Rocky Mountain Christian Church (Rocky) contacted us for another project, this time it was for the exterior of their campus in Niwot, Colorado. 

The exterior of the Niwot campus was being overhauled with a new roof by StoneScape Steel Roofing.  The old roof was a dated style red stucco.  StoneScape installed a new dark charcoal color CEMENT roof (not sure of the type of material). They also repaired worn out fascia and gutters. 

With a new roof, fascia, and gutters it was time to paint the exterior as well.  

The exterior was a classic red brick with a warm tan stucco and dark black accents. The leadership team wanted to create a lighter and updated color scheme that would feel fresh and welcoming for their busy church. The additional consideration for this color consulting was the requirement to get approval from the county of Boulder.  Boulder county is known for having strict guidelines and we knew finding colors that matched the new roof, had leadership approval and gained approval from Boulder County would require us to look at a lot of colors and find a great combo!  

The first meeting with the Rocky leadership was a brainstorming and problem solving discussion on the vision for the Niwot Church campus. We brainstormed and discussed options and consulted the facilities manager who shared his opinions about maintenance and upkeep and was able to help us understand any unique issues and concerns of the building. The biggest question we had was whether or not to paint the red brick or leave it unpainted. We examined color combos that incorporated painted and unpainted options. In the end we all determined that painting the brick would give the greatest transformation and an overhaul to the design while also providing the church the warm and updated look we were trying to achieve.  

We looked at over ten different color schemes that varied from blues or greens to whites and creams and in the end we were again wanting to coordinate with the overall look of the Frederick campus while also complementing the Colorado landscape by using earth tones. We determined we wanted to paint the brick a different color than the stucco and to bring in a fascia and accent colors that would tie into the dark roof. 

At this point we then moved closer to light

Creams, whites and neutrals As the leadership team approved the lighter white colors for the building, the County of Boulder denied their request stating that the building would be too bright and white. So we went back to the drawing board.  

Our search for the perfect combo continued as we looked for a white that would not be too bright, but instead of a depth and warmth that would not feel stark or sterile for the exterior. Our Color Consulting expert, Katy, sampled well over 25 color options for the white that would cover a majority of the building.  The consensus was to paint the brick a darker, complimentary color that would create a high contrast and work well with the charcoal roof color. 

It was essential to a successful outcome that the color combination was done right, to be the right hues, the right balance of light reflection and the right tones to go with the roof.  After multiple samples, examining the colors in various light (morning, noon, afternoon and dusk) and the weeding out the wrong colors. We came down to our final choice for the Stucco, Anew Grey by Sherwin Williams, SW 7030.  This color has a nice balance of the cool neutral of a grey while also maintains a warmth of a creamy beige and remaining very light with a light reflective value of 47 that means the color has a brightness and depth even in low light.  The balance to this main body color, the darker more grounding color for the brick really needed to have weight and depth, but also classical elegance. The color for the brick was decided after many samples and combos were explored. We chose Urbane Bronze by Sherwin Williams SW 7048.  Urbane Bronze has been chosen by Sherwin Williams as Color of the Year for 2021. You can read more about the Sherwin Williams Color of the Year here.  It’s a brilliant color with rich warmth and yet classical weight and elegance. For the Urbane Bronze exterior, it brings a timeless feel that in some lights brings deep iron colors and on others rich blacks, warm browns and charcoal colors.  Bringing these two major color players onto the building and considering the charcoal roof, there needed to be a color that would provide a grounding and balancing effect.  Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams SW 7069 (tie into article

About iron ore on other pageS)  was a perfect tie in to trim the edge of this beautiful new roof and also tie the main body colors of the building together.  

It was a pleasure to work on this project and not only be a part of the Color Consulting process and design choices with them, but to paint their building, which is far more than just color consulting.  Painting the building and the paint type choices involved not only choosing a cost effective product, but also a primer that will bind to the brick and the stucco alike for the best adhesion.  For the Sherwin Williams product choice, Super Paint was the natural choice to create long lasting protection and beauty.  The under coat, or primer, was Loxon by Sherwin Williams.  Loxon is designed to adhere to masonry and concrete or stucco type surfaces and bind to the top coat product for the perfect marriage of products creating lasting beauty and protection.  

Overall, from concept to production, this commercial painting project was awesome to do and the Rocky Mountain Christian Church and its leadership team was amazing to work with.  This is our fourth project with this team and we are thrilled to be their Color Consulting and Commercial Painting Company for a long time to come.  

If you are interested in Exterior Commercial Painting or Color Consulting, you can request a free estimate by clicking here: Schedule An Estimate

If you would like to speak to us directly regarding your Commercial Painting Needs, you can call our office directly at: (720) 213-8792.

We look forward to adding you to our Long List of Happy Clients.