Pick a Color...but save the drama for your mamma.

Michelle's first assignment as Guest Buyer was choosing exterior colors.  A process that should be a joyful expression of color but sometimes turns into a torturous debate over which 6x6 sample of green has too much gray and whether or not you'd like that same 6x6 sample spread over the wide expanse of a new house...it's not always an easy decision.

So in order to protect us from exterior color confusion (ECC for those in the know) I fired up our Flickr studio pictures and showed Michelle some of the houses we've built and the colors we've used.

I could tell almost instantly Michelle was not going to have any problem deciding on colors.  She quickly weeded out the colors she didn't like with subtle hints like, 'ew, not that' or the more cryptic, 'wow...' (eyes wide with disgust)...I love a girl with strong opinions.    

Michelle's vision for a sophisticated gray palette came together easily...our only lingering question...do we select a matching gutter color for a seamless look or do we go for high drama and pick a dark contrasting gutter color?  After much squinting and pensive facial contortions as we surveyed the colors chosen so far (no cameras allowed during this phase) we decided we should go for it!  High drama...black gutters.  Hot stuff!  We knew it wouldn't be the right look for everyone but surely someone would drive up and love this house because of the gutters.  Right?

Maybe.

But a few days later neither of us was feeling the drama as much so we opted for a safer matching gutter color.   And even as I type this I can already hear our future buyer speaking the words, 'I love everything about this house...I just wish there was a little more drama on the exterior.'

Drama, indeed.  We shall see...

  

Michelle and her exterior masterpiece...