by Jamie Schultz
11/4/2016
As you begin designing a new home or starting a renovation on your current place—envisioning the end result can be tough. Whether you’re choosing a bold accent color for the living room, quirky wallpaper in your half bath, or new exterior home siding and trim, color adds substantial personality. Although making color decisions for your siding and trim feels overwhelming now, it’s all going to pay off in the end.
So, how do you choose the right colors to differentiate your house? Thanks to James Hardie’s brand new color tool, you can get a bit of assistance along the way. The tool helps you discovery curated color combinations and allows you to catch a glimpse of your potential façade before making a decision. You can see your home clad in fade-resistant ColorPlus® Technology hues such as soothing Boothbay Blue, rich Countrylane Red, or stylish Navajo Beige lap siding, vertical siding or shingles (or a combination of hundreds of color and style combinations) before you commit to one that will likely clad your home for years.
It’s astounding and inspiring how much a splash of color or a new style of siding can truly transform the look of your exterior. So play around, see what sticks. You can preview curated palettes to help you make a decision and even change the color of the roof, windows and door to add accents. Before zeroing in on your fresh look, save your favorite palette picks to share with design-savvy friends and your contractor or builder to get their input.
Designing your new exterior look just became way more fun. Ready to envision the possibilities? We’re excited to see which combinations are your favorite. Here’s how the simple tool works.
Enter your zip code.
The tool is region specific, considering the colors, styles and even the weather in your area. It’s true, James Hardie® siding and trim are Engineered for Climate®, with performance attributes that take your locale’s climate into account. So this first step narrows down the highest performance options for your house’s home.
Choose a main siding hue.
This will be the most prominent color in your color palette, so be sure it’s a hue that speaks to you and your home’s style, whether it’s an expressive Evening Blue, a more modern Iron Gray or a subtle Sail Cloth.
Identify your home’s architectural style.
Be it a Colonial, Craftsman, Farmhouse or Ranch, the tool offers a long list of home architectural styles (with more on the way), so you can find one that looks strikingly similar to your current or future abode. Once you select your style, see the main siding color you selected on a home with HardiePlank® lap siding, HardieShingle® siding, or HardiePanel® vertical siding, or a mix of the options.
Highlight with trim and/or accent colors.
Choose trim and/or accent colors that complement your main siding hue selection, with names like Spruced Up (that’s a combination of Mountain Sage as a main color paired with Cobble Stone trim) and First Snow (an Arctic White main color teamed up with Woodstock Brown trim color); it’s actually fun to sift through the curated color combinations to find the one that speaks to your vision. Or if you have your own color combination in mind, get creative and customize your own palette by using the custom palette tab.
Add pops of character.
Once you’ve selected your main siding, accent and trim hues, you can also select your roof, window and door color from a wide array of color options. These final details can make a big statement, adding standout character and complementing the palette you’ve selected. Speaking of standout, we encourage getting playful with door color; you may be inspired to add an unexpected pop that feels picture-perfect on your soon-to-be-sided home.
Save, share and take polls.
After you’ve created the look (or looks) you love, you can save them in My Idea Center—it’s your very own collection of inspiring home exteriors, colors and siding styles (think a Pinterest page just for your home siding and trim preferences). Once saved in the Center, it’s simple to share your freshly designed exteriors on social media and get your friends’ opinions.
Keep your shopping lists organized.
To keep your list of selections orderly, there’s a home palette summary laid out for you, with a comprehensive list of all of the colors you’ve selected from your main siding hue to the color or your door. You can tote your list on your smartphone, and check out your saved palettes on there too, making shopping even easier for your builder or your contractor.
Play around with color palettes, style selections and hints of character with the new James Hardie color tool. It’s only the beginning of your project, but now you can see the end result. Go ahead, boost creativity, confidence and curb appeal with your new favorite color tool.
