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How to Pick Exterior Paint Colors

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How to Pick Exterior Paint Colors

Picking an exterior paint color for your house can feel overwhelming. The options seem endless and it’s hard to narrow down on a color scheme when you don’t know what you should be looking for. The interior of your home is where you can flex your personality and use your personal color preference while the exterior paint should be more about durability. You want paint that will last!

As you consider paint colors for your home’s exterior, stick with what you know and love! This is your largest investment and by choosing colors that look good and last longer you’re going to be doing more than just protecting your house, your increasing its value and stretching your dollar!

Step 1: Decide What Color Tone You Want

First things first, decide what color tone you want. Do you want something light and bright, mid-tone, or dark for the body of your house? This is the easy part as most of us have some sort of vision that leans light or dark.


Light tone exterior paint

Light Tones would include all your earthy colors like white, beige, brown, and tan. These colors absorb lese UV rays which means your house stays cooler and is less likely to fade as compared to organic colors like reds, blues, greens and yellow.


Mid tone exterior paint

Mid-tones are the ones in the middle of the spectrum and they are neither dark or light. These colors may appear muted or slightly dull but are easy on the eyes. They aren’t as flirty as pastels, overwhelming as bright colors or dramatic as dark ones. Examples would be blue gray, peach, sage, or hay yellow.

Dark exterior paint

Some Dark tones would include black, charcoal gray, navy, dark forest green and dark violet. Dark exteriors are perfect for homes surrounded by beautiful greenery. The contrasts in tones are a sure-fire way to make your house stand out. While these aren’t the most popular exterior color due to it’s inevitable fading, dark colors are sophisticated, elegant, modern and edgy. If a dark color scheme seems a bit much, consider just painting your front door a bold dark color.

Step 2: Choose Based on Underlying Colors and Environment

Look at your home and take note of it’s personality and its surroundings! Do you have interesting architecture features you want to highlight? Is there existing stone or brick that you are keeping? Do you have a lot of colorful plants and shrubbery? What about the color of your roof? Think about working with the underlying colors within that material and stay away from ones that will clash.

exterior house color underlying color tones

What are underlying colors exactly? We have three primary colors, red, yellow and blue. All other colors are combinations of those mixed together. Tone is related to the amount of black or white within the color. Let’s say you have a house with browish stone like the one pictured above. You can see that while the stone comes off as brown, it is compiled of a handful of colors like black, tan and cream. Those would be considered the materials underlying colors. Knowing that, you can then pull colors with the tone you are looking for to perfectly compliment your already existing material.

Some examples of colors that will clash with each other are: Red and purple. Brown and maroon. Brown and Black. Orange and Purple. Blue and Green. A good example of this would be, if you have a brown roof with green undertones you should stay away from painting your home blue!

Step 3: Check Color Schemes

At this point, if your home has underlying colors within existing material that you like and are drawn to, your decision should be pretty easy from here. If you have an HOA with pre-approved colors then simply look for a scheme that has the right tones you are looking for and then match the colors as closely as you can.

Don’t worry if you are still lost at this step. Do some research! Look at your HOA color schemes and browse Pinterest or Google for inspiration. Try searching phrases based off the style of your house like, “ranch style home exterior” or “Victorian home exterior.” You can also try searching terms like “light house exteriors” or “Dark  exterior houses.”


Color schemes

Check out our Pinterest board for inspiration or some of our custom color schemes above!

Step 4: Get Color Samples

You have finally narrowed down on a color scheme or two. Now it’s time to get samples! Expect that your color will look a tone lighter than what you see on the color chip. Paint tends to look lighter when exposed to natural light. When painting up your samples, do it in several areas around the house and look at them at different times during the day so you can see it’s true color.

If you have a stucco home, the paint may look a little darker because the texture creates shadows within the small indentations. If your home is made of both stucco and siding, consider painting them the same color. The texture and slight difference of tone will give your exterior depth.

With natural light also comes more color.  Once you paint those samples up you’re going to be able to see more of it’s underlying colors. Gray’s may look more purple or blue. Tan may seem a little more orange. Keep this in mind when picking colors and if you are worried about those colors coming through opt for a lighter tone within the same color family.


color samples


Color Samples

DO: Paint up samples once you have narrowed in on your final exterior colors

DONT: Waste your money and paint up a ton of different exterior color options

Try to wait until you’ve narrowed down your colors before you go painting up a bunch of different ones. Samples should be you narrowing in on a color, not painting up a dozen different ones to see what you like best. With sample cans running close to $10 a pop that ends up being a major waste of money.

If you are a visual person and you can’t help but want to see a bunch of colors on the home, try using Sherwin-Williams COLORSNAP Visualizer. This application lets you upload a photo of your home and see it painted as another color.

Step 5: Make your Decision

Stick with the colors and tones you know and love and if you ever need some advice, your friends here at Colorado Commercial & Residential Painting would be happy to assist you! Learn more with our guide on some of the best exterior paints for your home.

CHECK OUT SOME RECENT BEFORE AND AFTERS:


Exterior home painting


home painting


Exterior home painting


Exterior home


home painting


home painting

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Trevor Z Marshall

Owner & Managing Member at Colorado Painting

Originally from Texas, I’m now thrilled to call Colorado home! Life at our house is full of energy, with four kids, a dog, a cat, and a rotating cast of fish (turns out they’re not the easiest pets to keep alive). Thankfully, my wife Erin and I somehow manage to stay afloat. I’m a proud graduate of Vanderbilt University and have been fortunate to live and work across the country, gaining valuable experiences along the way. When I’m not working, I enjoy making the most of Colorado’s beautiful outdoors, catching up with friends and family, following sports, especially European football, and exploring Boulder’s fantastic craft beer scene. I’m passionate about supporting our team members, whom we proudly refer to as Partners, in delivering top-tier customer service and achieving outstanding results. Looking forward to the opportunity to work together!

