Exterior Color Trends for 2021

Last Updated on January 15, 2021 by legacy450

Overview

When building a custom home or renovating an older home, choosing the correct exterior color(s) can be a monumental task. We all want our home to look different from all of those on the rest of the block (or in the neighborhood anyway) especially since this is a major investment. Choosing the wrong color can not only be expensive (especially if you have to repaint) and it can cause tension in the household. This article is designed to give you an idea of what colors are timeless and popular for 2021. Hopefully, this will help you choose a color range (or eliminate one) so you can make the right decision. 

Whites

One way to play it safe is to go with the traditional timeless colors and the most popular house color which is white. While white is still a very popular color it is super versatile and will most likely be approved by a wide audience. If you feel that white is too clean relax, you can add high contrasting colors for the trim, windows, shutters, front door, and more to make the house look 100% custom. There are several really beautiful white colors including Sherwin Williams Alabaster which has a slightly off-white color compared to Pure White or Dover White which has a slight cream tint (a little more yellow) compared to Alabaster. A solid white will look great on Cedar or Cypress natural wood, engineered wood, and fiber cement siding.

Dark Colors (Black and Dark Gray)

Over the past several years darker siding colors have gained in popularity. For example, this beautiful custom home (see below) was made with cedar bevel siding custom prefinished with a rich ebony stain providing a rich black tone and looks absolutely gorgeous all year long.

Imagine the black standing out in a sea of orange, yellow, and reds during fall. As fall turns to winter the black stained wood stands out against a blanket of snow. As Winter turns to spring the budding trees, bushes, and flowers in the surrounding woodlands contrast with the darker siding make a beautiful spring picture. As for summer, the long shadows from the surrounding trees will make for one beautiful summer hangout. Now, this color might not work for every home and every location but keep in mind that it can be used for accent walls or as a trim color especially when the trim color matches the window frames. Darker grays are starting to gain popularity as well and really tend to mimic a black color but not so dark that it loses character. Iron Ore or Urbane Bronze are two great darker colors that have some gray tones and black tones together that will really give your custom home some character. Darker colors look great on Cedar or Cypress wood siding, engineered wood siding, and fiber cement. 

Grays (Light and Medium Gray)

Still popular is the use of a Gray color on the exterior of a home and there are some really beautiful light color grays such as Intellectual Gray lap siding with the trim done in Sherwin Williams Alabaster. If you’re looking for more of a medium gray, Pelican is a great choice as it is a timeless gray that works well with white trim and possibly a lighter gray as an accent color. For a darker gray color Gauntlet Gray is a great choice with just a hint of brown and again works really well with white or off-white trim.

Natural Wood Tones (Light Brown and Weathered)

Nothing beats the true warmth of real wood and that’s the main reason why alternative wood siding materials such as vinyl, fiber cement, and engineered wood is created with a cedar wood grain texture. Still one of the most popular stain colors for natural wood siding is the natural golden brown tones such as Cedar Toner, Caramel and Walnut and then weathered wood stain colors such as Light Weathered Gray.

These natural stain colors are very popular not only for custom mountain homes but now finding a way into large cities where more modern home styles use wood as accent features to offset other textures such as stucco, cement, and or metal. These stains are penetrating stains and should only be used on Cedar, Cypress, or other natural exterior wood siding profiles.

Wood Like Finishes

These natural wood stain colors are finding their way into other siding substrates such as engineered wood and fiber cement. Developments over the past 20 years with prefinishing processes and coatings you can now get a wood-like finish on products that are designed to have a longer maintenance schedule than traditional wood siding. There are over 15 colors available from natural browns to dark reds and even custom colors can be created to tie your entire exterior color scheme together.

If you have any questions about these colors, materials or custom color options please fill out our contact form and we will have a sales representative contact you as soon as possible.