Main mistakes and “helpers” when choosing roof color
A beautiful house is the merit of the owner, because the attractiveness of the building depends on his preferences. However, not everyone can boast of good taste, imagination, and especially artistic education, which is why, when deciding to build a house, it is important to think through the project to the smallest detail, and only after that purchase all the necessary materials.
Before drawing up your design, you can walk through the private sector and pay attention to new houses that have already been built. From this walk you can get some ideas for yourself, as well as understand which houses you really don't like.
Most likely, they will have the following disadvantages:
- Inconsistency of colors and style;
- Incorrect combination of colors of the house facade and roof;
- Violation of the unity of proportions of the house and the balance of its color.
All these errors vary in complexity: some of them can be corrected after the construction is completed, and some cannot be corrected at all, for example, the wrong color of the roof, because its complete replacement will cost a large sum of money, and painting will be impractical.
When choosing colors yourself, they will help you:
- Ready-made design solutions;
- Various schemes and tables of color combinations;
- Design programs.
1. What should you pay attention to when choosing the color of your future roof? ↑
Figure 1. Roof and façade color sample
In order for your future roof, and the whole house as a whole, to look beautiful after construction, you need to prepare a project in advance, in which you can calculate and think through everything in detail in advance, including what color of the roof and facade to choose . You can mentally imagine this yourself and then try to transfer it all onto paper, or you can immediately contact special agencies that develop projects of any complexity. They will help you decide on the color of the roof and the material for both the roof and the facades of your future home. In the process of work, you can create a computer model of the future house, on which it will be very easy to “play” with the colors of the roofing material and walls of the house.
Only if you competently approach this question “What color of the roof and facade to choose” and clearly work out the color scheme of the roof, only in this case, upon completion of all construction work, looking at your roof and house you will receive moral satisfaction and a feeling of aesthetic completeness. Not every new home can boast of this now. Very often, future owners pay little attention to the choice of roof color and, based on the results of all the work, do not feel the joy that should be from a new home.
Which Roof Color to Choose: Blue Roof Sample
Everything should be in unity and harmony:
- Roof with house;
- A house with an environment.
Sometimes, depending on the roofing material, the color of the roof can be changed while working on the roof itself (for example, if the roof is slate, then it can be painted any color). But what to do if the roofing material does not allow you to change the color of the future roof? To do this, you need to think in advance about the color scheme of the roofing material, and decide in advance on the material itself.
Table of color combinations for roofing and facade
Very often doubts arise about the correct choice of roof color or facade color. In this case, as an option, you can ask your friends or relatives for advice. After this, you can analyze their answers and make your decision. In addition, there are various tables of “color shades” that allow you, without any design education, to correctly select matching colors. It's no secret that different colors have different effects on the human psyche. Thus, some colors can cause irritation and nervousness, while others, on the contrary, can lift your spirits and bring joy to life.
Which roof color to choose: light brown roof
The basic rule when choosing the main color is to support the same style of the house and its surrounding buildings with the location of the house itself. Sometimes you need to emphasize the beauty of your home and somehow make it stand out from the background of neighboring houses, and sometimes, on the contrary, you need to make sure that the house merges with the environment and is one whole. For example, if you always have a lot of green vegetation (trees and fir trees) in your yard both in winter and summer, then a green roof will fit very well into this interior. But if there is very little or no greenery around, then in summer, such a roof can still look beautiful, but in winter it will just look like one big green spot on a white background. The change of seasons can greatly affect the color scheme of the future roof and this must be taken into account.
Samples of roof designs in different colors
Here are some tips to consider when choosing roofing and roof colors:
- The gray color of the roof will look very dull in places where it is constantly wet and damp during long autumn and spring. For a gray roof, in this case, it is best to choose some bright and warm color of the facade;
- The dark red or burgundy color of the roof (terracotta) looks very rich in forest and hilly areas;
- A brown and chocolate-colored roof looks very beautiful and advantageous in those places where it is warm and sunny for a very long time in the fall;
- A blue roof will look very good somewhere near water (for example, on the seashore or lake). In this case, it is better to choose a light color for the facade, for example white.
Combination of roof and landscape colors
Each developer thinks through the design for his own purposes. Someone wants to show off the high price and show off the beauty of their home, while others, on the contrary, want to hide their home from prying eyes. Despite the opposition of these desires, they all require one thing - a combination of roofing and landscape.
