Would You Live in a Red House?
Everyone seems to have a favorite color house. My first house was blue, the second one was a creamy off-white. My current home is butter yellow. But truth be told, I’ve always loved a red house!
Photo by
Most red houses are converted barns, which seem to be growing in popularity.
Photo by Ryan Bent Photography
Rich red and blue create a charming house in the woods.
Photo by C Kevin Coffey Dwellings | Design
A storybook red house looks cozy and inviting in a sea of pine trees.
Photo by Lands End Development – Designers & Builders
Dark trim is a great complement for red siding, and this two-story farmhouse wears it particularly well.
Photo by Sears Architects
Here’s another gorgeous, barn style home cloaked in red. The first photo is the front, the photo shows that the rear of the home is equally beautiful.
Photo by Yankee Barn Homes
Photo by Yankee Barn Homes
Another craftsman style red house shows its charm with fun details like matching porthole windows.
Photo by MAC Custom Homes
Red paint looks good on a wide range of house styles. A deep rich red is always a good choice for a classy look.
Photo by Dependable Renovations Ltd
Normally a new house like this one would be finished in neutral tones. I love that they chose red instead of taupe or off-white.
Photo by Timberlake Homes
How about a charming little guest cottage finished off in red and white!
Photo by Gensburg Toniolo Harting Architects
So what do you think? Could you live in a red house? If yes, do you have a favorite of the ones shown here?
More House Inspiration to Enjoy:
Bungalow House: An American Classic
The Return to Small House Living
I don’t know why but the red homes seem depressing to me. ???!!! It’s pretty obvious that the folks in them love them though.
I don’t see too many red houses in our area, but once in a while you’ll find one. I always like them – and I’ve never been a huge fan of red so it’s weird. We all have our quirks!
The red seems totally suited to a rustic, “Barn” look. I’m a big believer in letting the house itself dictate style and color inside and out. So with me it depends on the house itself. Great photos of beautiful homes. have a great weekend!
I’m with you, Debra! I feel like houses are meant to be a certain color and speak to you.
We live in a red house on a tree lined boulevard and it’s fabulous, especially in the fall and winter. It was wimpy blue when we bought it twenty years ago. People stop all the time and ask what our colors are. It’s incredibly happy.
Susan – your home sounds wonderful! I’m glad you were brave enough to give it a shot of red!
What color red is your home? & what color trim & door? I’m helping my son pick colors & he really wants red. I’m hesitant but it is his house!! He also is surrounded by a lot of trees in a mountain town. It’s so hard to pick the right red!
Check out Benjamin’s Moore New Pilgrim Red ES-21 and Sherwin Williams Cheyenne Red SW3043.
Don’t judge by your phone or computer display.
We’re currently trying decide between those two and a Dark Green, Benjamin Moore Dakota Shadow 448.
These are beautiful! I probably would not choose red, but if I had the chance to live in one of these, I would!!
Hi Hilary!
They’re all beautiful homes, aren’t they?
Red is not my color choice but, if one of these were for sale i believe i could put up with the color. Nice homes!
Hi Marlene,
I don’t think most people would choose a red house, but for some reason I’ve always loved them. I think these red houses would probably look good in almost any color. 😉
I love red houses so long as it is on the dark side of the red color wheel and depending on what trim color is used. I do not like the white trim with the bright red house, but the dark blue trim on the dark red house is amazing. My favorites are probably the storybook house and the rustic new build.
There is a red house – somewhat barnlike – that I pass frequently when I run errands. It is in a city subdivision but is so well done that it makes the more neutral homes look plain and uninteresting.
My house color is light gray – one of the neutral colors required by my HOA. I would live in a red house in a minute!
Hi Pat! I’m not sure why most HOAs only allow soft neutrals. I think brighter colors can be done tastefully. It’s like cars – most people choose gray, black, or white – but I’ve always liked fun colors for cars. 😉
I may have a neutral light gray house, but my choice of car color for the past 25+ years has been RED, two out of 3 times. I think a red car in the driveway of a light gray house looks good – and it goes with my red front door. 🙂
If I were to do red, it would have to be the RED of Swedish houses, not the RED of most of these houses.
I’ve always loved red Swedish houses! Great choice, Jo Ann.
