Modern House Exterior Featured Color: Sw 6496 Oceanside

Several years ago, you made one of the biggest purchases of your life, a house. When you bought it, it was the best-looking home on the street. Today, your home’s once immaculate exterior consists of chipping and peeling paint.

Chipping and peeling paint doesn’t only look bad, it’s bad for your home. It allows moisture, dirt, and sunlight to sneak in the cracks and damage the siding beneath.

The good news is a fresh coat of modern house exterior paint can liven up your home and prevent damage to the exterior. Plus, a new coat of paint will boost curb appeal, raise the property value, and make selling your home easy for those planning to sell.

The only challenging part is finding the right paint to create a modern house exterior. With these 5 easy tips, you’ll have one of the best-looking homes in your neighborhood.

Choosing Paint for a Modern House Exterior

Picking the right paint color for the exterior of your home can be a stressful process. Some color combinations will make your home look dreary while others might make your home stick out like a sore thumb. You want to find a color palette you enjoy but also appeases your neighbors.

Before you run to the store and grab some paint, check out these tips for creating a modern house exterior you and your neighbors will love.

1. Your Home’s History

Modernizing an older home can be challenging. The good news is honoring historical architecture styles is a modern design choice today. To do this, choose a historically accurate color palette.

There are several ways you can find a historically accurate color palette from the era of your home. One way is to research popular colors and palettes from that era. Your second option is to hire a professional to analyze and find the original layer of paint on your home’s exterior walls and trim.

There are many different types of styles of historic homes. Intricate Victorian homes with detailed trim and will usually need 4-6 different exterior paint colors. A mid-century modern or a ranch-style home will only need 2-3 different colors.

Research and visit historic homes with a similar style to your home. Take note of the color combinations you like.

2. Think About the Elements You Can’t Change

Almost every house has some unique element or elements are difficult or impossible to change. This includes elements such as the roofing, stonework, and driveways or pathways. Unless you’re doing a whole exterior renovation, try working with the colors of these elements.

Ignoring these colors might cause the exterior of your home to clash with the roof and pathways. Avoid this mistake by using those colors in your color palette.

If you have a deep blue-colored roof, create a color palette that works well with the roof’s color. If you have bright red brick masonry around the exterior of your home, find 1 or 2 colors that will work with the red brick.

3. Stick to 3 Colors

The 3 major parts to the exterior of a house include the field color, trim color, and an accent color. Sticking with around 3 colors and dividing them into 60-30-10 percentages.

60% of the paint will cover the majority of your home such as the siding or body of the house. The 30% will cover trim and garage doors. The final 10% is an accent color for shutters and other accent areas.

Sticking to 3 colors will prevent you from making the exterior too distracting, overwhelming, or choppy. Too many colors can make your house appear small and unattractive in the eyes of potential buyers and neighbors.

For best results, use a neutral color for the body like a gray, white, or a deep earthy tone. You can pick a 2nd neutral color for accents and trim and a 3rd color that adds contrast and a pop of color.

If you need help choosing a color, we can provide that, in fact, it's free when we paint your home. 

4. Consider the Neighbors

Do you want to be that neighbor with the overly bright and distracting house that sticks out like a sore thumb? We hope your answer is no, especially if you have neighbors within view of your home.

A distracting home can annoy and anger your neighbors. You’ll get complaints, the cold shoulder, and possibly lower the property value of your home or the neighborhood.

At the same time, you shouldn’t copy your neighbor’s paint colors. Their home’s color palette can help give you ideas but you shouldn’t copy it exactly. Instead, consider the colors of the homes around your house and choose a palette that complements, blends, or contrasts well with them. Choose modern house exterior colors with a purpose.

5. Using Light vs. Dark Colors

The shade of color you pick will affect the exterior of your home. Lighter colors tend to make a home appear larger. Darker colors will add a touch of dramatic flair but can make a house look smaller. If you're painting a Victorian home, the darkest exterior color traditionally covers the window sashes.

If you decide to pursue the lighter route, consider classic white or a light cream color. Other light colors popular today include light grays, taupe, and light blue. Use a darker accent color to stress shadows and light colors to highlight unique details.

For those who choose to pursue a dark dramatic look, dark blues, grays, and taupe or browns are popular today. Dark-colored homes are eye-catching and draw attention to the home’s finer details. Try a lighter or contrasting color on your home’s accents and trims.

A popular light exterior color combination includes pale blue for the home’s body, white for the trim, and a dark blue or emerald as an accent. A popular dark exterior color palette consists of a dark blue, a warm brown for the trim, and a gray or black for the accents.

Modernize Your Home Today

Revitalize your tired-looking home with these 5 tips, you can create a fresh modern house exterior. You’ll boost the property value, enjoy the look, and make selling your home faster and easier. Not to mention, your neighbors will love your freshly painted house.

Are you ready to paint your home? Let us know! We can help you choose the perfect exterior color palette and professionally paint your home.