What Colors Would Look Good With a Dark Gray House?

Shades and Hues

• A dark gray house, for example, is not just gray. "Dark" is its shade, and Its hue may be blue-gray, yellow-gray or earthy brown-gray. Contrast and trim painted in shades of the base color make a harmonious, balanced scheme, but on many buildings a single-hued scheme might be boring. To liven up the house, use complementary color for contrast on architectural features such as doors and window frames or to outline or shadow architectural features. A rust-colored door against a blue-gray field, maroon window mullions on a yellow-gray field or avocado fish-scale siding adjoining brown-gray clapboards draw attention to elements in complementary hues. Many paint manufacturers' direct-sales stores have color consultants on staff that can advise homeowners who want a complementary color scheme.

White and Black

• Whites provide clean, sharp contrast between a dark gray field and the doorways, window frames and other elements. Add some of the dark gray of the field to bright white to make it look like a custom match that maintains the contrast of a white. Use black for highlighting on shutters, gingerbread woodwork and other details. Gray with white-and-black accents is particularly striking on a large colonial-style house with its large doorway and plain window frames.

The Neighborhood

• Look around the neighborhood to study the colors and combinations adopted by neighbors in your area. Brighter greens, blues and even pinks may be appropriate in semitropical Southeast neighborhood, pastels of these colors fit better in a neighborhood in the desert Southwest, while Midwestern neighborhoods tend to go with the same hues or a contrasting white scheme. This is not to say that flaming pink porch columns and shutters wouldn’t look dramatic in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; its owner would just have to be prepared for some curious stares.

Historic Houses

• Victorian Romantic, Gothic and Italianate builders used increasingly complex color schemes, culminating in the flamboyant Painted Ladies of the 1880s. Victorian schemes used a field color -- dark gray would work well -- with one or two lighter shades and a contrasting hue for detail. The Craftsman bungalows used a palette of dark earth tones. Mid-century ranch homes might have a single color with only a splash of color on the door or one plane of the façade. Whatever the period of your historic house, historically accurate color schemes will look “right” on it. Historic and current trend color combinations are available from many paint manufacturers in stores and on their websites.