Rodgrick M.Rodgrick M. ★★★★★ Excellent service!!TravisTravis ★★★★★ Colorado Painting was super easy to work with and they did an excellent job. The project was completed quickly and with no issues. I would highly recommend Colorado Painting.zoe R.zoe R. ★★★★★ Could not be happier with my experience!! The crew was kind, professional, and very punctual. not to mention the attention to detail, which was fabulous. The salesman and project manager were very knowledgeable and helpful, and I love the way my house turned out! I'll be recommending Colorado Painting to my friends and family for sure.Lois R.Lois R. ★★★★★ The Colorado Painting team was amazing! Quick, clean, professional, and friendly. They helped pick colors and we couldn't be happier with the outcome. Highly recommend these guys.Michael H.Michael H. ★★★★★ We recently had the interior of our home painted and couldn’t be happier with the results. The crew was professional and paid great attention to detail. The whole process was easy and I would highly recommend them!Katie F.Katie F. ★★★★★ Their price was comparable to other companies but the service & results were above and beyond. Love the painting job on our house years later!Kelly F.Kelly F. ★★★★★ Painted our odd shaped vaulted ceiling entryway and bathroom! We were extremely pleased with the results. They repaired weathered trim around skylight and vaulted shelf. Looks amazing. Quick, efficient, professional job! Love these guys!Paul F.Paul F. ★★★★★ Everybody we worked with was extremely qualified, knowledgeable and helpful. They went above and beyond! We highly recommend this company and will definitely use them again!Kelly F.Kelly F. ★★★★★ Honest prices, great service and good quality work!Malak D.Malak D. ★★★★★ I had an amazing experience with this painting company from start to finish. The team was professional, punctual, and extremely detail-oriented. They took the time to properly prep the space, protect my furniture, and ensure everything was neat and clean throughout the job. The quality of their work is outstanding smooth finishes, sharp lines, and even coverage that completely transformed the look of my home. What really stood out was their communication. They explained the process clearly, answered all of my questions, and kept me updated each step of the way. The crew was respectful, friendly, and finished the project on schedule. I couldn’t be happier with the results the rooms look brand new! I highly recommend this company to anyone looking for reliable painters who truly care about their craft and their customers.Faith KFaith K ★★★★★ This place is the real deal! They know everything when it comes to paint and are professional through it all. If you’re around Denver DEFINITELY reach outHanna A.Hanna A. ★★★★★ I don’t often leave reviews, but these guys are out of this world. All the guys were incredibly professional and nice. They quoted me a good price and made sure I was 100% happy with the job when they were done. I know that if I wasn’t, they would have done anything to fix it, luckily I was more than pleased! I recommend them to everyone!GANDOFF0030GANDOFF0030 ★★★★★ Commercial team was on top of it! Amazing people and understood what I asked of them. Very well done and will recommend every single time!Allison P.Allison P. ★★★★★ The staff was great at communicating. The painting team was very fast and did a great job. They painted our whole house and back porch and it looks so good!Danny F.Danny F. ★★★★★ WOW!Osman & his team are incredible, they all work together to get the job done. Bedroom #1 - Popcorn ceiling removed, retextured & entire room painted. Bedroom #2 and bathroom painted. Entire job completed in 2 days! It was amazing to see the pride these guys put into their work! Thanks also goes to the project manager, Ben, for keeping us informed along the way.Eric HEric H ★★★★★ Had a wonderful experience with the Colorado Residential Painting team, from sales, painting execution, to final walk through, and payment process!Sales:The team worked diligently on getting me the best price with top quality paint materials. The quoting process was prompt, professional, and with clear communication. In addition to painting the entire home exterior, we had exterior trim that needed replaced, and we even included a custom solid wood front door that needed careful attention to sand, stain, and reseal. Our sales rep (Eric) was a pleasure to work with and helped us through the up front analysis and evaluation of options to choose from.Painting Process:Communication and attention to detail was extraordinary! Greatly appreciate the level of expertise and professionalism! The lead painter (Leo) and his team were superhuman in their details, work ethic, and commitment to making the customer satisfied! The project lead (Ben) was onsite everyday making sure the team had everything they needed to work efficiently and get the job done on time without any delay.The ENTIRE team was friendly, communicated clearly, and simply amazing!Highly recommended and phenomenal job!Peter M.Peter M. ★★★★★ Fantastic service all around. Great people. I cannot say enough of good things about them. i would definitely recommend them.pam F.pam F. ★★★★★ Excellent service, attention to detail, great crew and companyCharlie A.Charlie A. ★★★★★ Eric and the team were nothing short of exceptional. They were very professional and courteous. They asked a bunch of questions for my preferences and provided their expert opinion when asked for it. They have problem solving skills when it comes to siding repair and made it look seemless. Top notch group overall and I would hire them again not for exterior painting.Christy M.Christy M. ★★★★★ CCRP were easy to work with from the beginning to the end of the project. Ben kept me informed of everything and Leo and his crew did a fantastic job painting and fixing a few things on the house. Our home looks fantastic. We are very happy with the painting job they did!js_loader
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