Painting Ideas for a Farmhouse Exterior

White and Red

• If your farmhouse home was part of a working farm at some point, consider honoring its heritage by using traditional farmhouse paint colors. White exteriors with red window and door trim is a classic color scheme. If the right shades are used, it is historically accurate, according to "The Farmhouse: New Inspiration for the Classic American Home" by Jean Rehkamp Larson. Adding more red or a darker shade than the traditional bright barn red adds a more contemporary touch to the combination.

Whitewashing

• White exterior paint creates a bright, solid color that doesn't have the same charm as old-fashioned whitewashed clapboard. Brick or stone-walled farmhouses are capable of being whitewashed as well, says Ask the Builder. Whitewash is a combination of white hydrated lime, salt and water to create a thin paint. Brushing it on gives a special texture due to the thinness of the wash, but rolling and spraying saves time when you need to cover a large farmhouse.

Scrape It

• Painting another layer of exterior oil or latex paint over the old layers won't save you any time in the long run. Farmhouses often have five or more layers of paint over their exterior walls, depending on the age of the building. Taking the time to scrape off this old, peeling paint ensures that your new application stays attractive for as long as possible, according to Country Living. Scraping off recent layers also gives you important clues to colors used when the farm was still in operation if you'd like to pick a historically accurate paint color.

Milk Paint

• The muted, warm colors of natural milk paint suit farmhouses and their pastoral surroundings well. Milk paint isn't water-resistant enough on its own for exterior use warns The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co. Multiple coats of a translucent, waterproof exterior sealant ensures that the milk paint won't run or spot when rain hits it. Natural variations due to the mineral pigments used create texture that is hard to replicate with latex or acrylic exterior paints.