Gray made a perfect choice when you wanted a cool color for your exterior. It doesn’t shy away from exuding warm and bold vibes if you use the right gray exterior house paint ideas – think about using a warm undertone – or show boldness using accent colors or contrasts.
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Gray Exterior House Paint Ideas
Here are some ideas which will take the guesswork out of your next exterior repainting project.
1. Tricorn Black with Alabaster
Utilize the warmth and softness of alabaster with a dark black shade like Tricorn black. Against soft white siding and trim, the darkest shade of gray on doors will offer depth without making it a classic black-and-white combo.
Complete this sophisticated style with a light shade of gray for the roof. Naturally, you would want it to stand in the middle of a contemporary neighborhood.
2. Iron Mountain Gray with Limewash
Make a bold appearance with dark shades of your home. The color scheme includes Iron Mountain gray for the roof. Lighten up the mood with limewash for walls.
You can complete the trim with the gray shade or include a tint of contrast with lighter shades. The Natural Choice from Sherwin Williams will give a well-deserved contrast against the dark Iron Mountain shade.
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3. Light Warm Gray with Dark Cool Green
Dark Green hue is one of the few cool color exceptions that go well with warm gray. If you need reminding, warm grays are called as such because they have warm colors – like red, beige, or yellow – as their undertone. Usually, you will see warm gray paired with a wood finish, a brazen brick exterior, or brown shades.
But you could also pair it with black forest green to lower the temperature.
4. Graphite Gray with White Trim
This rather common combination will save you trouble by eliminating the need for experimenting with light and weather. An easy match between boldness and coolness, this scheme becomes a necessity for extreme weather as it blends well with sunny weather as well as thunderstorms.
Most homes will go with simple gray paint for siding with black for the front door and white for trim. If the focus is to be kept on the brighter appearance of the home, add a lighter shade of brown or gray – like Thunder from Benjamin Moore – and keep graphite gray for the door only.
5. Revive Brick Exterior
Are you blessed with a bare brick exterior that you don’t want to ruin? Keep it and flaunt it by combining it with neutral gray tints. Iron Mountain by Benjamin Moore can be the right roof hue. Complete with a darker shade of neutral gray for the front door and Steam or Revere Pewter for the trim.
6. Charcoal Gray with Wood
This exterior house paint idea emphasizes boldness by combining a warm undertone of charcoal gray with wooden accents. Use a single shade of charcoal for the siding and roof.
Keep the wooden accents for the gable, columns, railings, and doors, and use black hues for trims. Maintain the neat look by limiting the furniture colors to these three hues only or using white when these colors aren’t possible.
7. Light Gray with Limewash
While most gray exterior house paint ideas on this list are perfect for south-facing home exteriors, this isn’t one of those. The lighter combination is more suitable for north- or east-facing homes.
For this laid-back and simple look, cool gray colors are best. Use tints like Olympus White, Tinsmith, Morning Fog, and On the Rocks from Sherwin Williams. The color scheme will be enough on its own but if you prefer adding some contrast, use a dark accent color for trim, door, or column.
8. Or Just Light Gray
Where floral residents offer lots of colors, you can go with cool colors without worrying about giving the house a dull personality. Complete this appearance with accent colors for your porch furniture. Popular choices include red, yellow, and deep green colors.
9. Contemporary Exterior in Dark Shades
Neatness is the highlight of contemporary architecture so these styles don’t have room for lots of colors. But you can mix different shades of gray if you stick to a single undertone. Feeling tired of monochromaticity? Add wood as an accent piece.
If you dare to test an exciting color to add depth and dimension to gray-wood contrast for your house exterior, try including greige to the mix. Be thorough and test against different light angles and weather conditions before deciding – this choice can make or break your house’s outlook.
10. Be Bold with Tan
Instead of using greige, go for the tan hue. Keep it on a carefully selected part like the front door and window shades. Use a warm, medium-light shade of gray for siding. Dimension can be added with a darker shade of neutral or warm gray for window trim.
11. Play with Red
Whether you use warm gray or cool, red will add energy and passion to both. Most homes that use red as an accent color for doors, window trim, or columns; complete the look with the whole side covered in gray. Feel free to add white for trim and columns to add contrast.
Yellow is another color to bring warmth to the house’s appearance.
12. Turquoise is Another Foolproof Accent Color
While red is suitable for those homes that want to offer a warm ambiance, turquoise does the opposite. Pair it with warm gray shades to offer a contrast to color temperature or compliment cool gray exteriors. The latter of these ideas is suitable for north- or east-facing homes.
White often accompanies the color combination; wood is a less common – but equally pleasant – alternative.
13. Onyx with Flannel Gray
Keep the mood lifted with this contrast of bright and dark hues. Onyx will feature the front door and window shades. Window trim, columns, and roofline will showcase Steam by Benjamin Moore and the rest of the exterior will be covered in Flannel gray.
14. Black and White with Yellow
You wouldn’t use the blackest black instead go for the darkest gray shades like charcoal or graphite. Even white isn’t cold white but you can choose between Steam from Benjamin Moore and alabaster. The highlight is the doors that are painted butter yellow. It’s a striking contrast with the cold and classic aura of pure black and white that is presented by the house – and inviting as well!
15. Laidback and Cheerful
Use wood to give a retro effect to your house exterior. A thoroughly done wood stain in brown or red hues will act as the accent color for the otherwise gray and white exterior. The style is best for those homes where wood makes up a major part of the exterior. With it, you get plenty of opportunities to play with plantation colors in your front yard.
Take Away
Gray is the most versatile option to paint house exteriors. It goes well with dull and muted shades of green, white, and brown as well as bright hues of turquoise, red, and yellow. It complements your plants and their colors every time without fail.
