How to Use Green for Your House's Exterior

Tropical Green

The Florida coast is filled with homes like this—Delray Beach and Miami Beach might expect some of its stucco to be as green as this home in Nicaragua. Wherever you find palm trees and flowering bushes, a green house may be near.

Can a house color be too bright? What works in a beach community might rile neighbors in your own neighborhood. Eye-popping electric green can make a psychedelic statement if it's in a San Francisco neighborhood. In a southern beach community, this green may look like cooling lime sherbet.

Victorian-Era America

American homes in the late 1800s often had a Gothic look, with steep gables, interesting roofs, and ornately crafted wooden trim. They also used a tri-color scheme—a green, cream, and deep red were very popular. That color combination is still well-liked by homeowners.

Color psychology experts may tell you that a greenhouse symbolizes nature, and this house on a wooded lot fits right into that theory. They also say that green is a symbol of fertility, which is also about nature.

Gray Green Bungalow

This small home in Omaha, Nebraska, is typical of architecture built for the working middle class during the first quarter of the 20th century. Often called bungalows, these houses can be found throughout the United States. Shades of earthy green were commonly used on exterior siding that may be wood, stucco, or shingles. Sometimes white trim around the windows would blend in with the standard aluminum storm windows. Using a darker shade of green, however, works just fine for border and trim accents. These homes were built to be 900 to 1500 square feet of living space, although additions are commonly seen today. Investigating the age of your home can often provide a clue to historic colors.

Red and Green House

Red and green give this New England cottage a festive atmosphere.

As you think about color combinations for your home, don't rule out red and green. Red and green are unexpected color combinations, but they are effective on this cottage in a tourist area of New Hampshire. The shades used here are a very common combination used in the 20th century, whether the building is red with green trim or green with red.

This inviting structure was the town library from 1901 to 2010 in Jackson, New Hampshire.

Green and Masonry

Architectural shingles can create interesting patterns that mimic old slate roofs. A slate roof may inspire trim colors on a Tudor cottage, but the newer asphalt shingles also will influence the colors you choose for exteriors and trim. Oftentimes red brick homes will have green accents and highlights. Whether the masonry is grey-colored stone or brick, shades of green will soften each.

What color should you paint your house? Even if your roof is not slate, the shingles may suggest color combinations for your trim and accents. Remember that it's just paint and it can be changed—if you paint the dormers white and it looks unbalanced, try a color such as green. Try reversing what you've painted white and green, or use different shades of green and no white. The choices are immense.

Also, don't forget to look at your house at different times of the day. You can't have color without light, and the bright sun will surely change your home's appearance throughout the day. You might want to try a color that looks vibrant throughout the day.

Gray Green With Contrasting Gable

An earthy green complements the wooden siding on this suburban home.

The shade of green may be intense or muted. Either way, choose colors that harmonize nicely with natural woodwork or siding. Would this color combination work for your home?

At first look, one might assume great thought was behind the color choices of this house. How much work really went into picking this green to complement the natural wood shingle gable? But look at the house down the street—a deep rose with contrasting gable. Same house, but with different siding.

Perhaps the vinyl siding salesman had a successful day in that neighborhood.

House With Green Gables

Green Gables Farm on Prince Edward Island is one of the most popular literary destinations in Canada. The house shown here is not the home of Anne of Green Gables, but a green gable was typical for 19th-century architecture.

Dark green is a traditional color for architectural details on a red brick house. Red and green are complementary colors, opposite on the color wheel. Like the person with red hair, the person with a red brick house exterior has to be careful with accessories. The color choices for house trim are often shades of green but choose wisely. The trim color (or colors) should be a bridge between the roof and brick colors.

Mossy Shades of Green

Porvoo, one of the oldest cities in Finland, is known for its red mercantile houses along the river. Yet, today this tourist town about 30 miles east of Helsinki boasts old homes of all colors.

The exterior color you choose for your own home can make it a tourist attraction or a subtle complement to your neighbor's colors. The wise homeowner examines not only the style of a home but also the styles in a neighborhood.

Color Follows Function

More than trim can be a contrasting color on a home.

The familiar round tower of a Queen Anne-style home was often constructed of a different material or sided with a Victorian color that contrasted with the main home. Why not do the same for a more modern home?

In the house shown here, color follows function. Similar to the 19th-century architecture phrase form follows function, this house has different colored siding for the different functions of the property—the house is a tint of green and the garage is a tint of yellow cream. The unifying color is the deep reddish brown accents on both units—the garage door and the window shutters.

Painting experts tell us that the color green is made by mixing yellow and blue, so yellow is the perfect harmony to complement this green home.

White Is the Safe Trim Color With Green

Maybe white trim is just too safe?

If it's the all-purpose contrasting trim color, what makes your house unique? Compare this home with its red equivalent on the same street.

Green Stucco Elegance

When choosing house colors, sometimes the complementing colors are from the house next door—at times on purpose and every so often by a happy coincidence.

This elegant, wood-framed, pale green stucco-sided house at 238 First Ave. in Delray Beach, Florida, was built around 1924. Its neighbor is a salmon-colored estate on Bankers Row. The delicate, subtle shades found on one side of First Avenue are not representative of the entire street, but they do define the muted tastefulness of what is called historic Bankers Row.

Salem Green

Salem is a wonderful old town filled with the colors of New England.

The Crowninshield-Devereaux House at 74 Washington Square in Salem, Massachusetts, used to have a more pronounced hipped roof with a centered balustrade. The McAlester's Field Guide may have called this three-story house, somewhat typical for Salem, an Adam style colonial. Built circa 1803, the house today has been split into condominia. The exterior, however, is intact and one of the most beautiful shades of sage green—a superb hue that goes well with white and black trim.

Sources

• McAlester, Virginia and Lee. Field Guide to American Houses. New York. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1984, pp. 153-164
• HABS MA-582, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ma0685/ [accessed March 21, 2016]