Tips On Choosing A House Color
Choosing a House color? Start with the roof . . .
That’s become one of the most common requests for homeowners in today’s marketplace as people look to add more colorful features to their homes as part of remodeling and new construction projects.
“A well-chosen color scheme for a home’s exterior can bring out architectural details, downplay flaws and enhance the overall look of the home,” says Kate Smith, president of Sensational Color. “I always recommend starting from the top down when considering the colors for a home. Start with the roof, work down to the siding, then consider the windows, entry door and trim.”
When offering color consultations on home exteriors, Smith begins with the roof. “Depending on the style of a home, as much as 40 percent or more of the visual you get when looking at a house is the roof,” says Smith, a color consultant for DaVinci Roofscapes. “The more roof that is shown, the more important it is to allow the roof color to help define the home’s style.
“I’m a great fan of color blends for roofs, which you can easily in polymer roofing products. When you select blends with different shades of a color or two in it, the entire roof seems to merge and unify the home exterior. This softens the roof visually and provides you with more long-term options for accent colors to ‘pull out’ from the roofing blend color.”
After determining a roof color, Smith will then look at the siding of the home to determine how the texture plays into the overall home’s appeal. Fixed features like stone, brick and s
tucco need to be considered, along with paint colors for some exteriors.
Show me the color!
Moving to the windows, Smith believes a growing trend for homeowners is to select energy-efficient vinyl framed windows with color exteriors to complement the overall look of a home’s exterior. “There are product lines from Simonton Windows for both replacement and new construction windows and patio doors that offer unique color options such as Brick, Pine, Chocolate, Bronze, Cream and Driftwood,” says Smith. “These frame colors, when matched with trim pieces such as crossheads, shutters and mouldings, create stunning accents. I’ve seen that urethane pieces from Fypon accept paint colors extremely well and can help to make the windows and doors more focal features of the home.”
Both garage and entry doors are also primary products that beg for color on a home’s exterior. According to Smith, having a door that is painted in a bright, warm color can focus attention on the welcoming aspect of a home.
“Generally, if a garage door is clearly visible from the street, it’s best to blend its color to the siding and trim,” says Smith. “When the garage is in line with the front door or behind the home, you can potentially add more color. But, keep in mind that you want the main entry door to ‘pop’ more than the garage, so reserve your key color push for that area of the home.”
One of the easiest ways to add color to the front door is to select an entryway especially designed for painting. The Classic-Craft Canvas Collection from Therma-Tru features smooth, paintable surfaces on fiberglass doors with embossed details so that homeowners can select the paint color they wish to accent their energy-efficient entryway.
“Color fascinates all of us, but some people are afraid to make a mistake by using the wrong colors,” says Smith. “If you have a Colonial-style home with a blend of grays on a roof and white or cream siding, you can easily make the house details pop out with red window frames and a red front door. Or, you can have an Arts-and-Crafts style house with an Aberdeen blend of five neutral colors on the roof that flows down to a rustic wood siding. Deep green accents around the windows, trim and entry door would perfectly accent that type of home.”
