The roof is the ceiling of the house. It really needs to be considered when you’re making color decisions. If you’re due for a new roof, congratulations! You now have a chance to select your roof color from the myriad choices that are available. Here are a few guidelines and considerations:
Suggestion 1; Involves selecting colors within the same family, such as warm tones (browns, beige’s, creams, golds and reds) used together with warm accents, trim etc.
Suggestion 2; Consists of contrasting light and dark colors out of different color families for an eye-catching effect.
Suggestion 3; Contrasting cool (blues, grays, black, white) and warm colors is harder to achieve, but if one of the contrasting colors is a neutral, it will be easier to accomplish. For instance, try using a warm color like cream or ivory with a cool neutral such as a gray or black ridge cap and drip edge.
Once you have chosen the method to create the look or effect you desire, you may want to take the following steps to help make your final color selection:
Gather; samples that represent the outside permanent colors of your home (brick, siding, etc.) You can use paper or fabric or whatever other sample you can find that is very close to the home exterior.
Consider your surroundings; Consider the environment and your neighborhood. Coordinating with your neighbors home should not be a prime consideration, but duplicating your neighbors home would not be ideal either.
Select Similar Colors; Select colors in the same family as the existing permanent elements (i.e. brick or stone) to produce a simple scheme which will make a small home appear larger. For example, a light brown shade of shingle on a tan colored brick home.
Select High Contrast; Select high-contrast colors to produce a bold, striking effect. These highlight architectural detail and design. Low-contrast colors hide details which may be desirable in some cases.
Using Color to Balance; Use color to balance the proportion and design of a home. Light colors make homes appear larger, dark colors make homes look smaller. Dark colors outline architectural details against light backgrounds while light colors create the opposite effect.
Traditional Shingle Roofs
• Gray or blue house. Stay with a traditional roof color like dark gray or black. That way your roof will blend with your house and make the whole structure seem bigger.
• Cream, tan, or light brown house. Consider the many brown roof options, some of them with a mixture of browns that really make the house look updated and terrific. A brown roof will blend with the cream or tan and make the house look bigger. Black and gray roofs just look ordinary.
• White house. Stick with a dark gray or black roof. It’s traditional, but it works.
• Red, green, or yellow house. You can go either way, a brown or a gray/black roof. I prefer a brown roof for red and green house colors and a black roof for a yellow house.
Nontraditional Roofs
What about metal roofs? They’re all over Colorado, Upstate New York, and other areas of the world where snow on the roof is a major factor in the winter. Metal roofs come in a rainbow of colors, from red to green to brown to purple. If you have a metal roof, you are making a design statement (whether you meant to or not, of course) and you can treat it as an accent color, kind of like picking a front-door color.
What about terracotta roofs? These are traditionally seen on Mediterranean style homes and are a definite design feature. Keep the house color neutral to highlight the beautiful roof and the other architectural elements that are undoubtedly present.
Other Nontraditional roof materials. Just like a thatched roof on an English cottage, a nontraditional roof is a design feature of the home. Hopefully, you want it that way. Choose a house color that makes the roof look like you planned it as a feature. Regardless of what kind of roof you have, make sure you consider it when you’re making house color decisions.
