Exterior paint house design
How to Choose an Exterior Paint Color
By
Sarah Lyon
Sarah Lyon
Sarah Lyon is a freelance writer and home decor enthusiast, who enjoys sharing good finds on home items. Since 2018, she has contributed to a variety of lifestyle publications, including Apartment Therapy and Architectural Digest.
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Updated on 09/09/22
Whittney Parkinson Design
What exactly should you keep top of mind when selecting exterior paint for your home? According to designers, there are several factors that you'll want to prioritize before committing to a new color. After all, exterior paint is more of a long term commitment than indoor paint, and we all know the importance of our homes making an excellent first impression from the street. If you're preparing to paint your home in the near future, you won't want to miss reading the following tips that will ensure the process goes smoothly.
Anastasia Casey
Look to Your Surroundings
The next time you step outside, focus in on the homes around you and examine their hues. This can be useful whether you're looking to have your house blend in with neighbors' homes or if you wish for your place to make an unexpected statement. "If there are a bunch of white and gray homes, then a navy blue could be a nice color to stand out," says Linda Hayslett of LH.Designs. "That way, you don't look too similar to other homes in your area."
This concept doesn't just apply to nearby homes, though. Hayslett also finds it helpful to closely examine the surrounding landscape. "Depending on what the natural elements are, you can use the colors of plants and scenery to help determine if you want the exterior to blend in to nature, or pop and stand out," she says. "A home in the desert could blend in with a nice creamy sand color or a house could stand out in the mountains with a nice rich black exterior paint color to go with the thick of the woods and branches.
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Examine Your Interiors
While scoping out the neighborhood can be helpful, you'll also want to evaluate your interiors. "Look to the inside of your home to see what would go with the exterior paint choice," Hayslett says. "It's nice to have a cohesive feel with the interior when it comes to an exterior color." After all, your exterior paint color is what makes a first impression! "It helps set the narrative," Hayslett states. For example, she adds, "If you have dark greens throughout your house then considering something in that family will make your exterior really feel homier."
Plus, in some cases, you may be able to see your exterior paint from indoor rooms, and you won't want the overall result to clash. "In my home, the porch ceiling and columns are visible from my living room, so I made sure to select colors that looked great from that vantage point as well," says Bethany Adams of Bethany Adams Interiors. "Your inside and outside needn't match, just pay attention to bold color choices and make sure you can literally live with them if need be.
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Your decorating style may also play a role in shaping what exterior paint color is best suited to your home. If your style is traditional, Tracy Morris of Tracy Morris Design suggests going for warm neutrals alongside a deep green, black, or navy door and shutters. Transitional decorators may wish to opt for cool neutrals paired with charcoal or purple-based black doors and shutters, and contemporary enthusiasts will want to keep neutral tones in heavy rotation outside, Morris adds.
Greg Powers for Tracy Morris
Test Your Swatches and Make a Mockup
As Anastasia Casey of IDCO Studio states, you won't want to commit to an exterior paint color without giving it a test run first. "Exterior paint colors often appear several shades lighter when applied to the entire house," she shares. "Make sure to test paint swatches and check them throughout the day as the sun shifts."
Creating a mockup that showcases your exterior paint before it is applied is also essential, says Lauren Sullivan of Well x Design.
"Seeing everything together first in a small section makes it much easier to visualize and make adjustments—rather than after you've had your entire home painted in a color that doesn't quite work," she explains. Still, renderings are not the end all be all—swatches are still essential. Sullivan notes, "In the end nothing replaces seeing an exterior paint option in real life in the space where it will live."
House Exterior Paint Color Ideas
Choosing your home's best exterior paint colors can be a challenge. Paint sets the tone for a home. It can make homebuyers more eager to see a house or drive them away. That said, homes are different, and what works for one home may not work for another. For example, a country house may look good in neutrals, while a beach house may look good in pastels.
If you've decided to paint your home's exterior, take your time considering the best colors. Painting a home is a challenging task, so make sure you get it right the first time.
