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Simple Exterior House Paint Idea
Most houses can handle up to three harmonious colors: one for siding, trim and an accent color for your front door and shutters. The siding and trim colors work best if they are from the same color family, just differing in their tone or shade. For example, select your siding color then choose a color for the trim 2 shades lighter or darker than the siding color. Consider the roof color when choosing an exterior house paint idea. If the roof is a cool color like grey or green, it’s best to stick with a siding color that’s cool too. The same goes for the warm colors. Don’t think you have to give up the siding color you like just because it doesn’t go with your roof color. At the paint store, you’ll find base colors such as beige mixed with more yellow or orange to make it warm or mixed with grey or a hint of blue to make it look cool. All you need to do is choose your color and then make sure it has the proper undertones to match your roof. Below you'll see to the left a warm beige combo. To the right is the cool alternative.
When trying to decide on an exterior house paint idea,remember, the color on the paint swatch always looks lighter when spread out over a large area. Use the accent colors to accentuate special features of your home like shutters, mouldings or columns. If your home has some less than perfect features, play them down by painting them the same color as the siding. Light colors will make the house appear larger and dark colors as well as dark trim will make it appear smaller. An exterior house paint idea that's dark absorbs more heat and therefore may make air conditioning bills go up. Dark colors also tend to fade and are difficult to match when in need of a touch up. All is not lost if you have vinyl siding! Several paint companies make a product that adheres to vinyl. The manufacturer recommends that you don’t use a color any darker than the color of your vinyl. This is because dark colors soak up the heat and can cause the vinyl to distort. I have successfully painted yellow over white vinyl. So far, so good. Thought you were done making decisions, right? Nope. One more. Another exterior house paint idea is to decide on a sheen for your house. A gloss will be easy to clean (good if you live in a tree thick area with lots of birds and you guessed it, birdy do do) but it will show all the dips and imperfections because it reflects the light. A satin is the most universal for siding and then a gloss or semi-gloss for trim and accents. Before you make your final decision, have a quart of your siding color mixed up. Go home and try it out for awhile. Your neighbors may think you got lazy and quit, but that’s okay. You’ll be able to see the color in the proper surroundings and light to see if you really like it. One more tip ….. Rent a paint sprayer. It takes a little extra paint, but it is soooo worth it! Just one exterior house paint idea can get your brain to spinning. Pretty soon you’ll have so many ideas, you’ll want to decorate your whole yard. So, write them all down in a notebook for future reference. Here’s an idea I came up with because I wanted a unique way to display my address numbers. House Numbers MosaicA fun way to personalize your house numbers is to make a mosaic. Save all broken dishes and hunt for garage sale bits. Crunch them in a baggie with a hammer. Purchase an inexpensive picture frame the desired size of your display, 8”x10” is a good size. Choose a frame that has a 1/4" lip between the glass and the frame. Glue the glass to the frame and glue the back of the frame shut. Fill the front of the frame with tile mud and place the broken dishes randomly on the mud in the shape of your house numbers. You’ll want to be sure that there is a stark contrast between the color of the numbers and the color of the background so it can be read easily.
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