How to choose the right White Exterior paint color for your Home.

So… it’s pretty safe to say I have a thing for white houses. After looking back through my “architecture” board on pinterest it’s time for me to admit I have a problem. Whether it be a charming old white farm house, a painted brick colonial, or even some funky modern architecture, if it’s white… I’m probably going to pin it. Even though white seems pretty straight forward when selecting a color for your home, a trip to your local paint store will prove otherwise. Because painting your home is a huge expense, you want to make sure you choose the right white exterior paint color.

planning our house:

When we were building our house we knew we wanted a white exterior. Who actually knew it would be so hard to find the “right white’… ??? The reality is we had been focusing so much on our inspiration photos online that we didn’t take into consideration how photo editing and the sun light at different times of day affect the colors. Here are a some photos of our serious contenders in the inspiration department:

**Note: I love using Houzz because most of the professionals that post their photos will provide color resources for you.

Fortunately for us, a couple of these homes were within driving distance. Because we were familiar with the builders and communities featured online we were able to do a little house stalking to see if we actually liked the house colors in person. We were surprised at how different they looked in person. .

Well about 12 samples and a splotchy exterior siding job later we finally settled on Benjamin Moore’s AF- 25 Paper Mache. It is a nice creamy white but it still has a pure feel to it without going yellow.

how to start your paint color search:

One of the most important things to do when picking any paint color for a major project (especially one as expensive as your exterior color) is to get samples of the actual colors you’re considering and paint them on all sides of the house. This way you can evaluate your options in all types of lighting. What looks great in the morning light may look completely different during the high sun.

If you see a great color on or in one of your friends homes, don’t be afraid to ask them the paint color. Most people will love the compliment and be happy to help you out.

For some reason, paint colors on my personal houses always stress me out. So it’s important for me to be able to see them on a larger scale and take my time to evaluate them. If you’re not building new and are hesitant to paint the side of your house 10 different colors before you settle on a final choice, an easy way to accomplish this is to get a couple pieces of siding material or just a piece of wood from your local home improvement store. You can paint those larger samples and move them around as needed until you can decide on your color.

You’re not Alone:

It took us about 3 full days to make a final decision. Thankfully I didn’t have to make the call all alone. My hubby was extremely concerned with how the exterior of the house turned out so he had a lot of input on the color as well. Once we settled on our perfect white exterior color, the painter got to work. After all was said and done we were so happy with how it turned out. We even had one of our neighbor’s guests stop by and ask us what our paint color was. They said it was exactly what they wanted for their new home. Success!!

the final product: