Best Home Exterior Paint Colors

Why Choosing the Right Exterior Paint Color Matters

Selecting a paint color is more than just an aesthetic choice; it’s a strategic decision. The right hue can accentuate your home’s best architectural features, while the wrong one can make it feel dated or out of place in its environment.

A well-chosen color palette harmonizes with your landscaping, your neighborhood, and the permanent fixtures of your home, like the roof and stonework. Ultimately, finding the best home exterior paint colors is about creating a cohesive and intentional look that reflects both the character of the house and the personality of those who live inside.

Timeless Classics: The Best Home Exterior Paint Colors That Never Go Out of Style

For a look that guarantees longevity and broad appeal, you can’t go wrong with the classics. These shades have stood the test of time, providing a sophisticated and elegant backdrop for any architectural style. They are the safe, yet stunning, foundation of exterior design.

Crisp & Classic Whites

White is the chameleon of exterior colors. It can feel traditional, modern, coastal, or rustic, depending on the shade and its application. A brilliant white offers a stark, clean look, while an off-white or creamy white provides a softer, more welcoming warmth.

• Best For: Farmhouses, Colonial homes, and modern designs seeking high contrast.
• Pro Tip: Pay close attention to the undertones. A cool white with blue or gray undertones feels crisp and modern, while a warm white with yellow or beige undertones feels more inviting and traditional.
• Popular Choices: Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace for a pure, bright white, or Sherwin-Williams’ Alabaster for a softer, warmer feel.

Sophisticated Grays & Greiges

For the past decade, gray has reigned supreme as the go-to neutral, and for good reason. It’s incredibly versatile, acting as a perfect canvas for bold accent colors on doors and shutters. Greige, a blend of gray and beige, offers the best of both worlds—the sophistication of gray with the warmth of beige.

• Best For: A wide range of styles, from Craftsman to contemporary. It’s a modern neutral that won’t look dated.
• Pro Tip: Lighter grays can brighten a home’s exterior, while dark, charcoal grays create a dramatic and moody effect.
• Popular Choices: Sherwin-Williams’ Agreeable Gray is a quintessential greige, while Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal offers a deep, rich gray.

Earthy & Grounded Neutrals

Earthy tones like taupe, beige, and tan connect a home to its natural surroundings. These colors feel grounded, stable, and deeply comforting. They work exceptionally well on homes nestled in wooded areas or properties with extensive landscaping.

• Best For: Craftsman, Ranch, and Mediterranean-style homes.
• Pro Tip: Pair these earthy body colors with trim in a crisp cream or a deep brown to create a defined yet harmonious exterior palette.
• Popular Choices: Sherwin-Williams’ Urbane Bronze, a deep and rich bronze-brown, or Accessible Beige for a lighter, more traditional look.

How to Select the Perfect Exterior Paint Palette for Your Home

Finding the best home exterior paint colors isn’t about picking a single trendy shade from a magazine. It’s about building a cohesive palette that is perfectly tailored to your specific house and its surroundings.

Consider Your Home’s Architectural Style

Architecture provides the primary clues for your color palette. Certain colors naturally complement specific designs, honoring the home’s historical roots and highlighting its unique features.

• Craftsman: Look to nature for inspiration. Deep greens, rich browns, and muted reds complement the natural wood and stone elements common in this style.
• Victorian: These “Painted Ladies” are famous for their bold, multi-color schemes. Palettes of three or more colors are common, with soft buttery yellows, sage greens, and dusty blues accented by rich burgundies or deep purples.
• Modern/Contemporary: Monochromatic schemes with sharp contrasts work beautifully. Think a dark gray or black body with natural wood accents or a brilliant white with black window frames.
• Colonial: Stay true to historical palettes with classic choices like white, light gray, pale yellow, or navy blue, often paired with black or dark green shutters.

Factor in Your Permanent Elements

Your home has fixed features that you can’t—or don’t want to—change. These non-negotiable elements must be the starting point for your color selection to ensure a harmonious result.

Your Roof Color

The roof is one of the largest surfaces on your home, and its color has a massive impact. A paint color’s undertones must complement the undertones of your roofing material.

• Black or Gray Roofs: These are neutral and work with almost any color, from cool blues and grays to warm whites.
• Brown or Tan Roofs: You must choose body colors with warm undertones. Earthy greens, warm creams, beiges, and tan-based greiges are excellent choices.
• Red or Green Roofs: These make a statement, so your body color should be more subdued. A soft cream, beige, or light gray will complement the roof without competing with it.

Stone, Brick, and Siding

If your home features brick, stone, or pre-colored siding, these materials dictate your palette. The goal is to choose a paint color that pulls a hue from these existing elements.

Look closely at your brick or stone. Is it predominantly red, orange, brown, or gray? Are there flecks of cream, blue, or black? Pull one of these subtle colors out and use a lighter or darker version of it for your main body paint. This technique guarantees a cohesive, professionally designed look.

Trending Now: Bold Choices in Home Exterior Paint

While classic neutrals are always a safe bet, homeowners are increasingly embracing bolder, more saturated colors to make a statement. These choices can add immense character and personality.

Some of the most popular bold trends include:

• Deep Navy Blue: A color like Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy is a new classic. It’s sophisticated, stately, and pairs beautifully with crisp white trim and a warm wood front door.
• Dark & Forest Green: Deep, moody greens connect the home to the landscape and feel both traditional and modern at the same time. They create a serene, elegant look.
• Dramatic Black: Once reserved for accents, black is now being used as a primary exterior color for a stunning, high-impact effect. A shade like Sherwin-Williams’ Tricorn Black is perfect for modern homes, especially when paired with natural wood and metal accents.

The Crucial Final Step: Always Test Your Colors

You can research the best home exterior paint colors for weeks, but you should never commit until you’ve tested your top choices directly on your home. A small paint chip from the store looks completely different when painted on a large surface and exposed to natural light.

Light is the most important factor. The same color can look drastically different in the bright morning sun, the warm glow of the afternoon, and the cool shadows of the evening.

Paint large sample swatches (at least 2×2 feet) on different sides of your house—one that gets full sun and one that is mostly in shade. Live with the colors for a few days, observing them at various times, before making your final, confident decision.

Conclusion: Transform Your Home with Confidence

Choosing the best home exterior paint colors is a journey that balances personal taste with the unique characteristics of your house and its surroundings. By considering your home’s architecture, respecting its permanent elements, and drawing inspiration from both timeless classics and modern trends, you can craft a palette that feels perfect.

Remember, the goal is to create a look that you will love seeing every time you pull into the driveway. With careful consideration and the all-important step of testing your colors, you can confidently select a palette that will not only protect your home but also transform it into a stunning reflection of your style.