House exterior · Dark grey · colors from 7 paintings
Dark Grey Siding: Four Exterior Schemes From Paintings
Dark grey siding works best when you pick the undertone first and the depth second. Below are four dark wall colors, two trim whites and four door colors, all measured from public-domain paintings, put together as complete house schemes.
Quick answer
Use LRV 10 to 11 greys on the walls if you want them to read as grey, and LRV 4 shades for a near-black house. Pair them with a light trim (LRV 74 to 75) and a front door that is either darker or clearly lighter than the walls.
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.
Colonial in Clove Brown
Walls #41382D
Trim #E4E0CD
Front door & shutters #885B19
Roof: brown
Warm near-black walls with parchment trim and a deep ochre door and shutters suit a two-story colonial under a brown roof. The ochre is the only bright note, so keep the trim clean and simple.
Green-grey walls with warm trim and olive-khaki door and shutters give a long, low ranch some definition. The black roof matches the depth of the walls.
Cool, very dark walls, parchment trim and a dark walnut door and shutters make a bold farmhouse with a black roof. The door and walls are both LRV 4, so the light trim does all the outlining.
Warm grey-brown walls with cool white trim and a forest green door and shutters suit a craftsman bungalow under a brown roof. The green is darker than the walls and adds depth without shouting.
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
Warm Clove Brown LRV 4
Deep Moss Grey LRV 11
Blue Charcoal LRV 4
Warm Cocoa Grey LRV 10
Warm Parchment White LRV 74
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
#41382DLRV 4
Warm Clove Brown
A very dark wall color with a warm yellow undertone and an LRV of 4, so it reads close to black-brown. Measured from Gerard ter Borch the Younger's "The Music Lesson"; it suits siding or painted brick next to a brown roof.
A deep grey with a green undertone and an LRV of 11, the easiest of the four wall colors to read as true grey. It comes from Toby Edward Rosenthal's "Elaine" and looks good on a ranch with a black roof.
A very dark grey with a cool blue undertone and an LRV of 4. Measured from Cornelis Jonson van Ceulen the Younger's "Portrait of a Man with a Watch", it gives a farmhouse a crisp, cool look under a black roof.
A deep grey-brown with a warm red-orange undertone and an LRV of 10. It comes from Claude Monet's "Boats on the Beach at Étretat" and softens a bungalow, especially beside brown roofing.
A very light trim color with a warm yellow undertone and an LRV of 74, which stands out clearly against walls at LRV 4 to 11. Measured from Vigée Le Brun's portrait of the Comtesse de la Châtre; use it on trim, fascia and the garage door.
A very light neutral with no clear undertone and an LRV of 75, so it stays out of the way of the wall color. It comes from Monet's "Boats on the Beach at Étretat" and suits trim and garage doors.
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
Front door and shutter colors
#885B19LRV 13
Deep Ochre
A deep door color with a warm yellow undertone and an LRV of 13, strong enough to stand out against very dark walls. It comes from Vigée Le Brun's portrait of the Comtesse de la Châtre; try it on a front door and shutters.
A mid-tone with a warm yellow undertone and an LRV of 29, the lightest door color here, so it reads clearly against deep green-grey walls. It is measured from Rosenthal's "Elaine".
A very dark brown with a warm yellow undertone and an LRV of 4. Measured from Constant Troyon's "The Road to Market", it gives a quiet door and shutters that sit close to the wall color.
A very dark green with an LRV of 5. It comes from Martin van Meytens the Younger's double portrait of Count Giacomo Durazzo and Ernestine Aloisia Ungnad von Weissenwolff, and it gives a door a quiet depth against warm brown-grey walls.
Start with what will not change. The roof, any brick or stone, the chimney and the driveway are fixed, so look at them in daylight and decide whether they lean warm or cool. A brown roof goes with the warm walls on this page, the clove brown and the cocoa grey. A black roof suits the green-grey and the blue charcoal.
Choose the undertone before the depth. These dark greys are not neutral. One leans green, one blue, one warm red-orange and one warm yellow. On a whole house the undertone shows far more than it does on a small chip.
Then look at LRV. Walls at LRV 10 to 11 still read as grey in daylight. Walls at LRV 4 read close to black, especially in shade. If you want the house to look grey and not black, stay with the deep moss grey or the cocoa grey.
How much contrast should trim and the front door have?
Dark walls need light trim. The two trim colors here sit at LRV 74 and 75, against walls between LRV 4 and 11. That gap outlines windows, corners and rooflines clearly. Use the same trim color on fascia and the garage door so the house reads as one scheme.
Choose the trim undertone to match the walls. Warm parchment suits the warm brown and yellow-leaning walls. The cool stone white is neutral and stays quiet next to a deeper brown-grey.
For the front door, decide whether it should stand out or sit back. The deep ochre (LRV 13) and the muted olive khaki (LRV 29) are clearly lighter than the walls and draw the eye. The dark walnut (LRV 4) and the forest green (LRV 5) stay close to the wall depth and add a subtle layer. On a house with LRV 4 walls, a door at LRV 4 will nearly disappear, so let the trim show the shape.
Why does dark siding look different outside?
Exterior light is much stronger than indoor light. In full sun, a dark color looks lighter and shows more of its undertone. In shade, the same color looks cooler and deeper. A paint chip that looks right in your hand can look softer on the wall.
Because of that, choose a shade darker than the one you like on the chip. If a color at LRV 11 looks right indoors, it may read as a medium grey in direct sun.
Colors already near LRV 4 have little room to go darker. For those, judge the undertone instead. Check whether the blue or brown shows more in shade than you expected.
Also consider the surroundings. Green trees and a blue sky both reflect onto walls. A green undertone can look stronger beside a lawn, and a warm brown can look redder at sunset.
How do I test dark siding colors before painting?
Use large samples, not small chips. Paint a board or a sheet of primed card at least two feet square, with two coats, so the color reads as it will on the house. Moving the board around is easier than painting patches on the siding.
Test on at least two sides of the house, one that gets full sun and one that stays in shade. Look at the samples in the morning, at midday and in the evening. Dark colors can change a lot between those times.
Hold the samples next to the roof, the brick or stone, and a sample of the trim color. Step back to the street or the end of the driveway, because that is where most people will see the house. Leave the samples up for a few days, including at least one overcast day, before you decide.
FAQ
Are these colors really dark grey?
Not all of them. The deep moss grey and the cocoa grey read as grey. The others lean strongly toward blue, brown or green, and at LRV 4 they read almost black.
What trim color goes with dark grey siding?
A light trim at LRV 74 to 75 gives clear contrast. Use warm parchment with warm-leaning walls, and the cool stone white when you want a neutral that does not compete.
What roof color goes with dark grey siding?
The schemes here pair a black roof with the green-grey, the blue charcoal and the ranch, and a brown roof with the clove brown and the cocoa grey. Pick the roof first if it is staying, then choose the undertone to match.
Should the front door be darker or lighter than the siding?
Either works. A lighter door, like the ochre at LRV 13 or the olive khaki at LRV 29, stands out. A very dark door at LRV 4 to 5 stays close to the walls and looks more subdued.
How close are the paint matches?
Each match is the closest commercial paint measured against the painting color, and the page labels it as near-identical, very close or close. Always check the match with a large sample on your own house before buying.
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.
