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janbanks_gw

hardiplank: sage, red or bark?

janbanks
16 years ago

I'm in great need of some feedback on colors for our house. The top contenders are hardiplank Mountain Sage (greenish); Countrylane Red; and Timeber Bark (dark brown). The house sits in the middle of a farm field, surrounded by green grass, corn, beans. No trees.

DH feels the Mountain Sage might just get lost in all that green. (comments?)

I love the Countryland Red but fear it might be "too much" (however, the house sits 700 feet from the road. People going by most likely will not be shocked by the red) Anyone use this red and still love it?

Timber Bark is the safe choice but I'm afraid it might get boring. Builder thinks the Timber Bark will look nice against the green surroundings.

Trim in all cass would be Sail Cloth or Navajo Beige.

(If it matters, the house is a ranch type with walk out basement, hipped roof. Looks like one level from the front, two levels from the back, rather LONG house.)

Hardiplank colors here:

http://www.jameshardiechicago.com/ (somewhat accurate)

Thank you!!

Jan B

Comments (18)

  • va_rosemary
    16 years ago

    Wow, that's such a personal decision. Have you looked at other houses with these colors to see which ones really grabbed you? We looked at houses in our area for months until we saw the combination that we both really loved. We decided on Monterey Taupe since we really liked how it matches up with the stone we picked. The interesting thing about these colors is that they look so different during different light conditions. I sometimes "visit" our inspiration house and sometimes the hardi is more green, sometimes more grey and sometimes more beige.

    I know I probably didn't help you much, but I would suggest looking at houses that already have these colors before making your decision. Also, are you going to be living in the house for a long time? If so, then you may want to go with the red that you love. If not, than you may want to pick more of a "safe" color. I'm sure it would be lovely, but I don't think I could live in a red house--just personal preference.

    Good luck!

  • janbanks
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks Rosemary - It's really hard to find houses that use hardiplank *and* the colors we are looking at. I've seen a few houses that use vinyl in a shade very similar to Timber Bark. Other than that, I'm trying to decide based on the samples and whatever I can find on the Internet. Luckily, I've found a few Mountain Sage houses, such as Sandyponders, which is beautiful, and a few Timber Bark houses through Google searches. I'm afraid that in the long run, that Timber Bark will get old. We sure hope to be in the house for many, many years... But hardiplank can always be painted, right? ;-)
    JanB.

  • hoosiergirl
    16 years ago

    Did you play with the design center on the Hardie site? (www.jameshardiedesigncenter.com)? That might be of some help. Or maybe you could post asking for Photoshop help. The decorating forum is fantastic for that!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Hardie Design Center

  • lakeaffect
    16 years ago

    janbanks-

    ITA about the Timberbark, it's a snoozer. Of course I love Mountain Sage, but I also like the red and had the opportunity to see it last week in a showroom. It's a lovely deep red color that doesn't pull brown (or maroon) at all. They had it paired with black shutters and bright white trim (definitely not Sailcloth) and the white seemed stark, so I think the warmth of the Sailcloth would be beautiful.

    We strongly considered the red (with Sailcloth and deep sage windows) but we live in a heavily treed area and wanted the house to blend in, so went with the Mountain Sage. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with either one, but if you're asking for opinions, the red seems very farmhouse like to me and if that's the look you're going for, go red. If you're going more Craftsman or contemporary ranch (for lack of a better word), then I would go green.

    And FWIW I don't think the red will overwhelm at all, especially 700' from the road. I think the contrast with the grasses would be nice with either color, as the sage is not a grass green, it's much more of a grey green.

    And, yes, Hardi can be painted and it allegedly takes paint well. I'm hoping not to experience that first hand for another 15+ years tho...

    Good luck-

    sandyponder

  • janbanks
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    hoosiergirl - I did play with the design center. It's fun but sadly not accurate colorwise. The JH website has a section called "colorplus homes near you" which I assume will allow customers to find homes in their area so they can go look at them. However, it's under construction right now "coming soon."
    Sandyponder - Thank you for your comments. This has confirmed my feelings about Timber Bark and made me feel much better about the red or sage. I'm making progress.
    JanB

  • msu_girl
    16 years ago

    Red! If you are going to the extra expense of hardiplank, you should use it for all it's worth. The other colors are sort of typical of vinyl. The red should really last in hardiplank- I would go for it for sure!

    ps- you could add some sage accents to really make it pop.

  • kileyray
    16 years ago

    We had a hard time picking our exterior color of hardiplank. I really wanted a dark brown but dh wanted a blue or green. We did a lot of driving around looking at colors but found it didn't help because we couldn't tell if it was a James Hardie product or not. We also couldn't tell if it had been painted after delivery.

