Painting your home’s exterior is no small feat. It’s an investment — both in terms of time and money — so you need to ensure you make the right choice. Fortunately, selecting an exterior paint color is straightforward when you know how to narrow down your choices. Explore our guide to exterior house color schemes to help you find the perfect option.
Top Tips for Choosing Exterior House Colors
Choosing exterior paint colors is a personal choice that depends on various factors, such as your individual style and your home’s design. This is what makes the process so exciting — you get to select a color scheme that reflects your unique tastes and complements your house. Start with the considerations below to find a color palette you love.
1. Find Inspiration
Because painting your home’s exterior is such a commitment, you should give yourself some time to gather inspiration so you can narrow your search. Once you understand what you want your home to look like, choosing the right color becomes that much easier.
Here are some ways to find inspiration as you consider how to choose exterior house colors:
- Look at what others are doing: Stroll around your neighborhood to see exterior home paint color ideas. What do you like? What wouldn’t you choose for your house? Seeing different paint colors in person can help you narrow down your choices.
- Think about your vision: What does your dream house look like? Do you picture a stunning white facade or something bolder, like dark green or navy blue? Consider your overall property and how different paint colors might complement your landscaping and other property features. Create a vision as inspiration to guide your choices.
2. Consider Your Space
When painting your home’s exterior, it’s important to note that you’re not starting from scratch — your home already has multiple design elements you must keep in mind when selecting exterior paint colors. This way, your choices are cohesive and create a complementary design overall.
- Think about more than walls: If you’re painting your home’s exterior, you may be painting more than just the walls, such as the roof, soffits, fascia boards and eavestroughs. When doing so, you need to select paint colors that work together to create a harmonious look. Keep the three-color rule in mind here, which states that you can use up to three paint colors, provided 60% of the overall color comes from your dominant color.
- Keep fixed elements in mind: If your home’s fixtures contain many warm brick accents, you might want to opt for earthy colors. If your house’s fixed structures have a more modern look that uses lots of grays, leaning toward cooler tones might be better.
- Look at your home’s style: Most homes are designed in a specific style. This design will impact your color choice when it comes to paint. For example, a Tudor-style home may look odd with bright paint colors, and light and bright colors may look out of place in a Gothic-style home. While your home’s architecture isn’t the deciding factor when it comes to paints, it does play a role. If your house is in an older style, you might want to look into some tips for painting older homes.
3. Get Creative
Now that you’ve found inspiration and considered some factors that may influence your color choice, it’s time for the fun part — letting your creativity free. This is where you get to consider all your options and play around with colors until you find the perfect combination.
If you need help getting your creative juices flowing, try the following:
- Test your paint samples outside: Compare different paint samples outdoors, as lighting can drastically change a color’s appearance. While a color shade may look perfect inside, you might change your mind once you take it outside and see how it looks in the sun’s natural light or a tree’s shadow.
- Create contrast: If you’ve found the ideal color but feel like it’s lacking something, creating contrast may help. Remember that you don’t need to stick to only one shade of paint — you can opt for a lighter shade for the walls and use a darker shade on accent pieces like doors, windows and trims. This approach creates contrast and gives the house more dimension.
- Choose matching tones: While you don’t need to limit yourself to one color choice, you do need to ensure your chosen colors work well together if you’re selecting multiple shades. Instead of looking at each color individually, look at them together and assess them as potential exterior house color schemes. Do they match? Do their undertones clash? Does it all feel cohesive?
Other Factors to Consider When Choosing Your Home’s Exterior Paint
If you follow all the tips above, you should be well on your way to finding the best color for your house’s exterior. However, external factors may also play a role in your final decision. Beyond your personal preferences, your home’s design and how different colors look on your property, other important considerations might include:
- HOA restrictions: Some homeowners associations (HOAs) may have rules or regulations that state which colors you may or may not use when painting your home’s exterior. Before you invest in professional painting, check your HOA agreement. If there are limitations, you can apply for HOA approval to paint your home in your desired color.
- Budget limitations: Be sure to carefully consider paint brands according to your budget. If you’re working on a tighter budget, it may be necessary to avoid choosing premium brands. It can also be beneficial to consult with your painting company about financing options, so you can enjoy a quality paint job without going over budget.
- Paint finishes: Some paints are more reflective, which can change the base color’s appearance. This factor is important to consider as you browse paint colors. Additionally, various types of exterior paint exist.
- Local weather: All exterior paint colors and types will undergo natural wear and tear, but some factors can worsen how they age, including the local climate and weather patterns. If your house gets a lot of sun exposure, you may want to avoid dark colors, as they absorb sunlight and may fade faster. If wind is a concern, lighter paint colors may look dirty quickly due to the wind blowing dust and dirt toward your home.
Consult With Experts at The Ohio Painting Company®
Selecting the right team of experts to paint your home’s exterior is just as important as your color choice. Located in Dayton, Ohio, The Ohio Painting Company® is your go-to local painting company for all of your painting project needs. As a fully transparent company focused on customer satisfaction, we aim to respect your time and money, completing a professional home paint job according to your budget and schedule.
Whether you know exactly what color scheme you want or need an expert color consultation on how to choose exterior paint colors, we can help. Contact The Ohio Painting Company® for expert advice and get started on your next exterior painting project in Southwest Ohio.
