Our dear friend Bregan needs a porch makeover.
The artist behind Maiden America Studio recently picked our brains with her challenge. She had a very interesting question indeed.
Dear Teot, Can I paint the exterior of my home, inside my porch, a different color from the rest of the exterior?
Here is a look at Bregan’s sweet little porch on her Wimberley, TX ranch cabin. (And by ranch, I mean 10 fenced-in acres, not a midcentury style residential architecture.)
The architecture of the home is actually a bit cabinesque, clad in a brown painted cedar paneling with matching window frames and gutters.
Another look at the interior of the screened in porch shows just why the room might need and want a little color on the walls. It does make sense to me why she might feel compelled to paint the entire room out, without painting the entire exterior of the home, but I’m no expert on the rules.
So, I sent the question over to Sarah, here is her response:
I’m fairly sure we can NOT paint the inside of the porch a different color than the rest of the exterior…but we can paint the ceiling, and I think we can paint the entry door and the floor.
And then she attached this jaw dropping image.
If only all of Bregan’s brown were this moody blackish blue.
I loved that picture so much, that I started to think maybe Bregan should paint her entire house a dark slate. I showed her the Lauren Liess contemporary home makeover.
but Bregan said she might actually prefer the brown…
So, we are on a fact finding mission, and an inspiration hunt when it comes to this porch decor conundrum. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Here is a little QnA for some more intel.
Have a Design Dilemma? We’ll work it out with you. Just holler at us.
Email Sarah at theestateofthings.com!
Subject: DEAR TEOT
I think you totally could paint the inside of the screen porch if you coordinate the color with something outside (like the screen door frame). If you wanted to just paint the ceiling and/or floor, I think you should start with the ceiling because it’s the easiest way to make a big statement, plus it’s not a fancy planked ceiling, so nothing to lose! Also painting the wood floors can help brighten up the space, though I do like the worn paint. As far as colors go my favorites are bright white and a bluey-teal. Both can be very americana style. High gloss helps bounce light and is easy to clean.
This ‘mancave’ bar area by Emily Henderson has a somewhat similar feel to it – http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/the-fort-mancave
And it’s probably not doable given the outdoor location but Matte black shiplap with bright white trim is just amazing.
That’s an interesting inspirational image from Hendo, it does have a similar feel. I would take that though and lighten that mood up a bit with some ticking stripe and some worn in canvas. I still standby my original position which was to paint the ceiling and/or the floor. Does Bregan want to do that?
Bregan went old school and emailed her response. She says the entire home is due a paint job, and so maybe she will consider a dark hue, more on blue side. She wonders if a white trim might keep it from being a little too brutally black. Such a measure as painting the entire home will not likely happen immediately.
She likes the Sarah inspiration image, but she’s not as wild about the Lauren Liess image.
She wonders if maybe she could start with the porch and work her way from there.
Hi y’all! Great ideas. I’ve actually got my husband signed on to paint the whole damn house. It’s just a matter of project priorities. We’re leaning towards a color similar to the blue in Sarah’s reference image. So, it’s safe to let our little imaginations run that direction. Another consideration I have is to replace the house side window with French doors. (There’s a guest bedroom on the other side of that wall.) the main concern (other than cost) is the complete loss of the only real protected wall space. The porch is pretty narrow, so French doors would effectively eliminate our ability to have a sofa. Other wants, a better ceiling (definitely painted), a ceiling fan, a new front door (the seal’s busted on ours and the large light letting window is a foggy downer). I’m definitely over the pop of color on front doors (for the most part). Thinking of me in terms of moody dude style is safer.