How to Choose a House Color Scheme

Painting the exterior of your home can extend its life and give a dramatically new appearance. Sometime choosing the color scheme can be a difficult part of the project. We put together some pointers to help with color selection.

The color can affect how you feel driving up to your house after a long day’s work, and beyond it can change your home’s value. Because an exterior paint job can last a decade or more, it’s important to choose a color that has widespread appeal.

Find Inspiration In Your Home

Most of our customers start with looking through paint color swatches from their local store. However, sometimes we have customers who get color inspiration from unexpected places in the home – a favorite curtain or the color of the sheets in a bedroom. If there are any colors in your home you think could work well on the house itself, find some swatches that match and explore the idea of using that as a paint on the home.

Another place to start is with a drive. Drive around your neighborhood and see if there are homes that strike you. Take pictures and note of the colors you’re coming back to time and again. This will help narrow the field of colors.

Determine a Palette 

Once you’ve narrowed your color options, keep in mind that you should be looking to pick three colors. This will give you a color set to work within for a main color, accent and trim. Go with a more neutral color for the majority of your home. Choose a statement color for the trim. Keep neutral, or take this opportunity to choose a more vibrant color for things like shutters or the front door. Then choose a trim color. This is typically a deeper neutral. Your three colors should compliment each other but do not necessarily need to be matchy-matchy.

Test before making a commitment

Before a can is ever opened, there are two things you should check: lighting and sight lines. From your palette, go to the paint store and get tester cans of each color. Paint poster boards with the colors to test them. Set them up outside the walls you’re considering for each color to test the light. Make sure you do this at different times of day. Also, make sure the colors you see from any angle around your home don’t clash. This will allow you to head into this project confident your colors are going to play well together.

Paint

Once the painting is complete, it’s time to start the job. Know going in that you have the option to complete the job yourself, or bring in a professional team. An exterior paint job is a large task and will take days to complete. Keep in mind that ⅔ of your time should be spent on preparation before the painting begins. It’s a good practice to get bids from 3 contractors before you decide on one and move forward.

We’d love to be considered for your exterior painting project. Call today to set up a free, in-home estimate from our team.