Common Mistakes Homeowners Make Choosing Paint Colors

Choosing paint colors for the exterior of your home is truly a labor of love. But it’s well worth investing the time and energy in this process – because the exterior paint is the icing on the cake. No matter how beautifully you have designed your home or how lavishly you have decorated the interior, the first thing you and others will see is the exterior – and the color combinations you choose make all the difference in the world.

To ensure you select the perfect exterior paint colors, it’s a great idea to consult an expert with years of experience. SFW Painting is an established painting company that advises homeowners on determining winning exterior paint color schemes that match their homes. Working with us enables you to become well-informed and make the choice that’s right for you. Best of all, our exterior paint consultation is free!

Common Mistakes Homeowners Make

Although many businesses have opened back up at limited capacities, most Americans find themselves working from home and managing their children’s education from the same space. If you’re like me, 8 months at home has taken a toll on my interior walls and trim. There are scuffs everywhere from my son’s soccer ball, and it seems like every wall is a whiteboard for my grandaughter. The interior walls of my house look dingy, beat up, and tired. We need a new interior paint job in a bad way.

Choosing a color based on paint swatches in a store.

It seems reasonable enough that you’d be able to go to the paint store and choose the color you want to paint your house, based on computer images or physical paint swatches. But neither of these are true to life – especially paint swatches viewed in fluorescent lighting. 

To get a good idea of what paint colors will look like outside in natural lighting, it’s best to get cans of sample paint and apply them to a clean spot on your exterior wall – or on a whiteboard, you can lay against your house. This will enable you to see how the colors look together and how they appear at different times of the day and night, in varying light conditions.

Ignoring the environment around the home.

Another common mistake homeowners make is ignoring their surroundings. It’s easy to focus on the precise colors you want to paint your home while forgetting to imagine how the overall color schemes will look in the context of your yard, the natural environment, and even the neighboring homes. But keep in mind that your home is not an island – it’s the centerpiece of an overall landscape that includes everything that surrounds your home. 

Depending on your personality, you might want your home painted so that it stands out, or you might want it to blend in seamlessly with the environment. Either way, considering the context of your home when choosing exterior paint colors is essential. 

Forgetting to match the paint color style with the home design.

While we don’t suggest being draconian in deciding upon exterior paint colors, specific color schemes will work better than others according to your particular home design style. Typically, painting a ranch home in bright, flashy colors does more harm than good, while a Victorian home may be uninspiring if one sticks to shades of brown and beige. 

There are four main home design styles: traditional, modern, eclectic, and farmhouse – and a wide variety of unique home styles exist within each of the four major design schemes. Certain colors look better with modern designs and others with traditional designs. Color schemes that fit superbly on an eclectic home design may not look as inspiring on a farmhouse design. Read this article for a comprehensive take on matching paint styles to home designs.

Skimping on paint quality.

Achieving the perfect look on your exterior home is about more than getting the right colors. It also entails using high-quality paint that will protect your home from wear and tear and the onslaught of weather. In the Pacific Northwest, the climate is cold and wet in the winters and hot and dry in the summers. Using high-caliber paint can protect your home from harmful UV rays, prevent cracking and peeling, and deter mold and mildew. 

Avoid making other common mistakes homeowners make by using high-quality paint. Spending a little more on the front-end can have positive results on the back-end – because the better the quality of paint you use, the longer the paint will last and the less often you will have to endure the expense of repainting your home. In our experience, Rodda, Miller, and Sherwin Williams are the most well-suited for our particular climate.

Why You Should Hire a Professional Painter

The best thing you can do to avoid all the common paint color mistakes is to hire a reliable and experienced paint contractor with a solid history of positive customer reviews. It’s even better if the professional you hire also provides expert paint color consultation – if not, you should find someone who does. 

In addition to having the long-standing skills and expertise to provide customers with incredible color consultation, SFW Painting has decades of outstanding experience in exterior home painting – and we’ve got the top-notch customer reviews to prove our claim. 

Exterior Home Painting

Painting the exterior of your home is a big deal, resulting in a finished product you will likely live with for years to come. From helping you choose the right paint colors to the professional painting of your home, SFW will ensure the right finishes. In addition, we provide a weatherproofing finish, so your exterior paint job lasts for years. We stick with you from start to finish so you can avoid all the common mistakes homeowners make.

While SFW Painting has the utmost confidence in our work, we don’t expect you to put any unwarranted trust in us. That’s why we provide initial free comprehensive consultations on exterior home painting. We like you to get to know us a little before deciding to work with us because establishing trust and rapport is key in our work together.

Call SFW Painting today for your free home exterior paint estimate and initial consultation!