Choosing a Color for the Siding of Your Home

Consider Your Neighbors
If one house next door to yours is navy-blue and another is white, you shouldn’t veer into warm-color territory or paint your house navy-blue or white (no one likes a copycat). Instead, match their home’s color intensity. Something like pale blue-gray would pair well. It stays in the cool spectrum and doesn’t duplicate their selections. You want to have personality but not stand out in a bad way.

Don’t Ignore Local Cues
Beyond the colors on your block, do some research (you can probably just drive around your town!) to make sure your color scheme is historically and regionally appropriate. Imagine the colors you see on homes in Key West. Pink and turquoise feel natural in a tropical region but would be wholly out of place in the Midwest.

Keep Scale and Depth in Mind
The color of your home can trick the eye. For instance, painting your home a light color can make it seem larger than it is and visually brings it forward to the curb. Conversely, dark colors can make a home look smaller but more substantial and set back.

Test Before you Commit
Always paint a test patch and observe it at different times of day to see how the sunlight affects it. Keep in mind that all colors will always appear lighter on the exterior of your house than on a paint chip in the store. Natural lighting makes everything appear lighter and brighter. Always go darker than you think you’d want.

When it comes to sheer square footage, a home’s siding takes up a lot of visual real estate and is usually the most difficult and most expensive area to paint. Consequently, you should decide on a paint color for your siding first and then match your trim and accents to it. To start your color selection, realize your home actually isn’t a blank canvas. You have a lot of fixed elements to consider when establishing your color palette.

The Roof
If you have a brown roof, steer toward a warm siding color, like tan. If you have a gray or black roof, you can go cooler, a simple blue is a good choice. Take a step back and observe any other fixed, unpaintable elements on your home’s exterior, like copper awnings, stone chimneys, and brick features.