Color Consulting in East Memphis, Built Around Your Brick and Painted Gables
A lot of older East Memphis houses share a look: one and a half stories, brick veneer, painted wood in the gables, big hardwood trees out front. The brick isn't going anywhere and the shade shifts every color near it, so the color consulting East Memphis homeowners get from us starts with those two things.
Fallon Caldwell, trained under Maria Killam, walks your house in East Memphis or meets you by video anywhere in the United States. You test large painted samples on site, and she puts every color in a written sheet that our crews follow.
- Gable, trim and door colors chosen around your brick
- In person in East Memphis, by video anywhere in the United States
- Fees start at $675.
What do older East Memphis houses have in common?
Brick veneer, painted wood gables and big hardwood trees out front. High Point Terrace is a good example: the neighborhood is on the National Register of Historic Places, and its National Register nomination describes houses built mostly from 1940 to 1952: cape cottages, double pile cottages and ranches. Most are one and a half stories in brick veneer with weatherboard gables, on streets lined with mature hardwood trees. The nomination also says the double pile cottage turns up throughout older East Memphis.
For color, that adds up to two fixed points. The brick stays, so its undertone decides the palette. And the trees cool everything down, so a white that looks crisp on the chip can look dull once it's up under the eaves.
What colors suit a 1940s or 1950s house?
It depends on the style. A cape cottage with a little Colonial Revival trim usually looks right with a calm scheme: one color for the painted wood, a trim color that gets along with the mortar, and a door with some personality. A long, low ranch reads best when the trim doesn't chop the front into pieces.
Fallon also looks at what's been changed over the years. Replacement windows, a newer roof or a gutter color somebody picked long ago all become part of the palette, so she plans around them instead of pretending they aren't there.
What's included in an East Memphis consult?
A walkthrough of the rooms and outside walls you're painting, or a video call if that suits the project better. Then come samples, which we can provide, and Fallon has you look at them on the brick, under the eaves and in your darkest room, at more than one time of day.
Everything lands on a written color sheet with the brand, color name, code, sheen and location of each color. Hand it to our crew or to anyone else.
Who picks your colors?
Fallon Caldwell does. She and her husband, Bart, run Caldwell Painting together, and she leads our color consulting. She trained under Maria Killam, and it shows in how she begins: with the undertones in the things you can't change. Old brick can lean orange, pink or brown, and the right gable color depends on which.
She's also part of the company doing the painting, so the crew isn't interpreting her notes. They're painting her sheet.
"Thank you Caldwell Painting for your wonderful color consulting!!! You all are truly experts in this field, and I highly recommend your services to any/all considering hiring you."
J. and A. M.
Do you need Fallon at the house?
For an exterior, nearly always. Brick and shade are hard to judge on a screen, so an in person visit is the better call.
For a single room, a kitchen or a quick refresh, a video consult works well, from across town or anywhere in the United States. The color sheet looks the same either way, and there's more about video consults on our main color consulting page.
Outside, inside and the kitchen: what does Fallon look at?
If the outside is due for paint, it comes first. Fallon works from the brick and roof to settle the gable and trim colors, and our exterior painting crews work straight from her sheet.
Inside, Fallon chooses one trim white and one ceiling color for the whole house, then fits each room's walls to its light for our interior painting crews. Kitchens get judged with the counters and floors in view before our cabinet painting shop takes the doors. If you're lining up painters too, see our painters in East Memphis.
From first photo to finished sheet
- Send photos of the house, the brick and anything that's staying.
- Fallon walks the house or calls you on video.
- She brings it down to two or three directions.
- You live with the samples for a few days.
- She writes your color sheet.
- We paint it, or you hand it to your painter.
Common questions from East Memphis homeowners
My East Memphis house is brick with painted gables. Where do we start?
With the brick. Fallon reads its undertone first, whether it leans orange, pink or brown, then picks the gable and trim colors to suit it. The mortar matters too, since it sits right beside the trim. Once those agree, the front door and shutters are where you can have some fun.
Does High Point Terrace's National Register listing limit my paint colors?
Not by itself. The National Park Service says that under federal law, National Register listing places no restrictions on what a private owner does with their property unless the project involves federal funding or permits. Local laws can still apply, so if you're unsure about your street, check with the city before a big exterior change like painting brick.
Why does my white trim look gray under all these trees?
Shade. Under a big canopy, whites pick up the cool, green cast of the leaves and lose their brightness, especially up under the eaves and on a porch ceiling. Fallon tests whites exactly where they'll go and often lands on one with a little warmth in it, so it still reads as white in the shade.
How much is a color consultation in East Memphis?
Fees start at $675. It's the same starting point for an in person visit in East Memphis as for a video consult. If you tell us what you're painting when you reach out, we can talk through what's involved before Fallon comes out to the house.
How long does a consult take, and when do I get my color sheet?
Usually about 2 hours. A whole house inside and out can stretch into weeks of back and forth as samples go up and the list gets shorter. Your color sheet shows up within a week or two, depending on how in depth the project is.
