Victorian Home | Shannon Kaye Color in the City

So, here’s a quick re-cap:

BEFORE

This charming Victorian was faded and cracked- that is- until CertaPro Painters and I came in to the rescue....

AFTER

With a little updating on the colors and color placement, this house sparkles again

Painting the window frames a different color than the trim adds dimension and shows off beautiful architectural elements

I chose to emphasize the sunburst details on the first floor and balance that colors with the rectangle shapes just below the roofline. If those upper shapes weren't painted to stand out, most poeple would never really look past the sunbursts- they're beautiful but there's so much more to see!

Keeping the color plan simple can require lots of editing and thoughtful decision making before brushes ever hit the house. Here, painting the entire door, trim, and transom one color with the porch details in the trim color, opens up the space and makes a dramatic statement. Selecting one more color just for the ceiling panels really adds an elegant and finished look. The overall feel is airy, sophisticated and welcoming

And I just couldn't be more happy with the outcome. Gotta love it when a plan comes together. Thank you, George for your amazing efforts and the work of your crew! The place looks amazing if I do say so myself. I'm like a proud mama putting my little stamp on this little old San Francisco Lady.

It’s not a cocktail or a proposition- it’s San Francisco’s iconic Victorian style house. Known for their gingerbread details and vibrant paint colors, many of these homes survived the big earthquakes and post-quake fires of 1906 and 1989.

"William and Grace McCarthy Collection, (Audrey Fullerton - Donor)," 1906 AC 96-07-08 California State Archives Sacramento, California

Recently I had the good fortune of color consulting for one of these beauties on lower Haight Street just a block or so above what the proud owner called “the fire-line” of the earlier quake. We had to consider the history of this home but also create something unique and thoughtful for today’s aesthetics.

Here’s how it all went down:

From a distance the house looks sweet and faded...

But closer inspection reveals water damage, crack paint and faded color.

So, I gathered everything- pictures of the house, a sketch the owner provided, my big color chips, and of course, a mocha for the creative fuel I so needed for this one- it had to be perfect, but no pressure!

The home is actually owned by a non-profit group so when my ideas were set we all met up to review the plan. The painter, George Irving at CertaPro Painters, offered to do a mock-up- a section of the house he painted to spec so we could see it before giving him the final green light.

Painting samples on the house is still, hands down, THE best way to see how your efforts and investment will turn out. We met again over the mock up, made some final adjustments and approved the whole plan.