Unlike interior colors, exterior hues can affect the entire street and that puts a lot of pressure on homeowners when it comes to choosing a palette. In addition, a number of factors come into play that you don’t have to deal with on the inside of a house:�
landscaping, hardscaping, roofing and more.
These are the three easy tips that I use every day to help my clients choosing a color scheme that works both for their style and for their home’s surroundings.
1. Plan around the elements that are hardest to change. Surfaces such as roof tiles, stonework, pathways and driveways will remain in place. Take these into consideration and consider paint colors that will tie these fixed elements together in a harmonious way.
2. Think about the visual effect you want. Keep in mind the surroundings of your home, the street and the landscape play a role around it. You might choose a slightly lighter or brighter color so that it stands out or you can choose a darker hue that can make it appear to recede.
3. Choose three or more different paint shades. An exterior scheme has three major parts: walls color, which dominates; trim color, used for fascia board, bands, windows and door casings. Accent color, which brings doors, shutters and other smaller areas to life; and ideally, the trim color should contrast strongly with the walls color.
If your main color is dark, consider classic white trim or another pale shade. A light walls color can look stunning with darker trim like eyeliner for your home, it produces a crisp, dramatic effect. Feel free to go bold with accent colors, but don’t go overboard.
4. Never rely on paint chips alone. Just like interior colors, exterior shades can vary significantly from the way they appear on the chip. And because painting an exterior is a bigger undertaking than simply painting a room, you’ll want to get them right the first time.
Julio Catano.
Masterpiece Painting Contractors, Inc.