Browse these 20 exterior paint color ideas to inspire change for your home.
Let House Details Speak
Since you aren’t doing a complete renovation, you should examine the lasting elements—such as stonework, tiles, and roof shingles—before you pick exterior colors. Most of these features have undertones that might affect your palette. Some are cool, others are warm, while others are bold. The brick might have dark gray flecks, while roof shingles might have a blue cast.
Choose paint colors that will harmonize fixed elements. Attention to details such as roof lines—the fascia and other roof details can use accent colors. Columns, shutters, window and door frame trim, and your front door color can be sources of accent paint colors.
John Keeble / Getty Images
Factor in the House's Lighting
If you have a home built from scratch, ask the contractor to build a miniature brick test wall from plywood. Position it to face the street like your home.
Look at it during the day, at night, when it is sunny, and when it's cloudy. Paint color is usually affected by the environment, shade, sun, and time of day. Brick houses soak up some of the paint's pigment; hence exterior designers note that the color will be lighter on the house than on the chip. Thirdly, make sure the color you choose coordinates with the roof color.
Daylight and sunlight will drastically turn your exterior color cool or bluish, which happens to a paint color when light is abundant. A house with bright sun exposure will need to go at least 2 to 3 times warmer on the exterior color to get to a balanced color so that the house doesn't lean too cool or blue.
Getty ImagesNeighboring Homes Can Inspire
Your home is likely part of a neighborhood of nearby homes, part of shared geography, similar plants, and terrains, like coastal, desert, prairie, or mountain. Look around and choose your paint color politely with a bit of restraint. Exterior house trends are rarely extreme; for example, driftwood gray, taupe, and darker neutral colors.
Blend with the neighbors.
JPLDesigns / Getty Images
Get Professional Advice
Painting a house is like becoming an artist. You agonize over the colors, try several shades, and repeat the entire process until you succeed. All of this can take a lot of time and effort. Talk to house painters, designers, color consultants, and even architects if you want to save time. Some apps can help you to select great paint colors. Professionals have a wealth of experience and can advise you on the outdoor paint to use.
MacphersonPhoto / Getty Images
Consider Curb Appeal
Your home's curb appeal and exterior colors should be based on the surroundings of your home. They affect the entire street, and potential buyers can easily notice if you have chosen the wrong ones. Before you buy outdoor paint, assess your neighborhood's exterior color trend. Some communities have homes with similar color schemes, while others have custom colors. Since you want to blend in but don't want to disappear, choose a similar color but with elegance and personality, like ivory instead of white.
PhilAugustavo / Getty Images
Choose the Right Paint Finish
Choosing the right paint finishes can be almost as challenging as choosing paint colors. Paint finishes are categorized into five types: flat/matte, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, and high gloss. Each one performs a particular function and decorative job. The paint finish you use can determine how the colors you’ve used look. If you choose great paint colors and bad finishes, home buyers will notice something is off. Remember this rule of thumb when selecting paint sheen: a high, glossy sheen has excellent shine; the higher the shine, the longer it will last.
Emphasize Your Home's Heritage
Your home's architectural style gives it character. Choose paint colors that emphasize the style and don't downplay it. There are specific color schemes for art deco homes, Craftsman bungalows, and contemporary abodes.
If your home is older or historic, visit a paint manufacturer and inquire about recommended colors.
You don't have to choose the very same hues unless your neighborhood codes say otherwise. Don't make the common staging mistake of choosing too many contrasting colors. Many paint specialists have compilations of historically accurate colors that can make your work easier.
Pgiam / Getty Images
Stuck? Go Bluish
If you want to pick a neutral color for the house, like white, but don’t want to go one-note, pick a white hue with blue undertones. If you select a blue door or blue accents for window framing and porch furniture, you can also play with bright white to tie it all up. Each color in the trio works beautifully, and the paint's commonalities create perfect harmony.
