When you think about it, a roof is a long-term fixture on your home, so it’s understandable that you want to select a roof color that not only matches the exterior siding, but enhances the look of your home as well. Besides having a diverse selection of roofing materials for new roofs and roof replacement, you also have a wide variety of color choices. Whether building a new home or renovating the exterior of an existing one, the Roofing Annex has some recommendations to help you match your roof with your exterior siding.

Be Guided by the Style of Your Home

Use the design style of your home to guide you towards certain colors. For example, Colonial, Victorian, Federal and Gregorian style homes look most regal in historical exterior siding colors like white, light and medium grays, colonial yellow, Spanish tans, rich creams, slate blue and deep, rich colors. Roof colors to complement these historical colors include medium brown, pale green, rosy reds, vibrant gold and light to medium gray, all reminiscent of roof colors in the early 1900s.

Follow Basic Design Rules

When selecting a roof color to match your home’s exterior siding color, you can’t go wrong with sticking to the basics. These fundamental design rules can help make your decision easier:

• Know How Colors Work – Certain colors can have an impact on the total look of your home. For example, using light colors for exterior siding and roofing on smaller homes is ideal because they make them look larger. Light colors are also best for architectural features with hard lines that you want to soften. Medium tone colors are aesthetically pleasing and go with any home style and architectural feature. For a dramatic effect, choose a darker, subtle roof color. Dark roof colors in nature-inspired colors make a bold style statement and smartly complement the exterior of your home.
• Go with Neutral Blends – A neutral color roof, like tan or gray, will blend nicely with any exterior siding color scheme and any home style. You can always go darker or lighter with a neutral color depending on the color scheme of your home. For example, if you have siding in a cool blue shade, consider slate tile roofing in a light or medium gray color.
• Complement Rather Than Exact Match – Your home will have a more dramatic appearance if you choose a roofing color that isn’t an exact match to the exterior. Color specialists advise staying in the same color family as your exterior siding, but going darker for your roof color. They also recommend staying with the same color type. For example, if the siding on your home is in warm colors, choose a warm roof color.
• Create Harmony – When matching your roof with your home exterior, you want to be certain it complements other features on your home, like any brick, stone, or wood facades, or special architectural features, like trim, shutters, or decorative accents.
• Go with Today’s Trends – Today’s modern homes are dressed in exterior siding that ranges from brick and stone to siding in soft colors. They are complemented with roofs in black and gray, although many homes are going light on top to take advantage of the benefits of a cool roof.

Some Helpful Tools

While we may not be official color specialists, we’ve gained quite a bit of color expertise over the years as a full-service exterior restoration company. We can assist you with selecting complementing colors for your siding and roofing system, or work with your home designer. There are also some free online tools to help you pick your exterior home color scheme. A good one is the Better Homes and Gardens Color a Home where you can match your roof color to the colors of your home and trim.

Let the Roofing Annex be your guide to selecting the best roof color to match your home. Get in touch to schedule a consultation and view the different types of roofing materials and colors available for your home.