As I looked out my window recently, I realized how bland and boring most of the houses are around me. (This picture is my house in summer.) It's winter, the grass is brown, the trees have no leaves, and all the houses are beige. Mostly the same shade of beige.
Some of it is people wanting a neutral house color. The house I had built when I lived in Minnesota was also a beige color, so it's not as if I don't understand. The difference is that my neighborhood up north had houses of many other colors. Here? Everything is beige around me.
I blame the Homeowners Association to a large degree. We have drive through inspections and woe be to the family that has a few weeds in their yard or has their garbage can visible from the street. They even have to approve what color you paint/stain your fence.
Um, I didn't know this when I had my fence painted, but I chose a nice, neutral, unoffensive stain, so I didn't get squawked on the inspection tour.
The blandness isn't quite as noticeable when everything is green. Maybe you can see this in the picture? The green seems to offset the beige and make it seem nice. In winter, though, it just adds to the dreariness.
