How to Pick a Paint Color for the Exterior of Your Home

Choosing paint colors for the exterior of your home is more challenging than for the interior because you need to take more factors into consideration, like neighborhood, lot size, landscaping, etc. 

The colors you choose to paint your home can affect the entire neighborhood. While you want to stand out and look different than your neighbors, you don’t want your home to be the eyesore on your street. You should complement their color palettes on your neighbors’ homes, but you don’t have to match their style exactly. Be unique, but be tasteful and considerate. 

You also need to consider curl appeal and resale value. If you’re not doing a full renovation, then consider the elements of your home that will remain the same, such as your roof, stones, bricks, and driveway. What are the undertones of those elements? Are they warm (beige, brown, red) or cool (gray, blue, green)?

Now consider the elements around your home that will change, such as landscaping. If you have a lot trees on your lot, the shade they provide can darken the hue of your home. Choosing a shade of green paint, in this circumstance, is not advisable. 

If you have trees in your yard with leaves that change colors, then you should choose paint colors that will complement the environment throughout the year.  For example, if you have trees with leaves that turn red or orange, then you should consider warm paint colors for the exterior of your home.

Next, you need to consider your house and lot size. If you have a large house on a small lot, you should not choose white or cream as the main color because your house will look even bigger and the lot even smaller. Instead, opt for a darker shade to make the lot appear better proportioned to your home. On the other hand, if your lot is substantially larger than your home, you should choose a lighter main color. Remember, light colors advance and dark colors recede.  

You should pick at least 3 paint colors for the exterior of your home. One for the main color of your home, one for the accent color to be used on doors and shutters, and one color for trim of windows, roof edging and railing. You should choose a light shade, like white, cream, or gray, for the foundation because it will provide a nice, clean backdrop to highlight your landscaping.

There’s a lot to consider, but you don’t need to stress about such a decision. Check out our project gallery to see the quality of our work and get ideas for your next painting project. 

Let Greenley’s Painting help you pick the perfect colors for your home. Give us a call today at 302-233-5609.