Five Things to Consider Before Choosing Exterior Paint Colors

Exterior paint colors, unlike interior ones, have the ability to affect the entire street, putting a lot of weight on homeowners when it comes to selecting a palette. Besides, a number of aspects come into play that you don’t have to worry about on the inside of a house, such as hardscaping, landscaping, roofing, and more.

With that in mind, if you’re painting the exterior of your house, don’t be afraid to take your time selecting a color. You will find this blog very helpful in choosing the ideal exterior colors for your home.

Things to Consider When Going for Exterior Paint 

Use these guidelines, along with the assistance of a professional, to select a color scheme that complements both your personal style and the surroundings of your home.

  1. Take Account of Your Surroundings

Examine the color schemes of the homes in your neighborhood and note which ones appeal to you. If your house is built in a similar style, a version of your preferred color schemes will look great and go in with the rest of the neighborhood.

While the house next door can inspire you with paint colors, it’s not a good idea to mimic your neighbor’s style exactly. Choose colors that distinguish your home while avoiding clashing with surrounding structures. 

Take a look around your area. Is the design of your house similar to that of the house next door? Are your neighbor’s houses or trees? Are you in a peripheral development with homes all around you? Or, like an original huge farmstead now surrounded by contemporary ranch-style 15th-century residences, does your house stand out within the vicinity?

Consider your surroundings when choosing house colors. This can include intentionally complementing, integrating, or even divergence from the colors used by the neighbors. The trick is to make deliberate choices rather than allowing the color impact to happen by chance.

  1. The architectural design of your home is important too

Your exterior paint scheme should feel appropriate to the type of your home, whether it’s a Victorian home, a midcentury contemporary ranch, or a craftsman bungalow. Consider a burnt orange classic Federal-style home or a soft mint green New England saltbox. Isn’t it astonishing?
Many paint manufacturers in Toronto offer historically correct color collections that can serve as a great starting point for your palette, and you can also seek advice from an expert who specializes in this field. You don’t have to follow historical rules to the letter unless your home and neighborhood’s codes require it, but don’t stray too far from them for the best effect.

If you’re stumped for ideas, an architect or a color consultant can assist you come up with a scheme that complements the design of your home.

  1. Start with swatches and work your way up

Purchase sample amounts of the paint colors you’re thinking about and use them to create brush-outs on the exterior. Make sure to include color on both the north and south sides of the home, where lighting might vary drastically, as well as near any trim you’re matching. To get the greatest idea of how the finished product will look, visit your paint samples at different times of the day.

In full sunshine, the color on the paint chip in the store will become darker and more vivid across a large swath of the outside. Make large boards with the paint colors you’re thinking about and move them around the outside. 

Alternatively, you can paint the samples directly onto a variety of surfaces throughout the house. You should see the colors at various times of day and in various lighting circumstances to ensure that you can live comfortably with them. 

  1. Do not forget the Roof

Your home is a canvas, but it isn’t a blank canvas. Some hues are already well-known. Is the surface of your roof made of Terracotta or asphalt or shingle or metal or slate or yes clay? Roofing materials come in a variety of hues.

The color of your external siding does not have to match the color of your roof, but it should complement it. A cobblestone driveway or a large brick paver with lovely reds and browns may also impact the colors you pick for your house. Start with what’s currently there when choosing exterior paint. A house’s paint is less difficult to replace than a roof or a driveway.

In addition, you’ll need to think about the hues of your rooftop before you can go any further with your color choices. No need to worry about color mismatching as much if you have a neutral gray or black. 

If you have a mud-brown roof with a subtle red undertone, colors like greens and blues would clash with your roof. If your shingles have red, brown, green, or blue-gray undertones, you’ll want to consider that when choosing an external paint color pallet.

  1. It all boils down to attentional to details

Use an accent color that has a deliberate connection to the house’s background color to draw attention to design features. Depending on the impression you’re going for, this could mean utilizing a harmonizing color, a complementary color, a hue from the same color family, or even a conflicting color.

Identifying the style of your home is the first step in making this strategic selection. Do you have any brackets or shutters or imposts or swirls or dentil molding? Is there anything lacking from the structure that has to be replaced before you start painting? 

Is it worth noting these elements since they’re visually appealing and historically significant? Is it best to utilize a minor color change so that these details blend in with the rest of the house rather than standing out? When you hire professional painters in Toronto, they can help you with all these questions.

The exterior of your home is just as important as the interior in terms of design. When you work with the professionals at Express Paint, making the right decisions is simple. Take a look at a gallery of some of their outside design work. 

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