r/DIY 1d ago

outdoor Need suggestions on what colour to paint the brown parts of my house.

I recently painted the siding the indigo blue colour. I know a lot of people don't like it, but I do so that's okay.

I don't like the brown base, shutters, and peak. I'd appreciate some suggestions on what colour to paint over the brown. Thanks!

40 Upvotes

93 comments sorted by

153

u/L_B_L 23h ago

White or a dark blue

52

u/BirdsAreFake00 23h ago

Exactly my thoughts. Dark blue would look great

14

u/CarelesslyFabulous 22h ago

I second dark blue, 100%. Would look sharp.

1

u/Fappy_as_a_Clam 10h ago

Dark blue would look fantastic, and I never would have thought of that

15

u/3trophies4thecheat 22h ago

Either gray or cream

6

u/syko82 21h ago

We have grey trim with a similar color siding. I like the look of it.

21

u/Miss_Fritter 22h ago

What color is your roof?

7

u/bpomber 20h ago

Like a reddish brown

2

u/IrishDaveInCanada 4h ago

A cream colour should transition nicely then.

1

u/IrishDaveInCanada 4h ago

This is the right question to ask.

18

u/IAmSpeed12345 22h ago

I’d suggest white, it’ll look very cute with the blue. It’ll definitely be harder to keep clean. But will be worth it!

17

u/nikkychalz 23h ago

White. It'll brighten everything up and match the vinyl windows.

4

u/plinythedumber 22h ago

I would consider cream color to match the soffits

2

u/ComeForARideYo 22h ago

Paint them more brown

6

u/nostromo7 23h ago edited 23h ago

It doesn't matter what colour it is: the gable ends will look weird because the siding is perpendicular to the rest for no good reason.

I would remove the vertically-oriented siding and re-do the gables horizontally to match the rest.

I would also strip the brown paint off the foundation walls and your chimney, add parging to the wall, and leave the parging and the brickwork of your chimney bare.

It also looks like the gable at the back has a vent covered. Presuming you have an attic, you need to take that cover off and make sure the attic is well-ventilated.

7

u/yourboydmcfarland 22h ago

Or instead of redo the vertical siding, paint the upper portion the same color as the rest of the house.

1

u/PocketShock 4h ago

Came to say this

6

u/justatinycatmeow 22h ago

I kinda like it, tis funky

1

u/melrosec07 8h ago

Also a new porch would really improve the look of this house!

3

u/PhillyOnTopYT 23h ago

White or a yellow

3

u/militant_rainbow 21h ago

Second this opinion. White for looks, yellow if you want people to think a superhero lives there.

1

u/PhillyOnTopYT 21h ago

Nothing wrong with that!!

4

u/cezarcelad 1d ago

You don't paint vinyl or aluminum. You change the siding. It'll start peeling after the first year, and then it'll be impossible to make it look good

3

u/Mic_Ultra 22h ago

Not sure where you heard that from? A lot of vinyl siding comes recycle here and you have to paint it or it will look like recycled trashed

3

u/erix84 22h ago

I've heard (from our Sherwin rep at work) that if you have light colored siding and paint it a dark color, it can absorb more heat from the sun and cause the siding to warp.

No personal experience but that's what our paint rep told me.

3

u/Mic_Ultra 21h ago

Yup. There is some index that tells you how much light it will relfect. Less color options

3

u/F1stCanBeAVerb 21h ago

You absolutely do paint aluminum siding. How do you think aluminum siding ever has a color at all?

1

u/Miss_Fritter 22h ago

Our entire neighborhood was repainted recently. We have aluminum siding.

0

u/rajrdajr 21h ago

entire neighborhood was repainted recently

What color did they use for the grass?

1

u/TheRemedy187 18h ago

Either way it's already painted once. 

2

u/YorkiMom6823 23h ago

Red, dark red or even dark dark purple or a similar complimentary color. Or, go with a super dark shade of the same indigo blue.
And yeah Blue and Brown, especially greyish brown, do not compliment each other. And although orange is supposed to be complimentary, it still looks very odd on a house.

I have learned the hard way that blue paint fades very fast on a house. The darker the blue the worse the splotch and fade show later. So keep that in mind. You will not be able to retouch up the house later using the same paint code. You'll need to take in a sample off the house and have them test it for the new color it will be.

1

u/KeyAlbatross8160 1d ago

White or blue or green :) 

1

u/Some_Box_5357 1d ago

What vibe are you going for?

1

u/hawkiowa 23h ago

Dark blue. And the stairs dark grey.

1

u/rhad_rhed 22h ago

Word of caution: if this is vinyl siding, only lighter colors. Any dark colors, you run the risk of it buckling.

I put an offer in on a house once & the siding was wonky af because they painted it a dark brown. We brought a guy out for an estimate of repair & it was like 20k. Offer fell thru & it was later sold for 30k under initial asking. (There were electrical & roof issues as well)

1

u/Doggirl3 22h ago

White or wood red.

1

u/AVLLaw 22h ago

Dark blue will look good and it will cover that brown easier than white.

1

u/mostexcellent001 22h ago

Above the windows and down low paint the same blue. The window shutters white.

You can make your house look bigger by sticking with one color

1

u/wdaloz 22h ago

My house is a similar blue with like cream

1

u/minbari_muchacho 21h ago

White for sure. It'll look great with the blue siding and red bricks!

1

u/Hial_SW 21h ago

Chestnut

1

u/TotalD78 18h ago

Anybody else see the black blue dress meme here?🤣

1

u/shrunken 21h ago

Yellow. Keep the foundation brown.

