Monday 17 January 2011

Selecting Exterior House Paint Colours



Selecting exterior house paint colours can be a tough decision. It occupies a good deal of time and effort to decide what colours will look pleasant together. Picking out the wrong colour paint can be a very costly blunder that you'll probably have to live with or spend a lot of money to change it. Here are a few useful tips to help you get set up.
Decide how many paint colours you will be selecting. Newer homes occasionally have metal framed windows that do not need painting as they are generally powder coated, but they will have eaves that may need to be painted in a contrasting colour to the weather boards or siding. If you have a window trim and shutters that will need to be painted, decide how many colors you want to work with. Generally, householders paint their exterior with one colour and their exterior trim with another colour and their shutters and exterior doors with a third colour. White is the most often used color for exterior trim. It creates a beautiful contrasting look.
If you have brick on your home, choose a colour for your siding that will blend well with your brick. You should consider the colour of your roof when deciding on your paint colour. Make certain about the exterior paint colours you pick will blend well with the colour of your roof as well.

Look at the colours of your neighbours' houses. This is crucial, but often overlooked influence in colour selection. Most householders want their home to be special, but it should also be agreeable with colours put to use in the neighborhood. So, take a look at neighboring houses before settling your paint colour.
Before you pick any paint colour, check to see if your home owners associations if applicable restricts the colours that you can use. This is especially important if you live in a newer subdivision, or townhouse community. It is very common to find these types of restraints in these localities.
When you have made a decision on a paint colour keep in mind that most colours tend not to look exactly the same as those on the paint store brochures or colour samples. Types of paint sheen, lighting and formulas can all take a part in what a colour will or will not look like.

When you have simplified your paint colour choice, get a sample pot and paint a small section of your home. Make sure you are testing the exact paint you will be using to paint your house. This is the only way to really see what the paint will look like. Painting over a rendered surface will often make the paint colour look very different as the surface texture creates lots of shadows.

Paint may appear varied at different times of the day so be sure to take a look at your sample painting several times. Make sure to test your trim colours next to the siding colour also.

Exterior paint can be made in any colour that you can think of, and these are just a few tips to help you make the right selection. By taking consideration all of these things mentioned you should be able to choose colours that will not only look fantastic but will also hide any defects and highlight your home's best features.