You might not do it too often, but painting the exterior of your home can make a huge difference in the way it looks on the street. It can also increase your home’s sales value if you want to sell it. Of course, it’s also important to choose the right color scheme because the way that the house looks will affect the whole street. This sometimes places undue pressure on homeowners.
How Should You Choose?
In the spirit of making it easier, here are some tips for how to choose the right color for your exterior paint job.
Planning around Other Elements
If you’re having trouble choosing a color, look at the elements of your home that aren’t easy to renovate. The roof, gutters, driveway, and other permanent areas can inform your color choices.
Look at the colors of these areas and choose a color that complements or harmonizes well with them. For example, if you have a red roof, it might be a good idea to choose a paint color that is warm too.
The Style of Your Home
When was your home built? Often, the architectural style of a home can inform color choices. For example, if your home is old and has a Victorian look, you probably shouldn’t choose a paint color that is ultra-modern and bright.
Many homes in areas with a proud history of settlement present great opportunities to choose colors that represent these times in our past. In fact, some paint sections in hardware stores can help you choose the most historically accurate colors for your exterior paint job.
Of course, if you have a modern home that’s not very old, you can likely get away with a much more modern and bold color scheme. In this context, you can certainly play around with your palette.
Get Some Paint Chips and Samples
If you have the time, you should go out and get some paint chips so that you can more easily choose a color palette. Of course, paint will always look different on a large surface when it’s dry, so you should also paint a small and inconsequential area of your home first so you can see how the color really looks.
Choose a Dominant Color, Accents, and Trim Shades
Ideally, you should choose three paint colors for the exterior of your home, which are as follows:
- The dominant color, which will be used the most and will dominate the visual field
- An accent color that complements the dominant color well and will be painted onto smaller areas of the home, such as doors
- A trim color that is a little bolder, but still harmonizes, and which will be used on much smaller areas such as window frames.
Conclusion
The age of your home, the look of the street, the trees and foliage around it, and other elements all have an influence on color choice when it comes to painting the exterior of your home. By choosing your colors wisely, you can make a huge statement and add value to your home.
Marc Poulos began his real estate and financial services career, but he soon realized that his true passion was beautifying homes. He started working with various small craftsman shops before serving an apprenticeship with the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Chicago. His commitment to excellence won him Top Apprentice from Washburne trade school in Chicago – the country’s premier school of its kind.
