Our tips for selecting the best exterior colors for your home

As anyone who has decided to paint an accent wall in their living room knows, the sheer number of colors and options is mind-boggling. Walking into the paint section of your hardware store can lead to the immediate onset of choice paralysis. After all, those two shades of gold are the same—right? While you’re unlikely to paint your stucco home here in the Valley bright gold, there’s a similar number of choices to be made. The team here at Crash of Rhinos is here to guide you through the paint color decision process, one step at a time.

The first step? We recommend contacting us for a free quote here in Phoenix. Picking the right paint color for your home starts with seeing what your house looks like, what your neighborhood looks like, and hearing from you about your preferences.

Start by narrowing down your choices:

This sounds counterintuitive, but it’s actually the most-effective way to come to a decision. First, you’ll want to rule out anything not allowed by an HOA—basically, anything outside of their approved color list is a non-starter. (If the idea of navigating your HOA’s labyrinthian rule books on exterior paint colors already has you yawning, you should consider our Professional Color Consultant services. We do the work for you!).

Study your neighborhood’s color scheme

During exterior house painting projects, consider the general color palette of your neighbors’ homes. If you choose colors similar to those shades, your home will fit nicely within the neighborhood. Conversely, picking colors not common in your neighborhood will help to highlight your home.

Before choosing shades for your accent, trim, and field, look at your house from the edge of your property. When using earth tones, your home will blend with any surrounding foliage. Lighter, brighter colors will make your house more distinct.

Even if you don’t have an HOA, you’ll want to stay within the general aesthetic parameters of your neighbors and the neighborhood. Remember: nobody wants a “unicorn.” A house that sticks out like a sore thumb will be harder to sell down the road.

Carefully consider accent, trim, and field colors

When choosing paint colors, think of your home’s exterior as composed of three parts: accent, trim, and field. Understanding each part’s place on the outside of your house will help you make great color choices:

• The accent covers features like doors or window boxes.
• The trim includes edging on window frames and house siding.
• The field is the outer walls of your house.

These three aspects of the exterior will most often be painted in different shades so that the trim stands out from the field. Always be sure to choose accent, trim, and field colors that complement each other.

Get a digital rendering from Crash of Rhinos Painting

If you’re unsure how to proceed, or you want a professional to help you select colors appropriate for the exterior of your home, give us a call and ask about our Professional Color Consultant. As part of this service, we not only do the research to help you find the right colors for your home, but we also use state-of-the-art software to prepare digital renderings that will show you what your home will look like painted.