What roof did you decide on? Our house is brick but we are also trying to decide between mission brown and weathered wood. I don’t want to regret choosing a roof that’s too light in color. I agree that the charcoal is too dark, but the slate is too light and has a green tinge to it. It’s a very hard choice!

Hi everyone, my wife and I are about to paint the exterior of our home (walls, shutters, garage) in Orlando, Florida and seeking any help on recommendations - eventually we would like to replace our concrete driveway with red tile/brick if that would influence your decision. Any thoughts? We look forward to your suggestions and thanks in advance for your time. -Adam and Lindsay

Thanks all! I now have a massive collection of paint chips and am no further along toward a decision! I'm not sure if the online mockups are all that helpful - when I find images of exteriors with the various paint options, they seem to look very different than the chips or the online mockups. For example, the mock-up and the paint chip makes SW Iron Ore seem very dark - almost black - but this old thread from Houzz shows it painted on a house that looks blue-grey to me. I'll probably try testing some samples once they get the siding up. The problem for me is narrowing it down to 3 or 4 options. I have trouble making decisions in general and this reno has forced me to make about a billion so far. @debvanatl I like Witching Hour as well but a few photos make it look a little "brighter" than I think our little house can bear. @celerygirl I started out wanting just a darker version of our existing color but now I'm tipping over into blue. Still want to keep it dark and grey-toned though. @Tiny J your house is beautiful! Charcoal gray is now in contention. @littlebug zone 5 Missouri & @PPF new gutters and a new portico are part of the plan. And the new windows will be double-hung 6/1, at least a foot taller than the existing windows.

Exactly. Exterior colors go through an extensive process of testing for light fastness, fading, weathering, etc. This is why choosing a stock, exterior color is a smart strategy. Custom mix colors exterior are NOT smart because they haven't been measure or tested. It's also a matter of inorganic vs. organic colorants. Organic pigments is how you get vivid, clear colors. Organic pigments are not stable for exterior use because they are prone to fading. Yellow and reds notoriously are fast-faders exterior; signs of fading can show up as soon as one to two years no matter the quality of the base paint. Inorganic pigments are sometimes called 'earth' pigments or 'natural' pigments because they are mined from the earth. Inorganic is far more stable and resistant to fading than organic. That's why so many exterior palettes are beiges, browns, tans, etc. - it's a matter of function. You might notice that some exterior colors come ready-mixed and canned from the factory. Ben Moore has several colors with the letters "EXT RM" right on the chips. Those letters stand for Exterior Ready-Mix. Those colors have an extra edge of stability because the pigment was 'cooked into' the paint at the factory level -- not just colorant added and shaken thru at the paint store. If fading or intense exposure is an issue, looking to those ready-mixed exterior colors first is a good plan. You just won't have much choice about gloss levels. A lot of them only come in semi-gloss, some come in satin.