First, an acknowledgment: choosing an exterior color for your home is a matter of personal taste, which is always something of a subjective matter. Everyone has colors they find appealing to themselves and painting your home a color you find to your liking is a natural thing to do. However, while satisfying your own desires is necessary, there are some other things to take into consideration when choosing a color for the exterior of your home. In many instances, an exterior color choice can effect the resale value of your homes. In others, a particular color may fade more rapidly when exposed to sunlight and weather elements requiring more frequent repainting.
Five Unpopular House Colors
Pink – While pink was a popular color choice in the 1950s, today pink is considered to be a bit over the top for an exterior house color except if the house is an historic Victorian where pink, in addition to other colors of the era, would be an appropriate choice.
Yellow – Pure saturated yellows tend to fade quickly and unevenly creating an unappealing splotchy appearance. In general, it’s best to avoid pure saturated colors of any hue on exteriors as those colors will fade more quickly and/or cause a home to stand out from surrounding homes in a way that can cause the home to lose resale value.
Brown – Muddy (grayed) browns can make a home appear drab, uninviting, and plain.
Olive Green – Greens are problematic for exteriors because finding a green that harmonizes with landscaping and foliage can be difficult. Olive green, in particular, can appear drab or dull and presents something of a challenge when picking complimentary or contrasting trim colors.
Bright Primary Colors – As mentioned above, pure saturated primary or secondary colors (e.g., red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple) are generally discouraged as choices for exterior house colors because they can be too overpowering/overwhelming in contrast to other homes and because these colors are more susceptible to fading. In addition, finding colors for trim or accents can be problematic.
Is it Possible to Get Help Choosing Colors?
Ohio Painting & Pressure Wash uses Sherwin-Williams paint exclusively for painting house exteriors. Sherwin-Williams also offers free (virtual) color consultations to homeowners needing help choosing colors. You can learn more about the Sherwin-Williams program here.
Photo by Mika Baumeister