Choosing an Exterior Paint Color for Your Home –
Have you drove past a house that made you look twice because the exterior paint was a bright green, bright blue, or a nice flashy pink? If so, consider taking some time to learn about what you need to do in order to choose the right exterior paint color for your home.
Choosing the right paint colors for painting your home does not have to be stressful, but there are some considerations to keep in mind. If you live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association (like many West Omaha neighborhoods), for example, you will need to make sure that whichever paint color you choose is within their guidelines.
Tips for choosing the perfect exterior paint color for your home:
James Hardie siding with shake accents, custom painting and custom shutters by United Services
Tip #1: Start by creating a color scheme that would be appropriate for your home AND neighborhood. Don’t forget to take into consideration your neighborhood’s HOA to make sure the house paint colors you have picked fall within their guidelines.
Tip #2: Three main parts of your house to consider painting – field (body), accent, and trim color. Consider hiring a professional Omaha house painter to get the best advice and results to bring it all together.
Tip #3: Take into consideration the size of your house. If you have a small house, consider lighter paint colors. Light paint colors make a house seem bigger while darker ones will make a house seem smaller.
Sherwin Williams SW 7694 Dromedary Camel
Sherwin Williams SW 6152 Superior Bronze
Tip #4: Turn to history to get inspiration for your color scheme. Sherwin-Williams has a great selection of historical paint colors that you can choose from.
Sherwin Williams Historic Colors – Body SW 6381 Anjou Pear, Trim SW 6379 Jersey Cream
Tip #5: Pick a paint color that will make your house stand out in every season of the year. Brighter paint colors have higher reflectance, so if you’re thinking of a yellow, make sure the light reflective value (LRV) is under 60, such as Sherwin Williams Anjou Pear that has an LRV of 46.
Light Reflective Value (LRV) measures the amount of visible and usable light that reflects from (or absorbs) a painted surface. The LRV can be found on the back of every paint chip. The scale goes from 0 – 100 (absorbs all light – reflects all light).
Sherwin Williams Paint Visualizer
Tip #6: Once you have an idea for the color scheme you’re striving for, try the paint colors you picked on the design visualizers from our website.
Tip #7: Now that you have an idea of what the colors will look like, grab some paint samples to paint a small area of the exterior of your home. Let it dry completely as the paint color will change as it dries.
Samples of field, accent and trim color combinations for one of our clients
Tip #8: Analyze the sample you painted on your house to make sure you like the way it looks during the day and at night (color may vary depending on the time of day).
James Hardie siding, painting and custom shutters by United Services
Tip #9: Hire a pro! Now that you have an idea of what you want your home to look like, contact a professional Omaha painter who will help you make your vision come true. Here at United Services we offer a complimentary design service with a professional designer when you hire us to do your work.
For more information on getting your home professionally painted, including selecting the right paint colors for your home, contact us in Omaha for a free estimate. We’d love to help!
I love colors. People are usually scared of being a little bold, but unless you miss it by much, every color turns out amazing with a little good taste :)
Yes, inside a tone down is good, for residential purposes but outside, any hue works, from light to dark, depending on the mood you wish your house to convey.