You can do things here with color that you can't elsewhere. There are also colors that do not work well here because of the climate and quality of light. Quality of light differs depending on where you live and is affected by humidity in the air, amount of sunlight v. cloud cover, latitude, and longitude. Of course cultural aspects, local materials, and architecture style all play a role with colors, but for today, I'm talking about the colors of the desert.
Certain colors do not work well on houses in the desert: white and pastels. (Unless it's on a roof: the white roof coatings reflect the heat.) There are two main reasons these colors do not work: glare and reflection from the sun (white will blind you on a sunny day) and pastel colors are often washed out by the bright sun, as are light colors that are toned with a lot of grey in them. Light, subtle colors just don't have the oomph you need. Save those tints for the Pacific Northwest. You also do not see much black used unless it's used very sparingly, such as iron work and window frames. Black absorbs so much heat that it's a problem for exterior features that people touch or are near: handrails, stairs, decks, verandas, benches, etc.
(The images below are from different cities in Arizona and New Mexico)
Notice that these are real colors, not wimpy colors! These colors are fun too. Also notice that in the case of the top image (the historic adobe), the brights are used sparingly because the body color of the house is natural adobe. But you also see whole houses painted in surprising colors.
The color schemes in some of these photos are used on real adobe homes as well as stucco homes that are made to look like adobe. The bright, gleaming colors contrast with the textured natural earth color of the adobe. Sometimes you will see homes and courtyard walls in bright colors such as this gold home on the left. (Image courtesy of Trans Mineral USA)
Tinted lime plaster is becoming very popular for new high-end home construction emulating modern Mexican architecture, such as the image below from www.casatulco.com.
Here are some of my own ideas for some beautiful exterior color palettes that would work well for the desert southwest. Notice I didn't use any paint brands, colors or names! That is because I specify several brands of paint and didn't want to favor one brand's colors over another for these color palettes; plus these colors will not appear exactly the same on every computer. So use these as ideas and inspiration.
If you are interested in special, custom color schemes for your home or whole neighborhood, drop me an e-mail. Mention you read this blog and I will give you a 15% discount on your next color project!
Cheers, Reb
PS: The cobalt blue wall seen in the bottom image is the lime plastered walls of my own Arizona courtyard.
