I just enjoyed a three-day visit to the Phoenix, Arizona area. Though it was hot – like the temperature of hell – it was the perfect weekend to enjoy some time tubing on a river and visiting with family. The sprawling suburbs of Phoenix are interesting (well, maybe that’s not the right word to use); the town has great roads – smooth, recently black-topped, bike lanes everywhere, and they’ve kept up with the population growth by putting in new freeways making it easy to get around town. However, the majority of the town consists of chain restaurants, lots of Walmarts, shopping centers, and thousands of housing communities – all in a varying shade of beige. It’s as if someone poured 5 different cans of the colors of beige over the town and called it a day.
Don’t get me wrong, I like beige, but in small quantities. The architecture in that city blends almost too well with the environment to the point of camouflaging the town. So what’s up with the beige? Looking up some information on color palettes, beige seems to have a few advantages in that city:
- It reflects light without blinding your neighbor. The beige color schemes keep the buildings a little cooler without a harsh reflection.
- It blends in with the desert. Apparently, the citizens of Phoenix (or at least the HOA boards) feel the buildings should camouflage with the scenery.
- It’s a neutral color that most people can agree on. Wanna sell your house? Keep it neutral and appease everyone.
However, I also feel there’s a strange Stepford wife syndrome going on in this town and it begins with that darned color beige. Couldn’t the residents decide on a few color choices other than beige? What about burnt orange and teal? Red, green, light blue – those are desert colors too. When people think “Southwest”, colorful often is an image they picture – not a monochrome color palette. This got me thinking; how could a resident add in some color without getting fined by their HOA? Here are a few ideas that might get the green light:
- Choose a colorful entry. Paint your door a dark, burnt orange with some light yellow trim. The house might still be a boring beige, but your entry can be a little more colorful.
- Add a rock facade. Rocks seem to have a few more colors naturally embedded in them.
- Paint the trim. If you can’t change the color of your house, you might be able to get away with adding a little bit of color in the trim.
- Add some colorful shutters. Inside or out, depending on the restrictions of your community. One house I noticed a little more than others added interior shutters in a light green giving the house more color.
Of course, choosing an older home or finding a more flexible HOA might also open up the color possibilities (90% of homes in the Phoenix area have an HOA). For some Southwest color inspiration, check out this photographer’s site: Ancient Light Gallery.
Do you live in a community with an HOA? Are you restricted to a certain color palette?
14 Comments
I think it has something to do with tradition and desert look of the town. Maybe a bit of architectural preservation as well. Phoenix is a desert town and it is always hot there. the color of the town somewhat made my comfortable in a hot sunny days (but I was there for three days only).
@Martin – It definitely helps reduce the heat factor, but there are other lighter colors. The entire town just blends too well into the desert. 😉
When I live in a house, we had CC&Rs that stipulated a color scheme for the community despite not having a n HOA. I now live in a gated townhouse community where the HOA Board determines the color shades (not beige). Since I am on the board, I help decide the color scheme.
@Krantscents – I’m sure it helps being on the board. I just don’t know why every single community in the Phoenix area decides on beige.
I live in a Phoenix suburb and know what you’re talking about. Newer neighborhoods, neighborhoods farther from the middle of town, and more upscale but not ridiculously rich neighborhoods are the most homogenous, not only in color, but also in style. And they’re bigger and close together.
We don’t have an Hoa, nor do we have a beige house. Our front is brick.
In this part of the valley, there are lots of mom and pop shops — mostly restaurants — but there are large areas where there seems to be nothing but chains. It’s kind of depressing.
@Heat – I like the older communities in the Phoenix area, they aren’t are homogenous. It’s the newer ones that are much too monotonous for my liking.
When I was down in the panhandle of Florida, I noticed that more buildings than not were either white or beige. You also see very little brick compared to what you see here in the Midwest. It seems everything is stucco. Never could understand that.
@Money Beagle – Stucco is very popular in the southwest as well (CA, AZ, NM, NV, etc.) I’m guessing it has something to do with reflecting the light and standing up to the heat, but it does get a bit boring. I like a little brick, stone, or clapboard every now and then. 😉
If you think that’s bad, try coming down here. A trip to Miami will give your eyes that complete opposite reaction, they’ll be begging you to stop looking lol. The houses are all different colors with bright, pastel paints. It’s sometimes tough to handle. But, your experience is what the explosion led to–a lot of cookie-cutter communities with houses that all looked similar.
HOAs can be a pain, but ultimately (if they are run correctly) will help maintain or even boost the property values of the homes within the community. My parents have one and while they do have a fairly strict color palette and some other rigid rules, they also make sure that landscaping is done, driveways are weed free and maintained, roofs are cleaned, etc. It makes for a much nicer place to live when everyone is caring for their home (even if they are forced to).
@Eric – I’m sure there are HOA benefits, like making sure everyone cares for their house, but the beige color palette in every neighborhood is just so bland. I’m surprised more people don’t try and sneak some color in here and there. Miami might be too colorful, but the extreme opposite is just as bad!
This reminded of our recent trip to Savannah, GA. In the historic downtown there we saw lots of colors. We even saw a pink house. I go to phoenix often but never thought about the monotonocity you observed.
I don’t thrive in an environment that’s too much the same. I’d rather see a little bit of grit that brings variety than beige that keeps everything looking nice.
But obviously many people disagree with me (and you too). Or Phoenix would look very different.
@Pamela – I think some of the older communities are more colorful and less monotonous, but it’s very bland throughout the town.
Definitely the beige has to do with the desert colors of the SouthWest. Not a problem we have here in Louisiana!