Creating the Perfect Color Scheme for a Bungalow Style Home

[Haleigh]

The American Craftsman Bungalow, a popular architectural style during the arts and crafts period (1910-1925) is one of my favorite styles, and I love the earthy colors that were used by designers and architects of the period.


Today, I'll give you some color schemes for traditional bungalow homes using standard color theory, with some gray and yellow-based greens as the primary colors in the schemes.

There are many formulas that can be used to determine the best complementary and contrasting colors in an exterior or interior palette, but to get started, I'm showing only one formula for each base color.

Based on the first shade of green, a palette of three contrasting hues (found at equal points around the color wheel) offers a deep, rich color combination with a tapestry-like effect.

To keep this palette from being overwhelming, it's best to maintain the focus on a single color, and use the additional 2 colors as accents.

For the second shade of green, a more muted gray-based green, I've chosen to use a different formula, combining similar hues found at 45 degrees around the color wheel:

This palette lends a peaceful, serene feel to any space, either interior or exterior.

Using the third shade of green (another gray-based green), I've opted for a more traditional monochrome color scheme, using the original color and two variations of the same hue - one lighter and one darker.

For professional spaces and home exteriors, a monchrome color scheme is often preferable.

If you have a color that you'd like to see made into a palette for your next project, let me know. I'd love to help.

[D Tovey]

OK - you asked for it - haha!!! This is the kitchen - sort of - what the previous owners did and started, but never finished - there are currently 12 different colors of paint flying around - and five layers of flooring that has to come out - planning to gut the cabinets and basically start over. We love earthy colors and stone and wood - I would like to use rusty/brick red (but not too much) and some ambers and greens - we are looking at black and stainless appliances. And I want to make stained glass for some of the cabinet inserts and windows - have not quite found the "inspiration" to kick off the design plan yet - comments welcome...D

[Haleigh]

D,

Love the house. Can you post pics of the inside rooms that you want us to help you with?

The best way to combine modern and classic styles is to use one element from each era. For instance, use a shape commonly used in mid-century modern era, but create a modern color palette that's more in line with your decorating style. Or, if you really like the mid-century colors, use a more modern tile material in a retro-inspired palette of colors.

If we can see the rooms you're trying to redesign, and get some idea of the traffic flow between the rooms, it will be a lot easier to get started.

Keep Coloring on the Walls!

Best,
Haleigh

[D Tovey]

I am planning to redo our 1947 bungalow farm house and I am looking for inspiration for a whole house color plan for every room. The outside has had a cream color vinyl sinding added by a previous owner and we are using it for now. The roof and gutters are chocolate brown and I want to use a brick red as an accent color on the trim and also the front door. My big challenge inside are the kitchen and bath plans and I want to do a tile backsplash in the kitchen, but really want it to look different - I am not going for an authentic period look - more of a modernized twist on the craftsman style to play off the orginal architecture. Any ideas or comments are welcome - thanks.

[Max]

Terri Ann,

You bring up a great point here. If you're getting ready to sell your home, color can be a huge help or a huge hindrance. In the current economy, I would definitely say that you should stick to more traditional palettes, like the second and third ones above, rather than the bolder colors in the first palette. That way, you offer your buyers the best of both worlds - an attractive color scheme, that can still be adjusted to their personal tastes without requiring a complete "overhaul" on the color scheme.

[Terri Ann]

The colors here are beautiful, I love the calmness they create. I think too, that even if you were planning on selling your home in the future they would be colors that the new home buyer for your home would want to keep as they wouldn't be hard to add other colors to .
Thanks for sending this Haleigh, I will be passing this forward.