Contemporary Exterior Paint Colors for 2013

Painting the exterior of your house is a big job—and a big decision. A new color can change the whole look and feel of your home. Going from a dark shade to white can make the house seem to breathe new life, while switching to a shocking pink or purple can announce to the neighborhood that there are new neighbors in town. Paint suppliers offer dozens of contemporary exterior paint colors to choose from, so take your time and investigate your options. Does this Spark an idea?

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Exterior Paint Color Ideas

Inspired by the stunningly varied regions of the United States, Benjamin Moore & Co have some home paint color ideas are sure to spark your imagination—and as you already know, Concepts In Color use Benjamin Moore among others. Regardless of its setting or style, we can give your home a very different look just by changing its exterior colors.

Benjamin Moore & Co have created several beautiful ideas for exterior paint color combinations to help guide your personal selection process. Some may be steeped in tradition, while others are more modern and elaborate in color scheme—yet all of these house paint color ideas are equally exquisite and tasteful.

View Exterior Paint Color Ideas & Palettes.

Visit Concepts In Color Exterior Painting for more ideas.

Today’s Tips: How to Choose Exterior Trim Paint Color

Ask Matt Kimble at Concepts In Color

Is it easy to choose an exterior trim paint color that looks attractive? Dark brown with a beige house, white trim on a sage green house–easy, right? Instead of choosing exterior trim paint colors that simply look okay, choose colors that will make the most of your home’s architecture–whether it’s a 1940s bungalow or a contemporary two-story home. You have almost limitless choices with modern exterior colors to make your home distinctive and add curb appeal without being either ho-hum or garish with fresh trim and accent colors. Let Concepts In Color help find the perfect Exterior Trim Paint Color for you.

1 Take fixed elements on your home into account when choosing paint colors. Avoid colors that will clash with your roof, brick or stonework.

2 Consider the big picture. Don’t paint your house in the same color scheme as your neighbor’s house. If your house is surrounded by trees or located at the rear of your lot, use crisply contrasting trim colors to make it stand out, or try a more subtle color combination to make it recede into the surroundings.

3 Use complementary colors to make your trim and architectural details stand out. Complementary colors are those opposite each other on the color wheel (Ask Matt at Concepts In Color), like blue and red. This doesn’t mean you need to paint your trim red on a blue house. But instead of cool, stark white trim, use a warm, creamy white or light tan for your cool blue or gray house.

4 Choose more subtle trim colors for an understated, conservative look. Pick colors from the same paint swatch, and use two or three shades of the same color for the main color, trim and accents.

5 Use a vibrant, welcoming accent color for your front door. Choose a color that hints at your interior decor or personality, one that matches the car in your driveway or even a color that matches flowers in your front yard.

6 Accent attractive architectural details and minimize unattractive ones with trim color. Unless you think your downspouts and garage door are worthy of accentuating, paint them the same color as the body of the house.

For help with Exterior House Painting in West Los Angeles – Contact Matt at Concepts in Color

4 Tips: How to Find a Painting Contractor

Painting can increase the visual appeal and market value of your home. Although smaller painting projects are easy to do by yourself, hiring a professional makes sense for more complicated, large-scale projects. Painting contractors perform a variety of tasks, such as paint removal, sandblasting, application of a wide variety of paints and wallpapers, paint mixing and surface waterproofing. They can apply paint to either the interior or exterior of a home, or both. As noted by the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America, hiring a painting contractor will protect you from any health hazards that might come with the job, particularly in homes built prior to 1978, which may have been painted with lead-based paint. Painting contractors will also provide a high-quality, professional paint job, and discard any hazardous materials when the project is complete.

Step 1

Ask any professional contacts you might have, such as general contractors or real estate agents, for referrals to a painting contractor.

Step 2

Visit your local paint store and ask for referrals. Record the contact information of the painting contractor for future reference.

Step 3

Verify that all of your referred contractors are licensed. In the state of California, you can do this by visiting the California Contractors State License Board’s online “Find a License” page. Eliminate any unlicensed contractors from the list.

Step 4

Contact the previous customers and ask them about their experiences. Ask about the quality of the work, the professionalism of the work crew, payment methods and whether the work was done in a timely manner. If possible, set up a time to view the paint job in person.

Contact Matt at Concepts In Color, Exterior Paining in Los Angeles, For more info about painting your house.