Also remember that the landscape around your home changes several times throughout the year, so take into account the season and prevailing weather.
Primary colors:
- A green roof will be combined with various vegetation around the house, for example, it will blend nicely with the trees growing around it, but this is where the main problem of green roofs arises: in winter, such a roof will be a bright spot among the snow and bare trees. Coniferous trees, which remain green all year round, will help you “blur” this spot;
- A house with a terracotta roof will look great against the backdrop of wooded slopes. They are also suitable for houses with burgundy roofs;
- Blue and also turquoise roofs are built in mountainous areas. It is worth mentioning that together with it it is necessary to create a light facade of the house;
- A gray roof is suitable for a humid climate, but coupled with cold colors of the house it evokes boredom, so try to dilute it with warm colors of the facade;
- A brown roof is recommended for use in areas with long autumn periods, as shades of brown go well with autumn foliage.
We should also talk about especially bright colors. For example, houses with a red roof will undoubtedly look great not only in warm weather, but also in golden autumn. However, she has a special drawback - excessive attractiveness. The bright colors and beautiful shapes of the house can attract the attention of not only ordinary passers-by, but also burglars, so in this case it will be necessary to install a reliable security system.
Such bright colors are also often used for extravagant projects that only a professional can handle, but a beginner will create complete disharmony and bad taste.
Visuals and form
Light colors make the building visually larger in size. Therefore, the main color of classical architecture is white. Cream and light beige shades on their own can look faded, so it is better to add darker accents to them in exterior decoration.
Photo: kvartirakrasivo.com.ua
Those who have visited the Scandinavian countries could not help but notice how great the rich, bright - red, yellow, orange - facades of their houses look. Upon closer examination, you can also see that the buildings themselves have simple architectural forms, without any small details.
Photo: happymodern.ru
For houses with complex architectural volumes and many different details, it is better to use calmer, lighter colors. You need to use a rich color palette with caution - cheap facade paint fades quickly and after a couple of years a bright red house can turn faded pink.
It has been noticed that colors darken on a light background and lighten on a dark background. The lighter the tone, the more voluminous the object looks; the darker, the smaller. Warm colors are protruding and bring the object closer, cold colors are receding and move away. The most prominent color is open red, the most receding is open blue. The blue color under artificial light may change to green. The more colors differ from each other in their basic characteristics, the more difficult it is to harmonize them.
Photo: Archidom.ru
Roof texture
If you decide to highlight your home, make a roof of a complex shape. This way you will emphasize the wealth of your home, but remember that such a roof should be built separately and should not be blocked by trees, otherwise the harmony of foliage and color of the roof will neutralize the beauty of its form. This type of roof is best suited for small elevations.
When choosing a texture, also pay attention to neighboring buildings: do not make your house stand out too much from its neighbors. We recommend using the same materials as the neighboring houses, for example, metal tiles or corrugated sheets. At the same time, it is better to choose similar colors of corrugated sheeting for the roof. You can be convinced of the need to combine houses on the same street by looking at the old streets, for example, in St. Petersburg, where all the houses retain their own style and create a special atmosphere. When choosing the colors of metal tiles for the roof, you should not create a sharp contrast with neighboring buildings.
Dmitry Zhuravlev
A post about one Russian architectural nightmare - blue roofs.
There are blue roofs only where people don’t care about the appearance of the city.
This infection exists throughout the south and center of Russia. The blue roof is a faithful companion of disgusting architecture.
In normal countries where people value beauty, all roofs are usually in the same color scheme. Here is France, beautiful and cozy.
Türkiye: the roofs are a sight to behold!
Russia, eye-catching color leapfrog.
Moscow region from a helicopter. Tasteless motley roofs.
photo Sergey Dolya
Vile blue is suitable for construction fences, but not for roofs.
Here is North America, hell, on some island off Canada, where people dilute the gray despondency with the bright colors of their houses. But even here they didn’t make the roofs ugly blue.
photo by Artemy Lebedev
Dubrovnik, Croatia. What a beauty!
photo by Artemy Lebedev
Crimea. Crimea will not make Dubrovnik if people who have no taste put blue metal profiles on the roof.
photo from Wikipedia
A resort somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Cozy, right? Now think about what would happen if some idiot wanted to make the roof blue?
photo by Artemy Lebedev
The English village is beautiful with its roofs in a single color scheme.
photo by Ilya Varlamov
Well done to St. Petersburg, they managed not to spoil the city with blue roofs.
