How to match the color of your roof with your exterior siding

How to Match Your Roof and Exterior Siding

Your siding is starting to fade, but there is no need to panic: it is a normal consequence of time. Wear and tear occurs, especially in places with extreme weather conditions. You have carefully examined your options and decided to paint, rather than replace your siding. You want to save on an otherwise very costly project, but you want to do it in style. So here you are, looking at your house, trying to picture which color would work best for your siding. Trying to match it to your roof is a daunting task, indeed. There are many things to take into consideration before picking the perfect color, but we are here to guide you through the process.

1. Identify the Permanent Features of Your Home

First things first, before you start looking at paint colors, you need to be aware of the elements that cannot be changed. The permanent features of your home include the roof, the surrounding landscape, and the neighborhood. Yup, even the things that are not part of your house need to be taken into consideration.

• The Roof: Your exterior siding is starting to fade, but your roof is in an amazing shape? So you won’t replace it. Your roof is, therefore, the number one feature you need to take into consideration when picking an exterior siding color.

• The Surrounding Landscape: Harmony is key. Your home might have a front lawn, and a backyard; it might be located in the woods, or on a cliff. These elements need to be evaluated before picking the right color for your home. Paint your house green, and Mother Nature could make it disappear. But if your goal is camouflage, then why not.

• The Neighborhood: Whether you like it or not, your neighborhood is another quasi-permanent feature of your home. Consequently, and while you want to remain creative, you also need to respect your neighbors. Visually, your house needs to integrate nicely with the ones around it. Want to stand out? Think about accents and architectural details. You can also paint your house in fuchsia pink but it’s at your own risk!

2. Identify the Style of Your Home

Second, it is essential for you to understand the type of house you own. Different eras mean different architectural trends. Different locations mean different materials. Once you’ve identified when and how your house was built, you’ve moved one step closer to matching your roof and siding colors.

• Location: You know when your house was built. That’s good, but not quite sufficient. The architecture trends in Canadian province British Columbia are different from the ones in a colder province such as Saskatchewan and remember that weather has a huge influence on the type of siding you will find in a region.
• Come to a Conclusion: You got the when, you got the where, you should now have the what. To make it simple, there are really 4 main types of houses out there:

• Historical
• Country
• Classic
• Modern

3. Understand Basic Design Rules

Third and final step in the process of matching roof and siding colors to completely rejuvenate your home is understanding the power of colors. Of course, you need to pick a color that speaks to you, but you also need to be aware of the implications that your decision will have. Do you really want to rush such an important process? No, you don’t.

• Color & Space: Your house is not particularly big but you love dark colors? You should probably know that painting your siding like that will make your home look even smaller. And, you guessed it, the opposite is true too. Pick a light color, and your house will look much bigger!

• Don’t Overmatch: A rule of thumb for you: your siding should not exactly match your roofing color. Rather, it should complement it. In other words, stay in the same color scheme but pick a different color. A last tip: keep in mind that your roof should generally be darker than your siding.

• Research the Trends: It’s no secret, dark sidings are trendy. However, not all trends – even the ones you love – are worth following for your house. You need to maximize the potential of your most-prized possession, and your gut instinct might not have your best interests at heart!

4. Pick a Color

Finally, you are ready to pick a color for your siding that will match your roof. To recap, here are the steps you need to follow in order to make an educated decision:

• Identify the permanent features of your home: the roof, the surrounding landscape, and the neighbors’ houses.
• Understand the style of your home: the era it was built in, and the location to understand what it is made of. Not all sidings can be painted in any color!
• Design etiquette matters: the color you pick will have a visual effect on your home. Know what your end goal and start harnessing the full potential of your house!