Colonial house color schemes: six Sherwin-Williams combinations

The Colonial house color schemes that last keep it simple: a body color, one trim color, deeper shutters and a front door that carries the accent. Six dependable combinations, all in Sherwin-Williams colors, are classic white, navy, sage, soft gray, gold and red brick, each chosen to show off a Colonial’s symmetry and trim.

We paint with Sherwin-Williams, so every color here carries its Sherwin-Williams name and number. Start with the house itself, though: a Colonial’s details decide where each color goes.

What makes a Colonial look like a Colonial?

From early Colonial Revival houses to post-war builds, Colonials share a short list of features. A good color scheme is really a plan for them.

• Symmetry. A centered front door with windows evenly spaced on either side, often five across the second floor. Because everything repeats, every color repeats too, so one odd shutter or mismatched white shows from the street.
• Cornice and dentils. The cornice is the band of trim where the wall meets the roof; on many Colonials, a row of small, tooth-like blocks called dentils runs beneath it. Paint them the trim color and let their shadows do the work. Picking dentils out in a second color is a Victorian habit, not a Colonial one.
• The door surround. Flat columns called pilasters, a pediment or flat crown above, and sometimes a fanlight or narrow sidelights. The surround usually takes the trim color; the door itself takes the accent.
• Muntins. The thin bars that divide window glass into panes, not to be confused with mullions, the heavier posts between paired windows. Crisp muntins give a Colonial its grid, so they’re usually painted the trim color, or on some older houses a deep color like Tricorn Black SW 6258.

Corner boards, window casings and the frieze below the cornice complete the frame. On a Colonial, all of it is usually one trim color.

Older Colonial Revival or post-war Colonial: does it change the colors?

It does, because the two have different amounts of detail to show. Grosse Pointe and the rest of Metro Detroit have plenty of both.

Older Colonial Revival houses, built in the early decades of the 20th century, tend to be generous with detail: deep cornices with dentils or brackets, door surrounds with pilasters and pediments, fanlights and sidelights, and original wood windows with divided panes. That detail rewards a trim color that clearly contrasts with the body. With so much white trim to frame it, these houses can also carry a stronger body color like navy or gold. Careful brushwork on all that trim is a large part of any exterior painting project on an older Colonial.

Post-war Colonials, built after World War II, are usually plainer: shallower trim, a simpler door surround, often aluminum siding or a brick first floor, and in many cases replacement windows with grilles instead of true muntins. With less trim to work with, the shutters and door do more of the talking, and simple, high-contrast schemes tend to read well. Aluminum siding can be painted with the right prep; see our guide to painting aluminum siding. Factory-white vinyl windows are usually left as they are, so choose a trim white that sits comfortably next to them.

Which color schemes suit a Colonial?

These six combinations cover the classic range. Each one mirrors a preset in our Color Studio, where you can try it on an illustrated Colonial and swap any color you’re unsure of.

1. Classic white

This is the look most people picture when they hear “Colonial.” Alabaster SW 7008, Sherwin-Williams’ 2016 Color of the Year, is a warm, creamy off-white, and Pure White SW 7005 on the trim is a step cleaner, so the cornice and casings read without a harsh line. Tricorn Black SW 6258 shutters, a true neutral black, give the windows the strongest possible frame, and a Rookwood Red SW 2802 door, a deep historic oxblood, adds the one note of color.

The whites let the house’s own shadows carry the design. The tradeoff is upkeep: light bodies show dirt and mildew sooner on shady walls.

2. Navy

Naval SW 6244, a deep navy and the 2020 Color of the Year, makes the trim the star: every casing, corner board and dentil reads crisp white against it. Tricorn Black shutters don’t so much contrast with navy as deepen it, adding weight around the windows. A Restrained Gold SW 6129 door, a muted, earthy gold, is the warm counterpoint.

This scheme suits an older Colonial with plenty of trim to outline. Our guide to navy exterior paint colors covers fading, heat and testing.

3. Sage

Evergreen Fog SW 9130, the 2022 Color of the Year, is a gray-green sage. Pewter Green SW 6208 shutters, a deep, moody green-gray, take the same idea several shades deeper, so body and shutters read as one family. Creamy SW 7012, a true cream with visible yellow warmth, softens the trim line and feels more period than a stark white. A Naval door is the quiet surprise: deep and cool, it stands out without shouting.

4. Soft gray

Repose Gray SW 7015 is a light gray that can lean slightly blue or violet in cool light, so test it on a north-facing or shaded wall before you commit. With Pure White trim it looks clean and a little more current than a white body. Iron Ore SW 7069, a soft black, frames the windows without the hardness of true black, which suits a soft body, and a Rookwood Dark Green SW 2816 door brings in a historic color.

5. Gold

Gold and yellow bodies with white trim and deep green shutters have a long history on American Colonial houses. Restrained Gold SW 6129 is a muted, earthy ochre, so it reads warm rather than bright, and Pure White trim keeps it crisp. Painting both shutters and door in Rookwood Dark Green SW 2816, from Sherwin-Williams’ historic Rookwood colors, ties the scheme together. It’s cheerful and still dignified.

6. Brick Colonial or Georgian

On a brick Colonial or a formal Georgian, the brick is the body, and it stays unpainted, leaving the cornice, door surround, window trim, shutters and door. Alabaster SW 7008, a warm, creamy off-white, tends to sit more comfortably against red brick than a stark white does. Tricorn Black shutters and a matching black door give the house its formal, Georgian bearing. If you’re weighing whether to paint the brick itself, see our guide to whether you should paint brick.

Where does each color go on a Colonial?

• Body: the clapboard or siding.
• Trim: cornice, dentils, frieze, corner boards, window casings and sills, the door surround and any portico columns, all in one color.
• Window sashes: usually the trim color, sometimes a deep color on older houses.
• Shutters: the deeper accent, sized so the pair could cover the window if closed. Our shutter color guide explains the rule and when to skip shutters.
• Front door: the accent, often in a glossier sheen than the walls.

How should you test a Colonial color scheme?

Screens and paint chips mislead, and a color that looks right on a small chip can look very different across a whole facade. Use the studio to narrow your choices, then test real Sherwin-Williams samples on your own house:

• Paint large sample boards, two coats each, for the body and the trim, and hold them together.
• Check them on the front and on a side wall, in morning and late-day light, on sunny and overcast days.
• Look from the street. Colors usually read lighter outdoors than on a chip, and the street is where a Colonial’s symmetry is seen.
• Hold samples against the roof and any brick or stone, since those aren’t changing.

Choose the scheme that still looks right in the dullest light. A Colonial rewards restraint: four well-chosen colors, each in its proper place.

Questions

Try these colors on a houseSketch body, trim, shutter and door colors in real Sherwin-Williams colors.→