5 Fabulous Exterior Paint Ideas (That Aren't All About Grey)
Colour your world with these bright ideas for fantastic facades
Gabrielle Chariton
1 May 2019
Houzz Australia Contributor. Freelance writer and editor. I write about anything and everything but I specialise in housing design, kitchens, bathrooms and sustainable living. I pass the time by painting old furniture white, photographing animals, haunting op-shops and dreaming up renovation projects. See more of my work at www.gabriellechariton.com
Houzz Australia Contributor. Freelance writer and editor. I write about anything... More
Nothing will cheer up your exterior more than a splash of colour. From pink to navy and everything in between, vibrant hues are turning up in exciting and inventive ways to amp up the kerb appeal of homes across the country. Whether you’re into high-impact brights or the softer shades of nature, we’ve collated five exterior palettes along with some simple application ideas to help you take your home from drab to fab.
Painting the exterior of your home represents a significant time and dollar investment, which is why it’s always important to find a palette that you’ll love coming home to for the next decade or so.
Because of this focus on longevity, trends in outdoor colours move more slowly than they do for interiors. However, Wattyl’s colour and communications manager Sarah Stephenson says that adding a splash of up-to-the-minute colour will instantly modernise and reinvigorate your exteriors.
Because of this focus on longevity, trends in outdoor colours move more slowly than they do for interiors. However, Wattyl’s colour and communications manager Sarah Stephenson says that adding a splash of up-to-the-minute colour will instantly modernise and reinvigorate your exteriors.
This year’s colour forecast offers shades to appeal to all tastes, from retro brights through to cool pastels and warm spicy hues.
Overwhelmed by choice? Andrea Lucena-Orr, Dulux’s colour and communications manager,
suggests using existing colours within your home and garden as a starting point for your selections: “Colours should work in well with your combined scheme, incorporating any other elements such as bricks, pavers, timber, stone or render colours,” she says.
Here are a few palettes based on the 2018 colour forecasts for inspiration.
Overwhelmed by choice? Andrea Lucena-Orr, Dulux’s colour and communications manager,
suggests using existing colours within your home and garden as a starting point for your selections: “Colours should work in well with your combined scheme, incorporating any other elements such as bricks, pavers, timber, stone or render colours,” she says.
Here are a few palettes based on the 2018 colour forecasts for inspiration.
Image from Dulux
Styling by Bree Leech and Heather Nette King
Photo by Mike Baker
1. Natural instinct
Earthy tones are a natural fit for exteriors: think spicy browns, warm terracottas, and muted greens – colours that echo the surrounding environment and help to visually soften hard, architectural lines.
Used in a single block as pictured here, these hues will help you create a home that evokes the romance of Tuscany.
Styling by Bree Leech and Heather Nette King
Photo by Mike Baker
1. Natural instinct
Earthy tones are a natural fit for exteriors: think spicy browns, warm terracottas, and muted greens – colours that echo the surrounding environment and help to visually soften hard, architectural lines.
Used in a single block as pictured here, these hues will help you create a home that evokes the romance of Tuscany.
Don’t mistake ‘earthy’ for dull. Shades of aubergine, ochre and burgundy are strong and dramatic – pick out one architectural feature with a strong colour and tie the rest of your palette together using neutrals with a co-ordinating undertone.
Nature-inspired tones pair well with all styles of architecture. Here, the sharp, contemporary styling becomes more approachable thanks to a soft botanical palette of green, off-white and a rich brown.
Tip: Unsure how many hues to use in your exterior palette? “There’s no hard and fast rule, but normally the 60:30:10 rule would apply: one main colour for broad walls, another colour for trims, and one accent colour for the front door. Any more than that can start to look confusing,” says Stephenson.
Tip: Unsure how many hues to use in your exterior palette? “There’s no hard and fast rule, but normally the 60:30:10 rule would apply: one main colour for broad walls, another colour for trims, and one accent colour for the front door. Any more than that can start to look confusing,” says Stephenson.
Image from Dulux, featuring Escapade Palette
Styling by Bree Leech
Photo by Lisa Cohen
2. Think about pink
Millennial pink is fresh, fun and fabulous. It looks sophisticated teamed with a grey of the same strength, or super sweet when paired with white. If choosing pink as the all-over wall colour, a paler version such as Dulux ‘Cuticle Pink’, pictured here, is the most contemporary option. One word of caution: while pink is perfect on rendered walls, it doesn’t translate so well to weatherboard-style homes.
