Common Mistakes in Exterior Color Selection
What’s arguably the most stressful part of painting your home? Choosing the perfect color. At Legacy Painting, we’ve known plenty of homeowners who have lost sleep over the prospect of choosing the wrong shade.
To help ease your mind, we’ve put together a list of the most common exterior paint mistakes—and what you can do to avoid them.
Mistake 1: Not Considering Your Fixed Elements
If you’re head over heels for a color, be wary of tunnel vision when it comes to painting your home, especially with regard to permanent fixtures.
Fixed elements of a home can include many things, such as:
The roof
Stonework or bricks incorporated into the facade
Columns
Steel
The pavers or bricks of a patio close to the home
While some of a home’s features are one, solid color, others consist of several hues, such as different shades of gray, blue, and beige within stonework. So how do you pick an exterior house color that goes with your existing elements?
Look at undertones. For example, while two grays may look similar, determining if it has a green-gray or blue-gray base will dramatically affect the complementary shades.
To figure out the undertone, decide what the “main color” of the feature is. If it’s gray, for example, grab a paint sample for a true, pure gray. Now, compare your element’s color against the sample. Does it have more of a yellow or violent undertone? Green or blue? From here, you can look at exterior colors that will enhance, not clash, with these subtle underlying colors.
Mistake 2: Looking at a Small Paint Sample
In preparation to paint a room, you’ll be inclined to grab a few small paint swatches and hold them against the wall. For a confined space, this can be fine. But this doesn’t quite cut it for exterior paint.
A house is a giant blank canvas, and a small sample is lost quickly. So, instead, buy a few large, white posterboards and paint them with the possible paint colors. Voilà: you’ve made a house-sized paint swatch!
Pro tip: Be sure to view your paint samples in direct sunlight and in the shade. You might be surprised what a difference outdoor lighting makes in the look of your colors. On that note…
Mistake 3: Going Too Light
All too often, folks forget to consider a major factor that affects exterior house paint: sunlight.
Natural light drastically lightens up an exterior paint, making it appear lighter by one to two shades. This means that you’ll need to choose a darker color than you may be anticipating.
For example, say you want a classic white facade. If you choose a true white, your house will reflect an intense amount of sunlight. Instead, if you go with an off-white or beige, it will better achieve that clean, aesthetically pleasing white you were originally wanting.
Mistake 4: Overlooking the Impact of Primer on Final Color
One of the most common—and costly—mistakes homeowners make when selecting exterior paint colors is failing to consider how the primer will affect the final result. Primer isn’t just a preparatory step for adhesion; it plays a major role in how the topcoat looks once it’s dry.
Different primers have different base tones—white, gray, or even tinted versions designed to complement specific paint colors. Using the wrong primer can significantly alter the appearance of the chosen paint color. For example, a deep or vibrant color applied over a stark white primer may appear brighter or even slightly off from the color swatch. Conversely, applying a lighter paint over a dark-tinted primer can mute the color or require additional coats to reach the desired look.
This issue becomes especially noticeable with bold or saturated colors such as reds, dark blues, or forest greens. Without the right primer, these paints can look patchy or uneven, requiring more product and labor to correct the finish.
To avoid this mistake, always consult with a paint professional about the best primer to use for your chosen exterior color. Many high-end paint brands offer tinted primers that help ensure color accuracy and even coverage, saving you time, money, and frustration in the long run.
Have Legacy Painting Help You Find the Perfect Color
Choosing the wrong paint color can be a costly and frustrating mistake. Rather than risk a color disaster, partner with Legacy Painting. Our experts will guide you through the entire paint selection process, from determining undertones to selecting the right finish.
With Legacy Painting by your side, you’ll feel confident in your color choice from the very first brushstroke. Contact us today to schedule your exterior painting project!
