Home Design & Decorating Decorating Walls & Paint

How to Choose an Exterior Paint Color

exterior paint

Whittney Parkinson Design

According to designers, there are several factors that you'll want to prioritize before committing to a new exterior paint color for the outside of your home. More of a long-term commitment than indoor paint, your choice of an exterior paint color can help to elevate your home's curb appeal.

If you're preparing to paint your home in the near future, read on for expert tips that will help guide you through the process.

lake house paint

Anastasia Casey

Tips for Choosing an Exterior Paint Color

Choosing an exterior paint color is an art, not a science. We spoke to interior designers for tips on how to make the process feel less daunting, from considering the history and character of your home and neighborhood to coordinating with the style of your interiors, choosing a color palette, and testing swatches to help you visualize the final result before you take the plunge.

Consider Neighboring Houses

Step outside and take a look at the character and paint colors of neighboring homes. This can be useful whether you're looking to have your house blend in with neighbors' homes or if you wish for your place to make an unexpected statement.

"If there are a bunch of white and gray homes, then a navy blue could be a nice color to stand out," says Linda Hayslett, designer at LH.Designs. "That way, you don't look too similar to other homes in your area."

This concept doesn't just apply to nearby homes. Hayslett also finds it helpful to closely examine the surrounding landscape.

"Depending on what the natural elements are, you can use the colors of plants and scenery to help determine if you want the exterior to blend in to nature, or pop and stand out," she says. "A home in the desert could blend in with a nice creamy sand color or a house could stand out in the mountains with a nice rich black exterior paint color to go with the thick of the woods and branches."

Harmonize With Your Interiors

While scoping out the neighborhood can be helpful, you'll also want to evaluate your interiors.

"Look to the inside of your home to see what would go with the exterior paint choice," Hayslett says. "It's nice to have a cohesive feel with the interior when it comes to an exterior color."

After all, your exterior paint color is what makes a first impression. "It helps set the narrative," Hayslett states. For example, she adds, "If you have dark greens throughout your house then considering something in that family will make your exterior really feel homier."

Plus, in some cases, you may be able to see your exterior paint from indoor rooms, and you won't want the overall result to clash.

"In my home, the porch ceiling and columns are visible from my living room, so I made sure to select colors that looked great from that vantage point as well," says Bethany Adams, founder of Bethany Adams Interiors. "Your inside and outside needn't match, just pay attention to bold color choices and make sure you can literally live with them if need be."

Your decorating style may also play a role in shaping what exterior paint color is best suited to your home. If your style is traditional, Tracy Morris, founder of Tracy Morris Design, suggests going for warm neutrals alongside a deep green, black, or navy door and shutters.

Transitional decorators may wish to opt for cool neutrals paired with charcoal or purple-based black doors and shutters, and contemporary enthusiasts will want to keep neutral tones in heavy rotation outside, Morris adds.

home exterior

Greg Powers for Tracy Morris

Test Color Swatches

As Anastasia Casey, founder of IDCO Studio, states, you won't want to commit to an exterior paint color without giving it a test run first.

"Exterior paint colors often appear several shades lighter when applied to the entire house," she says. "Make sure to test paint swatches and check them throughout the day as the sun shifts."

Creating a mockup that showcases your exterior paint before it is applied is also essential, says Lauren Sullivan, founder and principal designer of Well x Design. "Seeing everything together first in a small section makes it much easier to visualize and make adjustments—rather than after you've had your entire home painted in a color that doesn't quite work," she explains.

Still, renderings are not the end all be all—swatches are still essential. Sullivan notes, "In the end nothing replaces seeing an exterior paint option in real life in the space where it will live."

Choose a Color Palette

Choosing a color palette is a fun process that allows you to personalize the look of your exterior.

First, choose a dominant color for your exterior walls, be it white, black, gray, or any other color. When choosing an exterior paint color, be sure to consider how well it works with your existing roof color and style. Next, choose a contrasting or complementary shade for window and door trim. Then choose an accent color to highlight features such as doors, shutters, porch ceilings, or other architectural details.

A classic combination for an older home such as a Colonial house might be a white house with black shutters and a red front door. Or you can pair two shades of green, blue, or another color on the main walls and trim for a tonal look. If your home has modern, clean lines, you can limit your color palette to just one or two colors for a more contemporary, minimalist feel.

An ornate Victorian house might be painted in complementary or contrasting shades of green, yellow, blue, pink, purple, and any other color of the rainbow. But to keep your home from looking too busy, it's generally best to stick to a maximum of three different shades.

If you are renovating a new house, your architect and interior designer can help you to come up with color palette options to ensure a harmonious result. If you're doing it yourself, you can find suggested color pairings and palettes on the websites of your favorite paint retailer to help guide your choices.

When in doubt, a neutral house color, white trim, and a front door in a contrasting color is an easy formula that works every time.

FAQ
  • How do you decide what color to paint the exterior of a house?

    To help you decide on an exterior paint color, consider everything from the history and architectural style of your home to the character of the neighborhood. It's up to you to decide whether you want an exterior paint color that blends in or provides a vivid contrast, whether you live in a beachfront cottage, a suburban new build, a cabin in the woods, or a country farmhouse.

  • What is the most popular exterior house color?

    The most popular exterior house color is undoubtedly white. Other popular colors include light neutrals such as beige, gray, light blue and green, as well as earthy, natural tones, and darker colors including midnight blue, brown and black for a moodier look.

  • How many colors should you use on a house exterior?

    As a general rule, you should use up to but no more than three colors on a house exterior in order to keep it from looking too busy or disjointed. The main color covering the walls of your home is the defining color. Paint the trim in a complementary or contrasting color. Then paint doors, shutters, porch ceilings, or other architectural details with an accent color if you like.