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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

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

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

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

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

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!

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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Robert TRobert T ★★★★★ Very easy to work with and expert results. I was impressed that they did the whole job in one day including some serious prep work. Lots of scraping and caulking. The house looks great with all the boards tightened up and the new coat of paint. Would recommend CCRP without hesitation.William K.William K. ★★★★★ Our experience with Colorado Painting could not have been better. From the prompt and friendly communication surrounding the estimate for the exterior paint job, to the efficient and quality painting on the finished product. All aspects of the experience were top notch, fairly priced, and completed in a professional manner.Matthew M.Matthew M. ★★★★★ Impressive work for painting the entire interior of the home. Minimal touch ups needed at the end. Company has the ability to resurface uneven areas with sanding and texture. Pricey but worth the end result.alison B.alison B. ★★★★★ We had a great experience from the beginning to end of our painting project! The original sales/quote process was so professional and the painting went quickly and was done very professionally. This is our second very successful experience with Colorado Commercial & Residential Painting. We'll use them again!Peter H.Peter H. ★★★★★ Colorado Painting provided an excellent quality of work for our exterior and interior house painting projects. The staff and painters were professional, friendly and very easy to work with during the projects. We are very happy with the final painting project. We recommend the company.C C.C C. ★★★★★ Colorado Commercial & Residential Painting recently painted the exterior of our house. We received competitive bids from other companies, but Colorado Painting stood out from the rest with their professional, knowledgeable, and courteous service.Hayden provided a comprehensive project plan of what repair work needed to be done and what materials would be use. Osman and his paint crew did an impeccable job making sure all surfaces were well prepped and taped off to catch any overshoot. When doing the inspection after the painting was completed we could not find any missed spots or places that needed paint reapplied. They also painted our rod iron deck railings and they look brand new.We would definitely not hesitate to hire Colorado Commercial & Residential Painting for any future painting needs.Holly G.Holly G. ★★★★★ The team was a pleasure to work with and the job was very well done. I couldn't be happier. The whole process was smooth, and they were very communicative throughout the whole process. I highly recommend them!Dustin B.Dustin B. ★★★★★ Great communication, execution, cleanup and follow-up. Highly recommended.Taylor L.Taylor L. ★★★★★ We are very happy with the paint job they did on the exterior of our house! From the initial quote and scheduling, to the prep, painting, and then the follow up quality check at the end, everyone at Colorado Commercial & Residential Painting made what felt like a daunting task a very seamless and enjoyable experience. The quote was reasonable and the team was professional and friendly. We have already recommended them to neighbors and friends!Patricia W.Patricia W. ★★★★★ Colorado Commercial &Residential Painting took on my project to paint my home. It had not been painted in 15 years, was dirty, peeling and chipping. They bid a competitive price without upselling. They did a beautiful job of washing, refurbishing and painting my home. It looks brand new and I would strongly recommend them!Mike B.Mike B. ★★★★★ I hired Colorado Commercial and Residential Painting to repaint my townhouse from top to bottom. The work was AMAZING. The final walkthrough was so great that I had nothing on my punchlist for them to fix! If you are considering a makeover, hire them!Todd V.Todd V. ★★★★★ Colorado Commercial and Residential Painting recently completed painting nearly 100% of our house’s interior. As the original owners of our 1999 home, we felt it was time for a change. Before the painters arrived, I decided to upgrade all our doors to solid core for a more high-end feel. I purchased pre-primed doors, installed them myself, and did some preliminary prep work.The painting team assured me they would make the doors and woodwork look amazing, and they delivered on that promise. They sprayed all the trim and new doors and rolled the walls with a new, lighter color. Even though I had prepped the doors, I noticed them improving some of my workmanship. They weren’t going to mention it, but I’m glad they did. The woodwork and doors now look like they belong in a 5-star hotel.Honestly, our house looks brand new and even better than the day we moved in back in 1999. Before selecting this company, I did some research with friends. While you can find cheaper bids out there, I believe you get what you pay for. Spraying the trim makes such a significant difference that it’s worth the extra work, additional cost, and minor inconvenience it causes.The team was highly communicative, very professional, and responsive to our needs throughout the five days they were here.I would definitely use them again and plan to do so for some exterior updates this summer.Pamela S.Pamela S. ★★★★★ Leo and his team did an amazing job painting our main level - ceilings and all! Colorado Painting is so helpful and friendly. The color they helped pick out with me is perfect. They are friendly, helpful, and neat! Thanks Colorado Painting!Josh SJosh S ★★★★★ We have completed several projects over the years with CCRP including basement and bathroom remodels involving tricky finish, texture and paint work, all of which were great experiences - fast and high quality work. I love finding locally owned and operated businesses that are a part of the community - you won't regret working with this company.Collin “.Collin “. ★★★★★ These guys were great! Responsive, in time and very professional. Highly recommend.Tracy S.Tracy S. ★★★★★ Colorado Residential and Commercial Painting repainted our home as well as our pergolas and I can’t say enough great things about them. The whole process went smoothly. So easy to work with as well as professional and just did an amazing job. If you need your home or business painted I would definitely give them a call!Jessie A.Jessie A. ★★★★★ They do a great job and everyone is friendly and helpful!Matthew F.Matthew F. ★★★★★ Excellent work, good communication and very quick. Highly recommend!Jessica T.Jessica T. ★★★★★ We have worked with the team at CCRP twice now and will definitely hire them again. The company is great to deal with- everyone is friendly, knowledgeable and helpful, and the work is wonderful. They took the time to address extra details which were so appreciated. Highly recommend for both interior and exterior work.Monica J.Monica J. ★★★★★ They were great! I hired them for a big job -- the entire main level of my home and an upstairs bedroom, including two sky-high walls near my entrance. Everyone involved was professional, punctual and tidy. I made a mistake in not reading the quote carefully enough, but they worked with me to get the job done the way I envisioned it.js_loader
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