Choosing Exterior Paint Colors

Many homeowners consider exterior spruce-ups during the warmer months of spring and summer. A paint job is one of the most basic. It might be summer or fall before you do the work, but you can tackle the first part of the project now: picking colors.

The choices can be overwhelming. It's hard enough to decide what colors to paint the interior, where only you and your guests see the results. When you paint the outside, there's added pressure. You and your neighbors will live with the colors you choose, likely for several years. If paint chips have stymied you into avoiding a choice, use these tips to jump-start the decision-making process.

• Neighborhoods of yesteryear sported row after row of pristine white houses; only one in about every half-dozen houses is white today. White has been replaced by neutral shades — ivories, taupes, and grays — that provide sophisticated depth and color.
• Earth tones enhance the richness of a home's architecture while not competing with its style. A Victorian home, for example, commands attention by the sheer force of its lines, angles, and trim. If you paint your Victorian home bright purple, you're forcing people to look away from the architecture and focus on the home's color.
• If your home looks like most of the others on your block, you may want to consider using color to set it apart. But don't go overboard. If you like blue, opt for a soft shade with gray tones, and use a more vivid color on the trim.
• Consider weather and quality of light when making your color choices. For example, beneath the intense sun in southern climates, stronger and brighter colors look less startling than they would in cooler, often overcast parts of the country. Likewise, deep colors usually are not used in southern regions because they absorb heat and may fade. When reviewing paint chips, place them against the exterior of your home in natural light.
• Stick to two or three colors: body, trim, and perhaps an accent. A pleasing, easy approach is tone-on-tone, which uses different shades of the same color for body and trim. In a five-color strip from the paint store, the body could be the fourth-deepest shade and the trim the second-lightest. Accent architectural highlights with a third color.
• Consider how body and trim colors will affect the structure. A light body color can make a home look larger, while a darker shade can make it look more compact. The same goes for trim color: It can be lighter or deeper than the body color, but it should complement architectural detailing and maintain visual continuity.

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