Foster Road farm sign

Farm Journal

Thoughts and images from life at Foster Road

 

Entry: April 5, 2010

 

Red, Rose, Pink

One color brings out the opposite in another. In principle, it’s called complementary color, but it’s not always as attractive as the phrase suggests. Choosing the color for the house was harder than I thought.

 

I love natural neutrals, stone colors. But acres of newly constructed “taupetowns” have made these colors unappealingly commonplace. Old photos show the house originally had Victorian detailing, but I can’t see a painted lady here. I  tried amethyst grey: depressing in winter. Green: disappears into the landscape. Ocher: looks like a giant squash. Peach: looks like a band aid. Yes, I can over think things.

 

After dozens of test samples I’ve found that reds look great with the brown windows and suit the historic time period and country character of the home. But the right red has been elusive. I don’t want pink, I want a light red. But what looks red on the swatch turns pink or lavender when it’s covering the side of house. I don’t want a fire engine either. Dang swatches anyway.

 

A decision had to be made, so here we go with Sentinel Red. Gosh, does it look like a raspberry?