I’m having a house built and am back and forth on whether or not to go with this bold choice. Originally, my husband and I were thinking of doing red accents on a primarily gray house. After seeing 2 or 3 red ones in the new housing development that are stand-out red though, we might just do an all red and white house! Hopefully the neighbors don’t hate us for it.
Hello Jennifer,
I am from Southern Alberta, Canada. I look forward to your blog and beautiful pictures/ideas every week! Our climate is dry and the winters can be long and rather harsh at times. With that in mind, when we renovated our home 10 years ago and had to replace the siding…my first and foremost choice was red! I have never regretted the beautiful country red with a crisp white trim and cottage-style black shutters. In every season, it has its charm. The red really pops out in the snow covered winters and gives our acreage a cozy, cheerful and inviting look. In summer, with our flowers blooming and our bright yellow garden shed as well as our red chicken barn complementing the house and surrounded by many trees, I never tire of the red colour we chose for our home. Perhaps left-handed people prefer red over other colours,,,so I’ve heard!
Hi Treena! Thanks so much for being a loyal blog reader! Your property and home sound amazing. What you wrote reminds me of houses you see in the Scandinavian countryside. They have a lot of red houses – probably to add more color during their long dark winters. Or maybe most of them are left-handed. LOL.
I wish you would send me a picture of your home. We are getting ready to put siding on our house and I am leaning towards FIREBRICK. I really hope that I don’t chicken out. We live in the country, back in the woods and it seems right.
So many shades of red and so many beautiful homes! Thanks for sharing. I love them all.
So glad you enjoyed it, Linda! I try to keep things interesting. 🙂
I love red houses. My favorite would be the first one and ofcourse…the last one. The cottage.
Hi Debbie!
I think those two are my favorites, as well!
Love most of these shown. I would prefer the barn like house but the others are certainly interesting. Do not care for the blue trim as it is too dark for me, but more power to people trying it!! Thanks so much!!
Hi Shirley!
I like the barn-like house too!
In a heartbeat!! My favorite color is red! I can’t have red outside…except every red flower known to man :^), but I use a LOT of red inside. I know it is not a current fad, but we even have a red dining room. Sometimes at Christmas I leave the crystal chandelier turned on all evening, and strangers have been known to knock on the door to ask to see the entire room. Yes, call me a crazy old lady, but we let them in :^).
This has been a lovely blog post….thank you!
Blessings,
J
I’ve always wanted a red house and ran across your blog post while searching red houses. I’ve decided to just go with it. I love Sherwood Williams Hirsch Red and am not certain about the coordinating colors. I’m thinking a black, Pewter, and cream.
Red houses are darling…and daring. It shows too that the owners don’t want to be blend in. They want to pop- red houses make me happy so I’m painting mine red! 🙂
Thanks for the post.
Oi, estamos nós mesmos pintando nossa casa de vermelho e já estamos amando, embora ainda falta pintar as janelas. Moro no sul do Brasil, aqui também poucas pessoas pintam a casa de vermelho, mas está ficando linda.
Do you believe red barn look will be a trend in 2021? I love the look but don’t know if you go for it for ny tiny house…
I love in a newly built red house- it is my favorite thing about my home! We live in a sea of beautiful but neutral houses and we chose red to stand out a bit more. It’s daring but with our colonial style home, it works 🙂
The vibrant barn red is what attracted me to my home! It’s stands out but in a good way. It hasn’t changed in 200 years and I don’t plan to.
What’s a good grey color for trim on house.
Hi I have a red metal roof and antique red brick with darker tones. I just had a pine fence put up but can’t decide what to stain it. The red combos are not my favorite but I don’t think I will paint either. I love dark colors but don’t want my house to look drab. I am thinking a semi transparent whitewash for fence and carport siding and charcoal for garage door
Hi! I’m just having my little house painted an antique red after 30 years of being white. I just love it! It looks so cozy and almost “story- book like.” I like white but this “red” is a welcome change!!
Hi!
We bought a red ranch house last year! Shingles are black, trim white and have black shutters. The color is similar to the last photo. I think I prefer the color on a two store home with more architectural depth. I am looking for a front door color (currently white), do you have any suggestions?
Thanks