Picking A Perfect Color Scheme For Your European Style Home

If you are wondering about the best way to choose colors for your home exterior then I have some great news for you. I’ve taken my years of experience choosing colors for hundreds of homes and put it into easy to follow steps for you to download for FREE in the DaVinci Roofscapes Color Designer.

Colonial Home Drawing

In my first ebook FRESH Home Exterior Colors: 5 Steps for Finding the Perfect Hues for Your Home I introduce you to my FRESH approach for picking your colors in five steps.

In the second ebook FRESH Color Schemes for Your Home Exterior I provide step-by-step color guidance for seven different home styles. You will see how I use a “top down” approach, giving you insights on adding eye-pleasing color palettes to your home exterior starting with the roof, then working your way down to consider your siding, window frames, front door and trim. As you see how I create these looks you will quickly learn how to do the same for your home.

Here is an example of selecting a color scheme for the European-style home you see above rendered with the suggested colors. Just as you will do for your own home, I considered each part of “FRESH”, the homeowner’s like and dislikes, their personal style and vision they had for their home. These are the steps I took for this home. You can see examples of the other six styles in FRESH Color Schemes for Your Home Exterior.

 

 

The existing polymer slate roof is the Brownstone blend, which has a range of light to dark tones of brown. Copper accent roofing over three windows on the home complements the Brownstone blend and starts to bring color down the home’s exterior.

 

 

A mix of fixed features such as stone and brick are often found on European-style home. This home has Antique White Old World Ledgestone and Nassau Full Range Brick. Both have a reddish brown colorcast.

 

 

When an exterior has several textures and patterns as this home does, the main color usually looks best if it is in the same tones as the fixed features rather than in a contrasting color. Antique White blends with the features rather than competing with them for attention.

Good designs do not give equal importance to every element. Instead the designer focuses attention on one or two features and allows the other elements to provide support. Think of your home exterior in the same way as you choose your colors and materials. Plan your colors so that one or two of the best features stand out.

 

 

Use this same philosophy when selecting window or trim colors. Unless you want to highlight the windows or trim look for a color that adds to a cohesive overall look. For this home Chocolate Brown vinyl windows and Barista Brown painted urethane trim were the perfect choices to extend the color of the home throughout the exterior.

 

 

Often European-style homes sport a rustic, stained or painted door with prominent hardware. In staying with the natural feel created by the stone, brick and stucco, a door stained Mahogany was a good fit.

Finally step back and ask yourself, “Is Any Other Color Needed?”

Look carefully at your home. Make note of which of the colors you have selected will be applied to each architectural detail of the exterior. Is there an area of the exterior that you haven’t chosen a color for? On a European style home the many textures and tonal variations often complete the look without the addition of accent or other colors. Once you’ve looked at the entire home and selected the colors for each element following my FRESH approach, congratulate yourself…

 

 

Now you see how easy it can be to find the perfect colors for your home exterior. If you haven’t already downloaded the download for FREE ebooks in the DaVinci Roofscapes Color Designer go do that right now. Then make sure to stop back here over the next few weeks as I share more of my experience and insights on choosing exterior colors.