Home » Misc » Colors to paint your house outside

Colors to paint your house outside


20 Top Exterior House Color Trends

From traditional to modern, these color schemes can upgrade your curb appeal

By

Lee Wallender

Lee Wallender

Lee has over two decades of hands-on experience remodeling, fixing, and improving homes, and has been providing home improvement advice for over 13 years.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 10/01/22

The Spruce / Almar Creative

From clean whites and pleasing neutrals to cool blues and vibrant reds, exterior paint colors are your home's calling card to the world. Bold exterior house colors give your home a fresh take and instant curb appeal. However, the best color for an exterior of a house is versatile; neutrals are often the way to go.

Colors that add value to a home are timeless exterior house colors like calming white, smooth gray, and shades of blue. Colors that scare people away and are hardest to sell are black, pink, purple, or citrus colors. If selling your house, a light exterior makes the house look larger and more attractive to buyers. A dark exterior shows discoloration and chipping easily and is harder to paint over if you want to make it a light-colored house.

Calibrate the color right, and you'll have a popular house exterior color that welcomes visitors when they roll up to your home. More importantly, a timeless exterior house color scheme will give you joy every time you return home for years to come. Here are modern exterior house paint colors, including a photo gallery with ideas for you to consider.

Watch Now: Exterior Paint Colors and Design Ideas for Your House

These 20 gorgeous exterior house color scheme ideas might spark your vision for your home.

FAQ

20 Exterior House Colors Trending in 2021

Painting your home is a big investment and there are a lot of exterior house colors to choose from. Because of this, it can be hard to choose what color to paint your home. But we’re here to help. We’ve compiled this list to not only get you excited about painting your home’s exterior, but to also help guide your thinking process.

Though we can’t tell you what color to paint your home, we can give you the tools you need to make the right decision. Good luck!

Exterior house colors that will make you want to paint in 2022

This year, nature is the word in exterior home color schemes, according to design blog Brick and Batten. Think muted forest greens, olives, and calm neutrals in gray, blue, and tan. 

For more inspiration, check out Benjamin Moore’s Color by Region feature. It offers you ideas for exterior home paint by what U.S. region you live in.

To get you started, we picked a few of the trendiest house paint colors in 2022 to inspire you to move ahead with your painting project. 

You’ll notice we also included a Pinterest link so you can get an idea of what these best exterior house paint colors look like in real life.

Soft green/gray

James Brey/Getty Images

Paint experts Sherwin-Williams picked Evergreen Fog as their 2022 Color of the Year. This mix of muted forest green and gray pairs well with neutral tans and off-white accents.

Taupe

Dana Hoff / Getty Images

Taupe paint comes in a range of tints, like green or grey, making it easy to totally customize your home’s exterior.

Light gray

UC Page / Getty Images

One of the most on-trend colors, a light gray exterior gives your home an ultra modern look.

Gray-blue

Artazum / Shutterstock

Picking a gray-blue gives your home more warmth and whimsy than a typical gray.

Sage green

Artazum / Shutterstock

A sage green home presents an earthy tone that lets you accentuate other things like trim and landscaping.

Gray-green

Ursula Page / Shutterstock

A gray-green hue fits any style of home, making it a safe choice that still lets you feel like you’re stepping outside of your comfort zone.

Butter yellow

Jon Lovette / Getty Images

A pale yellow offers warmth without being overbearing or marking you as the odd house out on your block.

Pale blue

David Papazian / Shutterstock

For a light and airy effect, choose a pale blue for your siding. You don’t have to worry about fading and can enjoy both a traditional vibe and a whimsical one.

Deep blue

Breadmaker / Shutterstock

A dark blue exterior paired with the warm glow of lights inside makes the perfect setting to come home to.

Burgundy

Lindasj22 / Shutterstock

A deep red on your home’s exterior siding gives a traditional look while still having a pop of personality.

Warm brown

Artazum / Shutterstock

A rich color that reminds you of your favorite cinnamon latte all year long, using a warm brown for your home’s exterior is a unique choice.

Black

James Brittain / Shutterstock

For a minimal look inspired by Scandinavia, a matte black gives a dramatic impact.

Things to consider when choosing exterior paint colors

Keep these seven considerations in mind when settling on your exterior house paint ideas.

1.

