Best Exterior Paint Colors

Exterior paint looks two to three shades lighter and less saturated in direct sun than the same chip does indoors, which is why a color that felt bold on a fan deck often reads as merely confident on a house. These six hold their depth and undertone outdoors, from near-black trim colors down to the warm greiges that work as a full body color.

Naval Sherwin-Williams · SW 6244 LRV 4

The most popular dark exterior color of the last few years, deep enough to read as near-black from the street but still visibly navy up close in full sun.

Iron Ore Sherwin-Williams · SW 7069 LRV 6

A near-black charcoal with a soft blue-green cast, common on a front door or shutters against a lighter body color.

Tricorn Black Sherwin-Williams · SW 6258 LRV 3

The truest black here with almost no undertone shift outdoors, worth picking over Iron Ore or Naval when you want zero color drift in different light.

Urbane Bronze Sherwin-Williams · SW 7048 LRV 8

A warm bronze-brown popular as a full body color on modern exteriors, reads warmer and less severe than a true black at a distance.

Repose Gray Sherwin-Williams · SW 7015 LRV 58

A warm greige light enough to work as a full exterior body color, holds its warmth without going pink or too cool in shifting daylight.

Accessible Beige Sherwin-Williams · SW 7036 LRV 58

A truer warm greige than Repose Gray with no pink flash, a safe body color choice next to brick, stone, or a warm-toned roof.