Hot House Colors

Updated Neutrals

• Neutral colors, such as white and off-white, are classic home exterior colors. While neutrals provide traditional charm, you can update the color scheme by choosing an unexpected neutral. A light yellow-green, known as Golden Kiwi, was selected as the 2006 Paint Color of the Year by ICI Paints' Color Futures because of its subtle but warm hue. Other updated neutrals include light, sunny yellows, deep cream colors and light tans. These colors provide a neutral canvas, allowing you to add personality to the home through accent colors, landscaping and accessories. All of these colors provide a warm tone to the home. For a cooler look, use a light gray or blue for the home's base color.

Bold Accent Colors

• Add some spice to a neutral home color scheme through a bold and unexpected accent color. For a home with a gray roof, stone work or base paint color, painting experts at This Old House suggest painting doors and other accents a bold, burgundy red. Purple, mustard yellows, deep greens, even sunset oranges allow you to update the home's architectural features. Paint trim, windowsills, shutters or doors in these bold colors. The key to a successful look involves sticking to colors found in nature. Despite this general rule, you might choose glossy black for a trim color. When paired with a neutral paint, black provides interesting visual contrast, giving the home a formal yet stylish feel.

Landscape Inspiration

• The home's landscape acts as another source of inspiration for home exterior colors. For homeowners interested in fusing some unexpected color into the home's design, Sabrena Schweyer of Fine Gardening suggests blending together the home color with the surrounding garden beds. Use pastel colors to prevent the look from being too garish. Light colors help keep the home bright and airy. Some suggested tones include pastel shades of blue, green, purple, yellow, pink or apricot. Complement these shades by planting the garden with plants that feature bolder tones of the home's color.

Color Wheel Pairings

• To select your own unusual color scheme, purchase a color wheel from a local art supply store. Color wheels provide pairing of colors that work well together but may not be something you would have originally thought of. Colors directly across from one another on the wheel work best together. Blue and orange, along with red and green, are examples of these ideal color wheel pairings. However, these tones often seem harsh. To combat that problem, This Old House experts suggest adding a neutral color to the bright tones to create a muted color. Adding in browns or grays helps the tones appear more natural and gives the home a vintage feel. Paint mixers at local stores can help adjust colors to create the ideal tone.