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Sometimes it’s what’s on the outside that counts. In “Front of House,” we dig into all the elements that give a home “stop the car!” kind of curb appeal, from main character mailboxes to much–welcome yard transformations.
When you picture a pink facade, the sorbet-hued row houses that line the streets of Charleston, South Carolina, or La Maison Rose in Paris’s Montmartre neighborhood will likely come to mind. Even the fictional kind (yes, we’re referring to Barbie’s Dreamhouse) might cross your imagination. Cute, Instagram-y, and not for me, you’re probably thinking. But what if we told you that pink can absolutely read like a neutral on a house’s exterior—it all just comes down to the swatch. Ahead, we uncovered seven pink-painted homes that are chic and vibrant but don’t make the shade their entire personality.
The 1950s Pink
The hue: Sweet Pea by Porter’s
This Australian beach shack has seen the rainbow over the last 70 years, but when sisters Emma Read and Sarah Hall bought the place and learned that its original color was pink, they decided to bring things full circle by painting it this peachy hue.
The Happy Townhouse Pink
The hue: Modern Love by Backdrop
Jen Levy marked her move from New York City to Baltimore in the least NYC way possible. Rather than go with a cool shade of blue or black, she swathed her once-gray townhouse in Backdrop’s Modern Love—a hue that reminded her of the Band’s debut studio album, Music From Big Pink. “The house is also only painted on the front and it’s 15 feet wide, two stories, so it wasn’t a huge cost commitment,” says Levy. She gave the white trim a fresh coat, too, and opted for an edgy dark door.
The Cool Desert Pink
The hue: Berry Crush by Behr
Interior designer Rae Rockwell gave her contractor a sample of Behr’s Berry Crush to mix a custom stucco color for this Flamingo Heights, California, house. The choice was both inspired by the purple prickly pear cacti around the property and by a photo from El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas, of a pink trailer with yellow patio furniture. She fell in love with the color combo. “We wanted to do something different while everyone else was doing black and white exteriors,” says Rockwell.
The Sun-Baked Desert Pink
The hue: Rose de Mai by Dunn-Edwards
According to this Yucca Valley, Califonia, home‘s designer, Claire Thomas, the birds like to hang out by the front door—we’re not surprised. The coral-pink tone that she chose for the Airbnb is utterly delightful when the sun is shining, but when the shade hits just right, it turns into a cool mauve escape from the rays.
The Modern Mellow Pink
The hue: A Benjamin Moore mashup
And And And Studio blended several Benjamin Moore colors to end up with this superpale pink home in Atwater Village, Los Angeles. “We wanted a pink that was just right: soft but a little perky, vibrant but mellow and understated…it took many tries but we got it,” says designer Annie Ritz. Looking through the brand’s fan deck, we like to think the combo could have involved Rose Silk and/or Queen Anne Pink.
The Restored Pastel Pink
The hue: 1-3402P by Berel
In case you need another reminder that pink is a classic exterior color, meet Casa Lorena. It is located in the historic Mérida district in Mexico City and is part of what was once a home from the beginning of the 20th century. The designers at Workshop were tasked with its restoration and, during the exterior reno, chose a hue that would honor its original pastel palette.
The Storybook Pink
The Hue: Custom limewash
So far, we’ve seen plenty of flat pinks, but don’t take texture off the table just yet. While designer Emma Ainscough doesn’t recall the exact limewash they used at Charlotte’s Folly, the vacation rental pictured above, she was “keen to give the cottage a whimsical, gingerbread-house feel.” Color Atelier has a lime paint called Pink Topaz that can be applied outdoors and, dare we say, it’s a near perfect match.
