A roof can make a big difference in a home’s curb appeal. Roofs can account for as much as 25 to 40% of your home’s visible exterior. This makes picking the right color and shingles for your home very important.

Pick Your Style

We all have our own style. Some people like bold bright colors that make your stop and stare. Others like the blend right in.  Your home should reflect your style inside and out.

Tools like Pinterest are very helpful in determining your style. Create a board and start pinning what you like. Then go back to look at your board as a whole. Chances are you will notice a trend. You may have pin 50 houses but 45 of them have gray siding and a black roof. It’s a good way to figure out what you like and to give you ideas that you never would have thought of. Or maybe get inspired to switch it up and go for coastal vibes in your mainstream midwestern subdivision. You do you! (Check out our boards while you’re there)

Plan Your Features Ahead of Time

The best way to make your home your own is to plan out your home before installing anything. No one wants to have to tailor their design around last year’s mistake to go with burnt orange siding. Completely switching up the exterior of your home can be extensive. Consider transforming your home in phases. Like shingles, then roofing, then the front door.

Compliment Your Shutters

Shutter colors can change based on your preferences, but once you’ve settled on a color you like it’s possible to find roofing that compliments it. If the shutters sharply contrast with the siding, picking a roof color that closely matches the shutters can tie the whole house together. If you go for a variegated roof, make sure one of the colors matches the shutters. This is often a good look for homes with bold-colored shutters.

Consider Your Home’s Architectural Style

The same shingle colors may look different on different styles of homes. Houses with natural wood siding in the woods may not be able to rock a light gray shingle but a breezy beach house might. Try out some shingle colors on the home below or use Owen Corning’s DesignEyeQ to upload a photo of your home to truly test it out.

Coordinate with the Brick

Brick homes are known for durability. It can take centuries for some brick buildings to fall. This is great for the purposes of sheltering a family, but it also means the color of your home is rather permanent. Painted items such as shutters, doors, and even siding can always be changed, so owners of brick homes should first consider the color of the brick when picking roofing. The red tones of most brick homes go well with darker browns, blacks, and grays. If your bricks are multi-colored, stay with a more continuous roofing color to avoid a chaotic look.

Check with your Homeowners Association

Some homeowners’ associations and subdivisions have rules on color schemes or may have a list of materials your must use. Don’t get in trouble or hit with a fine by your neighborhood.

Consider your Climate

The color of your shingles can affect the temperature of your attic by 20 to 40 degrees. Surprisingly, this can make a big difference in the heating or cooling cost of your home. Light shingles deflect sunlight and help keep temperatures down in hotter climates. Darker shingles absorb heat and help homes stay warm in colder climates. Dark shingles also help snow and ice on your roof melt faster.