Altering your home’s exterior color isn’t just one of the bigger design decisions you will make, it’s also the most public-facing choice you will make. Exterior color not only impacts your home’s value, but can also affect your entire street, which puts a lot of pressure on homeowners to make a sound choice. Here are a few tips for choosing the right house color.
What Look Do You Want?
What is your home’s relationship to the street and landscape? Is the home nestled away back from the road or is it hidden among the trees? If it is tucked away, you may want to add a lighter color so it is visible but if it is up close to the street, you may want a darker hue to keep it complacent with the flow of the neighborhood.
Plan Around Elements that are Hard to Change
Take things like roof shingles, tiles, stonework, pathways and driveways into consideration when you choose an exterior color. Look for undertones between them that may inform your palette. Are they cool colors or warm colors? Try to choose exterior paint colors that unifies all of these fixed elements.
Consider Your Home’s Architectural Style
Your exterior paint should bode well with your home’s architectural style whether you have a Victorian, craftsman, midcentury modern ranch or a completely modern home. Could you imagine a Victorian home painted bright orange? Many paint companies offer collections of historically accurate colors, which can be a great springboard for your exterior color palette. You could also ask a designer for their opinion.
Select Three Paint Colors
An exterior scheme of a home has three major parts:
Field color - the home’s main color
Accent color - doors, shutters and other small areas
Trim color - windows and door casings, roof edging, railings and other trim work
Tip:Your trim color should be a strong contrast with the field color. If your main color is dark, consider white trim or a light color. A light field color can be offset with a dark trim. You can absolutely make accent colors bold, like a red door, but don’t overdo it where it is distracting.
Test Paint Colors
Never rely on paint chips. Buy a quart of paint and test it out and study it during different times of the day and under different weather conditions. Does the color look different on a cloudy day versus a sunny day? By testing it out, you can be sure to love it for years to come. The last thing you want to do is paint your home only to find out that it has ever-changing shades that you may not love.
Need a little help choosing the paint color for your home? Let’s chat! I can also refer you to professionals who may be able to better assist in helping you select exterior paint.