If you want to increase your curb appeal and market value of your home you have to choose the right colors for its exterior. The colors of your home’s exterior can make a big impact. Some homes look best dressed in their historical colors. Other things to keep in mind are the look of the rest of your neighborhood, you want to look like you fit in while still being unique.
Roofs – More Than Just Black.
The color of your roof will play a large role in the rest of the colors you choose for the exterior of your home. While it may seem that the obvious color choice for a roof is black, this is not necessarily the truth, especially if we look to the past.
Roofs in the early 1900s were often composed of wood shingles, or other natural materials like slate. And they were frequently stained to add another dimension to a home. Roofs came in many colors, red, green, gold, and other bright colors! Some homes featured multicolored wood shingles that tried to mimic slate roof coloring.
Victorian, Arts and Crafts, Georgian, and Tudor-revival all brought color to roofs in different ways. Depending on the style of your home your appropriate historical colors of roof could be very far from the black and greys widely popular today.
Keep in mind when choosing a roof you are making a 25-50 year investment. You can choose to stain wood shingles, or for less upkeep find an asphalt shingle in the color of your choice. Find a color you are really happy with and feel confident you can choose colors to harmonize with.
Your Siding How to Choose a Color.
When you are keeping historical colors in mind for your siding you can choose one of several options.
• Original Colors. This is the most obvious choice for those concerned with historical colors. Your siding and trim would be done in the colors that would have been chosen for your home when it was originally built.
You can discover what the original paint color of your home several different ways. You can have a professional analysis done. This involves lab tests of paint chips in an effort to recreate your original paint colors.
You can also refer to historical colors charts. There are professionals available to help you navigate through these as well!
• Historic colors inspired from other time periods. Use another historical era to inspire your color choices. If your home was built around 1900 research the colors that were in vogue for its architectural style in the 1920s or 1950s for inspiration.
• Use modern color choices. Research the modern take on a historic look. What are the current colors of choice for your style of home?
The Best Tips When Selecting Colors for Your Siding.
• Make note of exterior elements that won’t be painted. If your home has brick or other stone work on it choose a paint or siding color that complements these elements.
• Don’t forget your roof! If your roof is adding color to your home, or if you are planning on updating your roof to a brighter color keep this in mind when you choose colors.
• If your home is historic, you may need to follow special steps to gain approval before you make changes. If you are looking to make changes to your siding or roofing consult the National Park Services for information on historic preservation.
Remaining historically accurate with the color of your St. Paul siding can be a challenge. There are a number of things to consider. When your looking for historical colors you can do the research yourself or hire a pro to do the work. Your result will be a gorgeous home!
