Exterior House Colors For Your Style Home

Deciding on a color palette for the outside of your home is just as important as choosing a color scheme for your interiors. Not everyone gets to see the inside of your home but your house’s exterior will create a first impression for everybody. Everyone will remember that “little red house” they pass through on the way to work or that happy-looking “yellow house with a purple door” that stands out among the rest of the neighborhood.

But with the many available exterior house painting colors to choose from, how do you decide on a color scheme for your home? One tip is to look at your neighbors’ houses, you certainly do not want to copy them brick by brick but if their homes’ colors are neutral, that would give you an idea on where to start. Another tip would be to determine the style and era of your home. Some styles of homes have intricate and beautiful details that you would want to stand out. Learning the house colors that are traditionally used for your homes will help make it easier to decide on a color palette.

Exterior House Painting for Colonial Style Homes

America’s beloved house, the Colonial style traces its roots back to the colonial period of the United States. It’s the house that we all drew when were children which just shows how timeless and classic this house style is.

One of the most notable features of this style is its sharply pitched roof that serve to shed snow in the winter. In the South, hip-roofs or roofs that slope downwards on all sides replace the gable roof to prevent damage from strong winds. There is emphasis on entrances where paneled doors are often paired with a transom above it. Columns or pilasters sometimes flank the entrance to create a roofed porch and windows are placed symmetrically on the center and on each side. A chimney is often a part of most colonial homes.

Color Palettes: Colonial homes are traditionally painted in all-white or muted pastel colors but Colonial Revival homes have made use of vibrant and fresher looking colors. A fresh and vibrant blue house just makes 4th of July and winters more exciting. Since doors are very much emphasized in Colonial style, this is a chance to make it pop out even more by using brighter colors.

Exterior House Colors for Ranch Houses

Ranch houses or ranch homes originated from the Spanish colonial architecture in the 17th to 19th century in the United States. These homes were purposely built as single-story structures with low rooflines to combat the Southwestern heat. Although there was a decline in the late 1960s, ranch homes have been revived into more contemporary and mid-modern styles in the 90s.

Aside from its low structure, another feature would be attached garages on the side. Gabled or hip roofs are used with deep overhanging eaves. Large windows flank both sides.

Since ranch houses are typically associated with the warmer states, colors like a warm lemonade yellow are very fitting. If you want a calming color after battling with the summer warmth of the sun, a nice dove gray with pops of bright avocado green is also perfect for a ranch style house.

Exterior House Colors for Cape Cod Style Homes

Cape Cod could be likened to the Colonial house which could in fact, be a variation of it. It was brought to the United States by the Puritan Carpenters. It was inspired by the Hall and parlor house found in England in the 19th century. However, it was modified to be of a lower structure and used local materials to withstand the harsh weather of New England. It was then named “Cape Cod” by Reverend Timothy Dwight IV, President of Yale University after visiting Cape Cod in 1800.

Over the years, the style evolved from being a single-story structure to a two-storied house. There are also variations of the style namely, Half Cape or Single Cape, Three-quarter Cape and Full or Double Cape. The half cape has a front door on one side with two windows on the other, the three-quarter cape is similar to the half-cape but has an additional window on the other side. The Full Cape has two windows on both sides with a centrally placed front door. Some houses also have chimneys and dormer windows.

Pay homage to its roots and stick to traditionally neutral colors like beiges, dove grays and taupes accented with some brighter blues and greens reminiscent of the sea and grass of the Eastern coastline.  

Exterior House Colors for the Bungalow

Bungalows originated from Bengal during the days of the British Empire. It was typically used as rest houses for travelers. It was a simple one-story house with thatched roofs that allowed air to freely circulate in and out of the space. The idea eventually spread to the United States and was explored by architects of the Arts & Crafts Movement. The architects made it evolve from a simple summer home to a year-round American home that graced the pages of magazines. Gustav Stickley and the Greene brothers were responsible for spreading the popularity of the Bungalow.

The modern bungalows are classified by its low-pitched gable or hip roofs with exposed beams or rafters, a porch or veranda flanked with square columns. There are also many types of Bungalows, the California Bungalow, Craftsman Bungalow, Modern Bungalow and Prairie style, which differ in materials, and a few additional features.

Since most bungalows use natural materials such as wood and stone, stick to exterior house colors that will match those materials. Neutral browns and grays, earth tones and whites with warm undertones give off a classic look. If your bungalow is leaning towards a more modern style, exterior house colors that would go well with natural materials would be sage green, a deep blue color or play it safe with pastel colors.

Some of these house styles have intricately designed features and architectural details. You can use exterior house color to either emphasize or hide these details. If you want some certain features to stand out, paint it in a bright contrasting hue that will make it pop out from the rest of the house. Otherwise, if you want to hide an unsightly or outdated feature, paint it the same hue as the main color.