    We were at the building supply store picking out our windows and mentioned it to the guy who was helping us with the windows. He went into computer and looked up the stock number for the colors we liked and then checked back a month or so to see where they had been delivered to. It was nice to drive by a house and know the exact color.

    Don't know if this is an option for you but it would be worth a try. You could also ask your builder.

  • lesliem
    16 years ago

    You have probably selected your color by now but when I saw this I couldn't believe someone else was struggling with the same 3 color choices! We ended up using the Mountain Sage on our farmhouse on 3 acres and it looks fantastic (white trim). Everyone comments on it - we are sooooo happy with the green!

  • jenanla
    16 years ago

    We are staining our house with Cabot's Barn Red. I've always loved red houses and are so glad that we have decided to go with it for our new house.

  • bevangel_i_h8_h0uzz
    16 years ago

    One other thing you might want to take into consideration is whether you are building in a hot or cool region of the country. Dark colored exterior walls absorb more heat (especially if you don't have trees to shade the house) so if you're somewhere where you have more days that you need the A/C than days when you need your heater, you might want to rethink your colors.

    Here in central Texas, we only have about 2 months per year that we really need a heater and about 9 months per year when we run the A/C. So, much as DH and I would both prefer a deep dark colored siding like that red you mention, we're sticking with a cream-colored cement siding and using the darker colors for the trim only.

  • brutuses
    16 years ago

    I might suggest you post a request on the decorating forum. There are a couple of ladies who do photo make ups with different colors. If you can post a photo of your house they can simulate the colors and you can see what each one looks like.

  • fayemarie
    16 years ago

    I have a ranch that sits 500 ' off road on a heavily wooded lot . I went with sand
    colored Andersen windows , cultured stone on front of house 4' up wall and then am using the red hardiplank . I wanted the house to be noticeable from the road and thought the color would look more rustic . Plus it will go well with the
    surroundings - esp. in the fall . I love all the fall colors and the house colors remind me of Fall all year round. I also thought the red would really set off the landscaping well . Good Luck - Faye

  • chompskyd
    16 years ago

    I have little sample boards of the Hardie colors. I took them to Lowe's and asked them to color match a couple of my favorites so that I could paint a couple of big boards and move them around in different light. The colors don't match exactly, but it was still helpful. (Of course, I still haven't made up my mind on color though.)

    Anyone with the Mountain Sage: Does it look olive-y to you once it's up? My sample does in certain light, but I also think my sample is slightly darker than the real Hardie color.

    I've seen sandyponder's pictures, and it looks so nice. Lesliem, I'd love to see a picture of your house. Do you have one posted somewhere?

  • jean_hortman_yahoo_com
    16 years ago

    I'd love to see pictures of a house done in Mountain Sage (Hardie) does anyone have a picture on-line of their house in this color. Would you be so kind to post a URL to the picture? We are also thinking of all 3 of these colors. I agree that Timber Bark will be a "snoozer." But so many people are recommending neutral. I love the red, and the only reason I haven't already selected Red is that our garage is detached, and my husband does not want a red garage -- too barn-like. So I've compromised and will install a new RED roof. So I would very much like to see Mountain Sage on a house. Anyone have pictures? thanks so much! regards, Jean (see my house pics, before new siding. I'll post after the siding is installed.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Jean's house

  • lakeaffect
    16 years ago

    jean hortman-

    Here are a few pics of our house sided in Hardi Mountain Sage with Hardi Sailcloth trim and Cinnamon Toast (Eagle brand) alum windows. We are very happy with the color, tho I also love the red, for us the final decision was our home style and setting, we just felt the green was better suited to both. Our shingles are Elk Prestique series Balsam Forest, a kinda black/brown/green.

    Fall early morning light:

    Bright summer sun at midday:

    Late afternoon light, summer:

    sandyponder

  • emilynewhome
    16 years ago

    I think your home looks so beautiful! The color choices you made really work well with the surroundings. I notice in the first photo your neighbor's home has a brownish red color, so I think choosing Mountain Sage was a good decision!

  • walter34
    15 years ago

    I recently finished a job with 5" lap mountain sage and staggered shingle khaki brown. The mountain sage looks great in all lights, so does the khaki.We also used red for the accent and windows (Marvin Wineberry) If you are using any siding, Hardi is far superior to any other product.

  • mariella_puerto_gmail_com
    15 years ago

    We completed an exterior makeover to our 90 year old two-family house in Boston with Hardie Colorplus Mountain Sage and are very happy with the color. The color is very pleasing to the eye and goes with the bungalow/craftsman look we were going for. The trim is Azek that was painted white and and terra cotta for the columns. We thought the contractor was going to leave the Azek trim unpainted but he probably painted because the smudges and dirt would have shown up otherwise.
    {{gwi:1454343}}