5 Tips for Selecting Your Exterior Color Scheme

As the innaugural National Curb Appeal Month continues, we are celebrating by looking at different projects you can do to increase your home’s curb appeal and we are continuing with a simple way to update your home’s exterior: paint.

Your neighborhood, region, and personal tastes, all influence the palette of your home’s exterior, but there are ways that you can make your home stand out even if you stick with neutral colors.

Here are a few tips to keep your home’s paint job looking fresh.

1. Pick Two Hues in Varying Brightness for Accent

If you want to put your own personal stamp on a home with a white or neutral exterior you can modernize it with an accent shade.

2. Play with Primary Colors

Red, blue, and yellow are the bases for all other hues, but considering painting a home in startling bright, color wheel shades is not something most people consider. If you consider giving these hues rich depth or startling brightness, you might be pleasantly surprised at the result. The key is to select one color that pops while keeping the others more subtle.

3. Rely on the Classics

While bold colors are coming into play much more in exterior color schemes you should never be afraid to stick with the classics. There is a reason why tried-and-true combinations work with certain house.

A beautiful Mediterranean home would probably look strange in anything other than off-white stucco. And a Colonial painted a bright eye-searing green wouldn’t fit into place either.

4. Use Shades of One Color

Using a mix of colors and materials for your home’s exterior will give it visual interest without it looking dated and boring. Even if you stick with a neutral palette you can still pick accent pieces like window frames, shutters, and trim that can be painted either a darker or lighter shade.

5. Bold Colors on Traditional Homes