Choosing exterior house colours works best when you start with what you can’t change: your roof, brick or stone, windows and paving. Then pick a main body colour, a trim colour and one accent that sit comfortably with those fixed elements, the street around you and the style of the house. Test large samples on the walls before you decide, because colours always look different outside.
Here is a step-by-step approach that works for Melbourne homes, from brick veneers in Doncaster to Victorian terraces in Kew.
Where should you start when choosing exterior house colours?
Start with everything that will stay the same. Walk around the house and list the fixed elements:
- The roof. Colorbond, terracotta or concrete tiles, or slate
- Brick, stone or render that won’t be painted
- Windows and frames, especially aluminium frames in a set colour
- Paving, driveway and front fence
- Garage door if you aren’t replacing it
These elements have their own undertones, warm or cool, and your paint colours need to work with them, not fight them.
Colorbond roofs
A Colorbond roof is the biggest single colour on many Melbourne homes, so it is the natural starting point. Look at the roof in daylight and decide whether it reads warm or cool. Mid and dark greys like Monument or Woodland Grey pair well with cool whites, soft greys and charcoals. Warmer roof colours suit creams, warm whites and earthy tones.
If you are replacing the roof as well, the roof colour also affects heat. BlueScope lists a nominal solar absorptance of 0.44 for Shale Grey and 0.73 for Monument. A lower number means the roof absorbs less of the sun’s heat. BlueScope notes that solar absorptance is a thermal property, not a guide to how a colour looks.
Brick and stone
Face brick has a lot of colour in it: reds, browns, creams, even purples in some clinker bricks. Pick out one of the quieter colours in the brick or mortar for your trims, rather than introducing something unrelated.
If you’re thinking of painting face brick, keep in mind it is hard to reverse. On some heritage properties it may also need council approval (more on that below).
Tiled roofs
Terracotta and concrete tiles are usually warm. They sit well with warm whites, creams, stone colours and deep greens, and less well with icy cool whites.
How many colours does a house need?
Most homes look best with a small, disciplined palette. A useful way to think about it is by role:
| Role | Where it goes | Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Body | Main walls: weatherboard, render or cladding | The colour that sets the mood. Usually the quietest of the three |
| Trim | Fascias, barge boards, window frames, eaves, verandah posts | Lighter or darker than the body. Work with the gutters and window frames |
| Accent | Front door, feature panel, letterbox | One strong colour, used sparingly |
| Fixed | Roof, brick, stone, paving | Not painted, but they set the undertone for everything else |
Period homes are the exception. Victorian and Edwardian houses often carry four or five colours to pick out mouldings, fretwork and verandah details, and that is part of their character.
Look at your street and neighbourhood
Your house is part of a streetscape. Before you settle on colours, walk your street and the surrounding blocks:
- Which houses look good, and what do they have in common?
- Are most homes light or dark? Warm or cool?
- What era are the homes, and does your house share that era?
You don’t need to copy your neighbours, but a scheme that suits the street usually looks more confident than one that ignores it. Very strong contrasts or dark colours can look striking on a modern build and out of place on a row of 1920s bungalows.
Also check any owners corporation rules if you live in a townhouse or unit complex. Many have rules about exterior colours.
How do Melbourne light and heat affect exterior colours?
Colours look lighter outside
Strong daylight washes colours out, so an exterior colour usually looks lighter and brighter on the house than on a small chip. Many people end up choosing a shade or two deeper than their first pick. North-facing walls get the most sun and look lightest, while south-facing walls look darker and cooler.
Darker colours absorb more heat
Paint makers publish a light reflectance value (LRV) and, for many colours, a solar absorptance (SA) value. Dulux, for example, lists Grey Reflection at LRV 73 and SA 0.35, and its Colorbond Woodland Grey match at LRV 12 and SA 0.905. A higher SA means the surface absorbs more of the sun’s heat.
That matters for Melbourne homes on north and west-facing walls in summer. Dark colours on timber, such as weatherboards and doors, can run hot in full sun. Our guide to painting weatherboard houses covers product choice for timber, and painting rendered walls covers masonry.
Grey skies and green gardens
Melbourne has plenty of overcast days. Some greys that look sharp in bright sun can look flat under cloud, and very cool whites can look stark. Look at your samples on both sunny and overcast days, and note how your garden, trees and neighbouring walls reflect colour onto the house.
Heritage colour palettes for period homes
Victorian, Edwardian, Federation and Californian bungalow homes each have colour traditions that suit their architecture. A period-appropriate palette usually looks more natural on these homes than a contemporary scheme. Our guide to painting heritage homes in Melbourne covers each style in detail.
Some general principles:
- Use contrast to show off detail. Period homes often use tonal contrast to highlight mouldings, brackets and verandah fretwork.
- Match the era, not the trend. Choose colours that would have been available when the house was built.
- Check what is under the paint. Older layers can reveal the original scheme. On homes built before 1970, they may also contain lead, so read our guide to lead paint in older homes before any scraping.
Check the planning controls
If your home is in a Heritage Overlay, check the rules before you paint. Glen Eira City Council’s Heritage Overlay guidance is a good example: a permit is required to externally paint an unpainted surface, and external paint controls apply to some properties as listed in the overlay schedule. Your own council’s planning department can confirm what applies to your address.
How to test exterior colours before you commit
Never choose an exterior colour from a chip alone. Instead:
- Narrow down to two or three options per role
- Buy sample pots and paint large swatches, or paint sample boards you can move around
- Place them on different walls, including a sunny and a shaded side
- Look at them in the morning, at midday and in late afternoon, and on a cloudy day
- Stand at the street, not just next to the wall
Our guide on how to test paint colours explains the method step by step.
Getting help with your colour scheme
If you are torn between options, a colour consultation can save a lot of second-guessing. It’s a step in AMP Master Painters’ process, before the exterior painting begins, and we use premium Dulux, Taubmans and Wattyl paints. When you’re ready to plan timing, see the best time of year to paint your exterior in Melbourne.
The bottom line
The best exterior house colours start with your roof, brick and windows, suit your street and the era of your home, and are tested on the house itself. Keep the palette small, check heat and heritage rules where they apply, and live with your samples for a few days before you decide.
