How to Choose the Best Exterior Paint Color for Your Home

Ready to give your house a facelift? Here’s everything you need to know about how to choose the best exterior paint color for your home.

When it comes to choosing the best exterior paint for your home, it can be a daunting decision. Getting it right is important. Not only can it make or break your home’s curb appeal, the right paint job can even increase your house’s resale value.

If you’re about to undertake this monumental task and need some help, you’re in luck. Here’s a simple guide to picking the best exterior paint for your home.

1. Consider the Particulars

It goes without saying that every home is unique and has its own quirks and character. Accounting for these encompasses a few different things.

For one, you should think about the era in which your home was built. If you have a historic home, it’s best to honor that. A modern paint job on a Victorian style house would be pretty jarring.

The next thing you do is to look for the things that will most likely be tough or impossible to change. This means stonework, roof color, and other fixed features.

By taking the fixed features of your home into account, you can better choose a color that accents those features. For example, if you have a lot of stone to work around, earthy colors might best suit your overall look.

Above all, just keep in mind that there isn’t a one size fits all answer. Exterior paint jobs are a case by case matter. Take all the unique character traits of your home into consideration and you’ll arrive at the right color.

2. Use At Least Three Shades

Many people aren’t familiar with this rule, but exterior paint jobs have three distinct parts. You’ll need to account for all three of them.

The first thing is your field color, which is the dominant color. Next is the accent color, which is to help things like doors and window shutters pop. Finally, you have trim, which is what it sounds like. That’s for rails, window and door casings, and any other similar spots.

One of the main things to keep in mind is contrast. There should be a stark contrast between your field and trim color. This will add life to your home. As for accents, it’s ok to be bold, but don’t go crazy.

While you can feel free to choose more than just three colors, going overboard can be even worse than doing too little. Get creative, but also stay in your comfort zone.

3. Think About What You Want to Convey

This last tip is the most abstract one, but it’s also the most personal. Much about how you choose to paint your house will depend on you as a person.

If you’re an adventurous, out-there type, let your home convey that. If you prefer understated, quiet living, there are ways to do that too.

Ultimately, you should let your home be an extension of you in every way. Considering an exterior paint job is the first thing people notice, this is one of the most important aspects of that idea.

The Best Exterior Paint for You

At the end of the day, the best exterior paint job for you is going to come down to taste. There are no hard and fast rules, but with any luck, this simple guide has at least helped you get your feet on the right path.

If you’re ready to stop reading and start painting, great!

But painting a whole house yourself can also be a huge and difficult task. If you think you might need some help getting the job done, contact us!