Top 5 Timeless Foolproof Exterior Paint Colors and Combinations

Looking For The Ideal Exterior Paint Color For Your Home?

We have you covered in this post! We have the top timeless exterior paint colors that will hold up over time.

A fresh coat of exterior house paint brings new life to the outside of any home. New fresh paint or stain is the perfect way to add instant curb appeal. By simply updating the trim, siding, stucco, or just painting the front door will freshen up your home and make an impressive first impression.

Whether you are trying to sell your home, finishing a new build, or remodel, painting the exterior of your home with timeless paint colors is always a sure bet. There are five timeless color hues that have become the most popular exterior paint choices of all time.

Why Timeless Paint Colors Are A Safe Bet

TIMELESS style in general stands the test of time; as trends come and go through the years, certain color shades and design are everlasting.  The Exterior colors that always look current and fresh no matter how old or new. This is why I am a big fan of timeless style and design.

When considering paint shades for your home, you may want to look within the following five dateless color hues that will never be obsolete.  We have shared those down below.

Timeless Over Trendy Colors Of Paint

You don’t paint the exterior of your house very often, so use a good quality timeless hue, you won’t get tired of it in a year from now. It’s like a gorgeous coastal home in the Hamptons painted with beach inspired colors. It just never gets old. Ever! 

Trendy colors are fun, but honestly the timeless tried and true colors  are universally liked by almost everyone. Classic all over exterior paint colors for your home allows room to add a punch of creative color flare to a front door. So, if you really want to add a bold color, give your front door a paint makeover.

The best exterior house colors for 2021 paint color all have staying power. Our experience has taught us that today’s color trends are not necessarily ones you’ll be happy with in the future. That is why our criteria incorporate both modern and classic home styles with an emphasis on versatility.

Check out the list of outdoor paint ideas- From off-whites and dark grays to navy blues and onyx black exterior trim, we’ll give you a wide range of color ideas.

The Top Timeless Exterior Paint Color Combinations

1. Classic White- White on White

A crisp classic white-painted home has a timeless appeal. There’s no more neutral or universal exterior color than white, which provides a nice white canvas upon which to get creative.

There are many variations of white paint (see below for some examples) that can look stunning on the right house. The combination of white and black are elegant and straightforward.

The beautiful thing about painting a home a traditional white or ivory tone is that it offers the opportunity to add bold colors as accents if desired.  Besides, keeping your home’s exterior white provides a clean backdrop to colorful landscape. The same goes for using a white shade inside the home.

A white home, whether it’s a cool white or warmer white tone, is classic.

This classic styled home is painted with with Benjamin Moore – with an elegant paint color scheme of Chantilly Lace, Black Tar 2126-10, shutters and door. Trim is Stone White 2120-70.

This timeless all over what paint is Benjamin Moore’s simply white (OC-117),  Benjamin Moore’s Jamestown Blue for the shutters . It’s perfect for the cottage colors exterior like this home above. Trim is Benjamin Moore’s white diamond. Gorgeous color palette. 

This little cutie with a light gray roof, is painted with a combination of  ageless color  hues. 

Paint colors: Glidden Pebble White (shutters and front door) + Benjamin Moore Wedgewood Gray (trim) + Benjamin Moore White Dove

2.  Beige and Taupe

Beige and taupe is the perfect neutral- like the color pictured below. It has just enough of a green undertone to beautifully blend into the landscape. I would add a fun blue door instead of the white. Some ideas and examples are listed below:

Check out the outdoor

Siding: Canvas Tan by Sherwin-Williams

Trim: Westhighland White by Sherwin-Williams

Front door recommendation: Seaworthy

A graceful, deep taupe, this easy-on-the-eye and neutral. Use an online visual tool to get a better feel for the variance of this color. Shaker Beige is another popular color hue in this family.

Foolproof Color Combinations

If you want to highlight the architectural elements and add dimension, choose a contrasting trim color such as  Simply White OC-117 is a popular Benjamin Moore color. It provides striking contrast against mid-tone Revere Pewter HC 172 siding. Conversely, if your home’s exterior is painted in a lighter hue, consider a trim in a darker color.

3. Classic Blue-Gray and White Trim

A blue-gray exterior paint color is ideal for a few reasons. The color hue is muted but offers a nice punch of contrast with white.  One of my friend’s painted her home with Benjamin Moore Paints (Benjamin Moore Jamestown Blue 148) and it’s lovely. It pairs well with a bright white trim.

Depending on the time of day, it’s hard to determine if the color is more blue than gray. Most often, the hue is more blue. As with any color, make sure you check the paint color in the morning, afternoon and evening as it can change dramatically.

Dark blue houses (navy blue hue) with white trim are always a fan favorite. The bright white trim makes a blue house pop with architecture detail.

The gray is used to tone down the brightness of the blue and to make it more calm and thus timeless.  The following blue-gray are popular exterior house colors. The colors look darker here than when painted.

4. Light and Dark Gray

Traditional gray hues have been a popular exterior color for generations. Gray paint tones work well with both traditional and modern homes. A lighter shade of gray is a neutral color paired with blacks, whites, and similar color hues.