But in Odessa they could.
Color garbage in the private sector of Krasnodar.
photo by Ilya Varlamov
Russian Dombay. How these blue roofs spoil the view!
photo from Wikipedia
The Rostov region, Voronezh, and Krasnodar are defaced with blue roofs. The Black Sea coast near Sochi was damaged:
There should be no blue roofs.
Choosing a roof color to match the finished facade of the house
First of all, it is necessary to highlight the various factors influencing the choice of roofing:
- Financial opportunities. First of all, purchase everything you need: material for the rafter system, heat and waterproofing, etc. After this, plan a budget for the roof itself, because not everyone is ready to spend their last money on a roof with an unusual shape made of expensive materials;
- When choosing the color of the roof, it is worth considering its degree of heat absorption. Everything is simple here: the lighter the roof, the less heat it absorbs. So, for example, a house with a turquoise roof is perfect for southern cities, and we recommend building a house with a cherry roof in the northern regions;
- Also keep in mind that not all shades retain their saturation for the same long time. Sooner or later, any roof will begin to fade under the influence of ultraviolet radiation and precipitation, which is especially true for roofs made of cheap materials. Cool shades retain their saturation the longest. Let's take a white house with a red roof as an example: its façade will retain its color much longer than a roof with a bright, saturated shade.
- Do not forget about the combination of roofing material and facade. Despite the fact that the roof will sooner or later lose its color, you will not have to change it if you select the right materials. When choosing other woodwork for your home, make sure it is in harmony with the other elements - this way your home will not lose its attractiveness after many years.
Among the examples, it is worth highlighting terracotta tiles - they go well with a facade made of natural wood or brick.
Another important thing is facades with plaster or white brick, which are suitable for almost any type of roof.
Which façade color should I choose – light or dark?
Facade paints determine the appearance and character of a building. Unlimited shades of plaster and façade paint available for sale will help you implement the most complex projects. In contrast to the limited color design of the roof, facade materials are presented in a full range of colors. They can be divided into two groups:
- light - create the impression of optical enlargement of the surface;
- dark - optically make the object smaller, making the contours clearer.
Light facades will make the building visually appear larger. Houses decorated in light colors look cheerful, joyful, and are very noticeable against the background of the landscape.
When choosing, you should remember that facade repairs are usually carried out very rarely. It is necessary to assess whether household members are ready to look at the chosen shade for 10 -15 years. To achieve a positive result, it is important to take into account the style and character of the building. Some proven principles should be applied:
- strict colors suit a classic home;
- for a modern building there is more freedom of choice;
- if the architecture of the house is rich in details (bay windows, columns, attic), the paint for the facade should be calm, pastel;
- in a house with simple, flat walls, devoid of details, you can play with color schemes.
Let's take a closer look at popular façade design options.
White
Always fashionable, often used color is white. White walls are common on old buildings and modern ones. White is universal and does not cause difficulties in combination with other colors. The building will receive a modern, innovative design if:
- combine white walls with a dark roof and other finishing elements;
- White walls of a house with a red or orange roof look modern.
The light facade will perfectly highlight other materials:
- natural stone plinth,
- wooden joinery,
- clinker brick,
- brown tiles.
Attention! White walls have a serious drawback - they get dirty quickly and often need updating.
White colors of house facades, photo
Yellow
Yellow walls are more practical, they become dirty more slowly, and will make the building warm and cozy. Yellow for facade painting is used for small buildings; it helps them appear more spacious and wider.
Green
Pastel tones of green blend harmoniously with wildlife. Juicy green should not be used on all walls, but should be used to highlight individual zones. Houses with a green roof in combination with walls look beautiful:
Shades of blue
Blue should be used with more caution. Blue, light blue walls look harmonious on modern buildings, combined with:
- white,
- gray.
White and blue horizontal stripes can visually reduce the building in height and make it optically wider. This decoration will make the building more modern.
Houses with a blue roof, photo
Gray facades
Gray walls are less common. Although fashionable gray surfaces fit harmoniously into modern architecture. Even on a building with a sloped roof, dark gray plaster looks modern. The modern style is emphasized by a gray metal roof.
Wooden elements will make a harsh gray interior more comfortable:
- window frames,
- doors,
- decorative panels.
