Every man’s home is his castle; something he has worked for. As another might say (or has said): “A man is not a man until he owns some land”. With the world’s economy struggling through a recession and home foreclosures at an all-time high, it may be debatable whether or not most homes are actually the property of the state and not of the individual. Nevertheless, a home, any home, is an object to be taken care of, an object to be proud of, and appearances speak volumes toward this regard.
Often a simple coat of paint can give a simple house a sense of home – because as you well know, a home is much more than a property, four walls and a roof. In many instances though, vinyl siding is preferred to simple paint, mainly because it suites the style and location of the house.
Choosing the Right Vinyl Siding Color
Firstly, choosing the right vinyl siding color is not a science, although there may be a few enthusiasts who would disagree. Most people considering this would tend to believe that, as with most things, choosing the right color is the woman’s job, or at least one best suited to women, whereas the purchasing and installation of the siding falls to the man. Of course as with most things in or to do with the house, a joint front is needed to decide the best recourse. It seems like quite a simple decision but consider the fact that you’ll be spending your following few years in the house, until wear and tear or aesthetic desire dictates a change. Vinyl siding color samples should be browsed over with several things in mind: the style of the house, the location of it and finally – when the former two aspects have ruled out some colors – your personal preferences. From the get go one must note that there are four main color palettes:
- Red tones
- Blue tones
- Warm earth tones
- Cool earth tones
Note, the red tones are just “tones” – you won’t be dressing up your house in blood or cherry reds, in reality the available tones are simply variations of purples and pinks. Warm earth tones comprise your browns and yellow. Cool earth tones then are made up very light greens and greys. Of course white is always an option, a sensible, neutral and popular option at that.
Some vinyl siding manufacturers are known to provide vinyl siding colors mimicking actual materials like cement and some wood color variations, so an option such as maple may be quite tempting. There are also a number of unique textures and appearances you could go for like Everest, Sunset red, linen, sandstone or harbour grey to suit you, but always request a real life sample to judge your choice and colors and materials can often look very different in your hands as they do on a computer screen.
How To Know Which Vinyl Siding Color Is Better
There is a simple checklist you can run to rule out certain vinyl siding colors that are not suitable. Of course the initial cancelling can be done with simple taste – what you don’t like. Once those are ruled out there are several other factors that automatically dictate what colors not to choose.
- The color should go with the style and architecture of the home – modern styled houses can afford to have more bold colors, broadening the spectrum to include darker tones.
- Take note of the surrounds – if your neighbourhood has a specific range of vinyl siding colors then often it’s best to select a tone within that range that compliments or matches the surrounding houses.
- Select a vinyl siding manufacturer that provides the vinyl siding color and style you seek. Typically the neutrals are available everywhere but many new tones and styles are manufacturer specific. Be sure then to do some research into the manufacturer catalogs to find what you’re looking for.
- Vinyl siding cost; they can often dictate what sort of vinyl siding color range you’ll be dealing in. Premium brands/manufacturers with wider tone spectrum are more expensive. Of course the more neutral tones, and hence more commonly seen ones, are the more cost effective.
What Makes A Good Vinyl Siding Color
Sears did a survey to find out what made the best vinyl siding color. By popularity of course, the most popular color is white followed by grey, blue and light brown. One of the biggest aspects of choosing the right color, is understanding what time does to it. Effectively you have to look at what the color will look like on your house in a year’s time. Nature always has a say; from the air it’s exposed to – temperature and moisture levels, whether you’re near a forest or along the coast – and the amount of sunlight it gets. Time will inevitably affect some kind of color-change, a vital aspect to take into consideration.
Ultimately though, the main dictating factor when selecting the best tone for your vinyl siding surrounds the topic of resale value, and what the return on your investment will be (ROI). Any realtor will tell you that first impressions are vital and the wrong vinyl siding color could put off potential buyers almost immediately, effectively dimming whatever follows.
The siding and the color tone are of course big investments, though not everyone is looking with simply resale value in mind. Some are merely looking for their own aesthetic satisfaction – these are also people who might be interested in installing it themselves; this often means that for them, color is even more important.
What’s In A Name
A name is actually quite important – ask any fashion aficionado – so although most houses don’t have one, you could claim that their color could be the equivalent of one; it is after all usually the first thing you notice. Thus, picking the right vinyl siding color will go a long way in creating that desired first impression, something just about everybody wants, because your home is a reflection of you.
Standard Vinyl Siding Colors:
