To make the most of your roof color, it should match the style and aesthetic of your home’s exterior, boosting curb appeal and giving you pride in your property. Your choice should reflect your personal taste rather than just following trends. How do you decide which color is right for you?
This guide provides tips on selecting the perfect shingle color for your home. Understanding your options will help you confidently discuss color choices with your roofing contractor and choose a shade that you’ll be happy with.
Choosing Roof Colors with Your Home’s Exterior Design in Mind
Before selecting a roof shingle color, evaluate these aspects of your home:
- Exterior Design: What is the general style and appearance of your home’s exterior?
- Architectural Style: What architectural elements define your home?
- Environmental Setting: What is the natural environment around your home?
Having a well-thought-out exterior color scheme can simplify your roof color choices.
Additionally, consider how features like patios, stone walls, wooden arbors, fencing, and driveway paving contribute to your home’s aesthetic and color scheme.
Color Palette: Cool vs. Warm Tones
Before deciding on a roof shingle color, consider the existing colors and shades of your home’s exterior features, such as brick or siding, and the material or paint color of your window and door trim.
Neutral and Cool Tones Styleboard: Featuring Owens Corning’s Sand Dune shingles, a dusty blue Adirondack chair, beach grass, grey shake siding with purple-grey shutters, and a medium tan paint swatch. Another board showcases Pacific Wave shingles from Owens Corning, a medium grey front door, lavender-grey paint, a dark patterned doormat, a lavender potted plant, and a family sitting together on a couch.
Is your home’s color palette cool or warm? Cool colors include shades of blue, green, and purple, while warm colors have reds and yellows. White and gray can complement either palette, depending on their undertones.
What Roof Shingle Color Is Best?
The best roof color is one you love that also meets your needs for home design, curb appeal, resale value, energy efficiency, and any building codes or HOA rules.
The Impact of Roof Color on Curb Appeal
The roof can account for up to 40% of your home’s exterior appearance, so the choice of roof material and color can greatly affect your home’s curb appeal.
Does Roof Color Impact Resale Value?
A total roof replacement is a strong investment with high returns, as a new roof is a major draw for potential buyers. If you’re considering a roof replacement before selling your home, you might be wondering which roof color will offer the best resale value.
The ideal shingle color for resale is one that enhances your home’s exterior and appeals to a broad audience. While a neutral color scheme can be safe, it might also blend in with other homes.
Don’t feel restricted to just neutral colors; using select hues can help your home stand out. A well-chosen roof color can be the finishing touch to a beautifully designed exterior. Explore modern roofing shingle colors and blends, which use multiple tones to add visual interest and dimension. A thoughtfully designed roof can significantly boost curb appeal and make your home more attractive to buyers, who will appreciate the new roof’s added protection and value.
What Are the Top Roof Colors?
In the past, roof colors were mostly limited to neutral shades like black, brown, gray, and tan. While these colors are still popular, modern asphalt shingles now come in a wider range of hues and blends. Instead of just one type of gray, you can now find various shades like green-gray, blue-gray, taupe-gray, and purple-gray.
Homeowners today seek to express their unique style, leading to a demand for distinctive color combinations. Many contemporary asphalt shingles offer multi-dimensional colors, such as Owens Corning’s Summer Harvest, Aged Copper, or Black Sable. These varied color options allow for more flexibility in matching or updating your home’s exterior design.
Traditional Roof Shingle Colors
Gray, black, and brown remain popular roof colors due to their classic look and adaptability to various home designs and materials. Roof shingle colors generally fall into a few main categories and can differ in lightness, darkness, and contrast.
Timeless Roof Shingle Colors
Black and Gray Roof Shingles
Black roofing shingles are ideal for pairing with light gray or white siding, offering a classic and timeless appearance. The strong contrast between the roof and siding allows for creative choices in front door colors, like a striking red.
For a dark roof that’s not quite black or brown, consider modern black shingle blends such as Owens Corning Duration® Designer’s Black Sable, which features a mix of black, beige, and blue-gray tones.
Gray has been a popular choice for various home design elements, from walls to siding to shingles, due to its versatility as a neutral color. Gray roofing shingles paired with gray or white siding create a classic, timeless look reminiscent of summer cottages and beach houses.
Gray is also a common choice for traditional brick homes. When selecting gray shingles, decide between warm grays with beige or yellow undertones and cool grays with blue or green undertones. To avoid a mismatched appearance, it’s essential to match warm gray shingles with warm gray siding, and cool gray shingles with cool gray siding for a cohesive and harmonious look.
Brown Roofing Shingles
Typically, brown roofing shingles are characterized by warm hues such as red, orange, and yellow, though they might occasionally include some cool color flecks. These shingles range from deep chocolate shades suited for Tudor architecture to light desert tan options perfect for a Craftsman-style bungalow. The rich, layered colors of brown shingles offer flexibility in coordinating with various exterior siding or brick choices.
White Roofing Shingles
White roofing shingles often appear as lighter shades of gray or silver, offering a fresh, neutral aesthetic. When used on a white home, they provide a blank canvas for adding contrasting features like colorful shutters and doors. They also create a pleasing contrast against greenery from trees and bushes. These shingles are particularly popular in the sunbelt regions of the U.S.
Vibrant Shingle Colors
Purple Roofing Shingles
Purple roofing shingles are emerging in a striking purple-grey palette. The 2023 Shingle Color of the Year offers a captivating mix of violet and silver tones, making it a unique yet adaptable option. This new hue complements various home exteriors and architectural styles, from modern farmhouses to traditional red brick homes and California-style bungalows.
Red Roofing Shingles
Red roofing shingles offer a surprising array of color combinations. Warm and inviting, red complements various siding and brick colors, such as white, tan, blue, and even olive green. Log and plank cabins also look great with a red-shingled roof.
Blue Roofing Shingles
Blue roofing shingles often feature a mix of shades, including grays and greens. Unlike the flat, highly saturated blues of the past, modern blue shingles are gaining popularity as a near-neutral option. When paired with red brick or white siding, they provide a crisp, fresh look. The varied granule blends add visual interest and excitement to the roofline.
Green Roofing Shingles
Green shingles can range from warm to cool tones, depending on the mix of yellow and blue granules. Imagine a green roof on a house with yellow siding and white trim versus green shingles on a home with brownish-red brick. Both combinations can look great, depending on your style. When considering green shingles, take into account your home’s surroundings, including the vegetation.