A Really Big Shoe- Really

This image showed up on my facebook page the other day...

It got me wondering...

why do we think that our own houses will only have 'curb appeal' if they look like all the others?

I mean when you look at this big shoe house do you think, 'horror of horrors! nothing this awful has ever happened to this community!"

NO! You smile, you try to recall the nursery rhyme about the old woman with all the kids, you wonder how many bedrooms and bathrooms are in there (come on- you know you want to know!).

Okay, so maybe you don't want to live in a shoe. But when did we decide that our homes should be 'normal', 'neutral', and nice to be attractive? What's nice about boring, about pleasing your neighbors, about driving up to a plain ol' house day after day?

Lately, I've been driving around mentally changing the color of the homes around me (who am I kidding, I do this all the time and always have). For example...

My morning walk takes me by this quirky cute house almost every day... and every day I think of color combinations that would make this quiet little abode shine, get noticed, feel happy (it's true, I really think like this!)

I actually don't mind the quiet color combo and I'm always happy to see a house without white trim (not that there's anything wrong with it)... but what if these were the colors I walked past every day?

[caption id="attachment_6215" align="aligncenter" width="493" caption="Body- Pratt and Lambert Ashford"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6216" align="aligncenter" width="493" caption="Trim (including gutters)- Pratt and Lambert Stetson"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6218" align="aligncenter" width="493" caption="Shingle trim along roof line- Pratt and Lambert Free Spirit"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6221" align="aligncenter" width="494" caption="Porch Roof- Pratt and Lambert Mica"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_6217" align="aligncenter" width="492" caption="Front door- of course! Pratt and Lambert Sumac"][/caption]

Actually, wouldn't the shoe look better in these colors too? (see, it never stops with me)

Stay tuned for more houses that I think are just begging to be painted and see what I'd do to add a little 'sole'.

Chime in with suggestions of your own! Post a picture on my facebook page of a house in your neighborhood (maybe it's yours?) that you've always wanted to change and tell me what colors you'd choose. Curb appeal, shmurb appeal- this is your chance to consider any color, any combination you want without worrying one bit about what the neighbors will think. See you there!