We just painted our house last year. White is soooo hard! We ended up going with Sherman Williams color matched Farrow & Ball Wimborne White at 50% strength and love it so much. We did Ammonite for the trim. Probably not as grey as you’re looking for. Best of luck choosing!
Also went through choosing white paint a year ago for my 1920s brick house in Washington DC. Started out thinking I wanted BM White Dove but my painter was able to give me the addresses of several other White Dove houses he had painted recently and I realized it wasn’t’t quite crisp enough for my taste. Also checked a house he had painted in Simply White – too bright. After many more samples Cloud White on the brick and trim turned out to be the winner for me. Love it! Did the shutters and doors in F&B Downpipe to make my husband happy. Like it a lot but I really wanted tone on tone with shutters and door – won’t be a major deal to change in another year or so.
Can’t wait to see your beautiful house in white!
This is so clever, getting in some drive-bys under the same lighting conditions! Sounds like it saved you a lot of money too :)
We literally went through this exercise about a year ago on Both our interior and exterior of our hone. $8M in paint samples later….we made a decision! I’ve used Swiss coffee and simply white in the past. Both were different than I had expected. Swiss coffee is pretty creamy, more yellow in it than I had thought on my wall paint sample. Simply white was way whiter than I ever thought. I didn’t end up going with either of those colors in our most recent home.
I actually think either Greek villa or white dove would work, but if you’re going French perhaps you want it mote creamy?
I totally get it with losing your mind on this. My husband kept asking me why we had to go back to the paint store for more samples…we already had 27 amazing contenders. Picking the right white…sucks.
I have been stalking your blog specifically to see what exterior colors you pick. I have an historic home that needs exterior paint. It is currently Benjamin Moore super white with Chelsea grey shutters. The roof shingles are grey but have brown undertones. The Chelsea grey shutters have a colder undertone that looks terrible with the roof certain times of day. On my house it really doesn’t have a green undertone. I am looking at either simply white or moonlight white and will definitely be ordering samples of the other choices you have picked for shutters this weekend :)
Farrow and ball Pointing. It’s warm white without the yellow undertones.
Why not something more intesting, clever, and beautiful than gray which has surely overstayed it’s welcome at this point in time? At least the front door maybe….
I painted mine Simply White and love it. It is “fresher” than the other whites I tried.
White dove to me is the best option. Crisp, yet warm. However, I would definitely pair it with Sherwin Williams Cast Iron for the shutters and the door. Especially if you have copper accessories.
Would love to hear a little more about your thinking re: painting the entire barn gray, as opposed to white with gray doors. Looking forward to seeing your ultimate choices as we too are in the midst of choosing a white exterior paint color (albeit for a house in Los Angeles, so very different light/feel).
Love the White Dove/Antique Pewter combo. We’ve painted two houses White Dove (current and last house) and we’ve been really happy with it. Whatever you choose, it’ll be beautiful!
Simply white , grey trim , black front door & or shutters… basics! Good luck.
I have trim in Chelsea grey, and it is definitely more grey/blue without much green
We went through similar angst picking the right white color for the exterior of our house. I consider Benjamin Moore my go-to paint brand but, on the advice of a consultant, went with SW Greek Villa. Love it! It’s perfect—fresh, bright, but not blindingly white.
I also lost my mind over white paint colors- my husband’s patience ran out at about color 30.
We ended up choosing Greek Villa for the body of the house and Repose Gray for the windows- absolutely love how it turned out!
The exterior of your home is already lovely and well-suited to the site, summer and winter. How about doing the Wellesley thing and using the budget to install a fabulous outdoor hot tub instead? I grew up very close to your new home and there are so many generic white houses on your street and in the area already. The white/black/grey color schemes look especially bleak in the winter, no matter what colors the front doors are painted. How are you handling the Wash St traffic noise?
I agree. While all your colors combos are gorgeous, there are already so many white/cream houses. There is a warm light pink house in our neighborhood (similar to yours) and it is beautiful and it stands out in a sea of white. I’d love to see you get out of your comfort zone on this because I know it would look amazing!
We started painting our southern exposure house in Waban BM white dove last fall – while I love that color on interiors, after the half the house was painted we realized on the outside it looked dingy from the grey undertones. Got rid of the paint, started again. Changed to BM simply white and it is fantastic – bright but not blinding, even in direct sunlight, fresh and clean. Glossy black shutters. Stop by to see it!
I have Simply White inside most of my house in Weston and outside, too and love it. The perfect t white for historic homes. Reads as white, but is warmer and softer but not yellow and never goes green like White Dove has on me under certain artificial lights—less an issue for outdoor, but still think Simply White is perfect choice!
We had a Benjamin Moore copy made of Farrow and Ball Wimbourne White. Love it. Just warm enough, but not yellowy if that is possible.
We have Wimborne White in our home and it is nearly identical to White Dove.
I love white dove and cast iron together – more pop on the shutters/doors. Btw – I was driving to Wellesley – my daughter toured the school – and as we were marveling at all of the gorgeous houses, we drove past one that looked very familiar – yours! What a great property. And that town is picture-postcard perfection!
Interesting – our house being painted now Mountain Road with Simply White trim …really thought the green would have a touch of blue in it like the sample but no…still pretty but so hard! Go with White Dove. The cleaner whites are too sterile and primer like 🤷♀️
Painting our Newton house (trim and all) a dark gray-green and currently looking at BM Chelsea Gray, BM Gray Gardens, and Farrow & Ball Downpipe…it’s so hard!
I have Down Pipe in my dining room and I love it, but I would not describe it as gray-green at all. If you’ve never used F&B paint, you should know that sometimes it requires more coats. At least I had to do four codes on my interiors that I painted with it. I love the colors and their undertones though.
I also don’t think of Chelsea Gray as having green undertones, but I could be wrong. (Love both colors though.)
Check out Adelphia painting Instagram….house in Wellesley similar to yours… BM white satin on house and trim… Essex green gloss on door & shutters….love the look🥰
OMG, testing exterior colors is so stressful. We were looking for a blue/grey tone and tested many, many options that would have been perfect if we were painting a subway station before we finally settled on (wait for it) BM Wales Gray.
We just painted our exterior SW Greek Villa and LOVE it. Our next door neighbors have BM Swiss Coffee and it looks great too. It seems to be a bit more brown/beige than ours. Our house was previously painted in SW Extra White (the same color as our interior trim) and it was way too stark. It was blindingly white. I’m sure whatever you decide will be fabulous. BTW…deciding our exterior color was super stressful. It is so final and not easily changed.