Best 2020 Exterior House Colors When Selling Your Home
By: Cassie McDowell
A beautiful home exterior paint job is a show stopper! We’ve found the best 2020 exterior house colors when selling or staying in your home. So, if you’re looking to put your house on the market and want to get top dollar or you’re ready to paint your largest investment, you’ve hit the right spot. The paint on your home’s exterior is a huge part of curb appeal. It can basically make or break the entire look of your house. If you’re looking to sell in 2020, painting the exterior of your home is an excellent way to get attention from potential buyers!
You only have one chance to make a first impression! A study by Realty Times estimated the ROI on an exterior paint job to be 51%. What that essentially means is you could more than double what you put into the painting costs! Consumer Reports says that just little paint touch-ups to your home’s exterior can boost the value by 2-5%. Painting your home’s exterior is a no-brainer!
That said, painting the right color is essential! Whether you’re wanting to go classic and timeless or a bit more trendy, we have some options to turn heads and get buyers looking your way.
Some of our brick&batten favorites:
No. 1// Simply White by Benjamin Moore
Simply White is gorgeous but is not a true plain white…. What white is? It has a slight yellow undertone creating a warm feeling. With an LRV of 91, Simply White is reflective and will pick up surrounding colors. So, if you’re looking for a soft white, this is a strong contender.
No. 2// White Dove by Benjamin Moore
This show stopper has a higher LRV at 85 so it will be brighter than Seapearl below and Snowbound above. For a bright white modern farmhouse, White Dove is a great choice.
No. 3// Seapearl by Benjamin Moore
Seapearl is in the white family but depending on the direct sunlight you may see a gray undertone appear. It’s a calm color and doesn’t put off any stark or blue vibes. Seapearl has become a favorite because it’s easy to use on many different house styles.
No. 4// Cape May Cobblestone
Cape May Cobblestone is a gorgeous warm gray that is versatile inside and out. When you’re unsure what color to paint, Cape May is a great place to start! In my experience, Cape May works well in direct sunlight and appears darker in areas of low sun.
No. 5// Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore
Revere Pewter used to be thrown around all the time as the perfect “greige.” It is beautiful? Yes. It pairs well with just about anything… brick, stone, aged copper, metal; therefore, it’s used often on home exteriors. That said, if your house exterior is shaded, Revere may be a tad too dark.
No. 6// Olympic Mountains by Benjamin Moore
Olympic Mountains by Benjamin Moore is a brighter beige with some gray undertones. It’s light, warm, and fresh. This earthy tone is popping up every where in 2020 and definitely a brick&batten favorite.
No. 7// Winterwood by Benjamin Moore
Winterwood is one of those lucky colors that just seems to go with everything. From exterior stone, red brick, natural wood, and all different accent colors, Winterwood is a no fail shade. With an LRV of 51 you won’t have a problem with the color appearing differently because of reflection.
No. 8// Light Pewter by Benjamin Moore
In my opinion, Light Pewter is truly an underrated beauty! It tends to stay true to the color and doesn’t appear dead in different lighting.
No. 9// Barren Plain by Benjamin Moore
Barren Plain by Benjamin Moore is considered a brownish/ gray neutral. Because of it’s warmth it won’t appear too blue once applied on your exterior surface. It pairs beautifully with a variety of stone colors, as well as dark and light accents. In my experience, Barren Plain will lean more gray in most light.
No. 10// Repose Gray by Sherwin Williams
We like Repose Gray because of the slight warm gray undertones without appearing stark or blue on your home’s exterior. In some instances I’ve seen Repose Gray look almost white and other times a lighter gray shows through. Being that it’s so versatile is a brick&batten favorite.
No. 11// Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore
Oh. YES! Kendall Charcoal is rich, deep, dark… but not too dark, versatile neutral that can essentially be used anywhere. Verging on the warm side, it mixes well with browns and different stone colors, as well as any wood accent. Kendall Charcoal doesn’t go black or blue in different environments but stays a true beautiful charcoal.
No. 12// Amherst Gray by Benjamin Moore
Amherst Gray is similar to Kendall Charcoal but gives off a slight blue/ green undertone in different lighting. It has a lot of different shades of depth to it, meaning different lighting creates a different shade. Definitely one to test and in the right environment, Amherst Gray is stunning! For more info on how to test exterior paint colors, click here.
We always recommend sampling and testing paint colors before committing. Factors such as natural lighting, undertones, and your property’s fixed elements will have a significant impact on how a color will appear on your exterior. Our friends at Samplize offer extra-large 9 x 14.75 inch peel-and-stick paint samples of the colors we love for exteriors. Order your ‘Real Paint, No Mess’ samples from Samplize here.
No. 13// Urbane Bronze by Sherwin Williams
Urbane Bronze is considered a darker gray with more brown/ bronze undertones. In some lighting Urbane can even appear charcoal or black. If you’re looking for a stylish alternative to your typical gray or brown, Urbane is the winner!
No. 14// Bracken Slate by BenjaminMoore
With a blue green undertone, Bracken Slate evokes a feeling of happiness and more dynamic a typical black. We see this color often on houses with a Nantucket beach feel. Looking beautiful with white trim and wood accents Bracken Slate is another go-to dark in our color pallet.
No. 15// Wrought Iron by Benjamin Moore
Slightly lighter than a deep black, Wrought Iron is a dark, soft, gray. If you aren’t fully committed to black, Wrought Iron is a great choice that still adds drama and interest. Great for trim, doors, and often used on the popular modern farmhouses. With Wrought Iron, you can’t go wrong.
No. 16// Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore
Hale Navy is one of the best dark colors out there! The rick dark blue creates a cozy but striking feel. It is considered more neutral with a balance of cool and warm undertones. It looks beautiful with brass fixtures, aged copper, and white trim. Hale Navy has become one of our favorites this year.
No. 17// Black Jack by Benjamin Moore
With an LRV of 3.9, Black Jack is a bold choice but offers softness when compared with true black. We are seeing it more and more dark shades as clients commit to black paint. Edgy and cool…uncompromising style.
No. 18// Onyx by Benjamin Moore
This rich warm black works well on modern and traditional homes. We’ve seen modern farm houses in Onyx, as well as doors, shutters, and trim. The hue keeps it from feeling stark and harsh. Onyx pulls more of a brown undertone.
You only have one chance to make a first impression. Psychologists say you make up your mind about a person in the first 15 seconds of meeting them. Same is true of buying a house. That means you essentially have 15 seconds to really capture the buyer, the person driving by, or guests coming to your door to make that good impression!
Check out these before&after home exterior designs to get inspired!
We’d love to partner with you on a virtual exterior home design. Let our designers work for you… making you the expert! Remember, it’s just as easy to paint the right color as the wrong. Let’s get it right!
Subscribe for more content like this!
