Choosing Exterior Paint Colors for a House

12 Apr Choosing Exterior Paint Colors for a House

Choosing exterior paint colors for a house is a huge decision to make. After all, your home’s exterior is what makes the first impression, and you want to make the perfect one when guests arrive or when anyone passes by. But with so many options, you may be asking yourself how to choose exterior paint colors for your house. Here’s a look at five tips:

1. Consider What Can’t Be Changed

Think through the permanent aspects of your home. For example, what color is the roof? Do you have any prominent stonework? What tone is your driveway or any pathway that might be present? You need to find an exterior paint color that works well with these existing shades because it’s unlikely you’ll invest the money to replace stonework, a driveway or a roof that has years of good use left.

2. Stick With Your Home’s Era and Architecture

Whatever color you choose, you want it to feel like a natural fit with your home’s existing architecture and the era it evokes. For example, if you have a historic home, the last thing you want to do is paint it with a loud, trendy, modern color.

This is one area where your paint’s manufacturer can help. Many paint companies offer historically accurate colors for owners of older homes. If you have one of these older homes, make sure you’re getting an appropriate paint color for it.

3. Play With Visual Effects

Homes that are set back from the street and surrounded by trees can disappear altogether when painted dark colors. If you have a home in this position and that sees lots of shade, consider painting it a lighter color to help it better stand out from the street.

Conversely, if your home has no shade and is much closer to the street, feel free to play with darker colors you like — there’s no risk of losing your home in the shadows.

4. Choose Three Different Colors

No home is just one color. In fact, most homes include three colors as part of their palettes. The field color is the dominant color, and it’s perhaps the most important. This is the color that’s going to be painted in wide swaths across your home. There’s also an accent color, which is what you’ll use for doors, shutters and other smaller-but-significant areas. The accent color may not be a color at all, but rather a stain if you have a wood front door and wood shutters. And, finally, there’s a trim color, which is what you’ll use on window frames and roof edges in some cases.

You have a lot of freedom in what colors to choose for each, but you’ll want to make sure the colors work well together. Try to find a paint company that will offer a color consultation before work begins to help ensure you’re choosing colors that work well for your home.

5. Test Before You Invest

Try painting an out-of-the-way part of your home before you paint the whole thing. Don’t make a judgment based solely on cards you pick up at the paint store. You need to see a broad brush stroke before you can rest assured you’ve chosen the right color.

Consider Expert Guidance From Neighborhood Painting

Having a hard time choosing exterior paint colors for your house in Kansas City? At Neighborhood Painting, we have the experience, knowledge and commitment to service excellence needed to help. From color consultations to the execution of fantastic paint jobs, we’re here to serve you. Contact us today.