Finding The Best Roof Color | A Homeowner's Guide [Video]
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Finding The Best Roof Color For Your Home: A Homeowner’s Guide [Infographic]

Posted by Northface Construction  - Owner & Founder

You just installed new siding on your home – turns out it wasn’t the best roof color match you hoped it would be.

Never fear! We’ve been in your shoes and know a thing or two about matching, and popping roof colors.

We’re going to go over some basic tips to help you find the best roof color for your home, break down non-shingle roof colors, and cover how to match your roof with the home’s architectural style.

Let’s Dive In!

12 tips to help you pick the best roof color for your home.

  1. Understand the Importance of your roof color.  Your roof accounts for a large portion of your home’s exterior style and demands a thoughtful decision.
  2. When designing your home’s exterior, it’s easy to forget about the style of the roof. However, a roof is really what pulls the whole design of the home’s visual exterior together, so take your time and choose wisely
  3. Pay Attention to the style of your roof. If your house has a roof with a high slope, or pitch, the better view of shingles you’ll have from the ground.
  4. It’s best to choose a color that draws the eye upward and enhances any interesting details, such as gables and dormers.
  5. Use exterior elements for reference let your home’s exterior elements guide you in matching shingle colors.
  6. Many elements of your home’s exterior are too expensive or simply cannot be changed, such as brick, stone, or stucco. So focus on what you can change.
  7. Pick a color that will enhance the exterior colors of your home. If you want your roof to stand out that’s fine, just make sure it complements the other colors involved.
  8. Make sure to complement the color of your shutters. Once you’ve settled on a color of shutters from somewhere like Shuttercraft, you can find roofing that compliments it.
  9. If the shutters sharply contrast with the siding, picking a roof color that closely matches the shutters can tie the whole house together.
  10. Ignore myths about saving energy with certain roof colors. House color has little to do with your energy savings. What truly determines energy efficiency is proper ventilation and high-quality home insulation.
  11. Look into local environmental codes. In some states, highly reflective roof shingles may be required to be up to code. Contact your local roofing contractor to know if this applies to your situation and he can guide you in selecting the best shingle color.
  12. Always be mindful of your neighbors. Look around your neighborhood – what color and shingle type are on the homes in the area? When it comes time to put your home on the market, you don’t want your home to stand out for the wrong reasons. Choose a shingle color that harmonizes well with the houses around yours as well as with the natural surroundings and your landscaping.
  13. Find a roofing checklist to help you with everything from the color of your roof, to the local roofing code.

Best Roof Color for your Home Infographic northface construction

What color shingle goes with what color of house?

Simply put, it depends a lot on your preference and the type of siding on your home.

White Home Roof Color Options

If you own a white house, your roof can be almost any color and it will look fabulous. Use that opportunity to compliment other colors on your home’s exterior like your shudders. Also, make sure you match the rest of your neighborhood, because while any roof color will look good on your home, it may look odd next to your neighbor’s homes.

Cream and Beige Home Roof Color Options

best color roof for cream colored homes

If you own a cream-colored or beige house, choose a shingle color in the hue of blue, green, brown, gray or black to create an eye-catching blend of colors. These cool colors will pair nicely with the warm cream and beige siding brings. Cedar shake or cedar shingle roofing would work well with a cream or beige home.

Brown Home Roof Color Options

If you own a brown house, the best shingle colors include grey, brown, black, green, and possibly subtle shades of blue. Determining which of those options will work best depends on other colors on your home’s exterior, the landscape around your house, and of course the colors on your neighbor’s homes.

Wood Home Roof Color Options

If you own a house or cabin with log or weathered wood siding, consider a shingle with a high-definition profile to mimic the look of natural wood shakes, in the colors of brown, green, black, grey.

Regardless of the color, pay attention to things such as architectural style, neighboring houses, and roof features to help you decide the best color for your house.

What color shingle goes with what architectural style?

It’s crucial that you choose a shingle color that both contrasts and complements your home’s exterior elements. Regardless of your home’s architectural features, if everything is the same, the overall style of your home will be dull.

Historical Home Style Matching

best roof color for historical homes

Those homes featuring historical architecture, such as colonial and victorian, choose a traditional color to evoke a more classical look. If you own a home like this, chances are you already have a few specific colors in mind. However, if you do own a home like this and have no idea what color to choose, get in touch with a local contractor and they’ll be able to point you in the right direction.

Casual Home Style Matching

For more casual homes, such as waterfront or rustic rural properties, weathered browns and greys, muted greens will tie in well with the natural surroundings and cultivate a laid-back atmosphere. Check out shingles whose profile looks like genuine wood shakes or even slate roofing. Similarly, weathered wood or log houses can look great with brown, green, black, and gray shingle colors.

Rural Home Style Matching

For homes in rural areas, whether constructed of log, wood, or stone, can look warm, casual, and inviting yet very dramatic with gray shingles. This also is dependant on the type of rural area you are in. Farm homes will look different than a cabin in the woods, and a woodsy cabin will look different from a mountain estate. As we’ve said before – if you need further direction a local contractor is your best bet.

Choosing A Roof Color For A Non-Shingled Roof.

There are numerous pros and cons to using metal, concrete tile, wood, or any other type of roofing material. When it comes to choosing the right color for your roof, you have to ask what your end goal is. As we have previously mentioned, color can be used to both draw attention to your home, or hide imperfections and make it blend in. When adding a metal, concrete tile, or wood roof, are you trying to make it stand out? Or are you mostly doing it for added protection?

Using materials like these can often add a bit of style to your home, and maybe something you want to highlight with some added color. On the contrary, if your home is already quite colorful, making the roof color more subtle could tame the look of your home while highlighting your quality roofing material.

As always, you have to consider the architectural style of your home before deciding on a specific color for your roof. When deciding on a color, take into account what would compliment the look of your current style.

If you want to incorporate a brighter color that is more likely to stand out, make sure it will fit well with the rest of your home unless you are planning to rework the rest of your exterior.

It is also important to keep in mind what colors complement the roofing material you have selected.

The bottom line is, you need to pick a color and material that will complement the rest of your home’s look.

Other tips on choosing the best roof color for your home

looking at house to choose the best roof color

If you are interested in reading further, check out our post on siding repair costs!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common roof colors?

There are countless roof colors on the market, and the most common colors shift year to year. More important than choosing a common roof color is matching your roof color to the rest of your home’s exterior. 

Is it good to have your home stand out in the neighborhood?

It depends on what you personally want. If you are considering selling your home in the future, standing out will more than likely reduce the value of your home. However, if standing out is something you desire over resale value, go for it! Just make sure it doesn’t irritate your neighbors!

What is the best way to match my home’s exterior?

Matching the exterior of your home boils down to the materials used and the colors selected. If everything on your home’s exterior is the same color you’ll have a dull home. Some contrast is very good for improving its overall style. Click here for a further breakdown of what colors and styles match the best!

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