Does it feel like everyone is painting their home’s exterior white? Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a white house and it was the initial color I was wanting to paint my house, but unsurprisingly my next door neighbor painted their house white, which took white out of the running for me. My home is a colonial style with brick and lap siding that I am painting. I chose the window color before I decided on the exterior color and went with a creamy off-white from Sierra Pacific called Linen. Because I want a more historical look, I felt an off-white would be best—no matter the exterior color—and I’m really glad I did.

I live in a part of Utah that is engulfed in trees, where I have an incredible view of the Wasatch Front mountain range. Most of the homes around me are from the ’60s and ’70s and include a range of styles from Ranch Ramblers to Colonials to Cape Cod style. I’ve always said the best thing about Salt Lake City is that it’s unlike anywhere else because a particular style of home doesn’t dominate the architecture of the area. Unlike places like Phoenix or parts of California, Utah embraces a hodgepodge of styles, and we are lucky enough to be able to say, “anything goes.” For this reason, it was difficult to settle on an exterior paint color when I could choose from literally dozens of options.

Picking my exterior color was a bit of a roller coaster. First, I started with a white or light grey color like this:

Then, Instagram began to influence me and I started loving a really dark color like this:

Decision paralysis set in so I enlisted the help of my amazing team of designers. We all went out to the new house and unanimously felt when we were on-site that a medium color would be best. The really dark exterior just didn’t seem to fit the neighborhood when we were on-site. It felt too dramatic and not as timeless. Make sure to take ALL factors into your exterior paint decisions - like your neighborhood, landscaping plans, and the materials on your house. So we decided on something like this:

My ultimate goal with my new house is to be timeless and classy. Going too white or really dark were both starting to feel a bit too trendy for me, even though I love the look.

I am leaning towards something warmer and am going to try out Farrow & Ball Mouse’s Back (what is up with that name?!) and give it a shot!

Prime Minister David Cameron used Mouse’s Back on his Shepherd’s Hut in his backyard and it really inspired me! I think it looks really pretty.

Finding the right exterior is hard for everyone I’ve found, and I am no exception. I wanted to find a beige/green/gray color and it’s been near impossible. I don’t even know for sure if Farrow & Ball Mouse’s Back will work but it is my top pick right now! I am waiting for the brick to get installed and then I’ll paint big samples right onto the house! I have found that paint looks a little different on brick texture so I don’t think a paint board will do the trick this time.

Wish me luck! If you know of any other great beige/green/grayish colors that you think I should consider, I would love to hear them!