Brown Roof House Colors: Four Exterior Schemes That Work
A brown roof goes well with soft sage, deep green, mid gray and deep earth brown on the walls. Each scheme below is a full exterior with wall, trim, front door and shutter colors, and each color was measured from a public-domain painting.
Quick answer
Use sage, deep green, gray or deep brown on the walls, a very light trim (LRV 71 to 76) on trim, fascia and garage door, and a terracotta, moss green or dark brown front door and shutters.
Every wall, trim and door color here was measured from one of these public-domain paintings.
4 complete exterior color schemes
Walls, trim, front door and roof together. Each scheme takes its colors from public-domain paintings, so the pairings are ones a painter already put side by side.
Sage Colonial
Walls #A4B9A8
Trim #DEE1DF
Front door & shutters #A3654E
Roof: brown
Soft sage walls, neutral white trim and a burnt clay red door and shutters suit a two-story colonial. The light walls and trim keep a large house from feeling heavy under a brown roof.
Deep green walls with pale green-gray trim and moss green door and shutters suit a long, low ranch. The light trim draws the roofline, which matters when the walls are this dark.
Deep brown walls, pale sage white trim and deep green door and shutters suit a farmhouse. Keep the trim clean and light so the house stays distinct from the roof.
Mid gray walls, pale sage white trim and a dark umber door and shutters suit a craftsman bungalow. The gray stays neutral next to a brown roof and porch details.
Exterior paint is seen in much stronger light than a room. Full sun bleaches a color by a shade or two, while the shaded side of the house and overcast days pull it cooler and darker. Test a large sample on two sides of the house.
Color
Swatch
Full sun
Overcast
In shade
Golden hour
Soft Sage Green LRV 45
Deep Forest Green LRV 13
Deep Earth Brown LRV 10
Neutral Mid Gray LRV 28
Soft Neutral White LRV 75
Try these colors on a house
Pick a color for the walls, the trim, the front door and the roof, and switch between house styles. Shadows and siding lines follow your choice.
Roof colors are typical shingle, tile and metal colors, not paint. Every other color comes from a painting on this page.
Colors for the walls
#A4B9A8LRV 45
Soft Sage Green
A light wall color with a green undertone and an LRV of 45, so it reads soft without looking washed out beside a brown roof. Measured from Monet's "Boats on the Beach at Étretat" (1885), it suits a sunny wall, though shade will make it look cooler.
A deep green with an LRV of 13 for walls on a house with a brown roof. Measured from Pissarro's "Woman and Child at the Well" (1882), it looks richer in shade and holds its depth in full sun.
A deep brown with a warm yellow undertone and an LRV of 10. Measured from "Putti with a Medallion" by Charles Dominique Joseph Eisen, it needs a light trim so the walls do not blend into the roof.
A mid-tone gray with no clear undertone and an LRV of 28, which makes it a steady wall color next to a brown roof and brick or stone. Measured from Thomas Birch's "Capture of the Tripoli by the Enterprise" (1806-12).
A very light trim color with no clear undertone and an LRV of 75. Use it on trim, fascia and the garage door with the sage wall; it comes from Monet's "Boats on the Beach at Étretat" (1885).
Sherwin-Williams SW 6231 Rock Candy
Near-identical
Valspar 7004-16 Sheer Light
Near-identical
Behr 790A-2 Ancient Stone
Near-identical
Farrow & Ball No. 235 Borrowed Light
Very close
#DBDCD4LRV 71
Pale Green-Gray
A very light trim with a faint green undertone and an LRV of 71, a little softer than a bright white. Measured from Pissarro's "Woman and Child at the Well" (1882), it sits well against deep green walls.
Sherwin-Williams SW 6196 Frosty White
Near-identical
Behr N200-1 Moth Gray
Near-identical
Farrow & Ball No. 204 Pale Powder
Very close
#E3E2D8LRV 76
Pale Sage White
The lightest trim here, with an LRV of 76 and a green undertone. It gives clear contrast on deep brown or mid gray walls; it was measured from Monet's "Waterloo Bridge, Gray Weather" (1900).
Sherwin-Williams SW 6182 Ethereal White
Near-identical
Behr HDC-NT-24 Glacier Valley
Near-identical
Valspar 7006-12 Salute
Near-identical
Farrow & Ball No. 252 Pavilion Blue
Very close
Front door and shutter colors
#A3654ELRV 18
Burnt Clay Red
A deep red-orange door color with an LRV of 18. It stands out on a sage wall and echoes the warmth of a brown roof; it comes from Monet's "Boats on the Beach at Étretat" (1885).
