Four neighboring homes, the first blue, then green, yellow, and red.

The exterior of your house has a profound impact on how you can feel about your own home. On top of that, it will greatly affect how other people imagine you when they see your home. There’s a reason that curb appeal has such an effect on the final price of a home: appearances matter. When it comes to the details of your home’s exterior, few things are going to be as immediately noticeable as what color it is. For this reason, it’s important to pick the right colors for you and your home…

Consider other homes in the neighborhood

First of all, it’s important to note that your home doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Unless your house is in the middle of nowhere, then you should take note of what color the rest of the home’s in the neighborhood are. There are several reasons for this. For example, you don’t necessarily want your home to look like everyone else’s. That’s just boring. However, you also don’t want your colors to clash with the rest of the neighborhood, because that could look tacky.

Accentuate the interior

Sometimes, to get a best idea of what color your home should be on the outside, it pays to look at the interior. Since the colors on the exterior of your home are sort of like an introduction to your living space, it is useful to think of how the color of your exterior will apply to the interior of your home. Being aware of this allows you to add flow to the aesthetic of your house.

Consider your home’s style

The type of home you have will have a great impact on the overall aesthetic you decide to go with. If your home has a specific style of architecture, then that may impact the colors you decide to go with. Look up the history of what these styles utilized, in terms of color, and you might get some great ideas of your own. You don’t necessarily have to follow traditional color palettes, but it can be useful to know what they were.

Decide between contrasting or complimentary colors

One of the most common design mistakes that people make when they are deciding their home’s exterior color is that they mix colors that don’t really belong together, according to color theory. Typically, you want to have colors that either contrast or complement each other. Picking random colors that you like may not yield the result that you are hoping for.