A bolder solution is a combination of gray with shades of red, applied to certain parts of the house, for example, on a corner or balcony. Red adds dynamism and modernity to the harsh gray façade and emphasizes style.
How to choose a color, which color suits best
Having decided on the material and tone of the desired roof, you can begin to choose its specific color.
To avoid making serious mistakes, follow the rules:
- You should not choose the same color for the roof and facade. If you still decide to use the same color, then make the roof lighter or darker than the facade;
- Do not use brightly colored roofing against a dull building;
- Don't make your home too colorful;
- The combination of the color of the roof and the house must be in a certain balance, so use neutral shades along with bright shades;
- When making a contrast of bright and dark colors, remember that the bright shade should predominate.
Separately, it is worth highlighting the white facade, which is suitable for all types of roofing and is combined with a huge range of colors. For example, a white house with a red roof will attract you and passers-by without annoying you with its brightness.
We mentioned above that the color of the roof and facade should be suitable for the weather conditions prevailing in your area, however, there are solutions that are suitable for absolutely any weather and season:
- The combination of a dark top and a light facade will not only delight you with its appearance all year round, but will also visually increase the height of the building;
- We do not recommend choosing one color, however, the result of competent play with shades can look much more attractive than contrast and not lose its appeal all year round;
- A dark facade and a light roof are also used in the construction of a house; this combination makes your home more unique, however, the richness of the facade can take all the attention, and the roof will simply disappear from the field of view of a passerby;
- If you want a light roof, but you are afraid to “lose” it against the background of the facade, then we recommend building a white house with a blue roof;
- The last technique is qualitative contrast. For example, a white facade of a house with a red roof will always look fresh and energetic.
Energy protection and management
According to the teachings of Feng Shui, the roof performs the function of a kind of dome, which physically and spiritually protects those living in the house from atmospheric phenomena. Its second purpose is to control subtle energies, thanks to which
:
- good luck, emotional and financial well-being comes to the house;
- the physical health of the inhabitants is maintained and strengthened;
- Harmony develops in the relationships of close people with each other.
That is why it is important to carefully consider the choice of roof shape and roofing color. Disharmony becomes an obstacle to the fulfillment of desires and gives rise to various kinds of difficulties.
According to the rules of Feng Shui, the color of the roof should match the biofield of the owner of the house (it does not matter whether it is a man or a woman). Only in this case will a harmonious atmosphere reign in the house.
Features of colors with which they are combined
Playing with colors is a delicate art that not everyone can master. By choosing the right colors, you can visually change the proportions of the building; for example, a room with white wallpaper and ceiling always seems larger than a room with similar dimensions, but in dark colors. In addition, each color has its own psychology, for example, in hospitals, walls are often painted green or blue, because... they reassure patients.
The same thing happens with the appearance of the house:
- Brown color is one of the most popular roofing solutions. That is why the most common question is “what facade color will go with a brown roof?” The answer here is quite simple: any light colors that harmonize with brown, for example, beige.
- Red is an energetic and memorable color that is increasingly used in the construction of houses. Basically, only its muted shades are used, which go well with wood, plaster and brick;
- Blue color for the roof is also a good solution. Choose a shade of blue so that it harmonizes with the sky, and does not get lost against its background. The blue roof goes well with the white and gray facade.
- If you have not yet decided which color goes best with a brown roof, then turn your attention to shades of yellow. A roof or facade of this color gives cheerfulness and optimism to its residents.
- Choosing the color of the facade of a house with a green roof is not a big problem, because green goes well with a huge range of different colors, for example, white, beige or brown.
The most popular combinations and their features
Brown and beige
You definitely can't go wrong if you decorate your private home in these soft, natural, eye-pleasing shades. They will fit into any style and any location, but such a simple color scheme implies the presence of interesting textures and unusual architectural techniques.
Gray and green
The gray color of roofing materials goes well with any facade decoration, but with green it goes especially well. The darker the roof, the brighter the walls can be, and the choice of shades is rich: light green, grassy, emerald, marsh, olive.
Red and orange
This is probably the most perky and life-affirming combination. It is very popular among summer residents because it allows you to give even a tiny building an elegant and dignified look, and also looks great surrounded by a garden.
Green and yellow
Such an ensemble must be correctly adjusted according to temperature: the colder the color of the roof, the greener the shade of the facade should be. And keep in mind that this is a rather simple combination from which you can’t squeeze sophistication, so we’ll classify it there as a summer cottage option.
