Magnolia Market at The Silos is an inspiration for a modern farmhouse color palette. On their own, The Silos are an ugly industrial setting. With the simple Joana Gaines design, the color palette makes the campus joyful and welcoming. I heard a guest say, “I came because I was curious, but it’s happier and prettier than I expected.” I absolutely agree!
Every corner is an Instagram moment, even the public bathrooms! Thank you to the Fixer Upper TV show for making this beautiful space possible.
The Farmhouse Color Palette
The foundation color palette throughout the Silos complex is black and white, a classic farmhouse color palette.The black and white colors are softened with organic colors from nature. Nature’s contribution of green for plants and brown for wood and silo rust can’t be ignored.. I matched the black and white paint colors to Benjamin Moore Carbon Copy and Glacier White. Brown warms up the black and white with wooden features such as doors, planters, beams, and trellises. Even the rust from the industrial silos warm he black and white. Green plants add texture and connect nature to the industrial spaces.
Bright Daylight Softens Colors
Exterior paint colors should always be 3-5 shades darker than your target. The buildings at The Silos look like bright white farmhouse structures, but Benjamin Moore Glacier White paint is actually a very warm and creamy color that reads bright white outside. A cleaner white paint color would look like primer.
Check out the gleaming exterior of the Magnolia Market at The Silos. Its hard to believe that this is actually a creamy white in the Texas sun and not a crisp clean white!
The tool shed near the Magnolia Seed and Supply store also has the same palette, with a match for creamy white Glacier White paint that looks like a bright white in the sunshine. The wooden door and trellises combined with the vines and plantings soften the black and white paint for a total color palette.
A Simple Paint Color Palette Gives you Flexibility
You might object to a black and white paint color palette by saying its boring, which couldn’t be further from the truth. With a simple foundation color palette its easy to change colors in an interior store. Everything matches black and white. This type of a palette becomes the background and the stage for beautiful and creative vignettes that are Instagram worthy. Below are several photos of interiors at The Magnolia Market at the Silos, where the black and white color palette is continued.
Use Green Plants to make Ordinary Amazing
The silos are an industrial site, but the plantings connect the rusted exteriors to nature. I heard someone say, “How can Joanna make something so ugly beautiful?” The answer to the question is that she connects a natural color palette to manmade structures to make them part of the natural world.
Have you ever seen such a beautiful men’s room door? If you didn’t have texture from plantings, this door would be too stark to be pretty. This color palette changes the bathroom line from a toilet to a restful wait in the shade.
I’ve seen alot of industrial warehouses in my life, but this is the most beautiful. No one looks at the warehouse when there are beautiful black lights with warm creeping vines next to it. Can you imagine how ugly this would be without the plantings? I’ve been to The Silos three times, and this is one of my favorite views.
I found this Employees Only shed tucked into the back corner of the garden. The designers didn’t spend thousands to make this beautiful, but the trees next to this entrance make it quiet and restful. You can still see the paint color and natural color palettes blending for a harmonious design.
Seasonal Splashes of Color add Richness to the Simple Color Palette
With a simple paint color palette, you can add seasonal colors to make a place look lived in, as if people really care. Joana changes the plantings in the garden seasonally to surprise her visitors. Every time I’ve visited (3 times), I’ve had a different experience because of the changing plants and colors.
I took this picture of the garden teepee the first time I visited in the Summer of 2017. This is the picture I have had on my desktop screen for the last year. I can’t stop looking at it! The teepee looks different every visit.
This photo of the tool shed in the garden was taken last fall. I love the pumpkins and snapdragons!
This pumpkin display was in the back of the garden. Yup! Our foundation color palette with white, black, green and brown doesn’t disappoint, with pumpkin colors to make it interesting.
The Verdict
The farmhouse paint color palette for The Silos is simple black and white, warmed and softened with green and brown colors from nature. The simple black and white foundation paint colors let us add seasonal richness with color. Plants seamlessly connect the industrial spaces with nature to make them look intentional and warm.
You can create this exterior with black and white foundation paint colors, warmed with wood doors and lots of plants.
Don’t forget to test your paint colors – our directions are here.
Online Color Consulting
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About the Author
Hi, I’m Michelle Marceny, founder, owner, and Principal Color Designer at The Color Concierge. I believe a fresh coat of paint can completely transform a space. The Color Concierge was born out of my drive to help clients fall back in love with their homes. My clients trust me to help them find the perfect paint color for their home – whether it’s a whole-house paint color scheme or ideas for a single room.
Since The Color Concierge was founded in 2017, we have completed over 3000 color consultations, both online and in-person. I am a Certified Color Expert with 7 years of experience creating interior and exterior color palettes throughout North America.
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Painting the outside of a small home in Utah.