Why Not Paint Your House Red?
I just got through painting my second red house in Kennewick. For my first red house the owner already knew he wanted his assisted living facility to be red before he called me for a paint quote. This time however the owner just wanted something bright and bold and was trying to figure out a yellow and green combination that she liked when I suggested red. Her eyes lit up and now she couldn’t be happier with her red house with white trim. We looked at several reds and painted samples on her house and I was afraid the one she was leaning towards was going to be “too bright”, which of course means different things to different people, but the darker reds I suggested just didn’t cut the mustard for her.
When I originally thought of red I was thinking of Barn Red so I did a little research to see if I could find a color that could authentically be called Barn Red (as if all barns were the same red) and found a few paint companies that specialized in authentically made paints from yesteryear, including something I had never heard of, Milk Paint. Yup, seems like they used to make paint with milk, and other 100% organic and safe-for-people-and-the-environment materials. You can mix milk paint with pigment powders to create just about any color you can imagine. Here are just three of many companies where you can buy authentic “old world” paint for your antique furniture, decks, floors, walls, and yes of course your barn:
On my first red house we painted an assisted living facility on the hill behind the mall where we used brown for the trim color. Looking down the street it certainly adds a bit of interest to an otherwise typically blah Kennewick neighborhood.
For my most recent red house Glenda couldn’t be happier with how the red makes a perfect backdrop for her many roses and other landscaping, making them stand out beautifully. Red and green is a great combination and for a house with red brick I haven’t seen a color that goes with it better than green, particularly the sage greens. One of Glenda’s neighbors said she wasn’t sure about this red when we started painting but says it has grown on her.
Painting your house red isn’t for the faint of heart, especially in the conservative Tri-Cities. If you are overly concerned with the opinions of others just realize you won’t make everybody in your neighborhood happy with your red house though you will get a lot more positive remarks and thumbs-ups from those driving by than you might expect. There will always be one in every neighborhood that won’t like anything out of the ordinary but maybe they just need someone like you to brighten up their life. Just go for it, you’ll get a lot of neighbors glad you did.