Motivation to paint the interior rooms of your house is easy, there is so much you can do style wise to really make a room pop, with not that much effort. Bold colours can be rewarding and risky and can really pay off. On top of that you can stop at just one or two rooms if you prefer.

When it comes to your home’s exterior paint work it can seem a little less inspiring and greatly overwhelming. A bold or risky colour may leave you with serious regrets, so you might be putting it off, even if you are in the mood for a change.

Painting the exterior is essential to protect your home and keep it looking sharp. If you have peeling exterior paint, even if it’s just on the windowsills when your home is for sale, you can bet it’s going to impact people’s impression of the quality of the house as well as set them to thinking about the amount of work they need to do if they buy.

There are two roads you can take when it comes to painting the exterior of your home. Classic (which is probably what your home is already) which is usually white for weatherboards and white or a range of cream to tan for rendered homes, and modern, which is an opportunity for you to express yourself with different colours, trim and style.

The reason most people stick to classical is because it can be hard to judge just what a modern exterior will look like, we give you some tips in this post for how to get the best estimation on the impact of a new paint job before you take the plunge.

Things to consider before you commit to new paint

1. Current colour themes

Your home will already say something about your style and colour preferences in some way, even if it’s subtle. Pay attention to the more naturally existing colour themes you have inside or outside of your home to see if you can extend that to include your exterior paint.

Garden colours can really influence your choices, especially if you have established trees, native plants or a specific flower on show. The attention to detail here will pay off in a natural and impacting finish.

2. Samples

Before you make a change to your home’s exterior colour get samples, and not just one or two, get a range of different shades. The difference might not look like much in the tin but can be distinctive when applied to your home.

When testing your samples be sure to cover a large space. A small strip will get lost and not show you what the colour will look like as a whole. Go for big squares so you can compare easily and place them against a trim if possible.  

It’s best to leave samples on for at least three days while you let the difference settle in.

3. Natural light

Ever purchased a piece of clothing or furniture only to find it looks completely different when you bring it home? Light has a high impact on colours. It’s important that you test your colours outside and in shaded spots.

Shade (or an overcast day) will show you the true colour, as direct sunlight will wash the impact out.

4. Construction materials

Is your home brick, weatherboard, rendered or a mix?

Separating different materials with different colours can work wonders, for example painting bricks chocolate brown, boards grey, and trims white will give you a stylish look that can compliment native gardens.

5. Neighbours

There is a bit of a tightrope to walk when it comes to standing out and blending into your neighbourhood. You want your home to look different to your neighbour but still be a harmonious part of the community.

At the same time you need to be mindful that this is a community street and what you do can have a negative impact on other people’s homes, especially if there is not a lot of screening between properties, in which case they may get a lot of reflective glare form certain paint types or colours.

6. Incentive to work faster

Need some incentive to commit? Painting your samples on the front of your home will spur you to get moving on that final paint job every time you look at it.

Note: The only time to be careful when it comes to test patches is if you have rough rendering. Often with rendered paint the sample will show up when you paint over the top, so in these cases it’s important to test in sections that are hidden and go smaller if needed.

‍