09 Feb Choosing Exterior Paint Colours: How to get started
Choosing the right exterior paint colours for your home can be tough but at Signature Painters, we aim to make the process less challenging. Our team has been painting Brisbane homes for more than a decade, so we’ve seen what works and what doesn’t when it comes to colour. As a local painting business, we’re aware of the huge difference the right exterior paint colours can make to your home’s street appeal. We also know the worry (and sometimes family disagreements!) choosing colours can cause.
So is there a way to get your exterior paint colours right? The answer is YES. Together with our Dulux Colour and Colour Overlay partners, we have assisted many customers to achieve a result they love and add value to their homes. We offer free colour consultations and digital overlays with full repaints, but if you’d like some insight now, here are 5 tips to help you get started on exterior paint colours for your home.
Tips For Choosing Exterior Paint Colours
1. Identify the style of the neighbourhood
Use the style of surrounding homes in your neighbourhood as a starting point to choose the right exterior paint colours. If traditional Queenslanders dominate the area, it’s safer to go for a more traditional scheme. If the neighbourhood contains more modern homes, bolder colours or accents may work well. Choose colours that complement (not clash with) your neighbours’ homes but are not exactly the same so you subtly set your house apart from theirs.
Neutrals and grey-toned pastels suit traditional neighbourhoods
2. Trust nature’s colour combinations
The surrounding landscape can give clues about what paint colours will look good on your home. Is it predominantly cool green with sandy neutrals or more warm earthy tones? Are you surrounded by vibrant tropical foliage or in a more urban area? Taking your queue from nature will generally lead you in the right direction for choosing the best exterior paint colours.
Natural and earth-toned colours look great against native plants and foliage
3. Look to your home’s features for guidance
The existing colours in or outside of a home, such as the foundation or the roof should influence your choice of exterior paint colours. Don’t go for a trendy colour that doesn’t complement what’s already there. For example, if your home has a red roof, choose warm neutrals (not cool grey-toned ones) to complement it. If you have a Queenslander with beautiful decorative features, highlight them with a contrasting darker or lighter colour.
Creamy whites with warm dark accent colours complement and balance this home’s red roof
4. Offset dark with light exterior paint colours
Dark colours make a bold modern statement but too much exterior dark paint can make a home look small and gloomy. On traditional homes especially, make sure to offset dark hues with whites on trims, verandahs and other accents. Light colours typically make a house look larger. However, if you are you are on or near a busy main road and have pollution to deal with, you’ll need to consider practicalities – white will not be the best choice!
White horizontal and diagonal accents add interest and make this home look bigger
5. Observe exterior paint colours in different lights
Light can play a big role in choosing the right exterior paint colours. How will the colours you choose look in bright sun versus a cloudy day? You should also consider which direction your home faces. If it’s west facing, colours will look brighter and more intense. Bright white would be too glary, but a light colour generally will reflect heat and last longer than dark, heat-absorbing colours.
A light neutral will work better than all-white if your home faces west and gets a lot of direct sun
Signature Painters — Steps To Choose Exterior Paint Colours For Your Home
When you engage us, our Step-by-Step approach to colour decision-making will ensure you get the result you envision.
- Step 1 Take advantage of our practical guidance when one of our master painters comes to your house to quote. Advice at this early stage can help you understand which colours will handle any heat, sun, or pollution that your house may be subject to.
- Step 2 Once you engage us for a full interior or exterior repaint, we’ll arrange a free professional Dulux colour consultation for you. There’s no substitute for an onsite visit by a qualified colour professional to advise on exterior paint colours for your home in person.
- Step 3 Following your colour consult, we’ll arrange a digital overlay of 2-3 final shortlisted colours on a photo of your home. With a digital colour overlay, you’ll see the end result before we start the project and not have to rely on your imagination.
- Step 4 Finally, make sure to buy sample pots and apply samples of paint on different parts of your home. This is a crucial step that should not be skipped. You need to know how a colour will look over different base materials (eg weatherboards, woodwork or render) and in different lights to confirm your choice. We’re happy to assist with this if needed and guide you through final decisions on shades and finishes.
We’ve found this process delivers beautiful results every time. So if you’d like to begin the process of choosing your perfect colour scheme, contact Signature Painters today to book a free quote for your full exterior repaint.
See our Exterior Colour Schemes blog for more colour ideas, or learn about our residential painting process or our Queenslander painting and restoration service.
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