How to build your exterior colour scheme

A home’s exterior colour scheme is an important decision to make, it’s the first thing that people notice when they visit your home. Your exterior creates an impression before a person even walks through your front door and plays a critical role in the overall look and feel of your whole home.

We don’t change our home's exteriors often, so it is important to pick the right combinations of colours for your walls, plinth, sills and trim that is right for you and will complement the atmosphere you have already created inside your house.

We know it can be tricky to know where to start with exterior colours so here are some of our top tips on how to build an exterior colour scheme you will love just as much two years later.

Here are our top 3 key factors to consider when finding the perfect colour scheme for your home’s exterior:

1. Permanent or unchanging aspects of your exterior

The unchanging aspects of your exterior are any features that are permanent, or you won’t be changing when you are painting your exterior. These can be things like the brickwork on your house, the colour of your windows, your driveway, fencing or decking. Taking inspiration from the permanent fixtures around your house will help ensure your chosen colour scheme sits in perfect harmony with your home’s surroundings.

To create a scheme that complements all aspects of your exterior, you should try to identify the colours and undertones in these non-changing features. Colours such as reds, oranges, browns, beiges, and earthy greens are considered warm tones while blues, greys and black are considered cool toned. By choosing a paint colour with a similar undertone to your home’s unchanging features, you can create a harmonious colour scheme that makes the most of your home’s exterior.

Colour: Churchyard (Walls) and Isobar (Window Sills)

As shown above, this exterior colour scheme has been designed to sit in harmony alongside the brick feature of this home. The warm stone hue of Churchyard on the walls of this home complements the slate grey brickwork beautifully. Similarly, Isobar features on the window sills, ensuring this scheme remains in keeping with the tone of the brickwork. This thoughtful exterior scheme looks purposeful and creates a warm welcome to this home.

 2. The architectural design and era of your home

Taking into consideration the architectural design of your house can help to indicate what colours will best suit your home. It is important that your exterior colour choice feels right for the style of your home. Whether you live in a traditional bungalow, a Victorian home, a modern build or a converted barn, certain colour schemes can feel more appropriate for some homes than others.

Taking a Victorian home as an example, this style of home has lots of intricate detail with elaborate and ornate trim so you might wish to use a combination of three or four colours for your exterior colour scheme to accentuate this. You also might also wish to use colours like olives, greens, browns, deep reds, maroons, burgundies  and blues, that are traditional to the Victorian era.

The colour scheme below features, Tea Leaf, Cashmere Wrap, Ox Vein and Greengage. Tea Leaf is a hot red brown colour that we suggest pairing with Cashmere Wrap, a cream white,  that is the perfect accompaniment for strong colours. We suggest completing the colour scheme with Ox Vein, a deep teal blue and Greenage a cool blue green. All of these colours are from our Historic collection, and work together to create a bold Victorian colour scheme with a contemporary twist.

Colours (L-R): Tea Leaf, Cashmere Wrap, Ox Vein and Greenage

If your home is a modern build, you may wish to keep your scheme un-complicated and only use one or two colours. This will help to create a contemporary colour scheme that complements the clean lines and geometric shapes which are characteristic of a modern build. You may be more likely to use greys and whites rather than reds and browns as they feel more  in keeping with the modern style.

Colours (L-R): Temperance, Grey Wolf and Dressage 

The above colour scheme features Temperance, Grey Wolf and Dressage. Temperance is a contemporary white with a grey hue, Grey Wolf is a rich true grey that doesn’t go unnoticed and Dressage is an elegant off black that adds a dramatic depth. These colours create a colour scheme ideal for a contemporary build with geometric features.

Colours: Stonework (top half),  Heron Island (bottom half)

As shown above, this modern build makes excellent use of colour blocking, creating a distinction between the upper and lower floors of this home. This is very much in keeping with the contemporary style of the home and reflects the geometric shapes characteristic in modern architecture. These two contemporary shades create the perfect atmosphere for the style of this home.

3. What look and feel you would like to achieve.

It is important to think about what colours and tones that really resonate with you, because the colour of your exterior is for nobody but you. It is important that you love the colours you choose and that it reflects your taste and personality. You should also think about what look and feeling you are trying to create for your home. If you are not sure where to start with what kind of colour scheme to choose, thinking of your home’s exterior as an extension of your interior can help. By drawing inspiration from your interior style, you can create a cohesive scheme that has the perfect flow.

You may want a refreshing and stimulating scheme and so might use colours that are bright and reflect a lot of light.

Colour: Greenage (Walls) and Goose Down (Sills and Trim)

As shown above, this exterior has a colour scheme that is like a breath of fresh air. The bright colours reflect light creating a refreshing and energising feel that is sure to put you in a good mood. Greenage is used here for the walls, it is a blue with a slight aqua hue and pairs perfectly with Goose Down.

You may want a scheme that feels inviting, warm and homely so you might use warm whites or deep colours that absorb heat and light creating a luxurious ambiance.

Colour: Burren Fen (Walls)

As shown above, Burren Fen used on this home along with the deep red front door creates a warm and luxurious feel that has you longing to go inside.

A colour scheme with a relaxing feeling can also be created by using earthy beiges and green tones. Making you feel grounded and relaxed before you even enter your house.

Colour: Mucky Swan (Walls)

As shown above, Mucky Swan is a neutral beige with a hint of grey. It creates the perfect calming colour scheme, helping you to slow down your thoughts from the minute you get home.

Exterior colour schemes can be easily overlooked, but with the right scheme, you can enhance the look and feel of your home from the outset and create a lasting impression. As you can see, building your exterior colour scheme doesn’t have to be difficult. Impress your neighbours with a scheme that is harmonious with your interior style and flows from the outside, in. We hope our tips help you build a colour scheme that feels like you and that you love seeing every time you come home.

Get In Touch With Us

As always, we are here to help with any of your colour and product queries you may have. Reach out to us via our live chat feature here on our website, our video messaging service linked here, email at hello@colourtrend.ie and through our social channels @colourtrendpaints. We can’t wait to help you find the perfect colour for your next interior or exterior project.