How To Pick the Right Color Shingles for Your New Roof?

Choosing the right shingle color for your roof will make a big difference in ensuring it coordinates well with other façade color choices. While the roof is not a focal point of most homes, you’d be surprised how much it can stand out if you choose a color that doesn’t coordinate with other aspects of your home.

If you want your roof to add value to your home, you’ll want to consider many facts and tips for improving how well it complements your home. Here’s a look at top considerations for the best roofing shingles based on look and functionality.

10 Considerations Picking the Right Color Shingles for Your New Roof

When completing a renovation, most homeowners are focused on their home’s resale value, which is understandable. As you look for ways to make your roof improvement work for you, here are 10 considerations to guide you in selecting the best roof color.

1. Roofs Make Up About 40 Percent of Your Home’s Exterior

There is nothing flashy about a roof. And yet, it is still about 40 percent of the exterior of your home, meaning it really matters. Homes with higher pitched roofs or more slope will reveal even more of the roof from the street level. As you work to select the best roofing shingle colors, consider your roof’s profile and how different colors might enhance the architecture of your home and highlight its unique features. If you have dormers or gables, you’ll want to draw the eye upward, which the roof can help with.

2. Color Has a Psychological Effect

You might feel like you can select any roof color and siding combination that looks pleasing to you. But color has psychological effects. When you look to sell your home, the colors could be a major factor. It’s a very important aspect of choosing the best shingles. Start with a high-quality shingle manufacturer and then work within the color options they provide.

3. Consider Your Climate and Geography

Washington is fairly temperate, which means the climate has less impact on roofing decisions. And because the area doesn’t experience intense sun, you don’t have to go with a super light shingle color. But when you live in areas with more sunlight, you’ll want lighter shingles. But you can also look to get shingles that fight algae growth without impacting their appearance. But you also want to consider your geography because you might want to go with earth tones that will blend right in with your home’s surroundings.

4. Evaluate Your Home’s Building Materials

Brick, stucco, wood, stone, or veneer homes all require different colored shingles to look their best. Likewise, vinyl siding or fiber cement siding could change the style and color of shingles you want. If you aren’t careful, your shingles could clash with your home’s exterior. If you have a red brick house, consider dark brown, grey, green or black shingles. These will all complement your home’s exterior the best.

Or if you have a grey house, such as one with stucco or stonework, consider green, blue, white, black or grey shingles.

5. Consider Popular Color Combinations

Maybe you want to keep it simple and just find the best shingle combinations based on the color siding you currently have. If so, here’s a look at some popular color combinations.

• Cream siding: brown, grey, green, black or blue
• Brown siding: grey, green, black, brown and sometimes blue depending on the shade of brown you have
• White: any color shingle would look great in this case. Consider what color roofs exist throughout your neighborhood and how your home’s architectural style will impact how things look. Some popular roof colors include blue, brown, black, green or white.
• Wood homes: brown, black, green or grey most often look best

6. Plan for the Long Term

You might have a timeline for replacing your roofing that doesn’t match that of your siding. But you want to modernize the exterior of your home entirely. In that case, you might match the future siding color that you’re looking to use. If so, make sure you review the shades that your preferred siding manufacturer makes. It’s a good idea to seek expertise from a contractor that specializes in both siding and roofing for the best results when long-term planning.

7. Review Your Neighborhood

While you want your home to be distinctive, you don’t want it to stand out like a sore thumb in your neighborhood. And you certainly don’t want to be out of compliance with homeowners association (HOA) guidelines. Do some research into what’s allowed in your neighborhood and take a walk to see what color roofs your neighbors have. This will help you match your surroundings to keep your home desirable.

You also might have rules and regulations about what type of shingles you can install. Make sure you know all about this before getting too far into the project.

8. Consider Your Home’s Architectural Style

You want your home’s roof to match the style of your home. Mismatching this will create a disconnect visually. Bland or boring roofs will stick out on architecturally interesting buildings. But you might also want traditional colors to match certain styles. For example, Victorian, colonial, plantation, or Queen Anne-style homes almost demand traditional roofing colors. 

Other homes do well with roofs that have callbacks to older roofing styles. So even if you aren’t doing a shake-style shingle, you might want to use a brown tone that mimics the color of shake shingles.

9. Mix Patterns Carefully

Homes with complex siding, such as multicolored bricks, demand a simpler roof. You might want to avoid multicolored blend shingles in that case. Likewise, homes with stone of varying sizes might benefit from a simpler shingle design for the roof. You don’t want to try to do too much with your home. Even if you have varying siding materials, such as vinyl mixed with stone, you might consider a simpler roof design and flat color. 

10. Ask for Samples to See the Color in Real Life

Swatches are great, but most people don’t paint an entire room to see if the color is the right one for a room. Instead, they get a test jar of the paint and put it on a few of the walls within the room to see how different times of day will impact how it looks in the room. 

Likewise, choosing a roofing color from a booklet can be risky. You want to see how the shingle will look once on your roof. You can use modelers online to do this, but you also want to get a shingle sample that you can hold to review. 

For expert help in choosing the best shingles for quality and protection for your home, schedule a free consultation with 2FL Windows, Siding and Roofing.

Roofing Color FAQs

Ready to learn more about selecting your roof color? Read up on these common questions and answers related to shingle selection.

Should the Roof Be Darker or Lighter Than the House?

Generally, you want your roofing shingle color to be darker than your house for the best aesthetic. There are exceptions to this though.

How Do I Pick a Roof Color?

You should choose a roof color that is a few shades darker than the color of your siding or trim for the best curb appeal. 

What Color Shingles Make a House Look Bigger?

Light-colored shingles make a house look bigger. These colors include white, grey or sage green.

Further Reading:

• How to Create a Shiplap Look with Dolly Varden Siding
• 9 Benefits of Energy Efficient Home Replacement Windows
• Important Performance Ratings to Look for in a Replacement Window