In 2019 we completed painting the interior Chapel of the Niwot Campus of Rocky Mountain Christian Church, the church leaders again hired us to paint the exterior of the Frederick Campus in Frederick, Colorado.  The Frederick Campus is a unique building with concrete, rusted steel, composite wood and metal trimmings.  The colors of the church were faded, chipped, outdated and needed a modern update.  We knew we were up for the challenge of painting this beautiful building for Rocky Mountain Christain Church.

We started by examining the current colors at Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Frederick, in looking at the current colors we are able to determine what works and what does not work to begin the process of pinpointing the perfect colors. The existing colors were reds, yellow and greens. Although the colors were great In their time it was important to move forward by creating a new color scheme.  The Rocky leadership team wanted to incorporate colors that were updated, welcoming and fit nicely with the Colorado aesthetic by  incorporating earth tones.  The colors also needed to coordinate with the updated interior as well as the colors used in graphic designs such as the website and branding material.  The colors also needed to withstand the harsh colorado sun and ever changing weather, the previous golds and reds had not fared well in the elements and we needed the new colors to age well.  The final requirement was that the colors would have to not only be approved by Rocky’s leadership team but also the city planning department. With a long list of requirements and a team of people to please we set out making dozens of color schemes.  We tried trendy combos of navy, white and gray, but worried the maintenance to keep those colors clean might be too much and the trendiness might wear poorly over time. We also tried subdued colors of dark greens and reddish-browns but feared it lacked the welcoming and modern feel we were all going for. This project was a perfect example of utilizing our design help offered by our Color Consultants, this can be an important part of the process.  Our color consultant helps to offer many ideas but also helps to narrow those ideas down to a working group of 2-3 color schemes that meet the needs of the project. The next step is often testing and sampling the colors, a paint chip is a great place to begin but a larger painted sample can really help weed out color combos that don’t work or hues that don’t perform well in the sunshine. Our in-house color consultant is a service offered at no additional cost and often saves our clients time and money by avoiding costly mistakes and solving design problems by looking at not only current needs but also how the project will age with time. In this case the design team offered many different ideas that allowed the clients to narrow down their ideas to a few great choices and then finally to a color that everyone agreed they loved. 

After exploring dozens of palettes, going back and forth between design and the Rocky team we were able to explore many options and come up with two schemes. In the end the color we all kept coming back to as a winner was Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze SW 7048.  We knew that Urbane Bronze was a popular color, with an elegant finish and a good depth of tint.  Not only was this color great in interior use it had a similar depth and dynamic presentation for the exterior. In addition to being a great color, it suited the requirements as an earth tone and a color that would age well, easy to keep clean and overall low maintenance.  The color palette was starting to take shape.  

Now we needed to find colors that complimented Urbane Bronze and met the other requirements.  

Like many projects we often utilize paint colors from Sherwin Williams, the colors are vibrant and true as well as being consistent from batch to batch. Other paint manufacturers can sometimes lack that consistency and when purchasing 400 of gallons of paint it is critical to maintain a consistent product. Also we usually provide Sherwin Williams Color decks to or clients when picking their colors because we purchase primarily Sherwin Williams Paint.  We do, however, purchase Benjamin Moore and Behr upon request.  

To compliment Urbane Bronze we knew we needed a warm beige that was lighter than urbane bronze so it would create a subtle contrast adding interest to the exterior while not

Overdoing the contrast in order to not be too dramatic and compete with the architectural features of the building, specifically the beautiful richness of the orange shade of rusted corrugated metal.  In this case we sought colors from Benjamin Moore and felt that Berkshire Beige was an excellent fit.  This Color perfectly complements the Urbane Bronze from Sherwin and made a nice match in both tone and light reflectivity.  

Together these colors, combined with the decorative rusted corrugated metal on the building provided a brilliant combination of earth tones that were coordinated with warm undertones and neutral hues. The decorative rust picked the dark umber undertones in the Urbane Bronze and the Berkshire beige did the same, bringing together a good harmony.  The color combos were  able to meet all the needs laid out by the leadership team, city approval followed quickly and the painters were set.  prep and paint began and the project was completed!  Leaving another happy client.  

The process to paint the building was similar to other commercial buildings we have painted.  We used Loxon primer, with a Super Paint top coat.  This combination of products delivered a superior coverage and lasting color.  Nearly 2 years later the paint has maintained its original luster, depth of color and durability. 

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.