Choosing Colors For The South Charlotte Homes

I've often mentioned that I work mainly in the South Charlotte area so I thought it'd be nice to talk about South Charlotte, what type of homes are there and touch base on the process of designing a palette for these homes.

First of all, where is South Charlotte? The towns in South Charlotte are mainly Ballantyne, Wesley Chapel, Marvin and Weddington. Prices range anyway from $349,000 to well over a $1,000,000. The homes are very large, mostly new homes, gorgeous custom builts and homes that have beautiful open floor plans.

What does a typical home in South Charlotte look like? Well, there are the custom homes that are very large, unique and usually have high end materials from the best granite to gorgeous wood flooring.

Then there are the “cookie cutter” homes. These home are still typically large, about 3500 sq. feet, and have a two story open floor plan. They are very close to their neighbor because land is fairly expensive and will have the same layout on the inside but sometime the builder flips the layout to change it up a bit.

So in a nutshell, these are basically the two style of homes I work with. Both are beautiful and both have their pros and cons like any other neighborhood. More common is the “Cookie Cutter” home so I'll be talking more so about this style of home.

Here I've included a very typical layout of these homes. Generally, you walk into a large, two story foyer. On the right is a sitting room/office and on the left is the dining room.

As you enter into the home there is a large family room that ideally may also be open to the kitchen and the second floor area. The main core of the home here of course are these main areas and it's imperative to choose a color palette that transitions from room to room.

Now this home I'm showing you is for sale and does have a really nice layout - however - since it's for sale, the colors may hinder the sale of this potentially beautiful home. It's not that the colors are bad, some people like strong colors, it's that these colors are not the best choice to bring out the homes full potential. Here's what I mean.

I just LOVE this rich butterscotch color but it may be too overwhelming the second you walk into the home. I does kind of hit you in the face but it's definitely a 'make a statement' color.

How would I change it? Keeping in mind there is a lot of wall space here that opens up to the second floor, I'd soften it up a bit and choose one of the colors that are in the area rug. Doing this not only is easier on the eye but it also starts to tie in the decor of the home by incorporating the area rug.

Now the dining room is the one room where  I like to choose a darker hue. The green is not bad and would actually match the new foyer color but I'd like to give it a milk chocolate color.

It looks like they used the same color for the living room and the foyer.  I just think it's too much. I would again soften it a light brown - keeping the dining room color in mind as well.

DESIGN PEEVE #1:

I just don't like the TV over the fireplace! I think it's an eye sore and it takes away from the beauty of the fireplace. You don't have to have a TV in the LR folks, especially if you don't have the proper place to store it.

DESIGN PEEVE #2:

Please do not keep the switch plates that the builder has provided for you - especially if you have a dark or bright color on the wall. With the contrasting colors, the white or cream switch plates really stand out and it's NOT a good look. I know it's expensive to purchase 4 dozen new plates for this size home (I know because my home is the same size) BUT - you can spray all the plates in your home for just  a few dollars. I sprayed my plates Hammered Gold (my walls are Gold Buff by Behr) and it looks beautiful!

Huge problem in many of the homes here in South Charlotte - the dreaded 'orange cabinets'. Not sure what the builder was thinking using orange cabinets and a 'yellow' tone floor but it's really a challenge to make these kitchen tie in with so many undertones. I chose this warm gray and it really looks nice with the countertops and just softens the look of the kitchen.

Here we see the butterscotch color again in the master bedroom. Sometimes when people really don't know what colors to choose for their home, they pick 1 color and use it throughout the entire home - I've seen this dozens of times but it's usually with a more neutral hue.

Since the bed is so big and heavy, I went with this blue/gray which is strong enough for this big room and will compliment all the orange woods you see here. I really like this color!

For the master bath, I took out some of the gray in the bedroom color so it shows more as blue. Nice color choice for the lady of the house who usually likes the spa bathroom. Again, this blue will look perfect with the orange tone tile you see here. Brushed nickel hardware also looks perfect with these blues. 

Before

After

So here you see how I've changed the color scheme. It went from only using three colors to having six colors throughout the house. Also keep in mind this home is selling so the colors should be soft and somewhat universal for the potential new homeowner.

Since the home is large, it can easily hold at least 6-8 colors comfortably. Now the colors that I choose will softly transition from room to room as you can see in the 6 colors that I've provided here. If I choose 6 distinct and unrelated colors than you'd have a “patchwork quilt” looking home. Not a good look.

I also choose colors that can be mixed and matched. Keep in mind that when you choose color for, lets say the kitchen, it's chosen to suit the lighting in THAT room. If you take the kitchen color and put it in the dining room, it will look slightly different because there will either be less light or more light making the color appear either lighter or darker.

Keeping that in mind, I always tell the client that if you have an extra room like the basement, laundry room or just an extra guess room, feel free to choose any of the 'base' colors I've provided because you know that it'll match with the rest of your home.

If you're hesitant to choose color for your home, you can contact me to choose a color scheme for you.

Donna Frasca

A Color Specialist in Charlotte, catering to the

South Charlotte homes.