Choosing the Best Exterior Paint Grade & Colors for Your House in Santa Barbara, CA

Your house is a large part of your daily existence. You sleep, eat, relax, entertain, and more in your home. When people come into your home you are welcoming them into your world. That being said, paint selection, both interior and exterior, is a decision to truly ponder before ultimately making your decisions. So how do homeowners make this important decision?

Buy Premium Grade Paint

Before we get to color, let’s talk about cost. Investing in premium paint for the exterior of your home is a wise choice. The outside of your home has to be able to endure the harsh elements caused by the weather. Purchasing low quality paint in an effort to save a few bucks typically only results in the paint job having to be redone sooner than if you had spent the money on better paint in the beginning. Having to buy the paint twice definitely doesn’t end up saving money! You also need to remember that dark exterior walls absorb up to 90% of the radiant energy from the sun. Light and bright exterior color schemes can keep the temperature down inside your home. If you live in an extremely warm area, you may want to consider what shade you are painting the exterior of your home not only from an aesthetic view.

Choose Paint Colors Based on Home’s Architectural Features

You will want to plan around parts of your home that are permanent when choosing your color palette. Brick, roof shingles or tiles, stonework, front porches, and driveways should all be taken into account when picking your paint colors. Designers recommend considering your home’s architectural style and era when you are selecting colors. Your exterior paint scheme should feel appropriate to the style of your home. If you aren’t sure what colors would best suit the style of your home, many paint manufacturers offer historically accurate color collections. If you home is in a newer area, historically accurate colors won’t come in to play. You may want to consider the visual effect you want your home to have. Lighter and brighter colors will make your home stand out, while darker hues will make your home appear to recede. Many homeowners will choose to incorporate an accent color to an area of their house to make a statement. If you home doesn’t lend itself to an accent color, consider painting your door with an accent color.

Dominant, Accent & Dominant Paint Colors

When picking exterior paint you will typically choose three paint colors. One paint color will be the dominant color, or field color. An additional color will be your accent color for shutters, doors, and other smaller areas to help bring to life. Your last color will be for trim around windows, door casings, rood edgings, railings, and any other trimwork. The trim color and filed color typically contract each other.

Paint Sample Test Patches

Once you have narrowed your color schemes to a few options, buy test sizes of the paint colors you are considering and paint a few portions on the exterior of your home. Since lighting on different sides of your home can differ dramatically, be sure to put some color on different sides of your house. Going outside and looking at the paint samples at different times of day may help you decide which color scheme represents you and your family the best.

Exterior Painting & More in Ventura, Ojai, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills & Santa Barbara California

After you have officially decided on your color you need to make the decision to paint your house yourself or if you are going to hire a professional painter. Exterior paint requires more prep work to ensure that the paint will properly hold up to the weather. Painting outdoors also presents unique problems due to the height of your home. Most people choose to hire a professional painting service for their home’s exterior. McKay’s Painting can’t wait to come and talk to you about your home and give you a quote. Give us a call today at 805-746-0916!