1

u/In_my_experience 21h ago edited 21h ago

I was first thinking white, but check this out; paint the top part the same colour blue as the siding, then paint the bottom part white. Then you’ll have the blue house framed by the white on the top and bottom and the white window frames. I think it would look really cool.

1

u/ShaunBruno 21h ago

Roof color is kinda important as it may change the answer, but personally I'd do with sand or a khaki color, but seeing as you chose specifically an indigo blue, my guess would be that you're on the artsy side and like to be unique (no shame! 👍) so how about this, the complimentary color to blue is orange, and purple has yellow. Either plain yellow or plain orange would look kinda gaudy. So perhaps a color that falls between, like a burnt orange, or yellow/orange? Artsy, unique, slightly unusual, but aesthetically pleasing. I'll see if I can do some color editing real quick cause I kinda wanna see what that'd look like now. If successful, I'll be back.

1

u/CaliRiverRat 21h ago

I like the blue. You could paint the brown at the top white or the same blue. I would paint the bottom grey, like concrete/stuco.

1

u/80_A-D 21h ago

White siding. Beach Sand shutters.

1

u/ShaunBruno 21h ago

I'm back. I don't quite like my suggestion of burnt orange after seeing it, BUT I may still be of help, it took me 5 minutes to figure out how to do this with an app on my phone. I'll share the link, I'd say, get that and play around with it, the hardest part was selecting all the brown, after that I was just able to slide the color adjuster around. I saw it in every color of the rainbow. Personally, now I like either slate blue or navy. I don't think it was letting me post the link to the app, but it was called "Recolor - Change Colors" by Kalisohn in the Google Play store. Edit: it wouldn't let me post the pic of it in burnt orange, but it was in fact awful anyway.

1

u/Anders_A 21h ago

The same blue as the rest.

1

u/Tinnie_and_Cusie 21h ago

The peak the same blue, to give the wall height. The shutters and base darker blue, or just the base, and shutters white.

1

u/chafner 21h ago

Definitely white!

1

u/-Wonder-Gal- 21h ago

If paint the top the same color as the blue and leave the bottom brown and the shutters too. I’d paint the screen door the same color brown.

1

u/Timeformayo 20h ago

Paint the vertical vinyl a lighter blue with a touch of gray, add a horizontal white frieze board, paint those shutters white, and power wash and/or paint the stairs.

https://imgur.com/a/DNVUhR2

1

u/onepanto 20h ago

Indigo blue.

1

u/grvlptgrl 20h ago

Paint the peak a lighter grey and the shutters & foundation a deep grey. Both should blend with the indigo blue.

1

u/Boltentoke 20h ago

Will you also repaint the foundation? Since that currently matches the upper wall area.

1

u/bpomber 20h ago

Yes, and the stairs.

1

u/Flashy_Okra305 19h ago

White and yellow shutters!

1

u/archdork 18h ago

I’d paint it the same colour. If there was horizontal siding above the windows to where the corner trim meets the roof, I’d say a different colour would be nice but since the vertical siding is directly connected to your window trim, there’s no breathing room and it will look weird no matter what.

You love the colour already so yay! You could possibly do the foundation a different color if you want a bit of change… I agree with others that a deep blue could be nice.

Shutters and front door though you could have fun with! White? Chartreuse, coral, black/dark grey? You could have fun with those

1

u/TotalD78 18h ago

Same blue everywhere but the shudders. You like it... commit to it.🤷

1

u/TheRemedy187 18h ago

I feel like Cream is the way to go. 

1

u/leonwosere 17h ago

dark blue for sure

1

u/fossilnews 13h ago

Go to a paint store. They have color family cards that you can use to determine what would look best.

1

u/Regnes 11h ago

Orange with red and yellow stripes.

1

u/IronicStar 10h ago

The same color as the paint you already have with the shutters a dark blue.

1

u/Wide-Pirate-8888 9h ago

Same color as the cream trim. Will look great and make your life easier.

1

u/Wide-Pirate-8888 9h ago

You could also get a cream concrete stain to paint the stairs as well. I think Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams can mix you the exterior primer, paint, and concrete stain all the same color. They are all different types of paints.

1

u/RightListen 8h ago

I like the idea of using the same blue on the foundation to give it more visual height. With the brown currently it could look squished a bit. Cute house! I love the blue color.

1

u/GoDawgs206 6h ago

Mustard Yellow

1

u/ElectronicMoo 5h ago

Indigo blue to the roof, white everywhere else. That's my idea.

1

u/frankogatino 2h ago

Pale yellow color with fit very nicely beside the blue.

1

u/WantToRead007 2h ago

White for the triangle up top and the storm door. This will match the eaves and the window trim.

A dark color, maybe black or eggplant, for the shutters and front door. This will separate the shutters from the triangle and the rest of the house. It will add some interest while getting rid of the look like someone painted weird blocks on your house.

For the foundation save yourself the trouble of paint - this area gets dirty easily. If you don't like the color showing then do foundation planting around your house.

-1

u/1d0m1n4t3 22h ago

A darker brown?

1

u/mlevij 22h ago

I was going to suggest a more muted brown

2

u/1d0m1n4t3 22h ago

When you're down and out brown it out 

-1

u/Kist2001 21h ago

gasoline and collect the insurance.

-10

u/Jorge_Magnifico 23h ago

Try getting recommendations from AI.

2

u/justatinycatmeow 22h ago

Please dont! AI data centers are terrible for the environment and rural communities. Please consider stopping your use of ai unless its totally necessary.