Preparing and Priming Different Exterior Surfaces for Painting

Concepts In Color knows that exterior walls come in many different styles and materials. Preparing and priming each exterior surface properly will help achieve long-term protection for your home and drastically increase the life of any paint job. Here are a few ideas and tips. (For more about Exterior Painting for your home, visit Matt at Concepts In Color about Exterior Painting in West Los Angeles and surrounding areas)

Stucco Surfaces
On stucco areas you want to thoroughly scrape off any loose paint and repair all cracks and holes. To fill gaps around windows and door casings use a caulk to fill the cracks. If you are working with previously painted exterior stucco you want to use a good exterior primer or surface conditioner.
A reaction may occur if the new stucco is not allowed to properly cure. Make sure the curing time is past before applying primer. 30 days is a standard cure time for new stucco before it can be primed and painted.

Wood Siding and Trim
When it comes to priming wood surfaces, you want to scrape off all of the loose and cracking paint. After scraping off the loose paint, sand the exterior area to remove any additional loose paint and create a smoother surface.
If scraping and sanding do not work and more than 25% of the coating is cracked and peeling, you may want to consider stripping.
When you strip, you’ll use chemicals or heat to remove all of the existing coatings down to the substrate. The stripping process can be a very laborious process so you may want to weigh the pros and cons of costs vs. benefits.
An alternative to stripping is to use a penetrating sealer  to glue down the edges of the loose paint then prime that with a thick high building bonder/sealer to fill and bridge the cracks and rough surfaces.

Metal Surfaces
When you are painting iron or steel, the most important thing is good contact between the surface and the coating. Metals rust when air and moisture get under the protective coating.
Rust can be like a cancer. Once rust is in the metal, it is almost impossible to get rid of. Surface preparation is so important on iron or steel. You want to use a good rust inhibitive primer. Rusting metal must be sanded to remove loose rust, and then cleaned. Using a phosphoric acid rust conversion product can ensure that all remaining traces of oxidized iron have been eliminated. Sand to smooth out any roughness and clean then dry thoroughly. Then prime with a rust inhibitive primer.

Masonite Siding
Most Masonite siding is delivered with its face primed with some sort of paint. However, if the paint has peeled or the Masonite has swelled due to water then special preparation is needed.
Pay special attention to the edges of this siding as this is its most vulnerable spot. Remove loose paint on embossed Masonite siding by carefully scraping or using a wire brush. The overlapping edge can be hand sanded with a medium/course sanding sponge. Smooth siding can be carefully sanded with a palm sander or rotating paint sander. The face of embossed, wood grained, siding cannot be sanded. Using oil base primers seem to work the best. Apply two coats of primer to avoid any future problems. (Talk to Matt at Concepts In Color about priming and painting services.)

Cement Board
Cement boards, also known as Hardie boards, are a type of fiber cement siding. Cement board is highly durable, resistant to fire, mold and mildew, and it does not rot.
Cement board does not need to be primed unless it will be exposed routinely to harsh weather conditions. If you do choose to prime your cement board, use an exterior acrylic latex bonding primer. Also, do not paint a cement board unless it has been thoroughly cleaned first, or you will have problems with adhesion.

Before preparing and priming any substrate on older homes, before 1978, check for existence of lead. Homes with lead based primers and/or paints must follow the EPA RRP rules for containment and removal.

Contact Matt at Concepts In Color about Exterior Painting in Los Angeles.

What People Are Saying About Concepts In Color

Matt Kimble and Concepts In Color are fortunate to have worked for numerous customers in West Los Angeles, Hollywood, Pacific Palisades, and Brentwood. Here are a few of the many comments and compliments we have received:

“I was referred to Matt Kimble, and Concepts In Color, by two friends. I gave Matt a call and I was very happy that I did. Matt and his crew do a fantastic work. Matt painted my home perfectly. Matt suggested the right types of paints and my home still looks like it was just painted. In my opinion, Concepts In Color is the best painting contractor in Los Angeles. ”

Accommodating people’s busy schedules is very important to everyone. Our painters are always respectful of our customer’s time and property…

“Matt and Concepts In Color was professional in every way. Our house painting was done to exacting standards, the preparation and clean up were impeccable and most importantly, the job was done to look great and last a long time. We wouldn’t consider another contractor for our next project. I feel as though Matt painted our house with the same care he would use if painting his own home.”

“Concepts In Color gave us great service and were courteous and extremely competent painters. Matt Kimble has great taste and offered fantastic color ideas for our home in West Los Angeles. We were very happy to have found Concepts in Color. We can’t say enough great things about Matt and his employees.”

