House Color - Exterior Pictures

Picking a house color? Exterior pictures can help you see what others are doing.

In this article I advocate for more colorful homes than we are used to seeing in the bland subdivision that make up most of the new housing stock. For those lucky enough to have some say in the color of their house enjoy my collection of pics.

Its rather like a pinterest page for exterior colors, but with a little editorial content thrown in.

Colorful Towns and Neighborhoods

People tend to not to want to look too different from the neighbors. Colorful homes are often found in neighborhoods full of colorful homes.

Colorful Row Houses in D.C.Row Houses in Cities are often colorful, as is this neighborhood in D.C.
Colorful Neighborhood in EuropeEuropean cities are sometimes more colorful than U.S. cities
Hattaras Village homesSometimes seaside vacation rentals can be colorful
Colorful homes in GuanajuatoSome areas in Mexico are very colorful. And when you are on a hillside your house will be seen for many miles.
The Exterior Colors of these DC townhouses favor the neutral.In contrast to the vibrant colors of Guanajuato these row houses in DC tend to muted, neutral colors.
The colors that CertainTeed offers for their vinyl products.The color offerings of CertainTeeds Monogram collection.

If you cruise through most suburbs you will notice that most homes have vinyl siding and there is a strong affinity for the most neutral of neutral colors. Beige and Gray rule the day.

If you go to the websites of the major manufacturers of vinyl siding you will find that there strongest colors still tend to the neutral. For a clearer explanation of colors check out my page on color theory. The short version is that colors range from high-chroma, which is your brightest of brights, your purest colors, to neutral, which is where the high-chroma colors are mixed with eath other and black or white. The result is a muddying or washing out of the colors.

This is not by chance. These suburban communities are designed. Even where multiple builders are active in a sub-division there are often restrictions on the colors and siding that can be used.

In contrast it is the old neighborhoods of wood houses, or painted brick, where you find your most colorful homes. There is still a tendency to favor the neutral colors, but a few brave souls will venture out into the realm of the bright and cheery.

I will be the first to admit that many of these experiments in color do not work out. Ugly comes in many forms, and sometimes it is bold and vibrant.

Blue Homes

Blue used to be more common than it is now. You still see a lot of blue-grays, but they tend to be a lot more gray than blue.

My friend growing up had a blue house. It was a light blue. It was sided in vinyl, and I think that shade was fairly common back in the '70s, but I never liked it.

I tend to go for the darker blues, but it depends on the house.  Blue is a fairly conservative house color. You rarely shock people with blue the way you can with purple or pink.

Here I offer a range of blue homes that might help you decide what kind of blue home you want.

Did I say I liked blue? This is my house and I just painted it Van Deusen Blue.
A pair of blue townhomes in D.C.Either blue is fine but as neighbors they are a mess. When I dress like this my daughter says "Dad! No!"
This blue home is brought to you by KaboodleIts easy to go wild with a Queen Anne. Here the blue base makes sure all the little details stand out.
A light blue homeThis is a very cheerful color. I might like it more if the yard and surroundings looked cheerful to match it.
This blue is bright without being gaudy. It works well with the red roof.
Teal home in New Palestine, IndianaI think this house is teal, although the camera doesn't quite get it right. It is on the border between green and blue.

Yellow Houses

Yellow is cheerful. It is in its glory when it is brightest. On a sunny day the yellow houses will pop out at you.

Earth-tone varieties are popular with stucco and adobe homes. Muted, they lose some of their cheeriness, but connect the house with the ground and its surroundings.

There is some danger. As you move toward the neutral yellows you enter into the dreaded beige zone. Beige is boring. Its a backdrop color. A beige house will not stand out. It does not invite you in. It invites you to ignore it.

A yellow Federalist homeYellow can create a stand-out look. This yellow house grabs the eye. You can't help noticing the house and the bright yellow has a lot to do with it.
Orangish-Yellow townhouse in DC.This yellow house is tending toward the orange. Add a little black and you can take it toward a pleasant earth tone, but orange by itself is hard to take seriously.
A Mustard Brown and Yellow home in AlexandriaThis is to Yellow what Bob Dylan is to singing. Please do not do this to your neighbors. Local dogs cross the street rather than pass too close to this house.
A warm yellow fits the Mediterranean nature of this San Diego house.A neutral version of yellow shows up as a warm earth tone in many houses of the Southwest. It ties the house to the earth, to nature and to its surroundings.

Green Homes

This green home is a row-house in D.C.What I like about this green is how well-suited it is to its neighbors. When you are this close to other houses it is best to see if you can adapt to their palette.
A Green Victorian Home in Ada, OhioIts a beauty, but I am not entirely pleased with the blues used in the pediments. I can't quite put my finger on it, but they don't serve the light green well.
A green Tudor in BangorA beautiful home in Bangor Maine seriously mistreated. The green works well with the Tudor, but the black porch enclosure sucks all the joy out if.
Green home is camouflaged in the woodsA danger of green homes is that they can get lost in the woods. This house manages to both clash and blend in. If you do want to disappear in the woods, perhaps green is a good choice for you.
Green Craftsman Bungalow in San DiegoDark blue-green makes this a serious house, perhaps even somber. It works well with the dark timbers in this Crafsman Bungalow, but its not a cheery color.

Red Homes

Deep Red HomeThe red is deep and rich, without being dark. Its powerful and eye catching. It avoids the barn red look to strike just the right note.
A red house with a stone covered core.This one is barn red, which just shows that it can look pretty good on a house too.

Pink House

Pink ItalianateDepending on your screen this house may appear pink or it may show up as mauve. This is a neutral version of pink that loses some of its punch. It is a pleasant effect without being overpowering,
Bright Pink Mexican HouseIn Mexico they don't shy away from even the brightest of pinks.
A salmon colored house in TulsaMaybe this should be called Salmon. Not quite pink, not quite orange. Its not quite an earth tone, but not a full-chroma color either.

Purple Homes

I wish I had more purple homes to show you. It is not a popular cover, but the lively Victorians did make use of it, at least in the U.S..

Purple Queen Anne along Highway 68 in OhioI've passed this purple house for 17 years. It never fails to grab my attention. It may not be the prettiest paint choice, but it is one of the most arresting.

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