Flagstone by PPG (pictured above) is one of the top choices for 2021. This is not your average gray; this shade features a light blue tone, making all the difference. Flagstone reflects a coastal theme.

Apply Behr’s Stormy Gray paired with a crisp white or charcoal detailing. For a  coordinated look, experts suggest to use all three of these colors together for a striking presentation that will surely propel curb appeal.

Soot 2129-20 by Benjamin Moore is a nice dark gray tone  that looks nice with a pop of white trim. Dark gray homes blend nicely with wooded areas and mountain backgrounds. The gray also compliments the large hardscape stones found in the natural landscape while it provides a nice contrast with natural materials that stand out.

5.  Dark Red Tones With White Or Gray

Brick red (dark red) goes way back in time. It has to be the right type of style of house to paint it brick red but on the right home. Brick Red is an ideal front door color but also an all over exterior paint color. Benjamin Moore  Sundried Tomato CC-62 and Dante’s Cardigan M251- Valspar

Foolproof Color Combinations

If you want to highlight the architectural elements and add dimension, choose a contrasting trim color such as  Simply White OC-117 provides striking contrast against mid-tone Revere Pewter HC 172 siding. Conversely, if your home’s exterior is painted in a lighter hue, consider a trim in a darker color.

Color Schemes For Home Exteriors

Every year there are new color trends. For example, the exterior house colors 2023 will be very different than the trending exterior house colors 2021. We are not talking about trends here. We want to focus on long-lasting appeal.

The exterior of your home is the first impression people have, and a timeless paint color ensures that it will continue to look appealing and attractive for years to come. By choosing a color that transcends current trends, you can avoid the risk of your property looking outdated or out of style.

With that said, we talked to several paint experts and have provided you with a solid list of timeless exterior paint colors.  

Selecting the ideal exterior and accent colors is never easy. There are so many paint color options out there so it can be very overwhelming. So how do you find the best exterior paint colors for your home with no regrets?

Before choosing the color palette for your home, there are so many things to consider, such as roof color, natural surroundings, lighting, etc There are seven things to take into consideration. 

Whether you are trying to sell your home, finishing a new build, or remodel, painting the exterior of your home with timeless paint colors is always a sure bet. There are five timeless color hues that have become the most popular exterior paint choices of all time.

Painting/Staining My Cedar Shingled Home

In the process of narrowing down the ideal solid stain color for our newly remodeled home, there was so much to take into consideration. Painting a home is a huge investment and we wanted to get it right.  It’s a bit terrifying to pull the trigger on a color so research is critical.

Since I was going for a Hampton-styled look, the color palettes I considered were were those that matched the coastal traditional architecture to match the home’s  elegant coastal Hampton vibe. See the most popular coastal paint colors here. 

Tips On Painting Home Exteriors:

Properly prepare the surface before applying the paint. This includes cleaning the surface to remove dirt, grime, and loose paint, as well as repairing any cracks or damage. A good exterior house paint can last seven to ten years, but it’s important that it’s applied properly.

We had an issue when our solid stain was applied during a hot summer day. In the Fall we noticed that bubbles started to form on the cedar siding where the stain was applied in 85 degree weather.

How To Paint And Stain Correctly

It’s important to apply stain or paint correctly. Here are some helpful tips we learned throughout our painting process by our painter who had to fix the previous painters mistakes. If you are painting your house yourself or overseeing a painting project, keep these things in mind:

Avoid temperature extremes. Try to paint in the shade. That means painting different parts of the house at different times of the day. The manufacturer usually indicates minimum and maximum temperatures on the can.

Fluctuating temperatures can be bad for paint, too. If the temperatures will fluctuate too much between day and night, or throughout the week, you might want to reschedule your work.

If the forecast is showing a several warm days and a few colder days, or if it is going to drop by more than a few degrees overnight, you will want to find another time to paint. Consistent temperature is the key to ensure the best opportunity for your paint to be applied properly.

Pro Painting Techniques

• If you paint when it is too hot, too cold, or inconsistent temperatures, your paint job might peel, bubble or crack before it’s time.
• Prepare carefully. Don’t “paint over the cracks.” Those faults will be harder to rectify later. Now is the time to do all those little maintenance jobs you’ve been putting off.
• Wash thoroughly. Scrub off any old, flaking paint. Fill and sand where necessary. Applying a primer is usually a good idea because it improves the adhesion of the top layer of paint. However, it depends on the exterior paint you’ve chosen. Some are all-in-one primer and top coat.
• Paint from the top of the house down. That way you’re always working away from newly painted areas and won’t risk damaging them, which could happen if you work from the bottom up.
• Wait 24 hours between coats. Although some paints claim to cover in one coat, that tends to be in ideal conditions (whatever they are). In our experience, a second coat is often required. Although the first coat will probably dry in a couple of hours, it’s usually suggested that you wait 24 hours before adding the second.
• Don’t forget to get a paint sample before you start painting. Paint hues change throughout the day and you don’t want to be disappointed after you invest in the paint.