Selecting Exterior Paint Colours

By picking the right combination of colours and accents, including plants and driveway materials and colours that blend well with the other naturally occurring surroundings in the neighborhood, your home can easily stand out in a tasteful manner without offending the neighbours in your new community.

Choosing colours for the exterior of your home is a great way to allow your personality to shine through. It may be intimidating to choose a colour, since it will be a somewhat permanent decision, so make sure you take the time to really think about the pallet that you are putting together for the exterior of your home. Sure, you may know all of the so-called rules, but don't forget that rules are meant to be broken! So just have fun with the exterior of your newly purchased home . Obviously you can go with more outlandish colours if you are not planning to sell. But even homes that are on the market will get the right kind of attention if the exteriors make a bold statement.

Here's how you should begin: Several months before you intend on doing the actual painting, do a bit of research first. Walk around your neighborhood to see what other colours are mostly being used for things like siding and trim. If you find a color scheme on your neighbours that you especially like, knock on the front door, compliment the homeowner, and with some luck they will tell you the colours and which brand of paint they used so that you can recreate the same look. Or perhaps you are not that bold, and would rather just take a snapshot of the colours with your cellular phone, and then take that to your local paint store to let them replicate the colours for you. You could also do the same kind of research online and in decor magazines and get your inspiration there.

Next, pick up a wide variety of exterior-paint colour cards that offer color-combination suggestions. Colour experts match these swatches and they take the guesswork out of putting shades together and combining colours. Pick up a few magazines featuring the latest colours in condominiums or even books on home styles with lots of colour photos. All of this research might seem silly and time consuming, but you will be glad you put this much thought into it when you see the finished product.

Generally, you will have the most success if you choose a trim colour that is in the same colour family as the siding or brick colour, or just a couple of shades lighter. Although all sorts of different and unorthodox combinations can work, as can be seen with many properties. For your front door, you may want to add an accent colour that stands out from the rest of the home, and paint any shutters or plant containers the same colour. Have fun with this project and remember, if you hate it you can always go back to the drawing board, buy more brushes and do it all again!