Guide to Harmonize the Exterior Colors of your Home

Whether you are building a new home or renovating the one you currently own, there is no doubt that you want to choose the most attractive colors that blend well together for your exterior cladding. We all want our family members and neighbors to talk about our home well and be happy to come visit us. For you, choosing the right exterior colors for your home is an important and essential element.

Here are some ideas to consider when it comes time to start renovating or building.

Some directions to help you in your project

There are at least three categories of important elements that can influence the visual appearance of your home:

·         What type of siding do you have?

·         Vinyl, brick, pressed wood, stone, etc.

·         Very often, there is an amalgam of coatings: brick and vinyl for example.

The exterior cladding you choose will represent a large part of the exterior surface of your home.

Other elements such as windows, the main entrance door and the garage doors make up the secondary elements.

Finally, there are the tertiary elements: gutters, banisters, gable ornaments, soffit

Paint manufacturers offer a wide choice of exterior colors, which can make your decision easy or difficult to make when you have to opt for the exterior colors of your home. In choosing the different materials and colors, consider these two points: how will they affect the color choices of secondary and tertiary elements and what they will ask you for maintenance time.

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Consider the architectural style of your home, but also that of your neighbors

Surely you do not want the outside color you choose to be absolutely out of sync with your neighborhood. A country style house gives you a little more freedom to choose brighter exterior colors, while a classic style of home, such as Colonial or Victorian style, will require a little more restraint.

Also consider your landscaping in choosing your exterior color. If there are many trees, shrubs, and floral arrangements around your home, this may limit you to the colors you will need to choose. The orientation of the sun in relation to the facade of the house must be taken into account.

The last thing that weighs in the balance: the architectural style of your neighborhood. Are there specific restrictions in your municipality, or if you live in a residential community, are there any special limitations to follow? Take the time to check this technical point, especially in order not to upset your neighbors and keep a good harmony in the neighborhood.

Coordinate all aspects of your home well

The key to achieving a harmonious style is to choose a main color that harmonizes well with the architectural style of your home and the other components that make it up. Choose complementary colors for your main entrance door, your window sills and your garage door that will give a pleasant and harmonious contrast to the whole. In the majority of cases, it would be wise to avoid too bright colors. Think of colors closer to nature that will match the main color you choose for your home. Think "complementary", and the harmony will come naturally.

Take the time to look at the websites of some paint manufacturers. They all offer a section dedicated to the harmonization of exterior colors, the dominant color and its accessory colors.

Choose the color of your front door and the garage door: two important elements

You will probably want to choose the color of your main entrance door based on that of the dominant color of the exterior siding of your home. You can choose something bolder and brighter, such as red or burgundy, or something more subtle, such as chocolate brown or black.

You might also be tempted to simply match it to your garage door. But above all, think about the size of your garage door (single or double) and its location. The garage door can represent up to 40% of the front of the house if it is facing the street, especially if you have a double door (door that is usually 16 feet wide). Avoid drawing too much attention to the garage from the rest of the house and choose a lighter color. If you still decide to choose a darker color, add some decorative accents around the door, like potted green flowering plants, a pergola and other accessories to reduce the contrast of the different elements.