What is the best exterior color for a colonial house?

When choosing an exterior color for a colonial style house, there are a few key factors to consider. The color should complement the home’s architectural details and materials, suit the surrounding landscape, and align with your personal style preferences. With so many paint colors to pick from, narrowing down the options can be tricky. This article will walk through the process of selecting the ideal exterior color for a classic colonial house.

How Does Exterior Color Impact a Colonial House?

A colonial house is defined by symmetry, simple lines, and traditional details like shutters, dormer windows, columns, and multi-pane windows. The exterior color has a big impact on enhancing or detracting from these characteristic features. Light, neutral paint colors tend to suit the colonial aesthetic best by highlighting the home’s form and allowing the architectural details to take center stage. Bold or dark colors can sometimes overwhelm the simple colonial style.

Beyond aesthetics, the right paint color can make a home appear larger or smaller. Light or muted tones will typically expand a home’s dimensions, while dark colors will visually shrink the home’s appearance. If you want to highlight a colonial house’s generous proportions, a light neutral or white exterior is a great option. To cozy-up a larger home, consider a medium brown or slate blue shade.

The orientation and exposure of your home should also inform your paint selection. North-facing sides will be cooler hued, so if the front facade faces north a warm, sunny paint color can provide balance. Southern or western exposures get intense sunlight, so light reflective colors are ideal. Temperature and light exposure impact how paint fades, so picking a hardy formula for high traffic areas is advised.

Popular Exterior Paint Colors for Colonial Homes

Sticking to traditional color palettes is the safest route for colonial style homes. The most popular options include different shades of white, grays, tans, browns, blues, greens, and reds.

Here are some of the most common exterior paint colors used on colonial houses:

• White – Clean, bright white highlights colonial architecture details. Classic colors include Extra White, Dover White, and Swiss Coffee.
• Ivory – Warmer than white, ivory also pairs well with colonial style. Options like Navajo White, Linen White, and Alabaster are versatile neutrals.
• Gray – From light pewter to charcoal, gray creates a distinguished look. Silver Mist, Cityscape, Light French Gray, and Classic Gray are refined options.
• Tan – In warm hues like beige, sand, and khaki, tan gives a relaxed vibe. Tan paint colors include Burlap, Sandstone, Beach House, and Colonial Revival Tan.
• Brown – Deep brown offers a traditional wood-like appearance in colors like Chocolate and Chestnut. Lighter versions like Muslin and Hazelnut also work well.
• Blue – Cool, calming blues like Hancock Green, Rain, Glacier Gray, Dusty Blue, and Rustic Blue complement red brick and white trim.
• Green – Earthy olives, sages, and forest greens give an organic, peaceful look. Try colors like Evergreen Fog, Northern Moss, English Ivy, or Forest Floor.
• Red – For a bold colonial look, rich reds like Chili Pepper, Scarlet, and Cinnamon make a statement. Softer reds like Strawberry Salt also work.
• Yellow – Cheery colors like Corn Silk, Golden Straw, and Creamy match colonial style, but read traditional on this style home.

Within these color families, home owners can select lighter, brighter, or more muted shades to get the desired look. Lighter neutrals tend to suit colonial homes best, but the possibilities are truly endless!

Choosing an Exterior Color Palette

The color palette for a colonial house often consists of two or three coordinated colors used on different elements of the home’s exterior. Here are some typical colonial color combinations:

• White siding with black shutters – This high-contrast combo is a popular, classic choice.
• Ivory siding with navy shutters – For a softer look, ivory siding pairs nicely with dark blue or green shutters.
• Gray siding with white trim and red door – Light grays contrast white trim while the red door offers eye-catching curb appeal.
• Tan siding and trim with olive green shutters – Earth tones complimented by olive shutters emits organic warmth.
• White siding with brown trim and black doors – Crisp white walls make brown trim details pop beside a rich black door.

To choose colors that work together:

• Use a color wheel to identify complementary colors, like red and green or blue and orange
• Stick to the same color family for a unified palette, like shades of green from light sage to hunter green.
• Make sure colors have enough contrast so they don’t blend together from a distance.
• Use darker colors strategically for accent elements like doors and shutters so they don’t visually shrink or recede.

Testing paint swatches on a house’s exterior before fully committing to a color scheme is wise. You can paint large sample patches, tape up colored posters or foam boards, or use computer visualization programs to preview colors.

Use Color to Emphasize Architectural Details

Beyond siding, trim, shutters, and doors, strategically using color on other exterior elements can make a colonial house pop. Try these creative touches:

• Paint window boxes or planters – Colorful window boxes in shades contrasting your siding attract the eye to window details.
• Add a colored front door and/or garage door – Use a bright, saturated shade to highlight entries with a fun splash of color.
• Paint your columns or balusters – Use white, black, or a bold color to accentuate columns flanking a front entry or doorway.
• Highlight architectural moldings – Use white or off-white trim paint to play up crown moldings, corner trim boards, rake boards, and other decorative details.
• Paint pathways or porches – Gray, brick red, and blue are traditional patio paint colors that complement colonial style homes.

