The house colors are long-standing and not randomly-chosen; the colors follow a specific system that has been in place since the 1600s. To paint a Burano home, a request must be sent to the city council, which will respond with the specific colors permitted for that house lot. The designer Philippe Starck owns three houses on Burano (according to wikipedia). Would you or do you prefer plain white?
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My father was born and raised on this island! The house he grew up in is visible in one of the photos, but unfortunately it is no longer in the family as it was sold in the 1970s. The colors are taken very seriously, indeed, and each family thinks of the house colors as "their" colors.
beautiful....and now on my list of "must visit' locations.
Does anyone know why most of the exterior doors have curtains?
Are there any trees on this island?
They have curtains for privacy when the door is open for air.
I love places with a tradition of different colours - loved Primrose Hill in London, not quite as bright though. In Regent's Park just a mile away, not only did you have to paint Crown Cream, but the brand was specified and we all repainted every four years, for uniformity!
Hinke, there's a tree in the third picture. Also, there are trees and green spaces all over the island, but the post is about colorful exterior house paint, not trees...
nycwife, Tricia Rose is right about the curtains being for privacy. Generally in the summer, residents remove the door for a few months and put up the curtain instead. They don't have much crime to worry about.
Reminds me of houses in Mexico: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/3132218950_3f938f91f1.jpg
I love how the colors make even that tiny alley in the fourth photo feel cheerful and safe.
There are some beautiful house colors in the Caribbean. You can always find an interesting combination of colors on houses as well.
How sophisticated! Unless, of course, it's on your street. This is kind of the expert from afar syndrome at work. Just an observation - and sure, subtlety of palette makes a difference. I wouldn't turn down an invite!
Hubbah Hubbah Hubbah!!
So much depends on what the neighborhood is like. We have a color somewhere between teal and dark green, and our neighbors have sage, tan, yellow, etc. We're different but not so much that we don't fit on the block. Hot pink or orange definitely would be a problem, unless the rest of the street is full of equally intense colors. The natural light in your area also matters. Bright colors work better in tropical locales than in northern ones.