When choosing materials for a new home construction or renovation project, the exterior of a home deserves just as much attention as the inside. Your home’s “first impression” is a combination of landscaping, architectural design, and exterior color/material choice. Wanting your home to look its best can make the process of matching your siding to your roofing when choosing materials feel overwhelming. Don’t worry, though. There are a few simple rules you can keep in mind that will help the task seem more manageable and help you choose the best option for you and your home.
Home Style
Is your home built in a historic style? What about ultra-modern? If your home’s architectural style has easily recognizable characteristics, those can help inform your choice of roof and siding. A more modern aesthetic evokes more monochromatic color schemes–maybe stay away from material like faux brick or bright colors for the siding, and keep both siding and roof colors neutral. A Victorian home, however, would mesh quite well with color choices like mustard or eggplant.
Existing Features
If you’re doing a renovation rather than constructing a new home, there may be existing exterior features to consider. For example, you may love the idea of a dark slate roof paired with rich eggplant siding, but if your house already has pink shutters that won’t work out very well. Depending on the features themselves, you may be able to easily alter or remove them in light of your roof/siding choices. Shutters and doors can be painted, after all. Or you can simply take these features into account when choosing your roofing and siding so they can be worked around.
Design Goals
Your personal design goals when it comes to your home’s exterior are important as well. Are you planning on reselling your home in the future? Then you probably want to take design cues from the rest of the neighborhood to help you choose something that fits in with the local flavor. If you prefer to let your freak flag fly and want your home to reflect your personal tastes, then bolder choices may be called for.
Color Theory
Once you’ve taken all these factors into account, then you should have a fairly good idea of the direction your exterior choices are heading. Moving forward you should be able to make some great choices by keeping in mind some simple rules of color theory. Specifically, choosing a roofing and siding in the same color family. You want the two to be visually separate, but not so different that the contrast seems garish. Choose a warm or cool palette, and stay within it.
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to matching your exterior siding and roofing. What matters most is that you’re pleased with the outcome. Keeping these few key points in mind when planning which material you will use can help you better define your design plan to ensure you love the end result.