Styling by Bree Leech
Photo by Lisa Cohen
2. Think about pink
Millennial pink is fresh, fun and fabulous. It looks sophisticated teamed with a grey of the same strength, or super sweet when paired with white. If choosing pink as the all-over wall colour, a paler version such as Dulux ‘Cuticle Pink’, pictured here, is the most contemporary option. One word of caution: while pink is perfect on rendered walls, it doesn’t translate so well to weatherboard-style homes.
If you love the prettiness of pink but aren’t quite ready to daub it all over, create a feature wall instead. “If there’s one place you can afford to experiment and be a bit more creative outside, it’s on an outdoor entertaining area feature wall,” says Stephenson. “Accessorise the look with crisp white pots, plenty of greenery and bright retro furniture.”
My Houzz: Interior Architect Georgia Ezra’s Sublime Home
My Houzz: Interior Architect Georgia Ezra’s Sublime Home
Image from Wattyl, of Solagard Exterior Paint
For an irreverent take on a sophisticated grey-on-grey palette, add a pop of pink to the front door. “The door is fantastic – we can put almost any colour there these days, and if in two years’ time you tire of the colour, it’s no more than an afternoon’s work and a couple of litres of paint to change it,” says colour consultant Donna Burke. “A great colour on the front door can really add something special to the look of the whole home, it creates a big impact for a very small amount of money.”
For an irreverent take on a sophisticated grey-on-grey palette, add a pop of pink to the front door. “The door is fantastic – we can put almost any colour there these days, and if in two years’ time you tire of the colour, it’s no more than an afternoon’s work and a couple of litres of paint to change it,” says colour consultant Donna Burke. “A great colour on the front door can really add something special to the look of the whole home, it creates a big impact for a very small amount of money.”
Image from Wattyl, of Solagard Exterior Paint
3. Black beauty
“There’s no doubt that dark colours are becoming more popular for exteriors,” says Stephenson. “Ink blue, charcoal and black are all appearing on facades around the country. While dark colours might seem risky, they make a solid, understated statement and are a great backdrop for garden foliage.”
It’s important to ensure you choose the right black, however. One with a blue or grey undertone can work beautifully on an exterior, while green-based blacks should be avoided if you don’t want your home to look like a licorice stick. Add plenty of crisp white in your trims for a sophisticated finish.
Best of the Week: 30 Homes with Hamptons Style
3. Black beauty
“There’s no doubt that dark colours are becoming more popular for exteriors,” says Stephenson. “Ink blue, charcoal and black are all appearing on facades around the country. While dark colours might seem risky, they make a solid, understated statement and are a great backdrop for garden foliage.”
It’s important to ensure you choose the right black, however. One with a blue or grey undertone can work beautifully on an exterior, while green-based blacks should be avoided if you don’t want your home to look like a licorice stick. Add plenty of crisp white in your trims for a sophisticated finish.
Best of the Week: 30 Homes with Hamptons Style
For contemporary homes, dial up the drama by adding a splash of red to a black-and-white palette: colour blocking, as pictured here, will add visual definition to the structure and accentuate its bold geometric form.
Tip: You can soften a predominantly black palette by choosing a matt or chalky paint finish.
Tip: You can soften a predominantly black palette by choosing a matt or chalky paint finish.
To add a dose of contemporary glamour to a brick home, choose black or almost-black for the trims: it will play up the red and gold hues of the bricks. Black is also a wonderful partner to the honeyed hues of natural stone and timber.
Lucena-Orr says a bold, dark wall treatment will instantly bring a tired weatherboard cottage or Queenslander out of retirement; the contemporary colours juxtapose beautifully with the classic heritage architecture. “Popular colours for a weatherboard are Dulux ‘Teahouse’ with a white trim, such as Dulux ‘Lexicon Half’, for windows and features,” she says. For a further pop of excitement, she suggests finishing the front door in a bright red or orange.
