You want your home to be beautiful from the inside out, and your siding plays a big role in that. While a shabby or mismatching exterior can be freshened up with a coat of paint, it’s a good idea to look into a full-on renovation of the outer materials. Pre-colored siding tends to wear much better than house paint and is well worth the investment. However, once you get into it, there is a huge range of siding options, which can get a bit overwhelming. Vancouver Siding in British Columbia offered to share their expertise, offering a few suggestions to help you get the most out of a new residential exterior.
Know Your Interior
The way your home looks on the inside should significantly influence the choices you make for its exterior. For example, if your interior is sleek and modern with a minimalist vibe, you don’t want to clash by applying a warm, Tuscan-style tan to the outside. Likewise, if your interior is complex and romantic, you shouldn’t opt for anything particularly bright or stark.
The interior and exterior of your home do not necessarily have to match completely, though this can lend a pleasing cohesiveness to the entire building. If your interior is a particular style, you will want to choose either coordinating or style-neutral. Very often, the wisest financial choice is to select a neutral siding. If you decide to redecorate your interior, you won’t need to update the exterior later on.
If you decide to sell your home, potential buyers who do not necessarily share your sense of style won’t be put off by the extra expense of redoing the exterior.
Match The Style
In addition to your interior style, you will also pay attention to the structural qualities of your home. For example, if you have a small, Tudor-style house with large chimneys and sharply-peaked gables, it is not likely to pair well with a modern, multi-color paint job. Similarly, a modern box home looks strange with dark, classic colors applied to its sides.
When you take the time to look into the shape and history of your home, you are likely to seek out a color that complements its structure. Every era and region has its own historical trends and peculiarities regarding building styles and the colors that pair with them. It’s often a good idea to look into these and attempt to follow suit, keeping the continuity of the house intact. You can certainly make adjustments to modernize the look, but you will want to ensure it is all complimentary.
Know The Neighborhood
Before you settle on your new siding color, you should take a look at the house next door. Whether you are hoping to blend in with your neighbors or stand out from the crowd, you’ll need to be aware of your surroundings. Are most of the houses on your street painted in neutral creams and tans?
Does the neighborhood have a Cape Cod feel with whitewashed walls everywhere? It is an eclectic group featuring a wide range of styles and colors? Take stock of the styles around you and decide how you want to relate to them. Most homeowners choose to blend in with their street, opting for a color palette that complements the neighboring homes.
Check The HOA Restrictions
Considering the style of other neighborhood homes is important because you can better complement or stand out from the crowd and the HOA (Homeowners’ Association). Many neighborhoods—particularly gated communities and those in the suburbs—have relatively strict rules about acceptable home exterior colors. Therefore, you will need to get explicit written approval on your exterior color from your HOA in most cases.
The first step is to seek out the property management company that handles your local HOA maintenance and give them a call. Ask what the approval process is like and get a ballpark estimate of the time it will take, then get started on the forms. If you are not selecting a color from a pre-existing list of HOA-approved hues, you’ll need to send in the name, and sometimes a sample or swatch, of the color you want your siding to be. Typically, approval takes two to six weeks.
Ask For Samples And Testers
Many siding manufacturers and paint companies will offer printed samples or small testers of their colors. It is a wise idea to purchase or obtain these in the colors that you are considering. Seeing the colors in person, and perhaps even on a small section of your home’s exterior, will give you a much better sense of the feel and style that the hue will provide.
If you are painting your exterior, it is particularly wise to try out your options side by side on the actual surface of your wall. This will allow you to effectively compare the colors to one another and see the sun, the shade, and the landscaping have. You really want to take your time in the process and get it right the first time. Even if the samples and testers are pretty pricey,
It’s a good idea to buy at least a few of them. It’s better to spend money on testers up front than to purchase a home’s worth of a color you wind up detesting and having to do it all over again.
While siding is often forgotten by many homeowners, updating your exterior can make an enormous difference in the appearance and value of your home. New siding is also a wise financial investment, with relatively low upfront costs and long-wearing color and durability. With so many wonderful exterior options available, you are sure to find a siding concept that appeals to you and complements your interior too.