Let's start with the brick
Send a few photos of the outside, a close shot of the brick, and the rooms on your list. Fallon will take it from there.
A lot of older East Memphis houses share a look: one and a half stories, brick veneer, painted wood in the gables, big hardwood trees out front. The brick isn't going anywhere and the shade shifts every color near it, so the color consulting East Memphis homeowners need starts with those two things.
Fallon Caldwell, trained under Maria Killam, walks your house in East Memphis or meets you by video anywhere in the United States. You test large painted samples on site, and she puts every color in a written sheet that our crews follow.
- Gable, trim and door colors chosen around your brick
- In person in East Memphis, by video anywhere in the United States
- Fees start at $675.
What do older East Memphis houses have in common?
High Point Terrace is a good example. The East Memphis neighborhood is on the National Register of Historic Places, and its National Register nomination describes houses built mostly from 1940 to 1952: cape cottages, double pile cottages and ranches. Most are one and a half stories in brick veneer with weatherboard gables, on streets lined with mature hardwood trees. The nomination also says the double pile cottage turns up throughout older East Memphis.
For color, that adds up to two fixed points. The brick stays, so its undertone decides the palette. And the trees cool everything down, so a white that looks crisp on the chip can look dull once it's up under the eaves.
What colors suit a 1940s or 1950s house?
There's no single right answer, but the houses give hints. A cape cottage with a little Colonial Revival trim usually looks right with a calm scheme: one color for the painted wood, a trim color that gets along with the mortar, and a door with some personality. A long, low ranch reads best when the trim doesn't chop the front into pieces.
Fallon also looks at what's been changed over the years. Replacement windows, a newer roof or a gutter color somebody picked long ago all become part of the palette, so she plans around them instead of pretending they aren't there.
What's included in an East Memphis consult?
A walkthrough of the rooms and outside walls you're painting, or a video call if that suits the project better. Then come samples. We can provide samples, and Fallon has you look at them on the brick, under the eaves and in your darkest room, at more than one time of day.
Everything lands on a written color sheet with the brand, color name, code, sheen and location of each color. Hand it to our crew or to anyone else.
Meet Fallon Caldwell
Fallon and Bart, her husband, run Caldwell Painting together, and she leads our color consulting, East Memphis included. She trained under Maria Killam, and it shows in how she begins: with the undertones in the things you can't change. Old brick can lean orange, pink or brown, and the right gable color depends on which.
She's also part of the company doing the painting, so the crew isn't interpreting her notes. They're painting her sheet.
"Thank you Caldwell Painting for your wonderful color consulting!!! You all are truly experts in this field, and I highly recommend your services to any/all considering hiring you."
J. and A. M.
Do you need Fallon at the house?
For an exterior, nearly always. Brick and shade are hard to judge on a screen, so an in person visit in East Memphis is the better call.
For a single room, a kitchen or a quick refresh, a video consult works well, from across town or anywhere in the United States. The color sheet looks the same either way, and there's more about video consults on our main color consulting page.
Inside, outside and the kitchen
Outside comes first if the house is due. Brick, roof and gable colors get settled first, and our exterior painting crews work straight from Fallon's sheet.
Inside, Fallon chooses one trim white and one ceiling color for the whole house, then fits each room's walls to its light for our interior painting crews. Kitchens get judged with the counters and floors in view before our cabinet painting shop takes the doors. If you're lining up painters too, see our painters in East Memphis.
From first photo to finished sheet
- Send photos of the house, the brick and anything that's staying.
- Fallon walks the house or calls you on video.
- She brings it down to two or three directions.
- You live with the samples for a few days.
- She writes your color sheet.
- We paint it, or you hand it to your painter.
Color consulting East Memphis: common questions
My East Memphis house is brick with painted gables. Where do we start?
With the brick. Fallon reads its undertone first, whether it leans orange, pink or brown, then picks the gable and trim colors to suit it. The mortar matters too, since it sits right beside the trim. Once those agree, the front door and shutters are where you can have some fun.
Does High Point Terrace's National Register listing limit my paint colors?
Not by itself. The National Park Service says that under federal law, National Register listing places no restrictions on what a private owner does with their property unless the project involves federal funding or permits. Local laws can still apply, so if you're unsure about your street, check with the city before a big exterior change like painting brick.
Why does my white trim look gray under all these trees?
Shade. Under a big canopy, whites pick up the cool, green cast of the leaves and lose their brightness, especially up under the eaves and on a porch ceiling. Fallon tests whites exactly where they'll go and often lands on one with a little warmth in it, so it still reads as white in the shade.
How much is a color consultation in East Memphis?
Fees start at $675. It's the same starting point for an in person visit in East Memphis as for a video consult. If you tell us what you're painting when you reach out, we can talk through what's involved before Fallon comes out to the house.
How long does Fallon spend at the house?
Usually about 2 hours. A whole house inside and out can stretch into weeks of back and forth as samples go up and the list gets shorter. Your color sheet shows up within a week or two, depending on how in depth the project is.
Let's start with the brick
Send a few photos of the outside, a close shot of the brick, and the rooms on your list. Fallon will take it from there.