We did this fairly recently and contacted all the manufacturers of the products we were considering. We asked for large samples of not only the siding for color decisions but also the corner pieces so we could see the differences in construction. We used vinyl shake as opposed to clapboard so the corners were very important to us. All the companies sent us samples quickly, some had their local reps drop off the samples that day. And then after I had it narrowed down I came here and asked for photoshop help to visualize the colors on my actual house. It was a tough choice even then because you just never know but the virtuals helped me SO much and we're thrilled with the final result.

dlm2000, your house came out beautifully.

bittersweetdreams, have you done a Google image search on the vinyl siding colors? Other manufacturers probably have the same color choices, so you might want to see if installers have posted pictures of their work.

If you are buying from an actual siding company they can provide you sample pieces in any size you desire. If you are buying from a contractor who is buying from a siding company then you may be limited to the small size.

I think a few of the siding manufactures have programs on their website that will allow you to try different colors on your actual home. I've used Certainteed's before.

Here is a link that might be useful: ColorView

My contractor gave us a list of local homes he had sided along with the siding color. This was really helpful to see on a large scale, particularly as one "neutral" had a very pink hue in person.

We went to a local building center and they let us borrow their sample board which had a 2X3 sample of the siding we were considering. We also went with vinyl shakes. We get compliments on the siding all the time, and the house isn't even done yet. So many on GW are totally against vinyl siding. I've been a bit hesitatnt to post any pics.

Thanks awm! Joyce your home looks wonderful ! Please post more pictures - or if you're showing the progress on the Building forum can you give a link?

We tried the online viewers but didn't find them very accurate as so much depends on how your monitor is set up. It might give a vague idea but there 's nothing like holding a 4' x 4' section of siding up to your house on all sides, cloudy days & sunny days to get a sens of how it looks in different light. But I will say, there's a seasonal difference, too. If you're in snow country, that changes things and the angle of the light winter to summer makes a difference as does sun being filtered through leaves on tall trees. At some point you have to bite the bullet, though!