Exterior Paint Colors - Making the Right Choice

Then consider the immediate neighborhood. You may want your house to be distinctive, but not out of character with the rest of the street. One architectural style may lend itself better to some colors than to others. A Spanish-style stucco, for example, almost demands light pastels, whereas a Maritime vernacular house can take deeper, richer colors.

Landscaping may be significant as well: A house heavily shaded by trees will disappear if you paint its main body in dark colors, which absorb light. Dark colors look best when the house dominates its setting and gets plenty of sunshine.

The basic components of an exterior paint colors scheme are body color, trim color, and accent color. If you live in a Victorian house with a number of interesting architectural details, you might even consider four colors – adding a second, contrasting trim color to call attention to intricate moldings or ornate brackets that might be missed otherwise.

Body color.

This is the dominant color that can most change the look of a house. A light body color makes a small hose appear larger. A dark body color can bring a big, rambling house into proportion. Whatever the color, painting an odd-shaped porch or an ugly garage door the same shade as the body of the house will visually integrate the awkward features into a more harmonious whole.

Pick the body color first. It should either contrast with the roof color or be a variation of it. A light to medium shade is the safest choice, particularly if your house has large expanses of siding. (Dark colors always look darker on the house than they do on a paint sample.)

Body color is also affected by sunlight. It is worth the extra money to buy a trial quart of paint, paint a section of your house, and observe how the color looks at different times of day before making a final commitment to the color.

Trim color.

This usually is applied to fascias, soffits, cornice moldings, window frames and sashes, door frames, and porch railings.

White or off-white soffits reflect light onto the areas below. (To downplay a part of a house that is flawed, paint soffits with a body paint color.) White windows seem bigger and brighter.

Accent color.

Contrasting exterior paint colors that highlight special features of the house, an accent is most effective when it is used sparingly. Often only the front door is painted with the accent color. A warm, intense color like deep red can make the entrance of a house an inviting focal point. It is also common to paint shutters the accent color. The front door can then be given the same color, or it can be highlighted with a second accent color.

Testing color schemes.

If you want to change the exterior paint colors of your house, try out different combinations on paper or better yet, using your computer, before investing in paint. I’ve come across a program called Color Style Studio.

This impressive software enables you to select exterior house colors using photos of real objects such as a house, an interior, an exterior and more from about 85 different sets, more then 45000 various colors. It also offers a free trial download version as well.