What We Can Learn about Paint Color from “Prettiest Painted Places in America” (sm)

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Paint Quality Institute, formed to educate the public about paints and coatings, periodically searches for the prettiest painted communities in America. By looking at the towns and neighborhoods that have won top honors in its “Prettiest Painted Places in America” competitions, we can learn a lot about exterior paint color selection.

“Past winners have come from every part of the country, and they’ve run the gamut from historical towns to sparkling new, planned communities”

Debbie Zimmer, paint and color expert for the Paint Quality Institute, says that the winning communities in its competitions are often very different from each other. “Past winners have come from every part of the country, and they’ve run the gamut from historical towns to sparkling new, planned communities,” she says.

They do, however, have one thing in common: All of the communities take great pride in their appearance. Some go so far as to specify or regulate the exterior color palette.

Whether exterior paint colors are specified or not, Zimmer says that virtually all of the past “winners” have been awash in color. “Homeowners and business owners in most of the places embraced color as a decorative medium. They knew intuitively that colorful painted exteriors added curb appeal and helped make their communities special,” she says.

A common characteristic of homes and buildings in the winning places was the way they made the most of their architecture. In many cases, different surfaces and architectural elements were painted in different colors to make the details stand out.

The use of multiple colors was commonplace. Color schemes often employed not just two or three colors, but four, five, and more. The complex palettes gave texture to the architecture and celebrated the details.

According to Zimmer, there was also fearlessness about paint color, which might be expected in the beachfront towns. But even inland, understated color schemes were frequently punched up with a bold accent color or two.

What can we learn from these beautiful places? That color is a powerful way to enhance the appearance of any structure. We have to paint for maintenance purposes anyway, so why not create something special with our color scheme?

The next time you plan to paint the exterior of your home or business, take a long, hard look at the exterior. Are there ways to highlight its interesting architectural elements? What if you used four paint colors instead of just two or three? How else can paint color help embellish the exterior? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself.

And, don’t be overwhelmed by the many paint colors available today. You don’t have to go it alone when creating an exterior color scheme. Check out the literature at your local paint store and you’ll find beautiful color-coordinated palettes that can serve as guides. Some paint companies even have color “visualizers” that let you see how different color schemes would look on your home or business.

By the way, after a 12-year hiatus, the Paint Quality Institute is in the process of conducting another competition to find the “Prettiest Painted Places in America” right now. You can follow the search on blog.paintquality.com, where you’ll see which communities are in the running. . .and, in October, which are chosen as the country’s 12 most beautiful painted places!

For more information on exterior paints and color, visit the Paint Quality Institute blog at blog.paintquality.com or the Institute’s website at www.paintquality.com.

Editors Note: Visit our image library for images that accompany this release, http://www.paintquality.com/media-center/press-releases/downloads/pr-images.html

About the Paint Quality Institute (SM)

The Paint Quality Institute (SM) was formed by Rohm and Haas Company (now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”)) in 1989 to educate people on the advantages of using quality interior and exterior paints and coatings. The Paint Quality Institute's goal is to provide information on the virtues of quality paint as well as color trends and decorating with paint through a variety of vehicles, including television appearances, newspaper and magazine articles, and instructional literature. Please be sure to visit the Paint Quality Institute at www.paintquality.com.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2011, Dow had annual sales of $60 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 197 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.