How to pick the best roof color for your brick house
If done right, picking the right roof color to match your home’s brickwork may not result in the first detail your friend’s comment on, but will contribute to an aesthetic that is uniform, elegant and effortless. Picking the wrong color, on the other hand, can inject unnecessary tension into your home’s color pallet and make for a look that’s very distracting. What’s more, once you pick a color for your roof there’s no turning back. Unless you have the money to install a completely new roof—and the willingness to deal with the stomping, pounding and clanging that comes with roof work—your stuck with that look for years to come.
All that being said, put consideration in the color you choose for your roof and the resulting color combo it will inspire. Accomplishing that requires some detailed info about the primary color of your brick as well as what other colors are also present. You also want to consider the overall aesthetic your trying to communicate. Is it simple, elegant, playful? All of these are questions to consider when choosing a roof color, and it might seem daunting. But it doesn’t have to be. This guide features a few ways to get started and put together a good plan to help you find the roof color you need.
Figure out your brick’s main color
There is a seemingly unending list of ways to describe the color of bricks. For instance you might have red brick, but what kind of red brick? Hundreds of different variations exist. You might have Admiral Full Range Velour, Canyon Smooth, Kingsport or a litany of others. But all the vernacular aside, it can be harder than you think to say definitively what the main color of your brick is. If you have a color that incorporates a mix of colors, consult the catalog you chose the brick from and see how that categorizes it.
General roof color guides
Once you’ve discerned your brick color it’s time to choose a roof color. There’s no hard and fast rule about what you’re allowed to do. It’s your home and ultimately you should pick a color that most represents you and your aesthetic.
However, there are a few tips you can use in making that decision.
Contrast and connections
The end goal of picking a roof color is to create contrast between the brick and roof. And while you want something that’s bold enough to be disconnected from the brickwork, you should consider the presence of its main color. If your brick is a pretty uniform color, maybe consider a textured approach that includes bits of your brick’s color.
Think about texture
If your brick is very textured or includes a variety of colors, go with a roof that is uniform in color and shows minimal texture variation. If you choose a loud brick pattern, pairing that with a loud roof is only going to turn your home’s look into an information overload. If you’re using architectural asphalt shingles make sure they’re uniform in color. A dark grey or near black is a great way to play down the roof to highlight your brick.
Don’t match your brick to your roof.
Much like picking out an outfit, you probably don’t want your pants to match your shirt. That is, unless you want to have the cowboy tuxedo of homes—it has it’s place but maybe you’re not ready for that kind of statement.
Think top down with your decision
It may seem intuitive, but your roof should be darker than your brick. How dark depends how dark your brick is. A dark brown stone could have an almost black roof. On the other hand, a cream or tan brick could match well with a lighter brown.