What Exterior Paint Color That Best Suits Your Lincoln Park, Chicago Home

If you fancy being the envy of your neighbors and simultaneously boosting your home’s curb appeal, there is one excellent way to accomplish both. And that’s by having a fresh coat of paint applied to its exterior. Though the initial outlay might be steep depending on the size of your home, but the return on investment (ROI) is well worth it. That’s the opinion of most homeowners, property appraisers, professional painting companies, and realtors. But that’s not their opinion alone. According to a study published by Consumer Reports, repainting a home’s exterior can increase its value by as much as 5% and enable it to stand out more than other homes. That said, if your home’s exterior is no longer as eye-catching as it once was, you shouldn’t hesitate to repaint it.

Choosing the Best Exterior Paint Color for Your Lincoln Park Home

For some homeowners, the desire to stand out or blend in explains why they choose one color over another to repaint their home’s exterior. But more should probably go into that thought process, according to professional exterior painters in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Much like other residential painting contractors, they say homeowners should consider several things when deciding on an exterior paint color, some of which include:

Building Materials

It is essential to consider the exterior building material of a home when choosing a new paint color. If you have spent time in the Lincoln Park Chicago subdivisions, you have undoubtedly seen your fair share of homes with stucco, brick, stone, and various other exteriors. Some paint colors will clash with some of these exteriors; others, meanwhile, complement them. Bearing that in mind, you should choose colors that blend well with the natural tones, textures, and other attributes of the building material applied to the home’s exterior. Complimentary colors for homes with a stucco exterior, for example, include pale neutral shades and earth tones. These colors comprise the following:

• Beige
• Gray
• Light peach
• Pale pink
• Tan
• Taupe
• White

The Overall Style of the Home

Depending on its style, the new color you choose for your home’s exterior should blend in as much as it stands out. Achieving both requires figuring out what colors work best for your home without deviating too far from the established color scheme that is considered the norm for the area. And this is important since some colors complement some homes better than others solely because of differences in architecture and design. Popular colors for Colonial Revival homes, for example, which are renowned for their classic, timeless facades, include the following:

• Black
• Blue
• Dusty rose, a mix of pink and violet
• Peach
• White

The Surrounding Natural Elements

If you’re fortunate enough to have a home surrounded by nature, consider using those surroundings to help influence your new exterior paint color. Some of the most beautiful homes are often off the beaten path and surrounded by green trees, lawns, shrubs, and the like during warmer months, depending upon the region. As temperatures cool off, everything green takes on an orange, red, yellow, or brown hue. Because of this back and forth, it’s best to steer clear of bright and overly contrasting colors when choosing a new exterior color for one’s home and to instead stick with neutrals, such as gray or beige, say most exterior painters in the Lincoln Park Chicago area.

Consider Neighboring Homes

Assuming you’re not part of a homeowners association (HOA), where all homes more or less look the same, you can always look to neighboring homes for inspiration in choosing the best exterior paint color for your home. That said, it is not uncommon for homeowners to choose exterior paint colors that complement the colors of other homes in their neighborhoods. For example, someone might paint their home blue if the one belonging to their neighbor is beige. And that’s because the best complementary color for beige is blue.

Getting a Professional Opinion

If all else fails, there is nothing wrong with turning to professional painters who can help you choose the right exterior paint color based on the specifics of your home, such as the community it’s in, its architecture, and overall design language. Sometimes, eliciting the help of a professional with a trained eye and years of painting experience is the only way to figure out definitively what colors will work best for your home. If this resonates with you and you’re in the Lincoln Park Chicago area, consider scheduling a consultation with Fine Painting to discuss color choices, paint brands, and the average time it takes to complete an exterior paint job on a home.