How To Choose The Best Exterior Paint Color-
What To Consider

First impressions are everything! The color you paint your house will make the first impression someone has of your home. You’ll want to freshen-up and update the look of your home? A nice paint job will improve your curb appeal. 

So how do you choose the best exterior paint color for your home? Determining color schemes for home exteriors can be challenging. Do not worry, we have you “covered” if you follow the simple guide below. There are seven (7) essential things to consider when choosing an exterior paint color. 

Choosing an all over home paint color can be very overwhelming and terrifying. There are so many things to take into consideration. 

If you commit to an overall house paint color, you will want to make sure it’s the right color that you will not tire of. There are so many color choices. You’ll want the hue to make you happy every time you drive into your driveway.  

When I was trying to figure out the  ideal stain hue for our home, I found it helpful to consider the following questions to ensure you find that timeless paint color for your home.

What’s The Shade Of Color You Are Going For?

The first thing you will want to do when deciding what color you want to paint the exterior of your home is to choose the shade of color first. What color family are you looking for? Grays, blacks, taupe, white?

Benjamin Moore has some great online tools when trying to decide on a family color.  Explore all your options, it’s the first decision you need to make.  

When I say “shade”, I mean, do you want a dark tone, light, mid-tone for the exterior paint color? Drive around your neighborhood and get a feel for what you are drawn to. If you are visual like me, go to Pinterest and look at all of the exterior house colors; it’s a great place to explore complimentary colors and all the colors of the color wheel.

Check out the top five exterior paint colors here. 

Paint or Stain?

Which is best for your home? It depends on several factors, including maintenance and the type of siding. Stains require several layers, and paint takes less work to apply but paints cracks and peels easier than stain.

Oil-based semitransparent stains age; it fades slowly, and to freshen it up, all you need to do is apply a fresh coat of stain.

We used a solid stain on our cedar shingles. The only issue is that solid color acts like paint and can peel it not appropriately applied.

What’s Your Home Architecture Style?

This may seem obvious, but you must consider your home’s architectural elements and the style of your home when developing a color palette. Does your home have a farmhouse, craftsman, victorian, beachy vibe? Each one of these styles lends itself to different color tones. 

For exterior colors inspired by classic American design and architecture, then you are in luck because Benjamin Moore’s Historical Collection for tried and true favorites that are perfect for any home, including Stonington Gray HC-170, Edgecomb Gray HC-173, Jamestown Blue HC-148 and Narragansett Green HC-157.

Do you have a beach house? If so, beachy paint colors are fun and fit the architecture style. For a coastal vibe, these are some of the most popular paint colors.   

Consider Your Natural Surroundings- Your Home’s Backdrop

Do you have lots of light or trees surrounding your home? Light colors make your home appear more prominent. Test lots of colors on the side of the house and look at the colors throughout the day as the light changes.

What is your landscape design? Do you have a line of formal boxwoods or easy breezy grasses. We have a crushed oyster shell pathway that is bright white and it pairs well with our white trim. 

Just like interior paint colors, exterior colors shift depending on how the light hits them. Outdoors, surrounding landscapes also play a role in how a paint color is perceived.

What’s The Color Of Your Roof?

The color and type of roof you have plays into what color to paint your house. For instance, if you have a gray metal roof, black asphalt shingles, or perhaps a clay roof, you need to find a paint color that compliments the roof color. The paint color should not match the roof color, but it should be in the same color scheme.

What’s The Color Of The Unpainted Materials On Your House? 

Do you have vinyl windows? If so, what color are they? What about brick or stone on the exterior of the house or chimney? 

Your color scheme when need to compliment the unpainted materials. The same goes for your driveway and hardscape outside your home. 

• Red-toned roof? How about gray, black, or brown house colors.
• Green-toned roof? Try gray, green, or white house colors.
• Black-toned roof? Try gray, blue, or white house colors.
• Brown-toned roof? Go with brown, tan, yellow, or white house colors.
• Gray-toned roof? Choose gray, blue, green, black, or white house colors.

Do You Get Direct Sunlight? Which Direction Is Your Home Facing?

Is there an abundance of daylight that hits your home every day, or do tall trees surround your house? 

Most people forget that sunlight can wash out your paint color and even turn the paint color into a cool tone. If you have lots of sun exposure, you should consider using a warmer tone on your house to balance out the cool blueish tones from the sun. 

For instance, our house is stained with a very dark gray. In the sunshine, the gray looks like a light gray. We considered going lighter on the paint color; I am so glad we did not. 

The direction your home is facing and how much shade your house gets during the day are other variables that you should consider. The best way to decide is to try several different paint samples and look at the colors throughout the day: test paint chips and paint samples by giving it a few days to determine the right paint color.

Resources To Use To Help You Choose Paint Colors

a.  Hire A Paint Consultant –

A color specialist can consult with you to find that best color shades and color combinations for you. 

b. Online Tools and Mobile Apps

There are some great on-line and mobile app tools to help you find the ideal paint color. A few paint manufactures have some wonderful tools that will aid in your exploration process. 

Benjamin Moore’s Personal Color Viewer is a free paint color visualizer tool that lets you sample the look of the interior or exterior color in your home. See how it works with one of their photos. They’re all there. Then, if you register to use it, upload your photo to see different colors on the walls of your own space. With this application, the Benjamin Moore Factory has you covered. We highly recommend you get paint samples so you can view the paint colors in various daylight. 

The Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap visualizer tool for the web is now available for iPhone and Android smartphones, and ColorSnap Visualizer for iPad is yet another version. “ColorSnap Precision is the proprietary technology inside our integrated ColorSnap system,” claims Sherwin-Williams

Paint Apps You Can Use

Palettes: Blend and mix complicated color palettes to create just the right shades for your painting and decorating projects. Developer Rick Maddy offers three versions: Free, Basic, and Pro. 

Paint Tester: Take a picture of your room that needs painting, then virtually try out different color schemes. This Software is available for iOS and Android device

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