When it’s time to paint the exterior of your home, it also means it’s time to choose an exterior paint colour, which can be quite intimidating. The exterior paint colour you choose will represent your personality as well as your home’s natural architecture. Painting the exterior home is a lot of work, and it’s important to get it right the first time. Here are a few tips and things to consider when choosing an exterior paint colour for your home.

1. Your Home’s History

Reviewing the history of your home is often an important aspect when selecting an exterior paint colour. Do you live in a history neighbourhood? What era was your home built in? There are specific colours used for specific periods of time. For example, exteriors in the early 1900’s used some bold colour schemes. There are earthy red homes with yellow trim and light blue homes. By selecting complementing colours and using the colour to highlight the natural architecture of your home, you can create a beautiful, historic colour palette that will leave people in awe. Many local paint stores have historic colour palettes to help make the decision easier.

2. Check Out The Neighbourhood

Take a drive or a walk around your neighbourhood and pay close attention to the neighbouring houses. More than likely there will be homes that look similar in design to yours and were built within the same time period. Assess what you do and don’t like about their colour schemes. While you don’t want to copy your neighbours, they can certainly serve as inspiration for your own choices and help you determine what you do and don’t like first hand.

3. Roof Colour

Be sure to take a look at your roof and the colour of your roofing material. Different types of roofing materials boast different colours that can help you make a decision when choosing a paint colour for the exterior of your home. Your colour doesn’t have to match the roof by any means, but it should compliment it.

4. Determine What Isn’t Being Painting

Every home has elements that are not going to be painted, such as natural stone or brick work. Be sure to include these elements when selecting an exterior paint colour for your home. You want to make sure all of the colours of your home are going to work together in the long run.

5. Light and Dark Colours have Different effects

Selecting a lighter paint colour for the outside of your home will help your home appear clean cut and larger than it actually is. If size is not an issue, a darker colour on the main area and highlighting smaller details with a lighter colour can help your home stand out more and highlight the small details effectively.