“I was worried that our building would be too large for a reasonable priced painting company. Not so! Concepts In Color did a great job at our agreed upon price and schedule. Our building looks amazing. You guys are the best! ”

Our interior and exterior painting customers can rely upon Matt Kimble to go the extra step – to make every effort to meet and exceed expectations. It is rewarding to receive a letter like this:

“Matt and Concepts In Color made our home’s renovation easy. The last thing we wanted to think about was painting the interior and exterior. Based on what we wanted, Matt suggested our interior and exterior colors, which turned out terrific. He was always reachable and supervised the job every day. We highly recommend Matt and Concepts In Color. ”

Read more great comments and reviews here.

Matt Kimble services the interior painting and exterior painting needs of fine homes and businesses in West Los Angeles, CA, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Bel Air,  Hollywood and surrounding areas. Let us exceed your painting expectations. For further information or to discuss your next residential painting, commercial painting you can reach Matt at (310) 948-3371 or visit us on the web at www.conceptsincolor.com .

Work In Progress: Hudson Oaks – Pasadena

Concepts In Color, Work In Progress
Hudson Oaks – Pasadena

At Concepts In Color we are dedicated to make your project successful.

All our painters are skilled professionals who understand the finer points of proper preparation and repair. We use superior products and you will be very happy with the results when our painters are finished with your project.

www.conceptsincolor.com

New Project: Villas at Gower in Hollywood, CA

New Project: Villas at Gower in Hollywood, CA

Check out one of Concepts In Color’s Latest Projects: The Villas at Gower in Hollywood, CA

Check out more projects from Concepts In Color, Exterior Painting in Hollywood and Los Angeles, CA

What If Your Exterior Paint Job Could Last Longer

From a professional painter‘s point of view, exterior painting is the most important home maintenance project that can be done. Often the paint and caulking is all that is stopping damage from the weather and water.

Damage to your siding alone can cost thousands to fix. This is just one surface that is vulnerable to the effects of the weather and an inadequate paint job

If you plan on doing the painting yourself be prepared, typically exterior painting will be the most difficult and physically demanding home maintenance project you will do. Exterior painting will involve considerable time and physical effort. Why not do it right and receive the best value for your money plus gain the most time before needing to re-paint.

What If Your Exterior Paint Job Could Last Longer

It’s amazing that this thin film of primer and paint lasts as long as it does! Exterior house paint must stand up to the most extreme conditions that man and nature can dish out. Plus all buildings, including your home, are constantly moving around and breathing.

This happens as the temperatures rise (expansion) and fall (contraction). To top it off wood is constantly moving, splitting and warping. Now add the weather with wind, dust, rain, hail and snow. The best results will need a good method encompassing all aspects of exterior painting.

Following the best exterior house painting tips and using the best quality materials can add years to the life of the house paint before the need to repaint. Plus using top quality painting products, knowledge and practical experience will result in lower maintenance and less repairs in the future.

To top this off, there will be an increase in the value of your home, a win — win situation.

To find out more about how exterior painting can increase the value of your home contact Matt Kimble at Concepts In Color, Los Angeles CA

Interior Painting – Who’s got time?

The most important spaces in our lives are inside our homes. Most of these spaces can benefit from a new look.

The most cost effective and quickest home improvement project is interior painting. You can transform the look of a room or your entire house just by using paint!

Interior house painting can be as simple or as elaborate as you prefer. In order to be the one in control, you need information. That’s what this page is all about. Connecting you to the basic interior painting information you need to complete the transformation of your living space successfully.

The cost savings and decorative improvement with painting a room can be substantial when compared to other improvements such as new carpet or furniture.

With the right colors, the feel of a room can change completely and become a more enjoyable living space. The use of dark or vibrant colors can add spice to a dull room. But beware. These are difficult colors to apply.

Confining vibrant colors to one wall for an accent wall is a great way to change the overall feel without breaking the bank. Painting just one wall can be a quick and easy way to achieve a new look.

Even though a do-it-yourself interior painting project is cost-effective, you must be willing to make a considerable investment of time and patience, which is not always easy after you’ve put in a full day at the office. Consider consulting a professional who can help you get the job done easily. Matt at Concepts In Color can give you a free consult to help you get started…

Concepts In Color, Inc is a professional interior and exterior licensed painting company located in the West Los Angeles area. We paint projects ranging from large residential and commercial contracts to smaller interior jobs. We offer free estimates for all house and commercial painting projects and stand by our work with a written guarantee.

Concepts In Color, Interior and exterior painting in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Malibu, Hollywood and more.