Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Choosing Colors

[Kay (argyle]

> ... have your architect select all the colors.  
> They will be bolder.  You are less likely to 
> end up with a grey community.  

That depends on the architect.

When it was color-choice time, our architect offered indistinguishable
medium mud colors for the stucco, with tan, rust, or grey shingles; and
"color"-coordinated dull brown, tan, blue grey, or grey green counters,
vinyl flooring, carpets, and bathroom tile.

Some members were totally fine with the choices offered.  Personally, I have
enough problem with depression without living in a (literally) grey world.
Both having respiratory problems, my room-mate and I didn't want carpet at
all. 

The group asked for another go-round, specifying lighter stucco to reduce
heat gain, more variation, and more color.  (Some people wanted all the
buildings the same color, but others pointed out that they were already
mostly identical in style -- being the same color would be Too Much.) We got
back lighter mud colors that at least were distinct from one another.  

Another person who wasn't happy laid hands on a brochure from the stucco
manufacturer, and we pounced on a soft yellow (which incidentally turned out
to have the least heat gain).  The architect wanted one of the shingle
choices eliminated; instead, a forth choice of green got added.  (We did
narrow the stucco surface finish to a single troweling pattern.)

There were supposed to be three color schemes for the trim -- pine, rust, or
plum.  The contractor balked, and the choice became either white, or white
with plum facias and railings.  Two-thirds of the group stood aside, and we
got plum.  (Some concensus decision, huh?)

My room-mate discovered the cabinet installer was buying only as much
laminate as he needed that day on his way to the site every morning (the
color restrictions were supposed to save money through "bulk buying"), and
was amiably willing to get any pattern we liked.  Thus we were able to get
pretty countertop (violating process), but no such luck with the carpet.
Being too environmentally p.c. (as well as too scotch) to rip out a
perfectly serviceable, if ugly, carpet, heaven knows how long we will be
averting our eyes from it, and sneezing from the dust mites.

Re maintenance:  The top coat of stucco contains the pigment, so it doesn't
need (re)painting.  We've had to get a few spots patched, from defective
installation on one building and a car backing into another.  

The window trim paint started peeling the first year.  Last year (fifth year
on-site) a couple of community members to did most of the repainting for
pay.  Fortunately the member who fell off a ladder during a work party
caught hold of a gutter on the way down, which slowed his fall.  So include
his medical bills and the gutter repairs in the cost.

So far the plum stain is holding up well enough that the issue of whether
households get to repaint fascias some other color hasn't been dealt with.

Kay
Wasatch Commons