10 Ways to Add Color to Your Exterior
Enhancing your home's exterior with colorful accents is an easy way to boost curb appeal. Whether you want to add a little color or a lot, these ideas and products promise to give your home a whole new look.
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Painting your home's exterior is one of the most cost-effective ways to update its look. When devising your color scheme, consider your home's architectural style -- elaborate Victorian homes might be able to handle four or five colors, while Colonial styles look best with two or three. Also consider colors that can't be changed, such as stonework on the home or in the landscape, roof color, and the palette of surrounding homes.
Sherwin-Williams' Resilience Premium Exterior Paint features a wide array of color choices and it's low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The paint will work on any exterior surface including wood, stucco, masonry, concrete, aluminum, and vinyl. With its MoistureGuard technology, the durable coating will develop resistance to moisture in about two hours, compared to the four-hour minimum of other conventional exterior paints.
Paint starts at $46.99 per gallon.
sherwin-williams.com
Vinyl siding was once offered in only a handful of neutral colors, but today's products provide nearly unlimited color choices so it's easy to find siding to complement your home's exterior.
Foundry siding gives you the look and warmth of a cedar shake and shingle home, but without that hassle of maintaining the wood siding. Foundry siding is made from premium PVC panels that present the look of wood graining, but you don't have to worry about rotting or cracking with this material. The siding comes in a wide variety of shake and shingle traits and colors.
800/771-4486
foundrysiding.com
Cladding, the aluminum wrap on an exterior window frame, lets you have the beauty of wood inside and a low-maintenance covering outside. Manufacturers offer cladding in various colors, so you can make your windows stand out or blend in with existing siding.
Make your windows pop with colorful cladding from Pella's EnduraClad line. This low-maintenance aluminum cladding doesn't need painting. Its baked-on finish resists fading and chalking, and looks great for years to come. Standard exterior colors include white, tan or brown, but 17 additional colors are available in the Pella Architect Series and Designer Series.
800/374-4758
pella.com
Entrance hardware, door knockers, house numbers, mailboxes, and porch lights all add character to your home's exterior. Choosing the same color or finish for these elements creates a sophisticated look.
Boost curb appeal by coordinating your entry lighting, door hardware, and outdoor decor with help from Restoration Hardware. You'll find a wide variety of decor items, from outdoor lanterns and sconces to house numbers and doorbells. Plus, find fabulous furnishings to dress your front porch or patio.
800/910-9845
restorationhardware.com
Your front door is a great place to add a dash of bold color -- and boost home value. If you want to add color, look for doors that come ready to be painted and opt for a high-quality acrylic latex paint, says Sara Theiss, a Therma-Tru spokesperson. Decorative glass inserts offer additional color and complement a range of house styles.
Therma-Tru's Smooth-Star collection features fiberglass entry doors that look like fine painted wood and stand up to dents, dings, rust, and corrosion. To add curb appeal, customize the door with decorative glass inserts that reflect your style and allow more light into your home. Choose from a wide variety of door styles and glass styles.
800/843-7628
thermatru.com
Whether operable or decorative, these accents add color and bring a historical touch to a Federal or Colonial home. For easy maintenance, look for fiberglass models, high-density PVC, or composite wood materials; they offer the look of wood but don't crack, split, or rot.
Atlantic Premium provides darling, durable shutters for any style of home. The Architectural collection of shutters are made of marine-grade fiberglass resistant to the elements. The Classic collection of shutters are crafted of proprietary composite wood that is moisture-, rot-, and termite-resistant. Each collection offers several shutters styles available in 40 color options. Custom colors and cut-outs are also available.
866/288-2726
atlanticpremiumshutters.com
Stonecraft's manufactured stone veneer delivers supreme curb appeal, without the cost that comes with authentic stone. The veneer is made from a sustainable mix of ingredients that allow it to weather and age just like real stone. Its remarkable look and texture comes in nine styles and a broad array of colors.
888/580-6448
stonecraft.com
Rejuvenate a dull roof with colorful roofing from InSpire. InSpire Roofing is an innovative, recyclable green product, crafted from compressed limestone and virgin resins. Backed by a limited lifetime warranty, this roofing won't lift, cup, break, or delaminate. With one of the widest color palettes in the industry, homeowners are sure to find just the right style and color of roofing for their home.
800/971-4148
inspireroofing.com
The eye-catching metal comes with a high price tag, but the finished look can be worth the cost. For example, copper gutters transform an overlooked feature into a design element. "If you have a bay window with a copper roof or a porch with a copper roof, and you couple that with copper downspouts and gutters, it can be very handsome," says Washington, D.C.-based architect Bruce Wentworth.
Showcase the beauty and strength of copper on your home's exterior at an affordable price with copper clad stainless steel. CopperPlus offers lightweight, low maintenance alternatives that boast reduced expansion, faster soldering, and complete formability. This product can be used in a wide variety of ways: from gutters and downspouts to roofs and architectural details.
888/909-7246
guttersupply.com
Curb appeal extends from the front door to, well, the curb! By staining existing concrete, you transform a drab patio, sidewalk, or driveway into an eye-catching surface that resembles stone, wood, or leather. Acid-base stains are available in earth tones, such as tan, brown, terra-cotta, and soft blue-green, while water-base stains expand the color palette.
