Start with what is not changing
Most houses have fixed elements: a roof with 10 or 20 years of life left, brick or stone on the front, window frames, a concrete or interlock driveway. These set the undertone of the scheme, so list them before choosing anything new.
Hold a white sheet of paper next to the roof or brick in daylight. Against white, it is easier to tell whether a brown roof leans red or grey, or whether a stone has yellow or pink in it. Then pick body colors that share that warmth or coolness.
Give each color a job
A simple rule of thumb is roughly 60 percent body color, 30 percent trim and 10 percent accent. The body covers the walls, the trim outlines windows, fascia and corners, and the accent is usually the front door, sometimes shutters.
- Body: the color neighbors will describe your house by. Mid tones are the most forgiving; very light and very dark bodies show dirt and fading more.
- Trim: either contrast (white on navy) or tone on tone (a shade darker or lighter than the body) for a quieter look.
- Accent: the place to take a risk. A door is easy to repaint if you tire of it.
- Roof: count it as a color. A black roof pushes a scheme toward contrast, a brown roof toward warmth.
Contrast level sets the style
High contrast, like white body with black windows, looks crisp and modern but shows every flaw in proportion. Low contrast, like greige body with slightly lighter trim, flatters houses with awkward window placement and suits traditional streets.
Look at your street from the sidewalk. A scheme does not need to match the neighbors, but one that relates to them in value usually looks more settled than one that fights them. Houses in heritage districts or with an association may have a published palette; start from that list.
Testing a scheme for real
After you narrow to one or two schemes on screen, paint sample boards for body and trim and place them together, trim board overlapping the body board, so you see the edge where they meet. Colors interact; a white can look grey next to a strong body color.
View the boards on the actual front of the house at several times of day. Light from the north cools everything; light from the west warms it in the evening, which is when many people see their house coming home.
Common scheme mistakes to avoid
The most frequent problem is a body color chosen in isolation that fights the roof. A cool blue-grey body under a warm brown roof, or a creamy yellow under a black roof, will look off no matter how good each color is on its own. Render the scheme with your real roof visible before sampling anything.
The second is too many accents. Shutters, door, garage, railings and planters in different colors break the house into pieces. Pick one accent and repeat it at most twice. Finally, remember gutters and downspouts: they run the full height of the wall, so paint them to match whatever they sit against, usually trim at the eaves and body color on the walls.