14 Exterior House Colours & Inspiration

Ready to choose your exterior paint colours? Natural surroundings, neighbouring colour schemes, exterior colour trends, and your own personal preferences all play a role.

Follow these tips from our colour experts to choose your exterior paint colours with confidence.

A pretty green-painted house with a front porch and stone walkway, surrounded by lush landscaping.

Align Exterior Paint Colours with Outdoor Hues

Did you know that homeowners typically use three to four paint colours when creating an exterior colour scheme? When planning your exterior paint colour palette, consider trim, windows, garage doors, shutters, and other exterior elements for the full picture.

Start building your palette using colour direction from unchanging exterior elements like roofing, stone, brick and landscaping. If these exterior accents...

Lean warmer, consider hues like browns, reds, oranges or yellows.
Lean cooler, look to grays, blues, greens and violets.

Check out our guide to warm and cool paint colours to dive deeper.

A house with light gray-painted exterior vinyl siding and white trimmed windows, surrounded by shrubs and trees.

Yes - You Can Paint Vinyl Siding

Many homeowners with vinyl siding think that they need new siding to achieve a fresh new colour for their exterior. Not true!

A fresh coat of colour using a high-quality exterior paint like Element Guard™ or Regal^® Select Exterior High Build (shown here) offers an easier, less expensive way to give vinyl siding a gorgeous makeover.

Benjamin Moore has 75 vinyl siding colours at your disposal in the Colours for Vinyl palette. Homeowner favourites include: Simply White OC-117, Hazy Skies OC-48, Amherst Gray HC-167, and Hawthorne Yellow HC-4.

A black-painted house with black trim and front porch, stone steps and greenery.

Make a Design Impact with Deep, Dark Hues

What started as a trend is now a mainstay. The colour and design experts at Benjamin Moore love the look of homes painted in rich, dark hues.

“Dark exteriors provide a modern-meets-classic look and deliver a dose of drama,” says colour expert Molly Lynch.

Endlessly chic and surprisingly versatile, here are a few favourite dark paint colours and their associated trim pairings:

Black HC-190 (shown here) is used on both siding and trim for a dramatic exterior envelope
Iron Mountain 2134-30 paired with White Dove OC-17 trim
Polo Blue 2062-10 paired with White Diamond OC-61 trim

Conversely, a white-painted house with elegant black trim always yields eye-catching results, whether on a modern farmhouse or a traditional Cape Cod cottage-style home.

A pretty sky blue exterior painted wall with a white door and trim, and a tall window with a white metal grate and a climbing green vine.

Fresh, Unexpected Exterior Paint Colours

Your home should be a reflection of who you are. If that means bold and expressive hues—why not embrace them?

Create a playful and airy vibe with powdery blues and leafy greens to bring a refreshing touch to your exterior. Pair eye-catching colour with subdued white paint on trim and other external accents (think mailbox and lighting fixtures) to balance the look.

Attention-getting warm colours we love include:

Prefer cool hues? Check out:

Get more refreshing exterior house paint colours: Check out our pale and pastel colour palette, curated by our colour experts.

Pretty pale gray-painted home siding with a hint of blue-green, off-white trim, eaves and a blue bike leaning against one of two off-white garage doors.

Elevate Exterior Accents with Colour

Small project—big impact. Painting your garage door, window shutters or front door freshens up your home’s exterior with less effort and expense.

Use the same colour on all of your exterior accents, as seen here with Seashell OC-120 on garage doors, trim, and window mullions. Not only is the look clean and cohesive, paint touch-ups are easier when you use the same paint colour.

Take advantage of the free Benjamin Moore Color Portfolio™ app to explore more house colour ideas. Use the photo and video visualizers to "virtually" apply the colours you are considering.

A pale gray painted house with siding and brick exterior, darker gray trim, and a corner porch, with shrubs, trees and green lawn.

Lighting and Exterior Paint Colours

Colours cast differently under various lighting conditions. For example, a paint colour under a shaded tree will appear in a different manner than an exterior hue in direct sunlight. The direction of your home also impacts how paint colour appears.

Use paint colour samples to see colour options in different lighting, both inside and outside. Brush our 236 ml paint colour samples onto a white foam board, then bring it outside. Since Benjamin Moore’s liquid samples are formulated for interior use only, we don’t recommended brushing paint samples directly onto your exterior.

Consider buying a 946 ml size of exterior paint like Aura^® Exterior or Element Guard™: A larger sample is worth the investment given how important it is for you to absolutely love the exterior paint colour you ultimately choose.

Pro tip: When browsing, remember that paint colours tend to cast lighter than you think they will on your home’s exterior.

When choosing exterior colours, try using a palette based on the elements of your home, as well as your surroundings. Select colours that fit in with your neighborhood, architectural style, and natural environment. Consider the lighting of your home, and what sheen you'll be using. Now that you've been inspired to choose an informed exterior colour, here are some tips on how to paint a garage door, and how to paint your front door.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do you choose exterior paint colours for your house?

A. The best inspiration may come from stepping outside. Select hues that are compatible with your neighborhood, architectural style and natural surroundings. For exterior colours inspired by classic American design and architecture, check out Benjamin Moore’s Historical Collection for tried and true favourites that are perfect for any home including Stonington Gray HC-170, Edgecomb Gray HC-173, and Narragansett Green HC-157.

Generally, homeowners use about three to four different colours on their exterior. If you are in a woodsy area, our Craftsman Style Paint Colour palette offers direction on harmonizing colour with the natural elements.

Q. What are the most popular home exterior colour ideas?

A. Dramatic exteriors in dark rich hues have been an ongoing trend that Benjamin Moore colour experts now see as a mainstay. Homeowners diving into gorgeous dark exteriors love colours like Black Satin 2131-10, Black HC-190, Kendall Charcoal HC-166 and Dragon’s Breath 1547, to name just a few.

If daring deep hues aren’t your style, start your exterior paint colour journey by considering the region where you live. In the northeast, for example, popular home exterior paint colours tend towards black, gray, neutral and white. Check out Regional Colour Palettes for exterior colour ideas based on your locality. You can also lean in to style-based colour palettes, like coastal and tropical for inspiration.

In addition to colour, a durable exterior paint that resists the punishing effects of weather, like Element Guard^®, is also essential. Shop Benjamin Moore exterior paints.

Q. What is the best exterior colour for a small house?

A. Light, airy paint colours can make a house’s exterior appear larger from the outside. White Dove OC-17, one of Benjamin Moore’s most popular hues, is a favorite white paint colour for exteriors. Others we love include Cloud Cover OC-25, Swiss Coffee OC-45 and Distant Gray OC-68. Explore more white paint colours in the Benjamin Moore Off White Collection.

As with any exterior paint colour, it is important to first choose colours that match with exterior existing elements like roofing, stone or brick accents, and landscaping.

If you are selecting a vinyl siding paint colour, check out our Colours for Vinyl palette. From tried and true Revere Pewter HC-172, to rich New Hope Gray 2130-50, to the classic Simply White OC-117, we’ve got a range of designer-essential paint colours you’ll love.

Q. Should the shutter colour match the front door colour?

A. Many homeowners opt for window shutters to match perfectly with their front door’s paint colour. Others choose shutters that are a shade lighter or darker, which adds subtle contrast and individual style.

When looking for front door colour ideas and inspiration, take colour cues from the paint colours inside your home. What shades does your front door open into? Green, gray and blue doors are a naturally gracious expression for the entrance to your home, especially when they contrast with a house’s warm undertones. Matching your shutters will help extend this contrast.