Coordinating Your Home’s Exterior With Your New Roof

A new roof can do wonders for the curb appeal of a home, not to mention adding a durable layer of updated protection from the elements. While homeowners are often quick to jump at the chance to invest in a new roof, sometimes they overlook the occasion as being an opportunity to create a fresh look for their property.

New roofing comes with many options, including different colors, textures, shingle designs, and material types. Whether going with a similar option as before or branching out and trying a new concept for your home’s roofing, getting a new roof is a great time to consider the rest of your home’s exterior and ensure the entire look feels intentional and cohesive.

How to Get a Color-Coordinated Look

There are many aspects at play in creating a coordinated look for your home. One factor to be considered is the property’s color palette. New roofing should certainly coordinate well with surrounding colors found elsewhere on the home, including the siding, gutters, shutters, entryway, garage door, and front door trim. While contrasting colors can be a popular way to emphasize a bold look, not all matchups will work, so this may take some trial and error.

When trying to pick a color palette to match your new roof, remember that colors usually fall into two distinct ‘temperature’ descriptions. Warm colors, like red, dark brown, beige, and orange, should be complemented with other warm colors. Vice versa, cool colors, like slate gray, off-white, blue, and green, look best when grouped together with other cool colors. It should also be noted that black shingles tend to look best with other exterior features that share cool color tones, too.

Color coordination can take place in many ways throughout the exterior of the home. Not sure where to start? Take a look at these three easy ways to create coordination between roofing and exterior details.

Update the Siding

Refreshing the home’s exterior by updating the siding is one of the easiest ways to create spot-on color coordination with a new roof. Whether working with vinyl, board and batten, or steel siding, be sure to select a color tone that will complement the roof. Consider whether you want bold contrast that catches the eye from the curb or more subdued siding that gently blends into the soffit, gutters, and roofing.

Adding Trim to Tie It All Together

Color coordination can quickly extend beyond siding. Polishing the look with window boxes and exterior door trim can be a smart and easy way to add dimension and texture to the overall appearance of the home. Choosing a third color for exterior door trim, window trim, and extra ornamentation can also help balance out a strong contrast between siding and roofing. It can also add a bit of definition for a subdued color palette.

Matching Landscape Projects

When taking in the entire look of a home, the surrounding landscape can play a large role in creating a supportive — or distracting — setting. Take advantage of this by integrating creative landscape projects that match the strong exterior features of the home, such as the roof color or material. For example, build your own pergola in the backyard and stain it in the same color as the siding or roofing. Picket fencing, patio features, and other garden structures can provide extra opportunities to form a creative and cohesive look that boosts the impact of your home from the curb.

New roofing will look even better when coordinated with a few smart and creative exterior updates.

Matt Lee is the owner of the Innovative Building Materials blog and a content writer for the building materials industry. He is focused on helping fellow homeowners, contractors, and architects discover materials and methods of construction that save money, improve energy efficiency, and increase property value.