- Brick and Mortar
- Work with the Shutters
- Mimic the Architecture
- Emphasize Your Features
- Solar Considerations
- Energy Efficiency
Getting a new roof on your house can be a pretty exciting experience. Getting extra protection is great, but beyond that, a new roof can also help you get a new look for your house. One of the best ways to do this is by getting a new color for your replacement roof.
There are many things that you should consider before you pick your style and color. The tile and shingle manufacturers in our modern, business-driven world provide more options than you’ll ever have time to choose from.
Brick and Mortar
Sometimes you can’t beat the classics. Using brick will make your home stand out as a tough dwelling. Some have even said that having brick elements on a home reduces the robbery rate since burglars associate brick homes with heavy fortification.
There are brick buildings that have been standing for centuries and are yet to fall. Bricks can keep your home protected from the weather and thieves, but it’s important to remember that having a brick roof means you won’t be able to change colors later down the road.
The permanence of the brick roof look will add some constraints as to what colors and styles you can use for other, more customizable elements like siding, shutters, and doors. Be sure to choose a color of brick that’s neutral enough to blend in with other elements of your house, even if you decide to change their hue down the road.
The red shade of most brick roofs can match with blacks, grays, and dark browns. Try to avoid multi-colored brick roofs as they can make it very hard to match other elements and could lead to a chaotic aesthetic.
Work With the Shutters
Shutter colors are easy to change, but once you find one you like, you should get a roof that compliments it. If your shutters and siding contrast one another, you can use a roof color matching the shutters to tie everything together. Matching roofs to shutters looks even better when your shutters use bold colors.
Mimic the Architecture
If you live in a home of classical design, it would be wise to reflect that in your color scheme. This is even truer if your home has some historical significance, in which case you’d want to retain the vibe that its architecture gives off.
Natural slate tiles help emphasize the features in Colonial and Victorian homes. Stucco homes blend well with orange-red colors and metal tiles. Wooden homes would benefit from a roof that uses browns, greens, and grays.
Emphasize Your Features
Bay windows, stone walls, wrap-around porches, and other features are usually the best part of a home exterior. You should do your best to emphasize these elements.
Choosing a roof color that compliments and emphasizes these colors is a great move for the entire look of your home. If you want to draw more attention to your covered porch, choose a roof color that contrasts the wood or paint of that area.
If you use a color that’s too similar, the two elements will just blend in with one another instead of emphasizing the porch. In the same way, you can use roof colors that contrast your window trim if you really wanna see your windows pop out.
A stone wall can add some character to your home, so don’t let a patterned roof draw the attention away from it. If you choose a darker color for your roof, you’ll be able to complement the stone wall while still shining the spotlight on it.
Solar Considerations
Depending on what time of year it is, the sun will reflect a slightly different color. The color can also vary based on your location. In the north, a blueish tint is present whereas the south gets more of a reddish shade.
The sun, especially during summer, can intensify the colors of your roof. In the same way, the reduced sunlight during winter can make them appear more washed out. You need to factor all this in when you’re picking a color for your roof.
Try taking home some sample tiles from the store and hold them up to the sunlight during different times of the day. This will help you see what shades the color takes in the morning, noon, and dusk. While one color might look nice with all the artificial lighting at the store, it might actually look rubbish in natural light.
Energy Efficiency
Some colors can actually be more effective at insulating your home and lowering energy consumption. Most lighter colors reflect more heat whereas darker colors absorb the heat. Metal roofs are also better at keeping heat out in comparison to shingles. You need to balance your preferences with the practicality of energy-efficient roof colors and materials.
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