Answer:
Hey Jim, thanks for sending the picture. That definitely helps because it gives me a much better idea of the overall shape of the house and how the color will look across those larger wall areas.
I went ahead and made a realistic mockup using your photo so you can at least get a general feel for what a light silvery gray might look like once the stucco, roof, garage doors and front door are all installed.
From what I can see, I think this color could work really well on the house. You have a lot of broad, uninterrupted wall space, especially across the garage side, so the gray should read as a clean overall color rather than looking too busy. It would also pair nicely with a darker asphalt shingle roof and lighter trim around the doors, windows and roofline.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that silvery gray can change quite a bit depending on the light. Around Yuma, where the sunlight is very strong, the color will probably look much lighter during the middle of the day than it does on the manufacturer’s color chart. It may almost read as a soft off-white or very pale gray when the sun is hitting it directly. In the morning, evening or shaded areas, you will see more of the actual gray come through.
That is also why looking at somebody else’s house is helpful, but it still will not tell you exactly how the color will look on your house. Their stucco texture, roof color, direction the walls face and surrounding landscape can all make the same color appear a little different.
I do not personally know of a specific house near Yuma using that exact color that I could confidently send you to. Your local stucco supplier may be your best resource for that. They often know which contractors have recently used certain colors and may be able to point you toward a completed home that can be viewed from the street. The plastering contractor may also have addresses or job photos from previous projects using the same color.
Before the entire house is finished, I would strongly recommend having the contractor make a larger sample on the property using the exact stucco product, color and texture you selected. A sample around 2 feet by 2 feet is much more useful than the small color chip in a brochure. Put it somewhere that receives both direct sunlight and shade, and look at it in the morning, around midday and again toward the evening.
The rendering should give you a pretty good starting point, but I would still consider it an approximation. Computer screens, photographs and artificial renderings can only get us so close. The full-size sample on your actual house is what I would trust before giving the contractor final approval.
Overall, though, I think the silvery gray is a good fit for the design. It gives the house a clean, finished appearance without being overly dark, and the strong Arizona sunlight should keep it looking bright most of the day.