4. Mid-century manors
With Wattyl’s Nowstalgia palette and Dulux’s Bright Spot colour collection both referencing the retro hues of the 1950s, it’s easy to add colour to your home without it becoming overwhelming. Dusty blues, powdery yellows, mushroom pink and sage greens all feature in these palettes, which Stephenson says are inspired by a time “when life was simpler and optimism ruled”.
With Wattyl’s Nowstalgia palette and Dulux’s Bright Spot colour collection both referencing the retro hues of the 1950s, it’s easy to add colour to your home without it becoming overwhelming. Dusty blues, powdery yellows, mushroom pink and sage greens all feature in these palettes, which Stephenson says are inspired by a time “when life was simpler and optimism ruled”.
Image from Dulux, of Exterior Trends palette
Styled by Bree Leech and Heather Nette King
Photo by Mike Baker
A powder-soft blue paired with pink accents evokes a laid-black old Hollywood-style glamour. This pastel palette is styled to flatter all homes built in mid-century style; however, it translates equally well to coastal and modern architecture.
Styled by Bree Leech and Heather Nette King
Photo by Mike Baker
A powder-soft blue paired with pink accents evokes a laid-black old Hollywood-style glamour. This pastel palette is styled to flatter all homes built in mid-century style; however, it translates equally well to coastal and modern architecture.
This South Australian beachside home channels ’50s charm with its colour-blocked use of slate-blue and yellow. Duplicate this look using two colour-blocked bolds at equal strength, anchored together with a contrasting neutral.
Tip: Are you confused about what colour to paint the guttering and downpipes? Burke has the answers: “Guttering is going to probably look best matched with the fascia. And my rule of thumb is that downpipes should be painted the same colour as the wall or feature that they’re attached to.” Easy.
Tip: Are you confused about what colour to paint the guttering and downpipes? Burke has the answers: “Guttering is going to probably look best matched with the fascia. And my rule of thumb is that downpipes should be painted the same colour as the wall or feature that they’re attached to.” Easy.
5. Not just neutrals
Neutrals will often have quite a strong undertone that, when applied all over at full strength, will read as a colour. Create contrast by using a ¼ or ⅛ strength version of the same colour for the trims, which will appear almost white.
Burke says that contrast builds depth, and is the key to creating visual interest within a neutral palette.
Read more colour stories
Neutrals will often have quite a strong undertone that, when applied all over at full strength, will read as a colour. Create contrast by using a ¼ or ⅛ strength version of the same colour for the trims, which will appear almost white.
Burke says that contrast builds depth, and is the key to creating visual interest within a neutral palette.
Read more colour stories
To dress things up even more, Lucena-Orr suggests throwing in a “fabulous treat” of colour for the door, fence, letterbox or planter pots on the porch. “These are such easy items to paint and a day job at the most,” she says. “Have fun… it’s easy to update!”
Neutral palettes provide the perfect backdrop for mixed-material homes, such as this beauty, located on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
“We’re seeing a lot of mixed materials on new home builds, from cement and iron to sandstone and wood,” says Stephenson. “Finding a paint colour that expresses a common undertone in your other finishes will be the key to tying all these materials together.”
This strategy is illustrated beautifully here: the neutral hues draw on the tonal variations in the stone and timber, and the entire scheme is anchored with an earthy, pared-back purple.
“We’re seeing a lot of mixed materials on new home builds, from cement and iron to sandstone and wood,” says Stephenson. “Finding a paint colour that expresses a common undertone in your other finishes will be the key to tying all these materials together.”
This strategy is illustrated beautifully here: the neutral hues draw on the tonal variations in the stone and timber, and the entire scheme is anchored with an earthy, pared-back purple.
Tell us
What colour would you like to paint your exterior? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to like, share or bookmark this story. Join the conversation.
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Find a painter near you
What colour would you like to paint your exterior? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to like, share or bookmark this story. Join the conversation.
More
Find a painter near you
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Thank you for all the wonderful colours. I find grey dull, lifeless and boring most of the time. It's interesting from the comments that others feel the same. My home is a riot if colour inside but I cannot change the exterior as it is locally listed and a beautiful stone regardless. I trust in my next home I can also have some colour on the outside. Thank you for the fabulous ideas.
At last... :)
I’ve got a brown-ish rough finish brick house that we want to modernise I’d love to bag-render an off- white/light grey colour paint - it’s quite a raised brick - would this be possible? If so what’s the best way to do this?