Landscaping

If you are active in your yard and have a variety of decorative plants, consider how your house’s color will look with the yard. If you like bright, bold colors, will they contrast with your yard in the spring and summer months?

2. Neighbors

Though your immediate neighbors shouldn’t dictate what color you choose for your home, you should keep them in mind. If you plan to sell your home one day, you don’t want your home to stand out for all of the wrong reasons. A color that stands out, but that also complements the homes beside yours, will make your home seem more harmonious with your neighborhood. It’s also a good idea to check with your Homeowners Association as they could have rules about which colors you can paint your house.

3. Your home’s materials

If your home has either brick or stone anywhere on the exterior, you’ll want to choose colors that don’t conflict with your home’s natural exterior color schemes. Both brick and stone can have colors that stand out all by themselves, so any color you choose to go beside them needs to complement those materials.

4. Your roof

Whether you have a tin roof or a shingled roof, your home’s exterior color needs to be harmonious with your roof’s color. You don’t need to match the roof color with whatever color you’re choosing to paint your exterior – but they do need to complement one another. A good rule of thumb is to pair warm siding colors with warm roof colors and cool siding colors with cool roof colors.

5. The size of your home

If you want your home to appear bigger, a lighter, pastel color will ‘trick’ the eye and make it appear bigger. If you’re worried homebuyers will discount your home because of its size, go with a lighter shade.

6. Paint longevity

If it’s not in your budget to paint your home every five years then you’ll want to steer away from brighter colors, as these colors are known to fade quickly over time.

7. Resale value

If the plan is to sell in a few years, you don’t want to pick a color that will scare away potential buyers. Your bright purple may seem perfect to you, but to other people it might seem like a giant headache.

Frequently asked questions

What are the trending exterior house colors?

The following colors are sweeping across the nation right now:

How do I choose an exterior paint color?

You should always choose a color that excites you and comforts you. Not only should your home feel welcoming to friends and family, but it should feel the same for you. Choose a color that embodies what a home should be to you.

However, if you plan on selling your home in the near future, go with a more neutral color. Though you may find the perfect buyer if you go with a bright color, the selling process will likely be more difficult.

What colors fade the fastest?

Bright colors are more susceptible to fading because of the effect UV radiation has on them. Bright yellows, blues, or reds will fade more quickly compared to muted colors.

What colors make a home appear bigger?

If your home is on the smaller side, a lighter color will make it appear bigger. Think impressionist, pastel colors such as off-gray, milky white, and beige.

What color to paint the house: choosing the right shade

Before the summer season, it's time to update the facade of a country house. We suggest what color to paint the house outside and show photos of beautiful examples. The choice is influenced by practical and aesthetic factors.

What color to choose for exterior decoration:

Things to consider

Color options

Paint types

Let's talk about aesthetics first. The rules come down to the covering ability of the material and its durability. Dark colors have less consumption, which reduces the cost of work. In addition, they attract heat, so they are best used in cloudy, cold areas.

If it is important that the wall fade more slowly, choose a light color. On the surface painted with it, dust is less noticeable, it will retain saturation longer. Red and all its shades fade the fastest. The maximum brightness period is 5-7 years. Next, let's talk about successful combinations for different areas.

Pexels

At the first stage, you can use various online services to select a palette. Download special applications or look for sites. You can use official Pantone services. It is also important to take into account several factors, which we will now discuss.

Site location

Pexels

Instagram @yourmortgagechampion

Instagram @heygents

Roof color

Usually this part of the house is different from the facade. It is desirable that they are combined with each other. For example, what color to paint the house if the roof is brown? In this case, it is recommended to use white, beige, shades of brown, blue. Gray tiles or slate can be combined with orange, blue, darker gray, burgundy, white, green, blue walls. Red roof - with gray, brown, black, yellow. Black - with light colors.

There is one more rule: the brighter the building, the more inconspicuous the roof should be. And vice versa.

Instagram @diamondvogelpaint

Instagram @urbancottageliving

Instagram @the_hen_homestead

Instagram @queenslander_living

Other elements of the building are sometimes distinguished from the general background. For example, platbands, drainpipes, cornices, doors. Another option is to combine several variations of the same color. In this case, use the combination rule: a dark plinth, a slightly lighter roof, and a medium-density paint for the walls.

