Top Tips on Choosing Exterior Paint for your home

Consider the features of your home that can't be changed

Determine the features of your home that can't be changed (window frame colour, red brick/natural stone and roof tile/slate colour), as these will form the basis of your new colour scheme, while also limiting your colour choice.

Choose colours that work with your property

You should be mindful of the fact that the colours you like, may not necessarily suit the style of your home. You need to look at the architecture & era of your home to inform your colour choice e.g. Modern, Georgian etc.

For example, if you own a redbrick house, warm autumnal tones would be a great choice. Sometimes clients will assume because they like a colour e.g. grey, then of course it's going to work but in fact sticking to browns, greens & sandy colours that compliment the warms of the brick will work much better. Although solid greys & greys with a hint of blue should be ruled out a grey like Cashel Clay with brown undertone and Portland with green undertone will work.

What are the aspects of your property & environment?

Do you live in a Victorian, Edwardian or Georgian town house with lush gardens? Is your home overlooking the sea? Are you on an urban terrace or a detached house?

Your property's architectural style and the surrounding environment need to be considered when choosing a new exterior colour scheme. For example, a house that's surrounded by green landscaping will be camouflaged if painted with a green colour scheme. For some people this would be desirable, but white colours would have the opposite effect of highlighting your property and really making it stand out.

The Power of the Trios

To really bring out the very best of your home's exterior, Amanda recommends using a trio of colours.

Colour 1 - Choose a mid-tone colour for the walls of your house such as Knock Na Ri, Cashel Clay, Atlantic Way, etc.

Colour 2 – Choose darker colours such as Merlin, Wicklow Way, Black, etc., for the plinth (the base of the house) and windowsills for maximum durability as these areas are most exposed to the elements.

Colour 3 – Choose lighter colours such as Pure Brilliant White, Achill White or Wild Cotton on the window reveals, these will frame your window frames irrespective of what colour they are and make them appear bigger. A lighter colour is also good for highlighting any architectural details such as quoin stones and the door reveals if your windows are white.

Test your Colours

This is such an important step before making a decision. Don't rely on colour chips from your colour card, as it may vary from what your eye can see.

Amanda's advice is to paint a large area of your exterior using a full tester pot. A good area to try out colours would be window reveals or windowsills and the wall adjacent. This way you will be able to get an indication of how the colours you've chosen work together.

The Power of the Front Door

The colour you paint your front door can give a powerful impact but you need to choose a colour that works in harmony with your colour trio. This is an area you can be bold with your colour choice, especially if you're using a subtle colour scheme. The right pop of colour can really make your home stand out from the crowd.

ORDER Weathershield Paint

We have a wide choice of Weathershield tester pots available to buy online. We can mix larger quantities of Weathershield to any colour, ready to collect in minutes. If you would like to order Weathershield you can get in contact by calling Stakelums Home & Hardware paint counter directly on 0504-29813 or via our contact page.