Choosing the right exterior paint color for your home is a combination of pragmatic and personal decisions, for the paint must both match its surroundings and appeal to your personal taste. Moreover, you certainly want to select a good color for the job, because repairing a home’s exterior isn’t easy or inexpensive. If your home needs new exterior paint, use this guide to select the right color.

Step 1: Remember to Remain Reasonable
Before you even begin to look at colors, remember that your color choice should be a reasonable one. While you can paint interior rooms bright pinks and deep oranges if you really want to, everyone passing by will see the home’s exterior. If you have an HOA, they may require white or neutrals. And for the sake of property value, you don’t want your home to differ too starkly from the rest of the homes in the neighborhood.

Step 2: Base Your Color Choice on Your Permanent Fixtures
Base your initial color exploration on the permanent fixtures that are already on or near your home. For example, look at the hues of the foundation, brickwork (if any) and landscaping that are around your house. You may want to consider permanently installed exterior features, such as a pool deck or exterior shades, too.

These features will lead you toward families of colors that should be considered. To get the most polished look, search the color families that go with the hues in these features. Ideal colors could match the features, or they could have an opposite color temperature that offers aesthetically appealing contrast.

Step 3: Explore a Few Color Options
Within the color families that you’ve narrowed your selection down to, try out a few different options that you like. You can start by checking out paint chips, and you may want to get a few samples once you have two or three possibilities finalized. Painting a small portion of your home with each of the samples will let you see each one actually on your house, and repainting a small sample section is preferable to redoing the whole house because you’re not completely satisfied with your choice.

Step 4: Choose a Trim Color
After you have the main color chosen, turn your attention to the trim. There are three main choices for trim:

• White is a classic option that goes with any color
• The same color as your main color but a few shades lighter will create a sophisticated look
• A complementary color that’s in one of your permanent fixtures will create a completed look

Step 5: Consider Installing Exterior Shades
When the exterior painting of your home is complete, you may want to further highlight the house’s new look. One way to do so is to install exterior retractable shades. These add shaded functionality to your home’s windows, and they show true sophistication. 

To learn more about what exterior retractable shades could do for your home, contact Polar Shades Sun Control. The leading manufacturer of exterior window shades, we have an exterior shade for every possible home color.