Blue, gray and light blue
You can also decorate a solid private home in blue tones, especially if you choose interesting, complex shades, diluted with gray and, as it were, slightly dusty. Now you can buy dark blue soft tiles with uneven coloring, which will add nobility to the composition.
Cherry, pink and peach
The rich cherry color of the roof harmonizes with many tones of the facade, but with soft pink and peach it looks especially warm, cozy and intimate. This is an excellent choice for a private home surrounded by hedges and lush flowering flower beds.
Black, red and burgundy
Let’s complete the selection of designs with a controversial, but bright and fashionable tandem today. It is interesting because a lot depends on the shades. Rich, “straight” colors can make a small cottage look like a mansion, especially in combination with snow-white accents, but once you complicate and dilute the range, gloss will immediately appear.
There are many attractive combinations, don’t be limited by this list of seven common options. A table will help with color selection, where the designers gave a two to the most disharmonious color pairs, and a five to the win-win ones.
Adviсe
- If you are really bad at combining colors, then make combinations with the simplest colors - white, gray and black, or use a ready-made solution;
- Also, a simple way to create a good color scheme is to use natural combinations, however, even here you need to be extremely careful, because some colors are completely unsuitable for building a house, for example, red and green;
- When choosing the color of the roof and facade, do not forget to maintain the style of the building under construction, for example, if the building is built in minimalism, then use simple colors, for example, gray and black;
- Do not neglect the use of special computer programs, as well as tables with color combinations.
Conclusion
Now you are familiar with specific solutions and know what logic to follow when choosing the colors of the facade and roof of a building, we hope that after reading you will not have questions like: “What color goes with a brown roof?”
Try to experiment
Balance will always come in handy: by avoiding the use of neutral shades and bright colors, you can choose the optimal solution. Try to add some “zest” with the help of a suitable color; do not underestimate dark shades. Many people have achieved great results using black or chocolate finishes. If your area is full of beige colored houses, try to make your building stand out among them. This can be achieved by using blue color for the facade of the house. At the same time, remember that your structure should fit into the general mood of the street and area. One more caveat: a color may look good on a small sample, but if large areas are painted with it, it may become darker or more garish.
If you own an old house, try to preserve its history when choosing a color scheme. Naturally, just because a building has been painted blue for a century doesn’t mean it has to remain that way for the rest of your life. However, you shouldn’t make it loud either. Before selecting paint, it’s good to find out what solutions were in fashion during the construction of the building. Often the popularity of a particular color was explained by its good combination with a given architectural style. Often the most modern shade cannot be compared with the color characteristic of the history of the house. And if the building is located in a historical building area, then you will not be able to do without permission to paint. In addition, the color range in this case is very limited.
Mansard roofs
Brown metal roofing is a win-win option for a house with an attic roof and white walls.
Beige decorative stone, light half-timbered timber, brown metal tiles - all these materials harmonize perfectly with the provincial style of the country estate in the photo.
Hip roofs
The rather dark color scheme of the house with a hipped roof is not without some zest - the variegated brickwork combines beautifully with the chocolate-colored roofing.
The private house in the photo attracts attention with its unusual cascading roof, which is based on a hipped structure. Graphite-colored metal tiles accentuate the originality of the roof and form a pleasant combination with ocher brick walls.
Half hip roofs
The spectacular half-hipped roof made of emerald green metal tiles combines beautifully with the creamy pink plaster on the facades of the house.
Metal roofing with a bronze finish is an exclusive roofing option for a country estate.
If the walls of a country house are painted beige, then a roof of a darker, brown tone will look most advantageous.
A neutral gray metal roof is the best choice for homes built with terracotta and red bricks.
Multi-gable roofs
In the case where the facades are lined with several materials of different colors and textures, a discreet roof made of gray metal tiles is best suited.
The anthracite-black hip roof emphasizes the exclusivity of the classic architecture. In the photo you can see how solemn a brick house with a dark roof and white window openings looks.
Tobacco-gray metal roofing is universal in its own way - it is good for houses built of both red and light brick.
To “calm down” a little the diversity of the house’s facades, matte metal tiles in a neutral gray shade were chosen for the roof.
Dark green metal tiles on the roof can successfully highlight the beauty of red brick facades.
A green metal roof is a good companion for facades in beige-pink tones.
Gray metal roofing goes well with the architecture of houses in the “classic” style, especially if the facades are made of stone.
