Exterior colors, unlike interior colors, can have an impact on the entire street, putting a lot of weight on homeowners when it comes to selecting a palette. Furthermore, features such as landscaping, hardscaping, roofing, and so on come into play that you would not have to deal with on the inside of a house.
Use these guidelines, along with the assistance of a professional, to select a color scheme that complements both your style and the surroundings of your home.
1. Design Your Strategy Around the Elements That Are Difficult to Change
Surfaces such as roof shingles or tiles, stones, footpaths, and roads will remain in place unless you conduct a total refurbishment. Take these into account when deciding on exterior colors. Look for undertones between them that can help you decide on a palette. Are they cool (grey, blue, and black) or warm (beige, khaki, brown, and rust)? Consider paint colors that will bring these fixed pieces together in a pleasing way.
2. Consider the Architectural Style and Era of Your Home
Your exterior paint scheme should feel right for the style of your home, whether it’s a Queen Anne Victorian, Craftsman bungalow, or midcentury modern ranch. Consider a flaming orange Federal-style house or a light mint green saltbox in New England. Isn’t it amazing?
Many paint manufacturers offer collections of historically accurate hues that can serve as a great starting point for your palette, and you can also consult an expert who specializes in this field. You don’t have to completely follow historical norms unless codes for your property and community indicate differently, but don’t wander too far from them for the most appealing impact.
If you’re stuck for suggestions, a color consultant or an architect can help you come up with a combination that tells how to choose exterior paint colors for your house.
3. Consider the desired visual effect.
Consider your house’s relationship to the street and the surrounding surroundings. Is it set back from the road or amid a grove of enormous, towering trees? To make it stand out, select a somewhat lighter or brighter hue. A darker color, on the other hand, can make it appear to retreat.
4. Select Several Paint Colors
An external design consists of three key components: the dominant field color, accent color, which brings doors, shutters, and other minor sections to life, and trim color, which is used for window and door casings, roof edging, railings, and other trim.
Although some designers prefer monochromatic color schemes with only one or two colors for a modern look, the trim color should contrast dramatically with the field color.
If your main color is dark, think about using traditional white trim or similar light color. A light field color with darker trim can look fantastic – like eyeliner for your home, it creates a clean, dramatic impression. Feel free to use bright accent colors, but don’t overdo it. A door painted bright red or lemon yellow offers the perfect pop of color. Extending the same color to the shutters and gables might be overkill.
5. Never rely solely on paint chips
Exterior colors, like interior colors, might differ dramatically from how they appear on the chip. And, because painting the outside is more involved than merely painting a room, you’ll want to get it correctly the first time.
Purchase a quart of paint and try it in a non-obtrusive part of your home. Examine it at various times of day and in varied weather situations. How does it vary as the light changes? The only way to know for sure if you’ll be happy with it for years to come is to put it through rigorous testing.
