Thanks

Paint color: Benjamin Moore™ OC-30 Gray Mist

And cross post this on the Home Decorating forum for additional ideas.

There's a lot to work with there architecturally -- it has good bones and interesting symmetry, etc.

A lot of people think contemporary = "neutral". But the fact of the matter is neutral is black, gray and white. Everything else is a color. And the paint colors for exteriors are rarely really neutral, they're colors.

Contemporary exteriors can often be about contrasts more so than actual colorfulness or lack of colorfulness.

One area to look at could be value -- all the colors from roof to body are rather even in value, all about the same lightness/darkness. Manage the contrasts correctly, and to an extent --- just an extent --- it's possible the actual body color won't be that significant in bringing the aesthetic of the exterior to a place that meets your expectation for " modern contemporary".

I wish I had time to paint it this week, but I just don't. If your post is still here next Tues or Weds I can do a virtual and show you what I mean.

I don't get why this house doesn't look as dull and dead as mine?

If we take at look at what it is showing us, we can see that it's a black roof. Your roof is a dark gray. Subtle difference? Yes, but when you're coloring exteriors it can come down to subtle differences in values.

It's not like interior where there is more of a spread as far as how you can manage contrasts, the light and darks. Exterior is kind of like stage make up -- you know how performers have to do make up to an extreme in order for it to show under the lights and from far away in the audience.

Same thing with an exterior. You have to up the drama with color contrasts. It has to be more extreme, ratcheted up in color contrast -- it is what can be the difference between an exterior that looks okay and an exterior that's fabulous.

Your roof color takes up a lot of visual real estate. And it is close to a mid-value gray. That means if you want the modern/contemporary pow!, you're going to have to make some big color decisions. Bigger than beige or an unassuming gray.

I'd love to see what an Icy light blue looked like. Mid-value gray roof, bronze windows, your geographic location and icy blue for the body of the house --- that could be fab. But you'd have to buy into the blue.

Could be the bestest, most well-crafted exterior color scheme, but if you don't like it, if it doesn't resonate with you, then it doesn't matter. It's not the right color idea.

I need to look for an actual exterior icy blue paint color to refer you to -- I'll post back tomorrow when I have better light.

What are the colors of the pool tile, liner, etc.

Changes the look!

First, because it is a better photo. And the curving roofline, multi-stories, huge windows, landscaping, and pool are all drawing you eye around the photo. The paint is a backdrop to everything else. It's like seeing a dress on a fashion model and then trying to figure out why it doesn't look that great on you. No offense to your house at all - I would love to own it. Lush landscaping would change it a lot.

However, this is a good case in point that you can't make sweeping judgments about exterior color because you never know when or how a specific color could play out to be a good solution...

It's taking me a lil longer than I thought it would...

For the house color?

It strikes me as tho you really are not loving the paint colors you've tried so far. And, kinda being honest here, if you don't like it, you don't like it and how many plants is it going to take to patch over that fundamental color reality.

Nail the fundamental armature, the color of the structure, the bones of the curb appeal and it can wear whatever miscellaneous accessories you want to throw at it -- pots, plants, walkways, a single tulip.

You should not have to rely on transient elements in order for your house to have good curb appeal. Plants come and go. Stuff grows. Stuff dies. It's an ever-changing living accessory to the structure. The structure is the core, the mainstay out from which everything else evolves. It should look good, from an architecturally aesthetic point of view, even if there's only one blade of grass.

Ideally landscaping is an enhancer to the exterior. Not a band-aid for less than stellar exterior color choices.

Again, the fashion model analogy works: models can have great bone structure and lovely skin, but many of them look awfully plain jane without makeup.

If you're stuck with a plane house, can't paint, can't look objectively at what could be made better from an architectural point of view, then landscaping makes a great band-aid. Easier to dig a couple holes than paint a whole house or put on a new roof.

But if you're at the point of a remodel, why half-azz it. If you have the opportunity to get the core of the curb appeal right, that armature of appearance, why not look into what it takes to get what you really want.

It is an option to try landscaping first. But what if she still doesn't like the color? Landscaping is expensive and is it really a good suggestion to do landscaping first and THEN let contractors at the house to repaint for a color change? I dunno. I'm not seeing where letting painters *into* the new landscaping for a repaint is a good plan.

If the window is open to get get color right, nail the aesthetic you want for curb appeal, I tend to take it because ya never know when that opportunity will come around again.

House was ordinaire, paint color horrid, ginormous garage similarly horrid, black-top driveway super-horrid....but those gardens made all the difference in the world. :-)