Coordinating Your Siding & Roofing Colors
The two biggest determinants of a home’s curb appeal are its roofing and siding. This makes it imperative that they complement each other to provide a cohesive look. Here’s what you need to know about making selections that will stand the test of time and add to your home’s value.
Digital Renderings Are Game-Changers: Gone are the days of simply looking at siding and shingle samples and trying to imagine how the colors would look on your home. The technology now exists for reputable contractors to provide digital renderings of all sides of your home with various roof and siding color combinations.
Warm vs. Cool Colors: Warm colors often tend to be shades of red, yellow, and orange and are named this because their association with items like fire and the sun. Cool shades are hues of blue, green, and magenta and are often tied to natural elements like water, grass, and the sky. Homes that have the most cohesive look utilize a roof and siding that both come from either the warm or cool side of the color spectrum.
Color Brightness Matters: If your home’s square footage is on the smaller side, selecting a lighter color for the roofing and siding will create the illusion that your home is slightly larger than it appears. Another advantage of using lighter colors is that they showcase contrasting architectural points of interest. However, there is the argument for dark, dramatic siding and roofing colors when the goal is to highlight the spaciousness of a home that’s surrounded with rolling hills or stately trees. Unsure which route to go? Medium tones are a safe bet on almost any size or style of home.
Avoid a Direct Color Match: Some siding manufacturers offer custom colors which would allow for exact matching of the roofing and siding colors, this option is not recommended. Instead, complimentary colors should be used because they establish an optical difference. For instance, a home with pale brown siding benefits from the installation of a roof with a burnt brown hue because of the contrast between the two shades.
Opt for a Darker Roof: In most scenarios, it’s best practice to select a roof that’s in the same color palette as the siding, but a few shades darker. This is the most aesthetically pleasing approach, as the eye most often takes in the beauty of a home from the top to the bottom.
