4 Tips to Harmonize Your Home’s Exterior and Outdoor Color Scheme

Summer outdoor entertaining season is officially here! Ensure the atmosphere is just right for guests by creating eye-pleasing symmetry among your home’s exterior, landscaping and outdoor elements. And much of that eye-pleasing symmetry starts with a harmonious color palette.

One of the best (and easiest) ways to ensure your home’s exterior and outdoor color scheme is working together? Buy a color wheel at an art supply or home improvement store to effortlessly reference color cohesion before getting started on any projects (however big or small).

Your siding can be the true focal point of your home’s exterior, and ultimately all landscaping and additional outdoor elements should complement its aesthetic.

Here are the top four tips and tricks to ensure your home’s exterior and outdoor elements complement each other so your place is the star of entertaining this summer.

• Colors that are easiest to integrate with outdoor focal points like a garden, shed or fencing are the greens, browns and beiges of nature.
• Grays and muted colors are more versatile than pure pastels and bright hues. You don’t have to exactly match plant and paint color with these subtle shades. Fence and shed colors should also be muted.
• Keep color undertones together. A “cool” house color like blue, green or purple works well with cool plant colors and complementary fence and shed colors. Conversely, “warm” house colors like light yellow, pink or apricot harmonize with “warm” outdoor elements.
• In some cases, you can match colors that are on opposite ends of the color wheel (like red and green), but they need to be muted shades accented with gray. Otherwise, your home may stand out for all the wrong reasons (and end up looking too much like Christmas).

Pro Tip: Beyond paint color, ensure outdoor elements like a shed or fence match the overall aesthetic and quality of your home’s exterior so there’s seamless cohesion on your property.

With these tips, you’re well on your way to becoming the star of outdoor entertaining this summer. Best part? Creating color cohesion on your property doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor, giving you curb appeal on a budget—but your guests don’t need to know that!