Exterior Color of the Week: Go Navy!
It’s daring and dramatic, but also a neutral. And it looks fantastic on almost any home
Jennifer Ott
August 18, 2015
San Francisco-based architectural color specialist and design writer. Jennifer's work has been featured in many print and online publications. Her recently-published book, "1000 Ideas for Color Schemes," is a beautifully illustrated and easy-to-navigate guide that takes the guesswork out of selecting the perfect color palette for your home or special event. For more information on Jennifer Ott Design, visit http://jenottdesign.com/.
San Francisco-based architectural color specialist and design writer. Jennifer's... More
Our recent quiz on selecting an exterior paint color for your home was meant to be fun, but it left many of you asking for further guidance with the often formidable task of selecting a color scheme for the exterior of your home. In this new series, we will feature some common, and not so common, exterior house colors. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each color, and suggest paint palettes that you can audition for your own home. First up: how to work a navy blue exterior.
If you’re on the hunt for an inoffensive neutral house color that is neither common nor dull, check out navy blue. It will add plenty of drama to your exterior, but it’s an elegant color, not a vibrant or garish one. It also plays well with a variety of other hues, so it gives you the flexibility to have fun with accent colors. Think of it as the dark blue jeans you can wear with any color top. I like to pair deep navy blue siding with light neutral trim and then add a bold color for the front door.
While it’s a fantastic house color, it’s not for everyone. Dark paint colors absorb more heat than lighter hues, so it’s best suited for mild to cool climates. Darker colors fade faster, and can turn chalky from exposure, so they may require more upkeep and more frequent repainting to keep the finish looking good. If you decide to go for this hue for your siding, definitely opt for the highest-quality paint your budget allows. A good exterior paint will age much more gracefully than one of lower quality.
While it’s a fantastic house color, it’s not for everyone. Dark paint colors absorb more heat than lighter hues, so it’s best suited for mild to cool climates. Darker colors fade faster, and can turn chalky from exposure, so they may require more upkeep and more frequent repainting to keep the finish looking good. If you decide to go for this hue for your siding, definitely opt for the highest-quality paint your budget allows. A good exterior paint will age much more gracefully than one of lower quality.
Navy blue was a terrific choice to play up the drama of this home. Darker colors make a home appear more grounded and substantial. Depending on the surrounding landscape, they can help the home blend in a bit with its surroundings. A contrasting trim color will help make interesting architectural features really stand out. Just remember, use the siding color on elements you want to blend in, and limit the contrasting trim color for items you want to call attention to.
While white is a popular color choice for the trim on a navy blue house, don’t be afraid to go for another color. This deep navy blue house has a small addition of fun color via the yellowish-green window trim. For a clean-lined, modern look, you could even paint the window trim the same navy blue as the house, or go with a shade a few clicks lighter or darker than the siding color.
If colorful swaths of trim aren’t your thing, think about other small architectural elements where you can add color, such as the window screen frames and column posts here. It’s just the teensiest bit of color but it really bridges the navy siding and white trim nicely.
There’s no rule stating you have to stick to a single color for all of your siding. If you go this route, however, keep the colors fairly neutral; otherwise it could get too visually busy.
Here’s another example of working in a little bit of navy for a unique dash of drama on the exterior of a home. Blue and orange are complementary colors, meaning they offer the most contrast. The deep blue siding really sets off the orange brick nicely.
Ready to give navy a try? Here are a few exterior paint color palettes to test out on your own home.
Siding color: Hale Navy
Trim color: Steam
Front door and accent color: Chesapeake Blue
All from Benjamin Moore
Siding color: Hale Navy
Trim color: Steam
Front door and accent color: Chesapeake Blue
All from Benjamin Moore
Siding color: Indigo Batik
Trim color: Naval
Front door and accent color: Gleeful
All from Sherwin-Williams
Trim color: Naval
Front door and accent color: Gleeful
All from Sherwin-Williams
Siding color: Midnight Dream
Trim color: Igloo
Front door and accent color: Naturally Calm
All from Behr
More: Guides to choosing an exterior paint color | a great front door color
Tell us: Is navy nifty, or do you prefer something lighter for the exterior of your house?
Trim color: Igloo
Front door and accent color: Naturally Calm
All from Behr
More: Guides to choosing an exterior paint color | a great front door color
Tell us: Is navy nifty, or do you prefer something lighter for the exterior of your house?
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Design Maven,
You have posted several nasty comments about dark blue houses. Everyone has their own tastes and there is no reason to be that way.
Lisa,
Not nasty at all. Just helping people out and cautioning people that their taste may reduce the value of their house, just like wallpaper rarely matches the taste of the general market and requires thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to remove and repaint.
There's a reason so few homes are painted navy blue. If you want to wait longer to sell your home for less, you are certainly entitled to do so.
I'd prefer you just say thank you and get on with your day.
I’m looking for inspiration of how to renovate the exterior of my home.
The house was built in 1951.
I plan on removing the awnings.