Selecting Paint Types and Finishes

Choosing the right type of exterior paint is as important as picking a color. The weather exposure, condition, and materials of your home exterior will inform what paint formulation works best. Here are some top options:

• Acrylic latex paint – Offers vibrant color, easy soap and water cleanup, and a durable finish. Ideal for wood, stucco, masonry, and aluminum siding.
• Alkyd oil-based paint – Provides superior adhesion and a glossy finish. Best for heavily weathered surfaces.
• Elastomeric paint – Flexible resins allow this paint to expand and contract without cracking or peeling.
• Primers – Provide extra adhesion for new or bare surfaces. Useful when making major color changes.
• Stains – Penetrate wood surfaces for color without completely obscuring the grain.

Paint also comes in different sheens or finishes:

• Flat – Minimal light reflection creates a matte look.
• Satin – Subtle sheen nicely highlights architectural details.
• Semi-gloss – Medium-high sheen offers good durability for trim.
• Gloss – High-shine finish amplifies color but can overpower colonial style.
• Eggshell – Soft gloss alternative to flat for added durability.

Satin and semi-gloss are suitable finishes for colonial homes. Make sure any trim is coated in a glossier sheen than siding for adequate weather protection and color differentiation.

Factor in Natural Elements Like Landscape and Climate

Nature should be your guide when fine-tuning a colonial home’s exterior colors. Soil color, landscape textures, amount of sun exposure, and climate conditions all impact the vibe created by your color scheme.

Colors echoing nature always complement a home’s surroundings. Green, brown, tan, and white are common colonial exterior colors for a reason – they reflect natural hues! Here are some examples of integrating local nature into your color selections:

• In a forested area, choose woodsy greens and browns
• Near the ocean, select blues and grays reminiscent of the sea and sky
• In the desert, khaki, clay, and terra-cotta match the sandy earth tones
• Against snowy winters, brighten things up with warm reds, oranges and yellows
• In rainy regions, lighter and brighter colors create energy on grey days

Your home’s sunlight exposure will also impact the look of exterior paint colors over time. South-facing sides heat up dramatically in the sun, causing darker colors to fade faster. North sides remain cooler and shaded. Using light reflective, colorfast paints on southern exposures is advised.

The general climate impacts maintenance needs too. Humid regions contribute to condensation that can make paint peel. Hot and dry climates require paints that expand and contract without cracking. Knowing your local conditions guides the best product selections.

Reflect Your Personal Style in the Colors

While honoring the traditional colonial aesthetic is recommended, you can still infuse colors reflecting your personal style preferences. The key is doing so in a way that enhances, rather than overwhelms, the classic architecture.

Here are some tips for personalizing a colonial color scheme:

• Use favorite accent colors on doors, shutters, pots and benches for pops of color
• Paint a front door or accent wall a brighter, bolder shade like coral, yellow or teal for a fun focal point
• Introduce trendy colors like deep blues, muted grays, or moody greens in ways that align with colonial foundations
• Add eclectic vintage touches like painted window boxes, antique signs on facades, and repurposed furniture on porches to show unique character

Small splashes of personalized color go a long way against a backdrop of traditional colonial colors. Focus the custom colors on swap-able elements you can easily repaint versus permanent fixtures like siding or stonework. Use colors selectively to add charm, not overwhelm the classic style.

DIY or Hire a Professional Painter?

Painting a colonial home’s exterior requires significant time, effort, and expense. While a skilled DIY-er can certainly take on the project solo, hiring professional painters is advisable for several reasons:

• Save time – Professionals work far faster than painting Solo at accurate cutting-in edges and coating all surfaces smoothly and efficiently.
• Access equipment – Painters have the ladders, lifts, and scaffolding needed to safely reach tricky second-story surfaces.
• Problem solving expertise – They know how to properly prepare surfaces, treat issues like mold or rot, and choose the right products.
• High quality results – Experienced painters uniformly apply paint without drips, streaks or thin spots for a flawless end product.
• Warranties – Reputable professionals offer workmanship warranties so paint defects are fixed at no cost.

Professional painters do charge more for labor, but deliver significant value through exceptional results, product knowledge, and efficiency. For most homeowners, hiring experts is worth the investment – be sure to get estimates from 2-3 well-reviewed companies before selecting your painter.

Conclusion

Finding the perfect exterior color scheme for a colonial house involves blending tradition with personal preferences. Classic color palettes in whites, neutrals, blues, greens, reds, and browns are always stylish choices to elegantly accentuate your home’s timeless architectural details. You can also infuse individuality with accent colors reflecting your tastes on items like doors, shutters, porches and pots. Just keep the color combinations and locations cohesive with the traditional colonial style. Finally, reflect on how natural landscape and light inform the colors that will look most balanced on your home. With some thoughtful color considerations for your individual home, you’re sure to achieve curb appeal perfection with a colonial exterior paint makeover.