Painting Your Home This Season? Here Are Some Valuable Exterior Home Painting Lessons to Follow

The snow & ice are thawing, the birds are chirping and I know that I’m itching to get back to painting outside! 

For your spring cleaning this year, you might be thinking about redoing, or at least freshening up, your home’s exterior paint colors. Nothing freshens up a home quite like a fresh coat of paint! 

But before you break out the rollers, brushes and tarps, keep reading. 

I’ve compiled four of my top lessons that you need to follow when painting the outside of your home. These things can change everything, so please trust me (I am a paint color expert, after all!)

1. Paint and Temperature

Besides the snow, ice and poor weather that keeps you from painting your home’s exterior during the fall and winter, another thing that makes those times a poor choice for painting is the temperature. 

In order for paint to properly dry or to mix the pigments in evenly, it requires your environment to be at a certain temperature. When it’s too cold or too hot, this prevents the paint from curing correctly on your home’s exterior. 

Improper temperature considerations can also lead to cracking, peeling, mildew and staining, if you are not careful to paint when it is the suggested temperatures, it can lead to you needing to repaint or redo the entire job much sooner than you would like.

Remember it is not necessarily the temperature of the paint that we are talking about here. What is equally important is the temperature of what you are painting!

For example, if the surface of the house is still cold from the winter months, it doesn’t matter if the air temperature outside has spiked to 50 degrees.

For your exterior home painting to go as desired, it needs to be 50 degrees or higher for an extended period of time so the surface you are painting is warmed up as well. 

Different brands and types of paint will suggest various temperature ranges based on the base of the paint, I suggest following the manufacturer’s suggested temperature requirements. It can also vary by brand.

For water-based paints, I suggest that it be at least 50° F when the painting occurs and that it doesn’t drop below freezing in the days following when the paint is drying. 

Oil-based paints do well in a range of between 40°- 90° F and latex paints between 50°- 85° F.

2. Think About Sun Exposure (…or Lack Thereof) 

While you do need to take natural light into account when choosing interior paint colors, it’s especially important when choosing exterior colors. 

Why? Because your home’s exterior is always going to be exposed to the natural light in your home’s area.

If your home is situated in such a way that it doesn’t get much direct sunlight during the day, then the overall look and feel of your home is going to be cooler. Choosing brighter and bolder colors can offset this effect without being too overwhelming or intense.

If, on the other hand, your home is positioned so it receives an ample amount of direct light during the day, this sunlight could cause brighter colors to amplify their brightness. 

For homes like this, I suggest sampling your exterior paint color choices on the house both in sunlight and in shadow, to be sure that you like the colors in both lighting conditions. 

3. Consider Your Environment and Surroundings

Similar to what I just mentioned, you have to remember that your home is not an individual entity: it’s going to be directly affected by the homes, environment and landscape around it.

Before you choose what exterior home painting color you’re going to use, consider the following:

• Colors of neighboring homes
• Your accent and trim colors
• Colors of your environment
• Landscape & plants
• Colors of exterior hardscaping
• Color of your outside furniture

Each of these things can have a dramatic effect on the appearance of the color you choose. Not only that, but these factors can also give you inspiration. 

Do all of the homes in your neighborhood follow a particular color scheme? Do you want to be like them or stand out on your own? Do you see a home like yours with colors you don’t like? 

How will the colors of your plants, fence, lawn and more affect the color you choose for your home?

If you’re having trouble understanding how these things will affect your home yourself, that’s where color consultants like me can be a big help to you. 

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Learn how I take all of these factors into account by checking out my portfolio of before and afters. 

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4. It’s Never Too Early to Start Preparing!

My last tip is: start preparing early! Choosing your home’s paint color is a big decision. You should put a lot of time and energy into choosing various options, understanding what goes into the choice and, perhaps most importantly testing them out!

It can’t hurt to test out how each color looks outside before going for it.

I also suggest sampling your paint colors so that you see the colors together, and in large enough areas to clearly experience the colors. Sample your paint colors on a minimum 2-foot square area, and it has to be painted where you will be seeing the finished product painted. 

Remember the more you sample the paint the more confident you will be with your final color choice!

Make sure you get your paint colors ready long before you paint your home, so you can live with them, get used to them and see how they look in action.

Need Some More Paint Lessons?

Despite how helpful these exterior home painting lessons will be for you, this list is far from comprehensive! I have many more tips, ideas and guidelines that will help make your home’s colors look as good as they possibly can.

Be sure to check my blog regularly for seasonal and relevant tips, and don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions! Happy painting!