How to Choose the Right Colors for Your Exterior

Choosing the exterior colors of your new home can be one of the most challenging decisions that you make during your home build. You want your home to have street appeal and establish your home’s personality, and the best way to achieve that is by choosing the right colors and finishes. However, choosing the right color for your exterior extends to more than just deciding what paint color to use. Aspects such as the overall impression of the house , planning the driveways, entrances, fencing and landscaping all come to play. The exterior materials of the building, including the roofing along with other materials, all need to be considered when choosing your exterior color palette. How these work as a cohesive story,how they work in the local environment, and how they are maintained to withstand the test of time are all important.

While there are no hard and fast rules to choosing the right colors for your home, we’ve put together a list of the key things to consider when choosing a color scheme that works for you and your home’s surroundings.

Choose the right colors for your home’s surrounding environment

One of the most essential elements to consider when choosing your exterior colors is your home’s environment.

Not only does the selection of exterior colors play a vital role in setting the aesthetic of any street but taking cues from the surrounding environment can help you choose shades that match the streetscape. Treating the whole exterior palette, including the landscaping, can make your home more aesthetically pleasing whether it’s for your enjoyment or to ultimately help retain the resale value.

The colors and style of your exterior should set the palette for your interior, helping the flow from outside to inside. The colors, the materials and the style should be a reflection of your taste yet work with the needs of the environment to help enhance your comfort level.

Here at G.J. Gardner Homes, we pride ourselves in building liveable houses, and when choosing your exterior color palette we urge our customers to consider your area’s environment, climate and the surrounding elements that you are building around and becoming a part of.

Trees and tree canopies help keep the environment cool so anchoring your color choices to the area seems more relevant to use deeper colors. When there is no established landscaping and there are long periods of high-temperature days, lighter colors will help reflect more of the sun’s heat on your roof on those hot sunny days.

In hot climates, choosing lighter colors like whites, soft grays, or warmer beiges and taupes for your roof will help reduce the temperature inside your home.

These colors are good at reflecting the sun’s heat from the home and absorbs less of the sun’s energy than darker colors, which can help cool off your home. This will also help your house be more energy-efficient and could help reduce the need for cooling systems.

In contrast, a darker roof will keep your home a few degrees warmer during winter. Deeper colors such as charcoals, navy and deep browns will give a stronger yet cozier look while keeping your home warm.

Consider the other materials that you are using

Alongside the color of your roof, you should factor in any other materials that you are using on your home’s facade or in the landscaping. Often the opportunity to use natural materials and their colors as part of the palette for a home’s exterior is overlooked.

Before choosing an exterior color palette, you should consider any elements like brick, stone or wood; as well as any landscaping features, like tiles, fences, paths, cladding and driveways.

All of the external features provide an opportunity to enrich a color palette and can work together to improve the overall cohesiveness of your home.

Talk to a G.J. Gardner Homes Consultant

Choosing the right colors for your exterior is a big decision to undertake on your own. That is why working with G.J. Gardner Homes Consultants is the best way to find the home design for your budget and lifestyle. Contact one of our friendly team members today.