Picking A Perfect Color Scheme For Your Ranch Style Home

When choosing exterior colors, I have found that homeowners often have a vision in their mind for what the home will look like once it is completed. All they lack is the know-how that will give them confidence in making the decisions necessary to turn their dream into their dream house.

Ranch Style home

This is the primary reason I have taken my years of experience choosing colors for hundreds of homes and put it into easy-to-follow steps. Best of all this valuable information is ready for you to download for FREE in the DaVinci Roofscapes Color Studio.

In FRESH Home Exterior Colors: 5 Steps for Finding the Perfect Hues for Your Home I share my FRESH approach for picking your colors in five easy steps.

In the second ebook FRESH Color Schemes for Your Home Exterior I show you my step-by-step method of working from the “top down” to create an eye-pleasing color palettes perfect for your home exterior.

For example, here are the steps I took to find the perfect color scheme for this ranch style home. You can see examples of the other six styles in FRESH Color Schemes for Your Home Exterior.

 


 

Upgrading from gray asphalt to a polymer shake roof in the Tahoe blend was the first step in creating a warm natural look for this home. The shake roofing tiles add a casualness to the home while adding more distinction to the roof itself.


 

A flagstone walkway in a blend of warm tones of brown and gray was the home’s only other fixed feature to consider in addition to the roof. The neutral warm tones are beautiful with the new roof. The stone adds to the vision of a color scheme that blends with the home’s natural surroundings.


 

This home is in a neighborhood where mid-tone colors of taupe, gray or beige dominate. In order to have a home that stands out — while still fitting in — I needed to take that into consideration. I selected Green Garlands because it was the green color desired by the homeowners and this toned down version of green works enough to complement the nearby homes.

With a Ranch-style home it is best to keep the color of the façade consistent to create a large field of color. Even if architectural details such as an alcove provides a natural place where the color could break, think carefully about changing color. It could divide the front of your home into three or more small parts when what you really want to create is one cohesive look.


 

For this home style, the color chosen for the shutters is an excellent way to create rhythm that keeps the eye moving across the façade of the home. I chose Dark Meadow. This dark green on the shutters against the mid-tone main color has enough contrast to standout and add visual interest.

Shutters that are as dark (or darker) than the roof color will also move the eye vertically upward, making a single-story home feel taller.

For the trim an off white called Possibility was chosen as a clean, unifying color for the exterior.


 

As is the case with many Ranch-style homes, the front door of this house does not stand out. To draw attention to the door you can enhance the architectural details or add a contrasting color that fits with your scheme. In this case, a new fiberglass door with doorlites stained English Walnut moves the eye toward the front entryway.

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

The final color decision was what color to paint the garage door. Painting it in the same color as the trim was one option, but I preferred to paint it the main Green Garlands color. Even though the garage is on the side of the house, I wanted the garage doors to blend in with the entire home exterior.

At this point you can congratulate yourself because you’ve covered all of the steps to come up with the perfect colors for your home.

Now that was easier than you expected wasn’t it? Be sure to come back here over the next few weeks for more step-by-step tips on choosing exterior colors.