Gina writes:

For the past 2 weeks, 5 or so workers have been laboring every day to paint the outside of our house. With rainy season just around the corner, it seems to be a less-than-ideal time for this, but quite a few houses in the neighborhood have new paint jobs, so this must be the time to do it!

A new paint job only happens once ever 5-7 years, so I was excited to see what bold color scheme the landlord would choose for our house. Since a few other houses near us have also been painted recently, I thought I would share the colors of our neighborhood!

The main color chosen for our house was an olive green. It looks okay, but I was hoping for a brighter statement of color, since this is one of the things I love about India. The olive green is complimented by a deep purple, a sky blue, and a pastel purple, so there's a modicum of craziness there, but not quite enough for my tastes.




I really like the house next door to us. The bright green, mixed with navy and red, looks amazing! I don't know that I'd choose it for my house (even if I were in India), but I love how it catches my eye every time I step out into the back patio area. (The light blue wall with the glass shards borders our property.)


This monstrosity was only built about a year ago. It's a huge house, but most families in India are "joint families" meaning that parents and their oldest son's family and any children not yet married (and sometimes other family members) will all live in the same house, so it's possible that there are 10 people or more living in this house. Since the house is behind a tall gate, I played the foreigner card when taking this picture and just unlatched the gate, snapped the pic, and left!


This is the house that Margaret and Jan, another American couple of VSO volunteers stayed during their placement. It's a good example to illustrate the painting "style" where a change in texture calls for a change in color. The other pics show that, too, how a raised edge or a decorative line/shape is always painted a different color from it's surroundings. I imagine that would be fun to plan, but hard to paint!


Another house down the street from Margaret's and Jan's place.


This one illustrates the use of simple geometric shapes as a "modern" design element. It's an interesting contrast to the metal filigree windows and the intricate carvings on many of the houses. It also seems to be a popular design element with hotels built recently.


Enjoying the colors of our neighborhood always leads me to thinking about whether or not I truly like it. In the Indian context, where color is everywhere and in much bolder patterns and shades than in the U.S., I absolutely love it! In the U.S. context, I think it's too bright and gaudy. However, someday in the U.S., I would still be interested in painting my house a bolder color or at least with brighter accents. No white siding with black shutters for this girl!

What do you think? Which one is your favorite?