Instagram @ strongshieldsiding

Instagram @ black

Facade material

Wooden private cottages and dachas are usually covered with antiseptic translucent or top coats. The former retain the pattern of timber or logs, the latter only its relief. If the facade is made of stone, brick or unpainted wood, you need to select decorative elements, a roof, a pediment.

To find a harmonious combination, look for it in the texture of these materials. Inclusions in stone or knots in wood are the best source of inspiration in this case. Brick is beautifully combined with brown, white, red, green and their derivative shades.

Pexels

Instagram @ wpieknymwnetrzu

These are general points to consider when choosing an outdoor design. After you find your color, paint a large sheet of paper or drywall with it and attach it to the building. Step back a long distance and evaluate how this option looks. Even better is to do it directly on the wall, as the paint manifests itself differently on different surfaces. During the day, you will be able to understand how the building will look with different lighting.

We list the most popular finishes.

Brown

A classic country house finish. Associated with warmth, comfort, closeness to nature.

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

White

White, like yellow, is perceived as elegant, joyful. In addition, it harmonizes perfectly with greenery. Deciduous trees next to such a structure look openwork, and for bright plants this is one of the best backgrounds. True, in winter it will merge with snow. Therefore, it is better to combine it with black, brown, red, blue, pink, blue. All of the above applies to beige facades.

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

Gray

A discreet palette might seem boring, but it's not. Together with snow-white or brown accents, it creates a cozy, elegant picture. This painting option is very practical - dust and dirt are the least noticeable on the surface. If you are thinking about what color to paint the outside of a wooden house, and you don’t like the option with a transparent stain, pay attention to the gray scale.

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

Green

Use it only if there are few trees nearby. Suitable for both cottages and cottages in the city. It is both bright and calm color.

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

A light gray-green hue that is trending this year. It is neutral, but at the same time not beaten. It is combined with dark blue, gray, red-orange, coffee, swamp green, white. In each of the combinations, sage will look different.

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

Yellow

Bright canary or pale yellow are associated with freshness, sun, warmth. Paint a house with it and even in the off-season the site will not be gloomy. Against such a background, white platbands and a brown roof look good.

Pexels

Pexels

Red

A deep ruby ​​red that is not often used in home decoration and is completely in vain. This color emphasizes the beauty of landscape design on the site, stands out from other buildings, looks great in any season. The only downside is that it burns out fairly quickly. Combines beautifully with wood.

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

Instagram @ cottage_a_day

Check out our selection of beautiful exterior painting examples.

ten
a photo

Pexels

Instagram @newlifeluxury

Instagram @cottage_a_day

Invoice

Also on sale there are textured compositions resembling decorative plaster. They include fine granulate, which makes the wall grainy. This mixture is suitable for cases where you need to hide the defects of the cladding. It is applied in a thick layer and therefore careful leveling of the surface is not required.

Instagram @kvezal_decor

Instagram @kvezal_decor

According to the method of action

Frame and other wooden structures are often coated with transparent and tinted antiseptics, alkyd, oil or acrylic paints. The latter are preferred for a number of reasons.

Oil formulations are very weather resistant, strong but take a long time to dry and do not ductility. Alkyd mixtures withstand low temperatures, but are quickly erased. Antiseptic impregnations are the most suitable option, as they preserve the beauty of wood and protect it from moisture and insects.

Pexels

Builders recommend covering plastered walls with water-dispersion paints - acrylic and silicone. They are eco-friendly, non-flammable, waterproof and retain their color for a long time. They are applied with rollers, brushes or spray guns. If the wall has already been painted, the old finish is removed from it, the defects that have appeared are puttied, the surface is primed and then repainted.

Prepared by

Nelli Kirgintseva

12 most fashionable colors for house facade - Pantone | Article

Bagretsova Irina Aleksandrovna

content manager, photographer

Everyone dreams of a place where they would like to return every time after a long working day. For many people, the symbol of the family nest is their home on earth.

For a house in which people will live, it is necessary to choose natural materials, including wood. In order for a tree to serve on the street for a long time, it must be protected - covered with a material that is resistant to atmospheric changes. At the same time, I want to observe the aesthetic side - so that the house looks complete and interesting.

What color to paint the facade so that it causes delight and slight envy in a neighbor, while harmonizing with the environment, and the owner likes it? Let's figure it out.

What will you learn in the article?

