Choosing paint colors for your home’s exterior can be quite challenging. If you pick bland colors your house may look featureless and flat… However, if you pick paint colors that are too bold the architecture of your house might be overwhelmed –and may upset your neighbors in the process.
Choosing the right color combination for your home’s exterior can transform your home unbelievably. The best paint colors will highlight the most beautiful features of your home. Skillful use of color can even disguise design flaws, boosting the curb appeal and market value of your home.
Here are some tips to help you pick complimenting color combinations:
1. Keep It Simple
Sometimes the best approach is to keep your choices simple but thoughtful. You can do this by focusing on two or three colors for those two or three important exterior elements. So you essentially need to pick the main color for the body of your house, a color for the trim –windows, overhangs, and fascia – and an accent color for the shutters or doors.
If you have a single story home, two colors will be probably enough. However, if you have a split level or two-story home, you might want three colors. Just be sure to enhance the good features and use the more reserved neutrals on less interesting features such as the gutters.
2. Consider the Trends
Exterior paint colors are generally getting lighter –with many homeowners going for light to medium hues. When you go for your color consultation at your local paint store, keep in mind that color samples will always look darker in the room than they will outside –especially for the pinks and yellows. If possible, paint a small portion at the back of your house and see how you feel about it over time. Ask your neighbors and friends for input.
3. Keep Your Neighbors in Mind
While we encourage you to pick unique and personal colors, we also suggest you choose colors that don’t clash with your neighbors… Take a look around your neighborhood – Does your house architecturally look like the house next door? Are you in the suburban location where your neighbors are mostly trees? Pick colors that coordinate with your surrounding –without necessarily copying.
4. Find Inspiration in Your Living Room
Sometimes you can find great inspiration from colors used inside your living room. Generally, exterior colors should harmonize with the interior. While it might seem unrealistic and even comical to paint your entire home based on your pillowcase patterns, this can be a good approach when nicely used. Use the color of your interior décor and furnishing as a guide for selecting your interior paint colors –and your interior paint colors will in turn influence the colors you use on your exterior. The bottom line is to harmonize inside-out.
5. Don’t Forget the Roof
Some homeowners tend to forget the roof when choosing their exterior siding colors. Your roof, which could be asphalt, shingle, metal, terracotta, slate, or clay, comes with its own color. Your exterior siding paint color doesn’t need to match the roof, but it should harmonize. When choosing exterior paint, start with what’s there already. It’s much harder to replace your roof than your siding paint.
Consider the following possibilities…
• To make your home more dynamic, choose opposite colors on the color wheel, but tone down on the brighter and bold colors.
• Blue can be a quite daring color choice for the exterior, but when light shades of blue are used alongside a white trim and greenery nearby, they create a nice clean look.
• If you have a Victorian home, you can accentuate those wonderful details by use of varied colors and sharp contrasts to show off those features. You can get more color ideas on this one from historic color charts.
• If cost is an issue, you can use a single color for walls and anything on them like vents, and then put detailed colors on trim and the ends of eaves.
• If you don’t want the garage door to stand out, you can paint it the same or slightly darker/lighter than the main exterior color.
Using the above tips combined with your individuality and style can help you create a charming and lovely home exterior. If you need help painting the exterior of your home in Eugene, Oregon, we would be more than happy to help. Call us today for a free estimate!