What are the best exterior house colors that increase curb appeal and boost property value?
Starting with neutrals is always a good idea, but read on to learn more about the specific colors that look best in a home.
The Best Exterior House Colors
While dependent on your taste and type of home, the best exterior house colors typically fall somewhere in the neutral spectrum. These include:
- Browns
- Grays
- Whites
- Greens
In this article, we’ll highlight the most popular exterior house colors you can use to boost curb appeal and improve property value.
We’ll even touch on the most important considerations when choosing an exterior paint color, like:
- Neighborhood
- Building Material
- Location
Let’s dive into the best exterior house colors so you can keep your home feeling fresh.
What Exterior House Colors Mean
When painting the exterior of your home, it can be hard to select the right color. This color is what anyone will see when they drive by the house, stop for a visit, or assess the neighborhood.
While it’s fun to branch out and try uncommon colors, your best bet for a beautiful exterior is to paint it a neutral color.
Neutrals prove time and time again to enhance property value and curb appeal. Get started with one of these six exterior house colors.
1. Off-White
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Creamy off-whites embody purity, goodness, sacredness, and peace. In color psychology, shades of white can bring on feelings of hope, comfort, and calmness.
Painting your home a lovely off-white lifts the tone and brings positive energy to the vibe of your home. When centered with darker accents and a bold door, it creates a balanced and inviting look.
Off-white shades are an excellent pick for homes near the water or located in warm climates. It also works for both modern and traditional-style homes.
2. Grey
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Grey is a classic tone with a broad spectrum of shades that pairs well with almost any style of home and most neighborhoods.
In color psychology, grey is detached and neutral, mysterious, strong, and steady. Grey is connected to maturation, making it an excellent option for a mature home with more traditional features.
However, grey can also be sleek and powerful. This attribute makes a fantastic choice for more modern homes that have more of an edgy style.
3. Taupe
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Taupe—loved by some and despised by others—is an essential home color that blends in just enough while still appearing polished and put-together.
Beige is an excellent option for homes that don’t necessarily want to stand out but want to feel like they belong exactly where they are.
A combination of both greys and browns, taupe represents sophistication, modesty, practicality, and elegance. It can elevate the look of a home with a simple repaint and is a color that never goes out of style.
4. Brown
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A cousin to the taupe tones, brown is richer, stronger, and bolder than its grey-ed-out counterpart.
Brown represents growth and the earth, making it a great color choice for anyone who leans toward more natural architecture and design.
It’s a comforting look and portrays confidence and safety with the resilience and solidity of the ground.
If you feel an entirely brown home is too dark and robust, using brown accents, like a front door and shutters, can be an excellent way to integrate groundedness without overwhelming the house.
5. Green
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Green portrays life, growth, revitalization, and harmony. Not all shades of green work well on the exterior of a house, however.
You must be careful not to use a shade that is too light or bold, as it can easily overpower the architecture and natural environment.
The best shades of green outside of your house are dark forest greens or subdued sages that compliment the grass, trees, and shrubs surrounding the home without clashing.
6. Dark Blue
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For those who prefer a little more color than whites, browns, and grays can offer, there’s always the option of using dark blue for your exterior house colors. Dark blue or navy blue feel refreshing, orderly, tranquil, and dependable.
It’s an excellent color for a house in colder climates or near the water, especially in popular boating or fishing areas. It can feel nautical, preppy, and clean-cut, but it can also work well with mid-century and retro designs.
Things to Consider
Before you select one of the color options listed above, you should consider the following characteristics of your house:
- Location. Where do you live? Is it near the ocean, on a lake, on top of a mountain, in a desert, or in the deep and rainy Pacific Northwest? Are you rural or suburban? Is it hot or cold? All of these answers will play into what color you select.
- House style: Is your house newly built, or is it an older home? Does it feel traditional or modern? What’s your style? Is it a bungalow, a ranch-style home, an old Victorian, or a tall and sleek home?
- Neighborhood. Do you live far from your neighbors? What kind of homes do they have? Is your home built similarly to other houses near you? Are there neighborhood association rules you need to follow?
- Building Material. Is your home built from cinderblock, brick, shiplap, or something else?
Go over these questions with those you live with to determine which color best suits your home, neighborhood, area, and style.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Do you still have questions about painting the exterior? Maybe these answers will help.
What’s the Most Popular Color for a Home Exterior?
The most popular color for a home exterior is a white or off-white tone, mainly because it’s a great way to refresh a home and bring light and life back to the curb appeal.
What Are the Most Popular Exterior House Colors for 2021?
Several colors are all competing for the title of most popular house color for 2021, and while the answer is still to be determined, some of the colors in the top rankings include:
- White/Off-White
- Grey
- Beige or Taupe
- Dark Blue/Navy
- Brown
- Brick Red
- Sage Green
- Black
As you can see, most of these colors made our list of the best exterior house colors.
How Do I Choose a Color Scheme for the Exterior of My House?
Choosing a color scheme for the exterior of your home can be a tough decision, but there are a few things you can review to help narrow down your final answers. First, focus on selecting three different colors for your exterior palette.
Rather than feel like you need to pick three very distinct colors, remember that you can go with contrasting colors or stick with a more monochromatic palette, utilizing different shades of a similar color.
Choose one dominant color, one medium tone, and one accent tone to be used throughout. For example, this could be a dark gray for the dominant color, an off-white as the medium tone, and black as the accent tone to be used throughout.
Or, it could look more like a dominant taupe color with a deep brown accent tone and a rich red accent to use on the door. Use the considerations listed above to ensure the palette matches your home type, neighborhood, location, and building material.
What Are the Best Exterior House Colors?
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Essentially, the best exterior house colors you can choose fall within the neutral color spectrum.
When it all comes down to it, the colors you choose for your exterior home palette should reflect your taste, your neighborhood and building style, and the feelings or emotions you hope to tap into with the colors.
Let these considerations guide you, and you’re sure to choose the perfect color. If you’re still not sure about the best color for your home, head to the “decorating” section of our site to get inspired. You’ll be glad you did!