You often spend hours picking the right interior colours for your home, but are you focusing on the exterior paint colours as much?
If not then you should.
The right paint colours for the exterior walls of your home can amplify the appeal of your home. Choosing apt exterior paint colours can also help disguise design shortcomings, enhance the curb appeal and double the market value of your home.
Tips to Pick the Right Exterior Paint Colours for Your Home in Mumbai
You will have to consider several factors to settle on the perfect exterior paint colours for your home. This can very often get confusing.
Allow us to make your job easier, as here is a list of factors you can consider to help you get the right, perfect and almost infallible exterior paint colours for your home!
An ode to the architecture and history
Are you living in a historical or heritage structure passed down to you from generations? If yes, look for a colour scheme that is historically accurate. You can take an expert’s help to find the appropriate colours that honour the history of the architecture.
For modern designs, there are umpteen options but again, look at the architectural design for colour inspiration. For example, if it is a simple design, you can work wonders with a few colour combinations. If the architecture is elaborate with ornate trim-work, you may have to use more colours to get a perfect balance. Taking the architectural design and history into account helps you choose colours that gel with the design and stand out for the right reasons.
Choose the right colour ratio
There are no rules about how many colours you can use for painting the exteriors of your home. It could be two, three or even more, depending upon the design of your home. If you wish to stick to just a single colour, use different shades of the same colour to avoid monotony.
While darker colours can help flaunt details in the architectural design, you can try highlights so that smaller aspects of the structure including, the doorways, window panels, etc., can stand out from the rest.
Generally, most homes may have three colours, also known as the field, accent and trim colours. Try the 60:30:10 ratio, where the 60% is for the field or the dominant colour, 30 for accent colours and 10 for trims.
Some popular colour combinations seen in Indian homes are blue-white-brown, orange-grey, yellow-blue-cream, grey-white-light orange, yellow-white-brown, which you can also try.
Go for paints that stand the test of time and weather
Indian climate can be erratic. Depending on where your home is, there could be heavy rainfall at unexpected times, scorching summers or even snowfall. You will need paints that can withstand climate fluctuations and intensity. These days you get all-weather apt paint colours, but check reviews before buying.
Then, the type of paint colour you use also matters. Dark exterior wall paint colours work for homes in areas with a hot tropical climate or that receive heavy rainfall all through the year.
Instead of glossy paints, opt for satin and eggshell finishes. They are not only durable but also easier to maintain. Glossy paints may look good at first, but they may fade sooner and display marks, brush strokes and imperfections.
Check out swatches of different paints, and do not forget to read the labels to find the climate-appropriateness of the paints.
Let the roof have its say
Your roof already establishes a colour for your home. What you need to do is to work around it. No matter what kind of roofing your home has, be it metal, concrete, asphalt, clay tiles, or wooden shingles, your exterior paint colour should be in harmony with the roof.
For example, in homes with a red-tiled roof (popular in South India), you can go for a cream exterior and a hue that matches the roof colour for the pillars and windows to lend coherence. The combination of mustard yellow-white-reddish brown combination also looks great on such homes.
Don’t take ‘light’ lightly
Consider the effect of light on your colour choice for home exteriors. Sunlight can drastically change the paint into a cool shade, so you will have to choose double or thrice warmer colours to get the effect you have in mind. You can try a swatch test for a better idea.
Let the colour palette guide you
If you feel confused about the perfect shade, the colour wheel can put an end to your dilemma. Even if you have finalised a primary colour, the colour wheel can help you choose the secondary hues. The knowledge will help you use the colours creatively to bring out amazing effects. For example, you can use three shades of blue, say indigo, light blue and turquoise, for a unique appearance or add white to the mix and create a striking colour combination.
Adjacent colours on the colour wheel or those situated opposite each other work well together. You can also use colours from the same family to avoid a clash.
Do not rely on paint chips
Sampling paint chips and deciding the exterior colours can be a disaster, as the actual colour may appear drastically different from the chip colour. Also, when you paint larger surfaces, colours can look lighter even if you have chosen a dark colour.
Ask for a colour sample to try on on the exterior wall so you can see how the colour appears. Do not hurry. Keep the colour swatch on for a couple of days so you can observe the colour variations at different times of the day.
Give a nod to the environment
The environmental impact of paints is much talked about these days and rightly so. Thankfully, there are non-toxic and eco-friendly paints available. Look for paints with low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) levels.
Painting the exterior walls of your home can be a daunting task, but if you plan well and choose the right colours, you will not have to worry about repainting for a long time. To avoid confusions and delay, consult an expert as their knowledge can save time, effort, and money. Another advantage is you will be introduced to amazing options that you never thought existed.
For the best results, get in touch with experts who can give you the best advice when it comes to painting and designing your home interiors.