How to Choose Exterior Paint Colors for Your Home—Tips from Our Austin Architects
Our Austin Architects Share the Best House Paint Colors and How to Choose the Right Exterior Color for Your Home
We’ve all driven past homes in the neighborhood and thought, “what were they thinking with that paint color?” Picking exterior paint colors for your home can be a daunting task. Unlike interior paint colors, exterior colors need to complement the house’s landscape, neighborhood, and structural features, like roofing, brick, and stone. Plus, colors look very different outside than they do inside. Our Austin architects share all the necessary tips and things to keep in mind when selecting exterior paint colors for your home. First, we will review all the elements of your home exterior and what will need to be painted or coordinated. Then, we will look at color considerations and tips for choosing house paint colors. Finally, our architects will review the landscape’s role in selecting exterior paint and trending home colors to consider.
List All the Home Exterior Features You Will Have to Paint and Materials You Will Have to Coordinate
To select exterior paint colors for a home, you need to pay attention to all of the existing structural features and how color selections will work to complement them. For example, stone, brick, and roofing will limit your color choices to options that coordinate with the undertones of these materials. Here is a list of elements you will have to keep in mind when selecting colors and a list of every item on your house you will need to paint.
Home Features to Coordinate
Roof
Windows
Stone
Brick
Exterior Flooring
Home Features to Paint
Fascia or Roofline Trim
Soffit or Roof Overhang
Porch Ceiling
Trim Details
Siding
Stucco
Shutters
Railings
Columns
Front Door
3 Color Considerations for Home Exteriors
Whether you are building your first house or planning your first remodel, there are three basic color considerations you will have to make for your exterior paint colors.
Field Color
The field color is the main color for the body of the house. The field color will be applied to your siding or stucco and should coordinate with any stone or brick elements. When choosing a field color for the exterior of your home, it is best to go with something neutral. Save the bright colors for accents!
It is best to use neutrals while matching paint colors with your stone or brick.
Photo by DK Studio
Trim Color
The trim color is the secondary color applied to window trim, ceilings, overhangs, railings, and columns. Typically, homeowners select a lighter or darker shade than the field color, depending on the look they want. White is a prevalent trim color across many architectural styles.
White is a prevalent trim color across many architectural styles.
Photo by DK Studio
Accent Color
The accent color adds a bright pop to the exterior of the home! Accent colors are limited to the front door, shutters, and specialty trim pieces to deliver an impactful design. When it comes to bright colors on a home exterior, less is more.
Accent Exterior Colors
Photo by DK Studio
Monochromatic Home Exterior Paint Idea
While it is popular to pick three different colors for the field, trim, and accents, some homeowners opt for a monochromatic home exterior. A monochromatic scheme uses the same color on all the home’s exterior elements, sometimes with slight variations in value or shade. Monochromatic palettes make a bold impact and are a popular design choice for contemporary-style homes.
Tips for Selecting Exterior Paint Colors
Here are the top three tips for picking exterior paint colors from our architects in Austin, Texas.
Test Multiple Samples
We recommend testing multiple samples of different colors. For example, our team regularly tests 20 or more paint samples on a home’s exterior before making the final selection. Slight variations in shade can make a surprising difference once you see the color applied to the home exterior.
Try Colors on Different Areas of the House
Don’t make the mistake of testing colors on one exterior wall of the home. For example, a color selection on the north-facing side of the house may look very different than the same color on the west-facing side at sunset. Instead, our team of architects recommends painting colors on large sample boards that can be moved and tested in different lighting throughout the day.
Create a Mock-up Wall
To choose the best materials for the exterior of your home, our Austin architects recommend building a mock-up wall. A mock-up wall is a small temporary wall that includes all of the materials and paint color options for the home. With a mock-up wall, you can see how brick options coordinate with roofing selections and how trim and field colors complement each other. Once you see all the materials together, it will be easier to decide on your home exterior color scheme.
The Landscape and Environment’s Role in Exterior Paint Colors
Unlike interior color selections, exterior home colors are affected by the landscape and environment surrounding the house. Therefore, it is important to consider the role nature plays when selecting your home paint color.
Choose Colors Rooted in Nature
Colors rooted in nature will feel more refined and at ease with the landscape than bright and unnatural-looking colors.
This is an example of using colors rooting in nature.
Photo by DK Studio
Select Exterior Colors That Stand Out
Muted and natural colors don’t mean your home can’t stand out on the street. For example, white houses on tree-lined streets will pop against the lush green background.
White exteriors can pop next to greenery.
Photo by DK Studio
Select Exterior Colors That Blend In
In some cases, homeowners want their residences to blend in rather than compete with the landscape. For example, olive or dark green would recede into the natural surroundings in a wooded area.
2021 Exterior House Color Trends
In 2021, exterior color trends are favoring darker colors like greens, grays, and charcoals. Dark colors work well with a variety of architectural styles, especially contemporary builds. The 2021 Pantone Color of the Year includes two colors, Ultimate Gray and Illuminating Yellow. This gray would make a beautiful field color, while the yellow offers a bright accent for the front door!
DK Studio’s Favorite Exterior Home Colors
Our team of architects in Austin, Texas, often gets asked what our favorite colors are for home exteriors. Two of our personal favorites include:
These colors tend to look very different depending on the home, landscape, and sun exposure. Make sure to browse our portfolio of projects to get an idea of what to expect.