Here is a house which is a nominal example of Drag Queen Architecture.  Aside from the decorative flourishes atop two windows, the only alterations to the character of this house were made with color.  As a Colonial Revival style house – likely built in the 1920’s – this house was intended to have a rather conservative and traditional appearance.  The current owner appears to have wanted a Queen Anne Victorian and has used color in an attempt to “Victorianize” the house.  At least I’m guessing that’s what the goal was.

Teal, red and white (on a body of beige) compete to pick out details that were never intended to look this way.  When this house was built, all wood trim (door and window frames, eaves, brackets, porch posts, etc.) would have been painted the same – most likely white.  The body of the house may have also been white or a pale hue such as yellow.  The recently-added flourishes over the window suggest the “Victorian” theme while color fractures the unity of trim treatment which once existed.  The dark teal also calls undue attention to the lone bracket beneath the center of the eave and to the discrepancy in width of original window frames and the narrower ones of the side addition.  The porch posts appear detached from the roof they support and compromise the intended visual strength of the entry.  The best way to bring out the character of this house would be to remove the things over the two windows, paint all of the trim white, and paint the body a pale color such as yellow or gray.  For more stature, functioning shutters or blinds could be added to the windows and painted a dark green or black; the door should be of the same color.

A house will almost always look its best when it is true to its inherent style.

Color can make – or break – the appearance of a house.