Here are some house and roof color combinations that look stunning together. The historic Roseland Cottage (1846) in Woodstock, Connecticut is a landmark example of Gothic Revival architecture with a color scheme right out of the Victorian pattern books. The siding is coral, the trim is plum, and the shutters black. Every historic period has its preferred palettes. To find historically appropriate color combinations for your old house, refer to popular and historic color charts.
You can hire a pro to analyze old paint chips and recreate the original color.You can refer to historic color charts and select shades that might have been used at the time your home was built.Or, you can fly in the face of history and choose bright modern colors to dramatize architectural details.
The owners of this little bungalow opted to break all the rules. Instead of choosing traditional bungalow colors, they went bold with tropical shades of green and pink. In some neighborhoods, the choice might raise eyebrows, but this house is in a lively shopping area where anything goes. The three neighboring houses in this photo are painted taupe, gold, and slate blue. The colors do not clash because each house borrows at least one color from its neighbor. The porch columns and gable details on the gold-colored house are painted taupe, like the house next door. The eaves and other architectural details on all three houses are painted similar russet hues. These repeated touches of dark red unify the three houses. Having color choice control of neighboring houses may be reason enough to buy up properties on the whole street! The paint colors on this bungalow are drawn from the yellow and blue flowers blooming in the front yard. So, which came first — the landscaping or the paint colors?
Green roof? Try gray, green, or white house colors.Black roof? Try gray, blue, or white house colors.Brown roof? Go with brown, tan, yellow, or white house colors.Gray roof? Choose gray, blue, green, black, or white house colors.Red roof? How about gray, black, or brown house colors.
The urban farmhouse in this photo is painted dusty green to harmonize with the green roof. Architectural details are accented in off-white and burgundy. Specifically, the siding is painted with Sherwin Williams Pensive Sky, SW1195; the gable has Sherwin Williams Mystery Green, SW1194; and the trim is Benjamin Moore AC-1, with Benjamin Moore Country Redwood for the details. The eaves, the window moldings, and the upper portion of the tower are painted gray to harmonize with the stone foundation and slate roof. The red color of the brick is echoed in the paint color for the window sashes and gable vent. The coral-colored siding also harmonizes with the brick, because coral and red are in the same color family. Made with iron oxide, Cherokee red was not one exact color but a whole range of reddish hues, some dark and some more vivid. In this photo, gold and red furnishings harmonize with colors of the woodwork and bricks. How much did Wright love this color? According to early plans, exterior colors for the iconic, swirling Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City were originally a shade of Cherokee red. Light colors make a house seem larger, and spacious estates like the one shown here are often painted white to suggest an aura of elegance and grandeur. Built-in 1901, Hill-Stead is often called one of America’s finest examples of Colonial Revival architecture. The green shutters are a distinguished, traditional detail. As interesting as the color is of Hill-Stead, the story behind its architecture may be more interesting. Theodate Pope (1867–1946), one of the first woman architects in the US, designed the estate for her family. Dark siding or dark bands of trim will make your house seem smaller but will draw more attention to details. Darker shades are best for accenting recesses, while lighter tones will highlight details that project from the wall surface. On traditional Victorian homes, the darkest paint is often used for the window sashes. Stowe’s next-door neighbor, author Mark Twain, used bolder colors but stayed within a single color family. The Mark Twain House is painted several shades of brown and russet to coordinate with the brick facade. A burst of a single color on just one part of your home may give it a lopsided appearance. On this cottage, the brightest color is balanced equally on each side.