A mid-tone green door and shutter color with an LRV of 32. It lifts a deep green wall without clashing, and it comes from Pissarro's "Woman and Child at the Well" (1882).
A very dark brown door color with a warm yellow undertone and an LRV of 5. It gives a quiet, solid entry on a gray wall; it was measured from Jules Dupré's "The Cottage by the Roadside, Stormy Sky" (c. 1860).
Start with the roof, because it is the one thing you are not changing. Brown shingles, tile and metal can lean warm, with red or yellow in them, or lean cool and gray. Hold a shingle, or a photo of the roof, next to each wall sample and see which one looks calm beside it.
Greens and grays sit well with brown. The soft sage and the neutral mid gray here are light enough to separate from the roof. A deep green or deep brown wall is a bolder choice. With an LRV of 13 and 10, they sit close to the darkness of many roofs, so the trim has to show the shape of the house.
Check the other fixed materials too. Brick, stone, a concrete porch and a garage door all stay as they are. Pick up the undertone in them. A warm brick works with a green wall, and gray stone works with the neutral gray. Walk each sample past every material before you commit.
How much contrast should trim and the front door have?
Trim sets the outline of the house. On every scheme here the trim is very light, between LRV 71 and 76. Against walls from LRV 10 to 45, that gives clear contrast, and it reads clean against a brown roof line at the fascia and gutters. Use one trim color on fascia, window frames, corner boards and the garage door so the house looks like one piece.
The front door can be the strongest note. A deep terracotta red at LRV 18 and a mid-tone moss green at LRV 32 both stand out against a sage or deep green wall. A very dark brown at LRV 5 is quieter. It suits a calm entry on a mid gray wall.
Shutters usually match the door, as in these schemes. For less contrast, paint the shutters a shade between the wall and the door. Keep to three colors plus the roof. A fourth color on the house tends to look busy.
Why do exterior colors look different in sun and shade?
Outdoor light is much stronger than indoor light. In full sun, a color looks lighter and often a little brighter than the chip. In shade, or on a north-facing wall, it looks cooler and darker, and a green or gray can pick up some blue.
Because of this, choose a shade darker than the one you like on the chip, especially for large walls in sun. A sage at LRV 45 can look pale on a sunny wall at noon. The deep green at LRV 13 holds its depth in bright light, but it can look nearly black in deep shade.
Trim reacts too. A very light trim at LRV 75 glows in the sun and can look gray beside a bright wall. Do not reach for an even whiter trim until you have seen it in place.
Also watch the eaves. Deep overhangs cast shadow on the wall below, so that strip will look darker than the open wall. Judge the color in both places.
How do you test exterior paint colors on a house?
Test on the house, not on a chip. Paint sample boards about two feet square, or use large peel-and-stick samples, and give each board two coats. Boards let you move the color around, and they keep it off the existing paint, which would change how it reads.
Put one board on the side that gets the most sun and one on the side in shade. Place them next to the roof edge, the trim and the door, and near brick or stone if you have it. Look at them in the morning, at midday, in late afternoon and on an overcast day. Check again at dusk, when many greens and grays shift.
Test trim and door colors the same way. Hold the trim sample against the wall sample, and the door sample against the door itself. Use the LRV and the closest paint matches on this page as a starting point, then buy sample pots and compare them in your own light. Leave the boards up for a few days before you decide.
FAQ
What color house goes best with a brown roof?
Soft sage, deep green, neutral gray and deep earth brown all work. Choose the one that fits your brick or stone, then check it next to a shingle in daylight.
Should the walls be lighter or darker than a brown roof?
Either can work. Light walls, like the sage at LRV 45, stand apart from the roof. Deep walls at LRV 10 to 13 are close to a dark roof in tone, so they need a very light trim.
What trim color works with a brown roof?
A very light trim with an LRV between about 71 and 76 gives clear contrast. A neutral white suits sage walls, and a pale green-gray or pale sage white suits deep green, brown or gray walls.
What front door color goes with a brown roof?
A burnt clay red, a moss green or a dark umber brown all work. Red and green stand out, while the dark brown gives a quieter entry.
Can I paint a house brown if the roof is brown?
Yes. The deep earth brown here has an LRV of 10, so pair it with a light trim and a deep green door so the house does not blend into the roof.
Save these colors
A card with these house color schemes: walls, trim, front door and roof. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
Painting images: The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain (CC0).
Colors measured by Light & Pigment. Paint names belong to their brands and matches are approximate. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