Doug Vos / Unsplash
All Neutral Palette
If you choose a neutral exterior paint color like beige, you can make the house stand out with black accents like shutters and the front door. Contrast the black accents with white accents too. The house can stand out without needing brightly colored, garish paint colors.
It can make the home have a crisp, clean look.
Lexia Frank / Stocksy
Monochromatic Style
Doing a monochromatic paint scheme on the house requires a little skill. It starts with picking your favorite accent color first—the color you plan for the window frames, shutters, and trim—and then go lighter or darker for the primary color of the house. Throwing in a complementary color even adds more visual interest, and it can be done tastefully as a highlight, for example, the color choice for the front door.
Siri Stafford / Getty Images
Dramatic Exterior Detail
You can get drama from your exterior paint color by having only one element stand out, like the front door. You might choose a house color that is neutral or non-descript, but a bright door makes a distinctive "hello" statement. Little unexpected details like a Colonial-style home accented with an unusual color palette will also stand out.
TerryJ / Getty Images
Wood Stain Options
Think beyond paint when considering exterior paint colors, especially if your house is sided in wood panels or shingles.
Sometimes, a wood stain might be the right way to enhance the wood's finish naturally. Stains offer a wide range of tones and shades. A foolproof color that matches wood hues is a soft white tone, especially when it comes to more traditional or classic styles, like Victorian, Colonial, or French provincial homes.
JamesBrey / Getty Images
Stand Out With Contrasting Color
You can make a statement without making the house stick out oddly. For example, suppose your home blends nicely into a lake community, matching the natural surrounding with browns and greens. In that case, pick colors that match the earthy natural landscape tones and choose an exterior paint that contrasts, such as a powdery pastel hue like lavender or pale blue.
Perry Mastrovito / Getty Images
Choose a Color Matching the Size of the House
When picking an exterior paint color for your home, consider the size of your home. A dark color swallows up a large home, making it look imposing, and a very dark color on a tiny house can also emphasize how small the place is.
Meanwhile, a little house that is white or too lightly colored can get lost or appear ghosted. As a general rule of thumb, light colors will work for many average-to-larger-sized homes and estates, making them look palatial; the White House is one of the best examples.
ucpage / Getty Images
Living the White House Life
White remains one of the most popular exterior colors, and others like cream, beige, yellow and lighter shades of grey and blue are not far behind. White can minimize an imposing facade and allow the landscape to stand out. White gives a home a clean appearance and is easy to personalize. It seems that white is the color favored by most new home buyers.
in4mal / Getty Images
Tricolor Theme
Use the three-color rule if you're looking to get colorful with your home exterior. Three colors should be your limit. The color hues don't have to be different; they can be monochromatic or mixed with white, black, cream colors.
Some common color trios include gray, black, and white; red, black, and white; and taupe, red, and white.
Douglas Keister / Getty Images
Go All Natural
Natural exterior homes can be wood, stone, stucco, or adobe. These homes include log homes, natural wood siding, wooden shingles, and clapboard. White and earth tones are the perfect accents for homes with natural elements to bring out the earth-given building materials, making them look cohesive and straightforward.
ivanastar / Getty Images
Less Is More
If you go over the three-color rule of paint colors, you will find that the architectural details of your home will stand out more with fewer colors on the exterior. Using accent colors is excellent, but only to highlight attractive elements of your home. Do not call attention to detracting details like gutters, air conditioning units, and uneven windows.
John Henley / Getty Images
Plan Around Details That Are Hard to Change
Unless you’re doing a complete renovation or building a new home, roof shingles, tiles, stonework, pathways, and driveways will remain in place.
Choose an exterior paint color that will blend in with those elements. As you select exterior colors, look for undertones in those elements and determine whether they are warm, earthy tones or cool colors.