  1. Before choosing a color, you need to consider 3 important factors
  2. Victorian Colors
  3. Colors of "Constructivism"
  4. Chalet style colors
  5. Things to Consider Before Deciding on a House Color
  6. How to combine shades
  7. correctly Wood facade painting systems
Before choosing a color, it is necessary to take into account 3 important factors

Based on these factors and your taste, you need to choose a color for your facade. At the link you will find many different shades on the tree, and below we will analyze the main colors that are often ordered from us.


Photo 1. The Pantone Institute chose the colors for this year - 12 colors

To understand which colors will be most relevant in the next decade - and our paint schemes last up to 15 years on facades, we turned to the universally recognized world authority in the field of color.

Last December, the Pantone Institute chose the colors for this year - 12 colors and their shades, showing the mood of this year - reliability, sustainability, hope, originality and brightness of the user.

Classic Blue has been chosen as the color of the year for 2020 - a bright, deep and calming color.


Photo 2. Classic Blue - classic blue. The glazing composition on the facade in combination with white trim looks incredibly beautiful! The house turned out to be a sight to behold!


Photo 3. Painting the house in trendy shade "Classic Blue"


Photo 4. Painting the house with hydro oil in 2 coats

The whole palette of fashionable colors can be safely diluted with the usual light, or vice versa, dark color - to give integrity to the image and highlight some elements of the house, such as architraves, corners and terraces. Of course, it is not necessary to use only these colors in the decoration of the house, you can use slightly brighter, or more pastel shades of each color - at the peak of popularity, the combination of orange Flame Orange - "Fire Orange" and delicate Tanager Turquoise - "Turquoise Tanager". A combination of neutral shades will always be relevant - white, gray, navy blue, and beige. It all depends on your taste and style of the house.


Photo 5. Color "Flame Orange" ("Fiery orange") on the facade


Photo 6. Very beautiful and popular color "Flame Orange"


Photo 7. This color on the facade looks natural and expensive

Victorian Colors

Almost all the colors presented by Pantone are suitable for the Victorian style - this style is associated with pastels, coupled with bright, deep colors. The style, which originated in the 19th century - the century of Queen Victoria, indulges in a variety of finishes, carved balusters and railings, as well as obligatory veranda terraces near the entrance.


Photo 8. House itself and painting done in Victorian style


Photo 9. Bright facade in combination with architraves in pastel colors


Photo 10. Victorian house

Colors of "Constructivism"

For cold Constructivism, warmer options for painting wood are suitable - a mixture of Cinnamon sticks and Saffron, or cold options - Classic blue, the so-called color of the Navy jacket - Navy blaser, which, with an advantageous contrast of textures of wood and concrete in pearl gray, or ash gray create a design of conciseness and spaciousness. This design suits those people who keep up with the times and adore simplicity in details.


Photo 11. The combination of concrete and wood - a modern and stylish solution


Photo 12. Colors of "Constructivism"

Chalet style colors

The Chalet style is characterized by warmer, chocolate shades of decoration. The main thing in this style is the naturalness of the materials. Raw stones in the foundation masonry, real wood with knots and their fine structure. Warm, sometimes orange, notes in wood coloring create the atmosphere of a cozy winter evening by the fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate in hand. Of course, you can design your home the way you want it to be! Therefore, for your home, you can use the colors that you most like.


Photo 13. House and painting in the style of "Chalet"


Photo 14. Warm, chocolate shades in the design of the facade

Things to Consider Before Deciding on a House Color

In order to determine the color of the house decoration most accurately, it is necessary to take into account not only the architecture, but also the surrounding landscape and the color of the roof.

So that the house does not turn out to be too colorful, it is not recommended to use more than three colors in the decoration of the house. The colors that contrast with each other look most brightly - red and green, blue and orange. If the colors are close to each other on the color wheel, the result will be neutral. White, cream and milk colors are suitable for almost any color, so they can be used as a base or as a secondary color. As for the third color, it can be both on the facade itself, creating a holistic look of the house, and “background” - the color of the landscape in which this house is located.


Photo 15. A harmonious combination of three colors on the example of a country house


Photo 16. Beautiful combination of colors on the combined facade

It is also necessary to take into account the location of your home - more natural colors and natural materials look good in the mountains, bright, saturated shades near the sea, light shades of the structure under the scorching sun.

