Victorian Home Exterior Paint Styles

Three Colors

• A traditional Victorian exterior home palette contains three paint colors. The majority of the home's siding is painted a medium-toned color. The window and door trim take on a second darker color in the same color family. The soffit, fascia and accent trim around the house is painted with a lighter, third accent color. In some cases, the siding color and the accent trim colors described above trade places; however, most Victorian color schemes have a medium body with darker and lighter colors on the trim.

Four Colors

• Victorian homes often featured two different styles of wood siding. The traditional, 4-inch bevel siding covered the majority of the home. The fish scale siding, or Cedar shake siding, was used to draw attention to the dormers, or built-out areas, such as round turrets. When two different types of siding are used on a home, each siding receives its own color to complete the Victorian color scheme. A traditional Victorian exterior color scheme features two or three paint colors, all from the same family. The fourth color -- from a complementary or contrasting family -- draws attention to the ornate Victorian woodwork.

Five Colors

• Two- and three-story homes, featuring two styles of wood siding and a large amount of ornate woodwork, can be painted with five colors. While smaller homes look gaudy with this many colors, a large home provides a complex palette for the Victorian painter to design. Two colors are applied to the siding; a third color is used on the accent trim, while a fourth, which is usually a darker color, is applied to windows and doors. The fifth and final color used for a Victorian color scheme is a bright, highly contrasting color such as red, white or yellow. The fifth color is used to accentuate the fine details of a Victorian architecture, such as gingerbread wood trim or latticework.

Paint Manufacturer Recommendations

• Most major paint companies, including Behr, Sherwin-Williams, Valspar and Glidden, have assembled beautifully matched Victorian color paint schemes. The paint companies make these colors schemes available in take-home brochures. The brochures feature pictures of houses decorated in the paint schemes, as well as small samples of the actual painted surface. Since repainting a home's exterior is a significant investment of time and money, homeowners should take their time when choosing an exterior color scheme, and match their homes unique design to the colors.