Our House... The Exterior!

It's funny -- you've seen so much of our home's interior, but unless you know us personally, the exterior is an unknown. This is about to change! 

There you have it! Our home is a traditional Italianate (a little different than a Victorian, which most people are more familiar with), build in the late 1800's (it survived the massive 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which is pretty reassuring!). The interior has all been renovated in recent years, but most of the original character still exists on the exterior. 

I may have mentioned this before on the blog (sorry - I don't remember!). The exterior needs to be re-painted soon, so I've been spending a lot of time thinking about our options. When most people first see our house, they're not surprised by the bright colors, and assume that I chose them. I didn't, and they're not my favorites. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE our house and thank God for it every day. And now that we have the opportunity to select paint, it will be something different. :)

In general, I love contrast ... juxtaposition ... mixing the unexpected. I think this helps explain why I would paint the house all white, if it were up to me. The expected treatment for this type of detailed facade is to highlight every nook and surface with different colors. To me, this feels like traditional + traditional. I prefer traditional + modern. To me, all white would be a fresh and modern take on a traditional home. And ideally, I'd plant huge palms all around the white exterior. Think New Orleans. Ahhhhhh!!! Anyway... I know this won't make sense to some, but it's the best way I can think to explain it (and I'm okay with the fact that not everyone will agree with me!). :)

Now, when it comes to interiors, my husband pretty much lets me have free reign. Very rarely does he weigh in. However...he seems to have stronger opinions about the outside, and he loves the idea of using multiple colors to highlight the detail on the house. So, we're working on a compromise. :)

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I LOVE these dark exteriors with the white trim. But I don't think this is what he has in mind. So, next step is for me to find some exteriors which incorporate color, and see if we can get closer to the same page. Fortunately, my city has no shortage of inspiration here. I need to walk through certain neighborhoods and get the wheels turning. As always, I'm excited about the idea of a change!