Anatoli Igolkin / Getty Images
Make a Statement With Landscaping
Coordinate the palette of your garden and house for a cohesive and artful design. Link a home and its garden or landscape by picking exterior paint colors repeated in foliage or flowers. Or vice versa, plant landscape flowers that accent or pick up hues in the house exterior color. Simple color schemes often work best. Think of your house color as the backdrop for your garden. House colors that are easiest to integrate with a garden are the greens, browns, and beiges of nature. Flower colors will provide all the contrast you need—naturally.
irina88w / Getty Images
90,000 how to paint the house outside the design (150 photos) - photoSalad facade of the house
Beautiful plaster facade
Facade House Plaster
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9000 Wooden facadeBark beetle facade
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Painted wooden houses
Fibrime cement siding 7024
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RAL 5002 metal siding
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Photos of the exterior painting of the walls of wooden houses
This photo gallery presents some photos of the painting of wooden houses on real objects made by us.
Outside, the walls of each house were painted in a glazing or opaque version. Mostly classic colors were used.
Photos of the interior painting of wooden houses are posted in another section of the site.
Please understand the quality of the photos in the gallery, because we are professional painters, not photographers. But even from such photos you can see the quality of our coatings.
If you are interested, we will look for an opportunity to invite you to a wooden house that is already finished or being painted, so that you can see the quality of work performed live.
For each object, in addition to the photos themselves, we also indicated the cost of its exterior painting. To estimate the cost of work on your wooden house, please send the project of the house in electronic form to our mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You must have JavaScript enabled to view. or leave application in a special form for further consultations.
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Object No. 1 (village Antropovo, Moscow region)
Painting a house from glued beams
Painted with Teknos elite scheme. House from the company "Finteco".
Finishing colors used:
Object No. 2 (Captain's Cape)
Painting a wooden house from glued beams
Painting by Teknos elite scheme.
Finishing colors used:
Object No. 3 (Staroe Semenkovo village, Vladimir region)
Repainting of sheathing boards
Painting with Teknos opaque scheme.
Finishing colors used:
Object No.
4 (Nizhny Novgorod region, Dzerzhinsk) Painting a house from glued beams
Painting by Teknos elite scheme.
Finishing colors used:
Object No. 5 (Yaroslavl region)
Painting of a house from logs (OCB)
Restoration of a previously painted log house. Standard color scheme for log walls based on Teknal 2460.
Colors used in finishing:
Object No. 6 (Nikolina Gora, Moscow region)
Painting a house from glued beams
Glazing painting of a new house from Finnish glued beams from Finteko
Finishing colors used:
Object No. 7 (KP "Hyde Park", Moscow region)
Glazing painting of a new house from glued laminated timber From the company "Russian West"
Used colors in finishing:
Object No.
8 (Pushkino, Moscow region) Painting a house from glued beams
Glazing painting of a new house from Finnish glued beams from the company "Finteko"
Used colors finishing solutions:
Object No. 9 (KP "Sportvil", Moscow region)
Painting a house from glued laminated timber
Opaque painting of a new log house
Used colors in finishing:
Object No. 10 (village Kharyino, Moscow region)
Painting a house from chopped logs
Color solutions used Glazing painting of the house 9003 9002 finish:
Object No. 11 (dnp. Romashkovo-37, Moscow region)
Painting a house from glued beams
Opaque painting of a house from a beam from the company "Good Wood"
Colors used in finishing:
Object No.
12 (KP "Lvov lakes", Moscow region) Painting a house from glued laminated timber
Opaque painting from a house from a maple timber company Good Wood"
Finishing colors used:
Object No. 13 (Beloborodovo village, Moscow region)
Painting a house from glued laminated timber
maple lumber
Finishing colors used:
Object No. 13 (village Buzharovo, Moscow region)
Painting of a house from glued laminated timber
Glazing painting of a house from maple timber from the Good Wood company
Colors used in finishing:
Object No. 13 (village Gonchary, Moscow region)
Painting a house from profiled timber 9002 9003 dry profiled timber from the company "Lestek"
Finishing colors used:
Object No.
