How to Choose the Right Multi-Family Exterior Paint Color

cobalt blue painting
The colors of a building are its most visible and possibly most important visual element. Colors are all-encompassing; they serve as the backdrop for other elements of the building’s style and design. Colors can dampen or accentuate the features of a building. Colors can do this because they communicate feelings in ways that words cannot. Painted in one set of colors, a building can look drab and uninviting. But if those colors are changed, the same building can become dramatically attractive.

This is why the exterior colors of your multifamily home can work for or against your business objectives. As Limestone Country Properties explains, to attract the types of residents you want in the building, the colors you choose for it must align with the image you want to project.

Your chosen colors must:

  • Reflect the preferences of your target demographic and make them more likely to want to live in the home.
  • The colors must improve the overall ambiance of the property and increase its curb appeal.
  • The colors must give your building the ability to compete with other properties and even outclass them.

How can you choose exterior colors that will do all of these for your multifamily building?

multifamily housing

The Rules For Choosing Exterior Colors For A Multi-Family Dwelling

Choose Contrasting Colors

If you ignore this rule, the exterior of the home will look plain or brash. If you use neutral colors that combine well together, the exterior will be unremarkable like the outside of an institutional building.

However, if you use a combination of bright colors, the home will look gaudy. For the best outcome, use one beautiful main color and two contrasting accent and trim colors.

  • Go Bold with Doors

The front door makes a statement about what visitors should expect inside the building. Front door colors must be pretty and bold; this is the best way to draw attention to this most vital area of the home. Its colors should make people want to explore the rest of the home.

  • Know What Your Target Market Values

Millennials typically want colors that are bright and adventurous. Affluent tenants want a color palette that is modest and sophisticated. Retirees are more familiar with color schemes from a past era. The target demographic partially defines what you can or cannot do.

  • Pay Attention to Architecture

Even with the right color palette, a building’s architecture can interfere with your color scheme. Aspects of the architecture which may influence your choice of paint color are roof color, types of materials on the walls, and the presence of large segments of bare wall space. Using distinct colors to differentiate architectural elements or individual buildings in the complex is one way to approach this problem.

  • Don’t Disregard the Trends

Every decade or half decade comes with its own trending colors. The eventual residents of your building follow these trends and this will influence their expectations of how their home should be painted. When adopting trends, though, it is always a good idea to adapt them to the needs of your own building.

  • Do Think of Your Neighbors

Your neighborhood has a dominant design that guides the choice of colors in the community. Your goal should be to deviate from it without becoming so different that your building does not fit into the neighborhood. If the home does not match the neighborhood pattern, it might make it unattractive to renters.

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  • Never Forget Geography
The region a home is located in has a subtle influence on the colors it will be painted in. In the Northeast, the dominant themes are deep reds or ocean-based hues; in the Southeast, ocean blues and warm colors dominate; in the Midwest, the dominant themes are earthy tones. These dominant trends reflect the environment of those regions. They are worth noting.
  • Choose Fade-Resistant Paint
In all these discussions about choosing pretty colors, it is easy to forget one of the most important functions of wall paint. The paint is mainly to protect the walls of the home from the brunt of the elements. The paint should retain its color under the onslaught of wind, moisture, and heat.
  • Don’t Forget the Details
    • The smaller details of the building are very important. These details include the landscape surrounding the structure, the roof, chimneys, parking lots, stone or brick facades. These surfaces will not be painted but must be taken into account when choosing colors.
    • Do A Mockup Before You Commit
    Finally, do not commit to any color scheme until you have done a mockup. Do this for all the color schemes you have in mind. Do it at the same time by painting all the color schemes side-by-side on a large wall to see how they compare. This is the best way to get a realistic idea of the final results.