Exterior Paint

Your home’s exterior isn’t just an aesthetic display of style, it is also a protective force that guards against damage and affects the monetary value of the property. So, maintaining a home's exterior with a fresh coat of outdoor paint every few years is a good idea. A general rule of thumb is that exterior paint should be updated every five to ten years based on what kind of material your house is made of. Wood surfaces last three to seven years before needing to be repainted while the average for aluminum siding and stucco is closer to five to six years. However, no matter how long it’s been since your last paint job, you should always repaint under the following conditions:

• If There is Visible Damage: If painted exterior features are showing damage in the form of wear and tear, cracking, peeling, or bubbling it’s time to repaint; don’t wait until damage spreads. Caulking can also be a great indicator that your exterior paint needs to be refreshed, if the caulk is cracking or peeling it is an indication that repainting is needed.

• If There is Color Fade: If what once was rich is now dull and faded, it might be time to repaint. Poor quality paint or inferior applications may cause premature aging as will UV and damage from other natural elements. Faded color can also be an indicator that other aspects of the paint, such as the protective features that keep moisture out, might also be compromised thus placing your home in jeopardy. Trust the vibrancy of exterior house colors to tell you when it’s time to repaint.

• If You Are Considering Selling: A fresh coat of exterior paint can help you when selling your home in two ways. First, it appeals to sellers by giving your home a polished and smart aesthetic that reads well for curb appeal. Second, it can help increase the value that an appraiser places on your house helping to get you a higher final selling point.

Benefits of Exterior House Paint

A new coat of outdoor paint doesn’t just refresh or change the color of your home’s exterior. The benefits of a new coat of exterior paint have practical and aesthetic applications that result in a home that is better protected from natural elements; aesthetically appealing for residents, visitors, and potential buyers; and has an increased monetary value.

1. Protection from the Elements: The exterior of your home battles natural elements every day, whether that’s glaring sunlight at the peak of summer or bone-chilling snowstorms in winter. Even insects pose a threat to your home if they are able to eat or burrow into your house’s exterior walls, which is why maintaining your exterior house paint is important. Exterior paint is your home’s last layer of protection against those damaging elements helping to keep the outside out and the inside comfortable.

2. The Importance of Comfort: Home, it is our refuge from an often chaotic or crazy world. A place we can go to feel protected, relaxed, and loved. But what if you hate how your home looks? What if walking into your front door doesn’t bring you joy but a sense of impending ugliness? It’s not a warm and welcoming feeling to come home to an unsightly house, but it is something you can change. New exterior house colors or a fresh coat of exterior paint that transforms your home into a thing of beauty in your eyes is worth the investment to make your house truly your home, and a place you enjoy spending time.

3. Increase Overall Value of a Home: If you are thinking of selling or simply want to increase the value of your house, few renovations offer the return on investment that painting does. For a relatively low cost, a fresh coat of exterior house paint can improve the curb appeal of your home and increase an appraiser’s assessment of its value, both attractive qualities especially if selling your home is on your mind.

4. Extend the Longevity of Siding & Trim: Exterior paint is a powerful tool of protection, helping to ward off insects and defend against harsh natural elements like sunlight, wind, and precipitation. By doing so it extends the life of your siding and trim ensuring the exterior features reach the full extent of their lifetime usefulness, and homeowners get the full extent of their money’s worth before siding and trim has to be replaced.

Choosing the Best Exterior House Color

Once you have decided to repaint the outside of your home, the next big question is what exterior house color is right for you? Or rather, what exterior house colors are right for you as most exterior house color schemes are based on a 3-color system consisting of the primary shade and two accent hues. In addition to speaking with a painting expert, the best thing you can do when choosing exterior house colors for your home is to keep in mind the following three tips.

1. Let Your Home Provide Inspiration: When selecting the best exterior house colors draw inspiration from your home. Take note of existing architectural elements, the overall style of your home, and the landscaping around your home when selecting an exterior house color as all of those elements interact with and affect the way different colors work on your home’s exterior. Existing elements to be aware of include brick, stone, exposed foundation or woodwork, patios, railings, awnings, roof, and shutters. There is also an opportunity with existing elements to discover an existing color palette to pull from that will then naturally harmonize with the elements in place. The overall style of your home can also provide clues about the best color palette to use as certain color choices naturally align with some styles just as some will naturally clash. For example, colors that work for a traditional colonial home would differ from those used on a Cape Cod-style cottage or a ranch-style abode. The last part of your home that you can draw inspiration from for your exterior house color is your landscaping.

2. Notice What You Like: If you’re getting ready to repaint your home, then it is time to hone your designer eye and start taking some notes. Walk around your neighborhood, look at houses you drive by on the way home, and ask yourself, what do I like? Are you drawn to dark exterior house colors with light trim or light exterior house colors with dark trim? Do you like colorful front doors or does natural wood draw your eye? Establishing your preferred aesthetic is helpful especially if it gives you a tonal range to start with (i.e.: will your primary base color be light or dark). So even if getting your home’s exterior painted is only on the horizon for you, it is never too early to start taking notes on what you like so that when the time comes to update the exterior paint on your home, you’re ready.

3. Test Before Committing: Always test. Always. Once you’ve got a shade you think you like, or two or three, paint a tester patch so you can observe how the paint looks in real life on the exterior of your home. Look at the paint in the morning then again at night, observe its hue in direct sunlight and in the shade; the appearance of color can be changed by natural light. In fact, intense, direct sunlight can bring out the blue undertones in a color making it read one or two shades cooler than a paint sample might look in indirect light. That is why it is always so important to test your choices for exterior house colors first before painting the entire exterior of your home because a color mistake of that magnitude is hard to miss.

Top Outdoor Paint Brands

Paint your home inside and out with high-end paint from Potomac Paint and Design Centers. Choose from top brands in interior and exterior paints as well as primers, varnishes, putty, wood finishes, stains, furniture paints, metallic paints, and lacquers from Potomac Paint and Design Centers’ extensive inventory.

Benjamin Moore

• Aura, Aura Bath & Spa,

• Natura, Regal Select, Ben,

• Advance, Waterbourne Ceiling Paint,

• Arborcoat Stain,

• Ultra Spec 500, & Fresh Start Primers

C2 Paint

• Luxe

• Studio

• Cabinet & Trim

• C2 Guard

• Revolutionary Ultimate Paint Chips- 17" x 24"

Farrow & Ball

• Estate Emulsion

• Modern Emulsion

• Estate Eggshell

• Wall & Ceiling Primer

• Interior Wood Primer

Fine Paints of Europe

• Eurolux

• Hollandlac

• Eco Waterbourne

• Marine Yacht Varnish

• Swedish and Brushing Putty

Exterior Paint Suppliers in Northeast Virginia

Visit any of the three locations for Potomac Paint and Design Centers in Alexandria, Falls Church, or Arlington, VA, to speak with a knowledgeable team member about repainting your home’s exterior. With a wide selection of exterior paint and experts on painting techniques and style ready to help, Potomac Paint and Design Center is a worthwhile stop when it is time to repaint your home with a fresh coat of exterior house paint. Potomac Paint and Design Centers serve residents in Fairfax, Alexandria, Falls Church, and Arlington in northeastern Virginia. Request a consultation online or stop by any showroom location today.