Of course, in order for your house to arouse the admiration and envy of your neighbors, you need to harmoniously choose colors, although sometimes you can play around with color options. Below we want to give examples of how you can diversify your facade, using this year's fashionable palette.


Photo 17. Very unusual design of the house, with a perfectly matched color scheme


Photo 18. White color always looks advantageous, perfectly complements and decorates any facade

How to combine shades

correctly In order to make your home unusual, it is enough to take a simple color as a basis, for example, Faded Denim - "Faded Denim", Mosaik blue - "Mosaic Blue", and only paint the front door in a bright color - Flame Scarlet "Scarlet Flame" , Orange Peel "Orange Peel". Thus, you will give individuality and brightness to your home.

Do you want your home to look presentable and unusual? Choose chocolate or cinnamon colors. Beautiful overflows and shades of chocolate will not leave indifferent any person, whether he is a designer or an inexperienced layman. And by diluting dark chocolate with a light, delicate shade of Sunlight - "Sunshine" you will achieve the feeling of a warm, cozy home in the Alpine mountains.


Photo 19. Planken painted in chocolate color


Photo 20. Planken painted in noble chocolate color

Do you live near the sea? Embrace bright, sunny colors - such Pantone attributed the color "Biscay Green" - "Biscay Green". In this color, your house will seem light, weightless, like a sunny breeze on a bright, midday day of a cloudless summer. And if you add to this color also Orange Peel - "Orange Peel", or Saffron - "Saffron" - you will get a bright combination that pleases the eye and makes you enjoy life!

Warm and cozy is also the combination of colors Saffron - "Saffron" and Cinnamon Stick - "Cinnamon Stick". This option will always be a win-win, bright enough to show its cheerfulness, and at the same time, the combination of these colors is the closest to natural wood.


Photo 21. Bright and saturated color for the facade - "Orange Peel"


Photo 22. Color "Orange Peel" on the facade

Perhaps you want something more extravagant - then turn your attention to shades of red - perhaps closer to wine color. Thanks to the chosen color, you can achieve a contrasting wow effect, because the red color will look amazing among the abundant greenery of your site. Or, you can give your façade the look of a noble mahogany finish.


Photo 23. Painting the house in wine color


Photo 24. The red color looks amazing among the abundant greenery on site


Photo 25. On this site we painted as many as three facades - the house itself, the sauna and the garage

Do you want more brightness and extravagance? Perhaps only one bright accent is not your option? The Pantone collection presents an unusual, but too attractive color in its shade - Grape Compote - “grape compote”. The house will look very bright, maybe even a little crazy - in the style of the films "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", but what's the difference if you like it, and the neighbor fainted with envy?


Photo 26. Grape Compote

Specialists of the Pantone Institute pleased us with a beautiful green color - it combined both herbal and emerald shades. Chive is an unobtrusive color for your facade, if you want to fit your house into the surrounding green landscape. Just imagine how beautiful such a facade will look among autumn trees!

There are a great many color schemes, the main thing is to decide on the architecture, the surrounding landscape and be guided only by your wishes.

One of the recommendations is to choose the color and style of home decoration in such a way that it is combined with interior decoration as well - so you will not have the feeling that from the Chalet style in the exterior you find yourself in the interior of a fairy tale about Willy Wonka.

Having decided on the color, it remains to decide on a painting system that suits the style.

Wooden facade painting systems

Our company provides several options for painting wood for the exterior - this is a premium lacquer scheme, the service life of which without repainting is up to 8 years, and an oil painting system, if you want more naturalness (service life up to 15 years), and a covering painting scheme ( service life up to 15 years), giving the opportunity to see your home in bright, summer colors.

You can read more about painting systems in the relevant articles, find out all the advantages and choose the one that matches the style of home decoration you have chosen.

If suddenly you have any problems with the selection of a painting scheme, our specialists will always be happy to help you, answer all your questions about the merits and advantages of a particular painting system.


See how we can

September 25, 2019 1400

Painting the house with oil, but not simple, but such that repairs will not be required for another 15 years

280 m 2 620 000

27 days DNP Pine Coast

September 25, 2019 1175

How we painted the log house with white oil, beautifully highlighted the ends and made insulation using the “warm seam” technology

420 m 2 630 000

43 days DNP Pine Coast

July 09, 2019 1360

Fighting cracks in the log, sealing the joints and painting the log house with oil

170 m 2 379 300

23 days d.

Learn more