Some people never seem to hesitate when it comes to a decision. Others of us, however, can suffer from “paralysis by analysis,” the tendency to overthink and reconsider every option! If you are the latter type, choosing house paint colors can be intimidating — what if you don’t like it?! That’s why we are offering some tips for choosing paint colors for the exterior of your house.
Choosing Paint Colors when the Siding Won’t Be Painted
If your house has vinyl, aluminum, or brick siding, you generally don’t paint these surfaces. This means you need to choose the accent colors based on what color your siding is.
One of the main things to consider is contrast. You want your doors, shutters, window trim, and soffits to stand out in a good way from the rest of the house.
Using Neutrals: White is the classic choice for a trim color, since it matches with everything, and produces a border that is clear, yet subtle. Black achieves a similar end, but in a more striking fashion. Dark gray is also a modern, easy-matching color for trim.
Using Opposites: The color wheel is very helpful in choosing contrasting colors. Opposites make great pairs; red and green, purple and yellow, blue and orange. For example, a red brick house looks great with a deep green door. Lavender shutters look lovely on a buttercup yellow house.
Using Adjacent Colors: The color wheel also encourages us to use neighboring colors for pleasing pairs. For each of the colors below, the two colors in parentheses are adjacent, and look very nice with it:
- Red (purple and orange)
- Orange (red and yellow)
- Yellow (orange and green)
- Green (yellow and blue)
- Blue (green and purple)
- Purple (blue and red)
Remember that you are not limited to the basic varieties of these colors, such as you would find on children’s lunch boxes. There are thousands of gorgeous hues that are variants of these, which combine in stunning and subtle ways.
Choosing Paint Colors for the Whole Home Exterior
When the siding will also receive paint, the choices are even more extensive! Use the same color principles described above, first choosing the main house color, then the accents for trim, doors, and shutters.
One of the best ways to find color inspiration is to look at other homes in your area, and at photos online. You can use Google, Houzz, Pinterest, and other search tools to find thousands of images. Narrow it down to the ones you love most, and then make your choice!
Do keep in mind that the architectural style of the home makes a difference. For example, a tex-mex themed rancher in Southern California might look gorgeous in certain colors, but those colors might look out of place on a two-story New Jersey dwelling.
Cherry Hill Painting
Even if choosing paint colors is a little tricky, choosing your house painter doesn’t have to be! For residents of Philadelphia and New Jersey, you know you can trust Cherry Hill Painting to produce superior results. Call our office to schedule a free estimate, and find out why New Jersey loves Cherry Hill Painting!