See How 5 Color Palettes Look on 1 Charming Exterior
We used photo-rendering software to visually transform this home to show the dramatic power of paint
Painting the exterior of your home can be a large and expensive undertaking. For this reason, you want to get the colors right the first time. Rather than defaulting to whites or off-whites out of fear of making a color mistake, take a look at more unusual color options while keeping a few caveats in mind, as discussed below.
1. Blue-Green
Let’s stick with blue for the siding but go with a greener and more vibrant shade. This hue has a good bit of gray in it, so it’s not overly bright. When considering colors for the main body of your house, you typically want to stick with colors that have gray or brown in them, which keeps them from going neon in the full sun.
Let’s stick with blue for the siding but go with a greener and more vibrant shade. This hue has a good bit of gray in it, so it’s not overly bright. When considering colors for the main body of your house, you typically want to stick with colors that have gray or brown in them, which keeps them from going neon in the full sun.
Not sure how to tell if a color has gray or brown in it? Gather swatches of the various tones a color comes in. You will see that some of the colors seem brighter and purer in color, while others seem duller or more subdued.
Cool colors can be neutralized all the way to gray, and warm colors to beige or brown. Pick a color that’s somewhere in the middle — not too pure but not too dull — and then test it out on a scrap piece of wood to see how it looks in the light around your house before committing.
Get the look: Siding in Drizzle, trim in Extra White and front door and stair risers in Peppercorn, all from Sherwin-Williams.
Cool colors can be neutralized all the way to gray, and warm colors to beige or brown. Pick a color that’s somewhere in the middle — not too pure but not too dull — and then test it out on a scrap piece of wood to see how it looks in the light around your house before committing.
Get the look: Siding in Drizzle, trim in Extra White and front door and stair risers in Peppercorn, all from Sherwin-Williams.
2. Gray
This color scheme is very similar to the previous one, but what a difference placement of color makes!
The blue-green has been moved to the front door and stair risers. You could even go more vibrant with the blue-green in these areas, because it’s used in such small amounts and a lively color at the entrance creates a fun and welcoming vibe.
This color scheme is very similar to the previous one, but what a difference placement of color makes!
The blue-green has been moved to the front door and stair risers. You could even go more vibrant with the blue-green in these areas, because it’s used in such small amounts and a lively color at the entrance creates a fun and welcoming vibe.
The dark gray has been applied to the trim, giving it an elegant and dramatic look. When the trim is so dark, it’s best to go light for the siding, assuming you want the trim to stand out. To downplay unattractive trim, you would paint the siding and trim the same color, or very similar colors. This trim is worthy of standing apart, so I chose a superlight gray for the siding.
Get the look: Siding in Tempered Gray, trim in Ocean Storm and front door and stair risers in Lyndhurst Duchess Blue, all from Valspar.
Get the look: Siding in Tempered Gray, trim in Ocean Storm and front door and stair risers in Lyndhurst Duchess Blue, all from Valspar.
I chose grayer versions here because I knew the look would be a bit busier with the two different siding colors, and I didn’t want the colors to be too vibrant and risk looking garish.
I did pick a vibrant color for the door so that it would stand out against the dark lower-siding color.
Get the look: Upper siding in Babbling Brook, lower siding in Azalea Leaf, trim and stair risers in Delicate White and front door in Got the Giggles, all from PPG Paints.
I did pick a vibrant color for the door so that it would stand out against the dark lower-siding color.
Get the look: Upper siding in Babbling Brook, lower siding in Azalea Leaf, trim and stair risers in Delicate White and front door in Got the Giggles, all from PPG Paints.
4. Rich Burgundy
Let’s switch gears and explore a couple of warmer options. Warm house colors tend to have a traditional air, but you can give the look a modern twist by going with a darker and slightly more vibrant hue. This siding color is quite saturated, but because it’s such a dark shade, it doesn’t look inappropriate on the exterior of this home.
Let’s switch gears and explore a couple of warmer options. Warm house colors tend to have a traditional air, but you can give the look a modern twist by going with a darker and slightly more vibrant hue. This siding color is quite saturated, but because it’s such a dark shade, it doesn’t look inappropriate on the exterior of this home.
You could keep the trim, door and stair risers white or warm gray. Or, if you’re more daring, you could try accents of soft pink (on the front door here) and purple-gray (for the stair risers) as unexpected but delightful dashes of color.
Get the look: Siding in Exotic Eggplant, front door in Orchid Haze, trim in New House White and stair risers in Box Office, all from Behr.
Get the look: Siding in Exotic Eggplant, front door in Orchid Haze, trim in New House White and stair risers in Box Office, all from Behr.
5. Two Warm Hues
Here’s a two-tone option using colors similar to those in the previous example. Usually I recommend painting the lower section in the darker hue, but because these taupe-gray shades are so similar, putting the darker color above the lighter shade doesn’t make the house look too top-heavy.
Here’s a two-tone option using colors similar to those in the previous example. Usually I recommend painting the lower section in the darker hue, but because these taupe-gray shades are so similar, putting the darker color above the lighter shade doesn’t make the house look too top-heavy.
This time the burgundy has been applied to just the door. You can go as bold and bright as you want for the door here, because it’s such a small chunk of color and the other colors are so neutral.
A true white for the trim gives it a crisp and clean edge.
Get the look: Upper siding and stair risers in Ashwood Moss, lower siding in Cos Cob Stonewall, trim in Brilliant White and front door in Cranberry Cocktail, all from Benjamin Moore.
Your turn: How have you transformed the exterior of your house via color? Please share a photo in the comments below and tell us what color or colors you used.
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A true white for the trim gives it a crisp and clean edge.
Get the look: Upper siding and stair risers in Ashwood Moss, lower siding in Cos Cob Stonewall, trim in Brilliant White and front door in Cranberry Cocktail, all from Benjamin Moore.
Your turn: How have you transformed the exterior of your house via color? Please share a photo in the comments below and tell us what color or colors you used.
More on Houzz
How to Choose the Paint Color You Really Want
Read more stories on color
Find a pro
Shop for products
The Existing Home
This charming gambrel-roof home looks a little blah in baby blue. With photo-rendering software, I created some alternative color schemes that play up the architecture and help the house really stand out.
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