12 Best Exterior Window Shutter Colors
By: Rachel
Deciding on new window shutter colors is one of those choices that can seem simple in the moment. However, shutters have the power to greatly impact your home’s entire exterior design. For one thing, certain colors lend themselves to different design styles. With so many elements to consider when finding the right fit, the choice can get overwhelming. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite shutter color options to help you get inspired!
Do you feel like your home’s exterior design has gotten stagnant? We’ve been there. At brick&batten, our team of expert designers is ready to help understand your personal, unique design goals and help manifest them. Here’s how it works.
#1 // Black Beauty by Benjamin Moore
Our designers love a good two-tone overhaul when redesigning exteriors. Benjamin Moore’s Black Beauty brings striking contrast against the light gray brick of this modern home. Black Beauty’s deep hue serves as the perfect companion for lighter grays and whites. Painting the front door and garage doors the same color as the shutters and including black planters and light fixtures brings a cohesive vibe to the home’s accents.
#2 // Rockport Gray by Benjamin Moore
This charming bungalow makes use of all the right shades of gray in all the right places. Benjamin Moore’s Rockport Gray is a subtle yet striking accompaniment for the off-white brick. We often design homes with bold contrast between the exterior paint color and the shutter colors, but we can’t get enough of the soft transition this home exudes. Pairing the lighter gray colors with the dark charcoal front door and roof creates visual balance.
#3 // Go Natural!
Even though there are plenty of great shutter colors out there, sometimes using natural wooden shutters is the best design choice. This unique home combines so many fantastic textures. Part of why this works and doesn’t get too busy is the natural tones of the textures are all similar: the copper awning, brick, and wooden paneling. Plus, we love all of the wood and natural tones on the main level of the home when paired with the white siding on the upper level. Including one simple set of wooden shutters against the white siding helps make the design more fluid.
#4 // Onyx by Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore’s Onyx works well on shutters when used with light exterior paint colors. If you are looking for bold contrast with your exterior paint colors, pairing Onyx with a lighter shade can help you achieve that. Our designers used Onyx on the garage doors of the home above, allowing symmetry to sprawl the entire home.
On this home, our designers went with a more daring approach. While the Onyx paint used on the shutters has an LRV of 2.9, Benjamin Moore’s Raccoon Fur used on the siding has an LRV of 6.34, making it just slightly lighter. Combining two deep, saturated hues gives this home a striking ambiance that makes a bold statement.
#5 // Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore
Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy is deeply saturated and stands out against the light gray of this home’s exterior. Hale Navy works best with lighter shades and, while still a traditional color palette, serves as a more creative route to contrast than the popular black and white or gray and black combinations we often use.
#6 // Iron Mountain by Benjamin Moore
This two-story transitional home has so many interesting design elements that enhance its curb appeal. The unique shutter shape contours the windows. Our designers wanted to further accentuate the shutters by painting them with Benjamin Moore’s Iron Mountain, one of our favorite shades of charcoal gray. It coordinates beautifully with the stone siding, dark gray garage doors, and bluestone front walkway.
#7 // Willow Creek by Benjamin Moore
Next, we love this unique dark and light color combination: Benjamin Moore’s Willow Creek on the shutters paired with Hale Navy on the siding. Willow Creek is a timeless shade of gray that is part of Benjamin Moore’s Classic Color Collection. These shutter colors paired with the navy siding and white trim give this historic cottage a refreshing update, enhancing its architectural attributes.
#8 // Seapearl by Benjamin Moore
Your home’s exterior design isn’t just about enhancing curb appeal. We love taking creative liberties to express our clients’ personalities. This quaint home demonstrates how playing around with textures and colors can bring dimension to smaller homes. After all, who says you have to pick one color for your siding? Our designers used Benjamin Moore’s Seapearl for most of the siding and added in Sherwin Williams’ Needlepoint Navy for a color-blocked contrast. Using Seapearl for the shutters on the blue siding was a surprising design element that tied the overall aesthetic together perfectly.
#9 // Outerspace by Sherwin Williams
Modern farmhouses often follow a black-and-white color scheme, but our designers gave this home design something a bit different. Sherwin Williams’ Outerspace is a beautiful bluish gray hue that makes a statement on the shutters against the off-white siding. This unique color pairs best with lighter, neutral shades but could offer a more edgy, daring vibe when coupled with something darker.
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.
#10 // Pearl by Benjamin Moore
Grays are some of our favorite shutter colors. From light to dark, there are so many different shades that fall in the gray realm. Benjamin Moore’s Pearl is a beautiful grayish blue that really pops against the white siding on this traditional home. The hue has such a unique tone that it almost appears iridescent, which helps elevate the stone used around the entryway.
#11 // Sea Haze by Benjamin Moore Shutters with Seapearl Siding
Hear us out: Benjamin Moore’s Seapearl siding with Sea Haze shutters is the color combination if you’re after an on-trend-yet-timeless look. This pairing translates across a multitude of design styles including modern, traditional, and farmhouse. As shown in the examples above and below, these colors can work with different textures like brick, wood, and paneling.
If you want a more modern feel to your exterior, you can incorporate charcoal or black accents. If subdued charm is more your style, try sticking with white trim. Sea Haze is definitely one of our all-time favorite shutter colors, especially when it’s paired with Seapearl (one of our other favorites)!
#12 // Consider No Shutters at All!
Shutters are not necessarily the right look for every home. The homes shown above looked dated and too busy with shutters in the before photos. Our designers refreshed these exteriors and decided to nix the shutters altogether. Sometimes that’s the best option!
Ready to Paint Your Shutters?
There are a lot of great options out there for shutter colors. At brick&batten, our designers love working with specific color combinations, but there are plenty of ways to get creative, too. It’s important to remember that even though we commonly think of ‘black’ or ‘gray’ as one color, there are plenty of shades within those colors to consider. Overall, painting your shutters is a simple way to refresh the exterior of your home, and our designers are ready to help you!
There are so many ways to revamp the design of your home. Whether it’s changing up your shutter colors or painting your siding, we’re here to help you get started today!
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